The Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 101) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act was the first of the series of Statute Law Revision Acts, although some consider the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64) to be the first.
The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes. It repealed the whole or portions of 884 acts,(1861) 25 The Justice of the Peace 641 (12 October 1861) passed between 1771 (11 Geo. 3) and 1853 (16 & 17 Vict.).
Background
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.
From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing the first authoritative collection of acts. The first statute law revision act was not passed until 1856 with the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). This approach – focusing on removing obsolete laws from the statute book followed by consolidation – was proposed by the Whig MP Peter Locke King, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results.
Drafting On 17 February 1860, the Attorney General, Sir Richard Bethell, told the House of Commons that he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time.
Passage The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 24 August 1860, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth. The bill did not progress in that parliamentary session.
The re-introduced Statute Law Revision Bill had had its first reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 1861, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth. In his speech introducing the bill, the Lord Cranworth explained that the bill aimed to repeal outdated laws to simplify and consolidate the legal code, allowing for a more manageable and up-to-date statute book by cutting it down to one-fourth of its original size.
The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 28 February 1861 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported without amendment on 7 March 1861. The bill was criticised by the former Lord Chancellor, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford, who voiced concerns about the process, particularly regarding the heavy reliance on two legal experts without further scrutiny by the House and by Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore, who suggested the bill ought to be referred to a select committee. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 8 March 1861, with amendments.
The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 11 March 1861, its second reading in the House of Commons on 15 April 1861, and was and committed to a select committee. The select committee was discharged and the bill was committed to a committee of the whole house on 26 July 1861, which met and reported on 30 July 1861, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 31 July 1861. The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 2 August 1861.
The bill was granted royal assent on 6 August 1861.
Subsequent developments The whole act was repealed for the United Kingdom by section 1(1) of, and group 1 of part IX of schedule 1 to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998, which came into force on 19 November 1998.
The enactments which were repealed (whether for the whole or any part of the United Kingdom) by the act were repealed so far as they extended to the Isle of Man by section 1(1) of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision (Isle of Man) Act 1991, which came into force on 25 July 1991.
The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and part 4 of schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007, which came into force on 8 May 2007.
Repealed enactments Section 1 of the act repealed or amended 884 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:
Expired Spent Repealed in general terms Virtually repealed Superseded Obsolete
Section 1 includes the original version of the Westbury saving to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters.