The Law Reform Commission today said it is having a major impact on the law in Ireland adding that its second programme of reform is under way.
The Commission’s 22nd Annual Report was launched today in which it detailed among its achievements the adoption of its proposals on the confiscation of the proceeds of crime and the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act.
Earlier this year the Government approved the Commission’s Second Programme for Law Reform which runs over seven years. Among the areas it covers are tribunals of inquiry, homicide (including corporate homicide), penalties for minor offences and personal injury compensation.
"The Second Programme for Law Reform is the foundation stone on which, over the next seven years, the Commission intends to co-operate with others who are interested in law reform and those who are responsible for bringing its recommendations into legislation," Commission President Mr Justice Declan Budd said.
The Commission published five reports/consultation papers during the year:
- Report on Aggravated, Exemplary and Restitutionary Damages (control of excessive damage awards),
- Report on Statutory Drafting and Interpretation: Plain Language and the Law,
- Report on The Rule against Perpetuities and Cognate Rules (abolition of rule which can block family gifts and legitimate commercial transactions),
- Report on The Variation of Trusts (practical problems where trustees' powers are outdated, overly restricted or inadequate),
- Consultation Paper on Law of Limitation of Actions arising from the Non-Sexual Abuse of Children.
The Commission is an independent statutory body that works in consultation with the Attorney General’s office and the Government. It is engaged in an ongoing process of consultation with interested parties in law reform.