Busy Times for Law Reform Commissions

Law reform commission reports can be great sources for legal research. Many of the reports provide historical background and you can often find comparative information about how other jurisdictions have responded to an issue.

The past few weeks have a very busy time for law reform commissions. A sampling of reports:

• New Zealand Law Commission Report on Regulation of the Media: the review was prompted by concern about the disparities in the legal and ethical standards that apply to news as a result of the emergence of new web-based publishers and the convergence of mainstream print and broadcast media online
• Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan Consultation Paper on Foreclosures: “Foreclosure involves lengthy legal proceedings taken in the Court of Queen’s Bench and is governed by several statutes, including the LCAA. As the Court of Queen’s Bench for Saskatchewan noted recently, ‘The Land Contracts (Actions) Act is consumer protection legislation intended to provide mortgagors with a degree of protection by requiring mortgagees to first seek leave of the court before they are permitted to commence foreclosure proceedings.’ The LCAA is 70 year old legislation, having been enacted in 1943. This consultation paper considers the steps required by the LCAA for residential mortgages and whether they are still necessary or desirable.” The paper reviews the mortgage remedies available in other Canadian common law provinces; reviews the recommendations respecting mortgage remedies made by other Canadian law reform agencies; presents the need for reform of the Act; and offers possible approaches to reform the Act.
• Law Commission of England and Wales Consultation Paper on Conservation Covenants: “A conservation covenant is a voluntary agreement between a landowner and responsible body (charity, public body or local/central Government) to do or not do something on their land for a conservation purpose. This might be, for example, an agreement to maintain a woodland and allow public access to it, or to refrain from using certain pesticides on native vegetation. These agreements are long lasting and continue after the landowner has parted with the land, ensuring that its conservation value is protected for the public benefit. Conservation covenants are used in many other jurisdictions, but do not exist in the law of England and Wales (…)” The paper looks at the legal situation in a number of jurisdictions, including Scotland, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
• Law Commission of Ontario Final Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work: “In Ontario today there are fewer full-time, well-paid jobs with good benefits and more precarious jobs with lower wages, poor job security, few benefits and little control over working conditions. Workers doing this kind of work are ‘vulnerable’ because of the job insecurity and other conditions. Women, racialized persons, immigrants, temporary migrant workers, persons with disabilities, youth, Aboriginal persons and non-status workers are more likely than others to hold precarious jobs (…) The Law Commission of Ontario (LCO)’s Report on Vulnerable Workers and Precarious Work makes 47 recommendations for changes to laws, policies and programs relating to employment protections, health and safety and training and education.” [from the summary]
• New Zealand Law Commission Report on Review of the Evidence Act 2006: “We have tried to describe how the law has got to its present state so that there is in existence one document setting out clearly the evolution, interpretation, and operational readiness of the law of evidence. In taking that course we hope that the report will thereby not only fulfil its task of reporting to the Minister, but be useful to the profession, the judiciary, and policy-makers for future reference as well. As to the content of the review, we are gratified that there is widespread acceptance that the original evidence project was a thoroughly important and worthwhile initiative in New Zealand law. It has overwhelmingly met the objectives of its proposers and the needs of users. The Evidence Act is the first port of call in the practice of evidence law in New Zealand.”
• Law Commission of England and Wales Analysis of Responses on Consultation on Unfitness to Plead: “We published our consultation paper on 27 October 2010, which contained our provisional proposals for comprehensive reform of the law on unfitness to plead in England and Wales. We received over 50 responses and we have published our analysis of those responses. We are now preparing our final recommendations for reform in light of the responses. The project draws on relevant empirical evidence and comparative jurisdictions in an attempt to identify better and more up-to-date legal tests and rules for determining fitness to plead and the subsequent procedure for the examination of the facts. Other important questions to be answered include: How do special measures relate to the test of unfitness? Should the procedure in the magistrates’ courts mirror that in the Crown Court? What should the process for dealing with a defendant be when he or she has been found unfit to plead? At a hearing to deal with a defendant found unfit, what issues can be raised by the defendant? In particular, can the ‘defences’ of accident, mistake and self-defence be raised? We anticipate that our next publication on this project will be a report towards the end of 2014.”

There is always a chance that a law commission has looked at a legal issue you may be working on. Slaw.ca collaborator Ted Tjaden has a section on how to find law reform commission reports on his legal research writing website.