The Statute Law Revision Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 66) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1725 to 1868 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.

Section 2 of, and schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 79) revived several acts repealed by the act, including:

Lunacy Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict. c. 100) Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 115) Incumbered Estates (Ireland) Act 1852 (16 & 17 Vict. c. 67)

Section 3 of the Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 79) replaced the text "The Schedule" in the partial repeal of the Industrial Schools Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict.) with "The First Schedule".

, the act remains partly in force in the United Kingdom.The Chronological_Table_of_the_Statutes, 1235 - 2010. The_Stationery_Office. 2011. . Part 1. Page 474, read with pages viii and x.

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In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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 Peter Locke King MP, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results.

+Previous ActsYear passedTitleCitationEffect1861Statute Law Revision Act 186124 & 25 Vict. c. 101Repealed or amended over 800 enactments1863Statute Law Revision Act 186326 & 27 Vict. c. 125Repealed or amended over 1,600 enactments for England and Wales1867Statute Law Revision Act 186730 & 31 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended over 1,380 enactments1870Statute Law Revision Act 187033 & 34 Vict. c. 69Repealed or amended over 250 enactments1871Promissory Oaths Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 48Repealed or amended almost 200 enactments1871Statute Law Revision Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 116Repealed or amended over 1,060 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 63Repealed or amended almost 490 enactments1872Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 98Repealed or amended over 1,050 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 1872 (No. 2)35 & 36 Vict. c. 97Repealed or amended almost 260 enactments1873Statute Law Revision Act 187336 & 37 Vict. c. 91Repealed or amended 1,225 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 187437 & 38 Vict. c. 35Repealed or amended over 490 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (No. 2)37 & 38 Vict. c. 96Repealed or amended almost 470 enactments

Passage The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 5 July 1875, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 26 June 1874 and was referred to a committee of the whole house. In his speech introducing the bill, the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns mentioned that this was the eleventh volume of statute revision work and that further consolidation bills would be presented to Parliament for consideration during the parliamentary recess. The committee met and reported on 27 July 1875, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 29 July 1874 and passed, without amendments.

The bill its first reading in the House of Commons on 30 July 1875. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 2 August 1875 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported without amendment on 3 August 1875. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 4 August 1875 and passed, without amendments.

The bill was granted royal assent on 11 August 1875.

Subsequent developments The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.

The act was amended by sections 2 and 3 of the Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (46 & 47 Vict. c. 39), which came into force on 25 August 1883.

Sections 2 and 3 of, and the schedule to, the act, were repealed by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 54), which came into force on 25 August 1894.

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.

As to repeals by this act, see Campbell v Cochrane1928 JC 25; 1928 SLT 394 and Clarke v Bradlaugh.(1881) 30 Weekly Reporter 53. See also Weekly Notes, 19 November 1881, p 137; John Mews, "Parliament", A Digest of the reported Decisions of all the Courts . . . during the Year 1882, Henry Sweet, 1883, col 317; Cecil C M Dale, "Parliamentary Oath", An Analytical Digest of the Cases published in the New Series of the Law Journal Reports and other Contemporary Reports . . . from Michaelmas Sittings 1880 to Trinity Sittings 1885, Friend Edward Streeten, 1886, p 381; Ephraim Arnold Jacob, An Analytical Digest of the Law and Practice of the Courts of Common Law, Divorce, Probate, Admiralty and Bankruptcy, and of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal of England, 1883, vol 10, col 16397; Stone (ed), The Law Reports, Digest of Cases, 1892, vol 3, col 4829; Ware, Hutchins and Baker, The Law Reports, 1881 to 1885, Digest of Cases, London, 1886, col 1132.Charles Bradlaugh was a party in this case. As to omission of parts of the Naval Discipline Act 1866 (29 & 30 Vict. c. 109) repealed by the act from copies of that act, see section 7(2) of the Naval Discipline Act 1884 (47 & 48 Vict. c. 39).Reprinted in The Victorian Statutes, Melbourne, 1890, vol 7, p 473

Repealed enactments Section 1 of the act repealed 1,401 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:

Expired Spent Repealed in general terms Virtually repealed Superseded Obsolete

Section 1 of the act included several safeguards to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters. Specifically, any legal rights, privileges, or remedies already obtained under the repealed laws, as well as any legal proceedings or principles established by them, remain unaffected. Section 1 of the act also ensured that repealed enactments that have been incorporated into other laws would continue to have legal effect in those contexts. Moreover, the repeal would not revive any former rights, offices, or jurisdictions that had already been abolished.

Section 2 of the act repealed the Consecration of Bishops Abroad Act 1786 (26 Geo. 3 c. 84), effective from the passing of the Colonial Clergy Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 77), and provided that any previous legal protections or provisions that had been included in the original Act would not apply to this repeal.

Section 3 of the act provided that section 25 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 58), which had been repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 91), was revived, as from the repeal thereof, and that all proceedings taken thereunder since that repeal were as valid and effectual as if that section had not been repealed.