The Statute Law Revision Act 1872 ( 35 & 36 Vict. c. 63) is an act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

for 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 ...

enactments from 1772 to 1806 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 A revised edition of the statutes is an edition of the Revised Statutes in the United Kingdom (there being more than one edition). These editions are published by authority. In 1861 the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the first of a long ...

, then in progress.

Background

In the

, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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 The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to cha ...

, 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 ...

. From 1810 to 1825, the ''

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 the first authoritative collection of acts. The first

statute law revision act Statute Law Revision Act (with its variations) is a stock short title which has been used in Antigua, Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Ghana, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa and the United Kingdom, for Acts with the purpose of statute ...

was not passed until 1856 with the

Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 The Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 ( 19 & 20 Vict. c. 64), also known as the Statute Law Revision Act 1856, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1285 to 1777 which had ce ...

(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 Peter John Locke King (25 January 1811, Ockham, Surrey – 12 November 1885, Weybridge) was an English politician. King sat and held one of the two seats as Member of Parliament (MP) for East Surrey from 1847 to 1874. He won some fame as an a ...

MP, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results.

Passage

The Statute Law Revision Bill had its

first reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

in the

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on 13 May 1872, introduced by the

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley William Page Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley, PC (29 November 1801 – 10 July 1881) was a British lawyer and statesman who served as a Liberal Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain between 1868 and 1872 in William Ewart Gladstone's first ministry ...

. The bill had its

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

in the

on 3 June 1872 and was committed to a

committee of the whole house A committee of the whole is a meeting of a legislative or deliberative assembly using procedural rules that are based on those of a committee, except that in this case the committee includes all members of the assembly. As with other (standing) c ...

Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903), known as Lord Salisbury, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for ...

, expressed concern relating to a specific act relating to age requirements for ordination in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

that could lead to unintended consequences. In response, the

assured that this would be reviewed. The committee met on 10 June 1872, and reported on 10 June 1872, without amendments. The bill had its

third reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

in the

on 13 June 1871 and passed, without amendments The bill had its

in 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 ...

on 11 July 1872, introduced by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge John Duke Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge (3 December 1820 – 14 June 1894) was an English lawyer, judge and Liberal politician. He held the posts, in turn, of Solicitor-General for England, Attorney-General for England, Chief Justice of the ...

in the

on 19 July 1872 and was committed to a

, which reported on 25 July 1872. The amended bill was considered on 26 July 1872, and the Bill had its

in the

on 29 July 1872 and passed, without amendments. The bill was granted

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

on 6 August 1872.

Legacy

The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a

. The act was partly in force in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

at the end of 2010. Section 2 and the schedule to the act were repealed by section 1 of, and Schedule 1 to, the

Statute Law Revision Act 1894 A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

( 57 & 58 Vict. c. 56). 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 The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

on 25 July 1991.The

Interpretation Act 1978 The Interpretation Act 1978 (c. 30) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the interpretation of acts of Parliament, Measures of the General Synod of the Church of England, Measures of the Church Asse ...

, section 4(b) The act was retained for the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

b
section 2(2)(a)
of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the

Statute Law Revision Act 2007 The Statute Law Revision Act 2007 is an Act of the Oireachtas of Ireland which repealed a large amount of pre-1922 legislation of Ireland, England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom while preserving a shorter list of statutes. The Act was t ...

Repealed enactments

Section 1 of the act repealed 489 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 amended the explanatory note of the schedule to the

Statute Law Revision Act 1871 A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wil ...

( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 116) to correct the drafting by providing that the explanatory note of the schedule to this act shall be read as if the words " Edward the Third" were inserted immediately before the words " William the Third".

Notes

References

External links

*List of amendments and repeals in the Republic of Ireland from th
Irish Statute Book
{{Authority control United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1872 Statute Law Revision Acts

Background

Passage

Legacy

Repealed enactments

See also

Notes

References

External links