The Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring was a select committee of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

appointed in 1796 to inspect and consider all the

temporary law Temporary laws, temporary legislation or sunset legislation are laws whose duration is limited at the time of enactment. Temporary laws are often used to adapt for unusual or peculiar situations. Clauses limiting the duration of such laws are oft ...

s of a public nature, which were expired or expiring.

Background

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's ''

Commentaries on the Laws of England The ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'' (commonly, but informally known as ''Blackstone's Commentaries'') are an influential 18th-century treatise on the common law of England by Sir William Blackstone, originally published by the Clarend ...

'', published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the

common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...

and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing

statute book The Statute Book is "the surviving body of enacted legislation published by authority" in "a number of publications". In England at the end of 1948, the Statute Book printed by authority consisted of the twenty-four volumes of ''The Statutes: Se ...

Establishment

On 12 April 1796, the

resolved to appoint a select committee to "inspect and consider all the Temporary Laws whatever of a Public Nature, which are expired, or expiring; and to report to the House, a Statement of all such expired Laws, as shall appear to them to have been made upon Occasions, whereof the like may recur hereafter, and also, a Statement of all the expiring Laws of every Sort whatever of a Public Nature; describing each Statute by its principal Matter, Date, Chapter, Section, and Title; and distinguishing the Duration of such as are expiring; together with the Observations of the said Committee, growing out of the several Matters referred to them."

Membership

The committee was appointed on 12 April 1796, consisting of 14 members with a quorum of five and the power to "send for persons, papers, and records".

Report

The committee first met on 13 April 1796 and was granted the power to report to the House on 21 April 1796. The committee reported on 12 May 1796. The committee found that there was no authentic and entire publication of the statutes, a problem compounded by the fact that many statutes had never been printed and that some of those printed were not faithful to the original and the increased volume of the

, which contained obsolete, obscure and poorly drafted statutes. The committee also summarised the history of statute law revision, finding that despite the attention of previous parliaments since the 16th-century, nothing substantial had been achieved. The committee recommended the "extreme importance" of obtaining a "complete and authentic publication of the statutes", and suggested the recompiling of past laws by conducting a detailed examination of all laws, identifying: # Existing perpetual laws, labelling each as fit to stand, able to be simplified, or able to be repealed and replaced by a new law. # Existing but expiring laws, labelling each as fit to stand or to be made perpetual. # Repealed laws, labelling each as fit to be re-enacted or not. # Expired laws, labelling each as fit to be revived or not. The committee provided examples of Consolidation Acts, including: * Statute of Artificers 1562 ( 5 Eliz. 1 c. 4) * Navy Act 1748 ( 22 Geo. 2. c. 33) * Gunpowder Act 1772( 12 Geo. 3. c. 61) * Highways Act 1773 ( 13 Geo. 3. c. 78) * Turnpike Roads Act 1773 ( 13 Geo. 3. c. 84) * Clergy Residences Repair Act 1776 ( 17 Geo. 3. c. 53) * Militia Act 1786 ( 26 Geo. 3. c. 107) *

Customs and Excise Act 1787 The Customs and Excise Act 1787 ( 27 Geo. 3. c. 13), also known as the Gilbert Act, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that consolidated and reformed customs duties in Great Britain. The act revolutionised the collections of custom ...

( 27 Geo. 3. c.13) * Exportation (No. 2) Act 1788 ( 28 Geo. 3. c. 38) * Importation and Exportation (No. 2) Act 1791 ( 31 Geo. 3. c. 30) * The general Act for Seamen's Wages The committee recognised specifically the preamble of the Statute of Artificers 1562 ( 5 Eliz. 1 c. 4) and the abstract of the law in the Navy Act 1757 (31 Geo. 2. c. 10) and the Marines Act 1792 ( 32 Geo. 3. c. 67) as models for future drafting. The committee provided examples of repeal, revival and continuance acts passed during the reigns of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

and

King James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, including: * Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1597 ( 39 Eliz. 1. c. 18), which repealed 53 acts of parliament * Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1603 ( 1 Jac. 1. c. 25), which repealed 15 acts of parliament and revived 45 acts of parliament * Continuance, etc. of Laws Act 1623 ( 21 Jac. 1. c. 28), which repealed 71 acts of parliament and revived 64 acts of parliament The committee recognised the importance of the Committee for Expired and Expiring Laws appointed annually to enquire what laws were fit to be revived or continued, but cited irregularities and mistakes, including: * Temporary laws enacted by the insertion of a clause in the body of a perpetual act, for example the

( 27 Geo. 3. c.13). * Inconsistent operating words, for example in acts continuing wars. * Inconsistent expression of duration, for example in the preamble, first section, middle (the Colonial Trade Act 1763 ( 4 Geo. 3. c. 27) and the Importation, etc. Act 1766 ( 6 Geo. 3. c. 28) or generally the close of the act. * The occasional requirement to infer duration from the text, for example the Aid to Government of France Act 1794 ( 34 Geo. 3. c. 9), the Effects of Residents in France Act 1794 (34 Geo. 3. c. 79), the Importation Act 1795 ( 35 Geo. 3. c. 15) and the Shipping Act 1795 (35 Geo. 3. c. 80). * Retrospective or prospective enactments, for example the Taxation (No. 3) Act 1640 ( 16 Car. 1. c. 4). * The occasional existence of laws on legislation of other countries, for example the Composition for a Crown Debt Act 1784 ( 24 Geo. 3. St. 2). * The continuance of punishments of offences committed under temporary acts, for example the Customs (No. 3) Act 1789 ( 29 Geo. 3. c. 64), the Manning of the Navy, etc. Act 1793 ( 33 Geo. 3. c. 66) and the Slave Trade Act 1794 ( 34 Geo. 3. c. 80) * The variety of periods prescribed for the duration of each statute, for example the Continuance of Laws Act 1796 ( 36 Geo. 3. c. 40). This resulted in inconsistencies. For example, section 3 of the

Wales and Berwick Act 1746 The Wales and Berwick Act 1746 (20 Geo. 2. c. 42) was an Act of Parliament, act of the Parliament of Great Britain that created a statutory definition of England as including England, Wales and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The walled garrison town of Be ...

( 20 Geo. 2. c. 42), an act relating to window tax, which illustrates what the text calls a "hotch-potch" (mixed or inconsistent) approach to legislation. Section 3 of this act contained a broad provision stating that all existing and future statutes mentioning

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

would automatically apply to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

, even when these places weren't specifically named. Then, oddly, section 4 immediately returns to discussing window tax specifically. Furthermore, the committee criticised that laws confined to cases of limited description, but depending on some general principle, were not extended to all the cases which fall within the range of the principle. To help with this, committee recommended that the Committee for Expired and Expiring Laws be required to inspect annually all the statutes of the preceding session and to insert into the Register of Expiring Laws those which are temporary, including the their matter, date, chapter and duration. Once expired, these acts would be transferred to the Register of Expired Laws. The committee published these two tables as an appendix to their report. The committee found that while all public and private acts from each session were recorded sequentially on the official statute roll, the

King's Printer The King's Printer (known as the Queen's Printer during the reign of a female monarch) is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers ...

published them as separate public and private collections with different numbering systems, creating a mismatch between chapter numbers in the official roll and the printed versions. Additionally, the chapter numbers, section numbers, margin summaries, and punctuation in the printed versions were added solely by the King's Printer, resting on private authority. The committee concluded by recommending that, for the

promulgation Promulgation is the formal proclamation or the declaration that a new statute, statutory or administrative law is enacted after its final Enactment of a bill, approval. In some jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, this additional step is necessary ...

of the statutes, the

be directed annually to print and sent a copy of all public acts to sheriffs, custos rotulorum, or clerks of the peace of each county.

Legacy

The same year as the select committee published its report, the Select Committee on the Promulgation of the Statutes was appointed to consider the

of the statutes of the

. The work of both committees drew attention to the unsatisfactory state of the

, following a resolution of the

on 20 March 1797 that "that his Majesty's printer should also be authorized to class the general and the special statutes (viz. the public, local, and private acts) of each session in separate volumes, and to number the chapters of each volume, together with a general table of all the acts passed in that session". This led to the distinction now recognised between public general acts, local and personal acts and private acts. The work of both committees led to an improvement in the classification of statutes, and to the distinction now recognised by between public general acts, local and personal acts and private acts. In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, ''

The Statutes of the Realm ''The Statutes of the Realm'' is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen A ...

'' was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1822, Sir Robert Peel entered the cabinet as

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

. The work of the committee was referenced in Peel's speech on the consolidation of the criminal law on 9 March 1826. Peel introduced a number of reforms to the

English criminal law English criminal law concerns offences, their prevention and the consequences, in England and Wales. Criminal conduct is considered to be a wrong against the whole of a community, rather than just the private individuals affected. The state, i ...

, which became known as Peel's Acts.

Notes

References

{{Reflist Laws in the United Kingdom Defunct Select Committees of the British House of Commons Parliament of Great Britain Consolidation Acts 1796 establishments in Great Britain 1796 disestablishments in Great Britain 1796 in British law Law reform in the United Kingdom