Law Reform

                                                     Law Reform

                                                  Revision Notes

Law Reform

Law reform can come from many places such as common law, parliament, the EU and delegated legislation. There have been many reforms to law in the UK and the last labour government went into overdrive trying to reform as many laws as possible. The sexual offences act 1967 decriminalised homosexuality, and the gender recognition act 2004 allowed transsexuals to marry. In 2013 the marriage act allowed homosexuals to marry. These are some examples of when the law has been reformed. 

Parliament and the courts are bodies that are authorised to reform the law. However no one except parliament itself can change parliament’s statutes. Parliament can change common law but common law cannot change parliamentary law. People can campaign to have the law changed or even annulled and there are bodies such as the Law commission whose role it is to change the law and investigate it. 

Proposals for new law can come from pressure groups such as fathers for justice and amnesty international. These groups go to lengths to get media coverage and get recognised in parliament. The media can also influence changes in the law such as the media’s coverage of the Stephen Lawrence case which exposed the police’s awful investigation.…