Commissions want rid of out-of-date laws
29 Jan 08
Law Commissions in drive to modernise the statute book
Another round of out-of-date legislation, such as workhouse laws, is up for repeal in the latest revision exercise by the two Law Commissions.
The Scottish Law Commission and the Law Commission for England and Wales have jointly produced their 18th Statute Law (Repeals) Bill, presented to Parliament today.
The bill will repeal 260 whole Acts and 68 others in part. It covers a diverse range of subjects, from turnpikes to workhouses and an old Channel tunnel initiative.
The earliest repeal is from 1695 (London to Harwich Roads Act).
Lord Drummond Young, chairman of the Scottish Law Commission, said: "Dead law can lead to false expectations and consequent costs. People need to be clear about what is in force and what is not, and an oversized statue book filled with out-of-date information wastes everybody's time.
"As part of our our drive to modernise and simplify the law we want to rid the statute book of meaningless provisions from days gone by which are no longer relevant in our modern world."
For more information on the Commissions' statute law repeals work, visit www.scotlawcom.gov.uk/html/cpslr.htm .