What Is The Law Commission?
Many people believe that the law commission of India is a constitutional body or at least a statutory body. However, this is actually far from true. The Law Commission of India is an executive body that was set up after an order from the Government of India. The key function of the law commission is to actually work for legal reforms.
The commission is actually set up for a fixed tenure. The body works as an advisory body for the Ministry of Law and Justice. Several legal experts are members of the law commission.
How was the law commission formed? To answer this question, one has to dig deeper into its history.
History of the Law Commission in India
The last three centuries in India have seen not one but several legal reforms. There was a time when customary and religious law prevailed over the country. During this time, the reform process had not been institutionalized by means of duly constituted law reform agencies.
Since the late nineteenth century, the government created law commissions time and again and gave them the power to recommend legislative reforms in order to clarify, codify, and consolidate specific branches of law in cases the Government felt the need for it.
It was in the year 1834, that the very first law commission was set up under the Charter Act of 1833. This Act lay under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay. The Act sought the codification of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Penal Code.
Next, eventually, the second, third, and fourth Law Commissions were formed in the years 1853, 1861, and 1879 respectively. These Acts, in fifty years, significantly contributed to the enrichment of the Indian Statute Book with a wide array of legislations on the style of the English Laws adapted to the conditions of India.
The Indian Code of Civil Procedure, the Transfer of Property Act, the Indian Evidence Act, and the Indian Contract Act are actually the results of the first four Law Commissions of India.
Functions of The Law Commission
A reference made by the Central Government called the suo-moto, leads the Law Commission to undertake research in the review of the existing laws in the country for bringing about reforms and enacting fresh legislation.
The law commission also conducts research and studies in order to bring about reforms in the justice delivery systems, which leads to quick disposal of cases, a decrease in the cost of litigation, and more.
Another function that the law commission performs is that it aids in repealing obsolete laws. The law commission helps in noticing the laws which are actually unnecessary or obsolete and then commends that such legislation must be repealed in time.
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Source: vcmp.edu.vn