Commissioners take broom to old law

Obscure and ancient laws, such as an Act to fund the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral after the Great Fire of London, will be swept from the statute books in a major clean-up by the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission.

There are more than 800 obsolete laws from centuries past, according to the commissioners, who have composed a draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill. It will repeal 817 whole Acts and part repeal 50 other Acts, in diverse subjects ranging from poor relief and lotteries to turnpikes and Indian railways.

The earliest repeal is from about 1322 and the latest is part of the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010.

Sir James Munby, chairman of the Law Commission, says: “Getting rid of statutory dead wood helps to simplify and modernise our law, making it more intelligible. It saves time and costs for lawyers and others who need to know what the law actually is, and makes it easier for citizens to access justice.”