STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH ... - Law Commission

PART IX
STATUTES
156 Group 1- Statute Law Revision Acts
9.1 Statute Law Revision Acts were the predecessors of the modern Statute Law
(Repeals) Acts. Their purpose was to repeal enactments which, upon specified
grounds, were considered no longer to be effectively in force. The grounds in
question were that the enactments were obsolete, expired, superseded, spent,
virtually repealed or repealed in general terms, or were unnecessary. 1 Thirty-five
Statute Law Revision Acts were passed between 1861 and 1908. One further
was enacted in 1927 and from 1948 to 1966 another series was enacted.
Thereafter they were effectively replaced by Statute Law (Repeals) Acts
proposed by the Law Commissions under powers provided by the Law
Commissions Act 1965. Statute Law Revision Acts continued to be promoted in
respect of Northern Ireland until 1980. 2
9.2 The drafting of Statute Law Revision Acts adopted a standard format. Each Act
would contain a Schedule listing the enactments being repealed, together with
one or more sections to give effect to the repeals. Each Act would also include a
saving provision to which the enactments specified in the Schedule were subject.
This saving provision became known as the Westbury saving. 3 The most simple
form of the saving can be found in the 1861 Act, but it became increasingly more
elaborate with every subsequent Statute Law Revision Act until it reached its final
form in the Statute Law Revision (No.2) Act 1888. 4 It is to be found in every such
Act up until and including 1953. 5 Thereafter, responsibility for drafting these Acts
was passed to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, whose draftsman
decided that the Westbury saving was no longer required because reliance could
be placed on the general savings provisions of section 38 of the Interpretation
Act 1889. 6 Accordingly the Westbury saving was omitted from the Statute Law
Revision Act 1958 7 and from all subsequent Statute Law Revision and Statute
Law (Repeals) Acts.
9.3 The repeals schedules of the Statute Law Revision Acts have now mostly been
repealed themselves, many of them by the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1974.
However, it has in the past proved difficult to repeal the Westbury saving in each
Act, mainly because of the difficulty of ascertaining which of the repealed
1
These grounds, and their technical meanings, were set out in a memorandum appended to
the Bill for each Act.
2 SLR (Northern Ireland) Acts 1973, 1976, 1980.
3 Named after Lord Westbury who was responsible for its development.
4 51 & 52 Vict c.57 (repealed by the SL(R) Act 1989).
5 2 & 3 Eliz.2 c.5.
6 See further the minutes of evidence published with the Seventh Report of the Joint
Committee on Consolidation and Statute Law Revision Bills for the session 1957-1958 (HL
Papers (1957-1958) Nos 5-VI, 108-I; HC Paper (1957-1958) No 209-I). The Interpretation
Act 1889 has been repealed and the relevant provisions are now contained in s.16 of the
Interpretation Act 1978.
7 6 & 7 Eliz.2 c.46.
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