§ 3.8 p.m.
§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (LORD HAILSHAM OF ST. MARYLEBONE)My Lords, in rising to move that the Commons Amendments be now considered, I think the House might like me to give a very short account of the progress made in law reform this Session, from which I think that all of us can take a modest degree of satisfaction. Our major achievement has been the Counts Act, which has made a revolutionary change over the whole administration of justice. Quite apart from that, we have a record in pure law reform which may give all of us grounds for pleasure. We have together steered through Parliament no fewer than ten law reform Bills (many based on reports of the Law Commission) dealing with such varied subjects as civil liability for animals, criminal damage, passenger insurance, limitation of actions, nullity of marriage, whales and swans, the administration of estates, powers of attorney and now the recognition of foreign divorces. That progress has been achieved through the co-operation of Members in all parts of this House, as well as of another place, and with the help of the experts in the Law Commission and others.
We have relied a good deal on the enterprise of private Members for five of the ten law reform Bills and the preliminary debate on polygamous marriages which was sponsored by the noble Baroness, Lady Summerskill. We have also made steady progress towards tidying up the Statute Book. No fewer than eleven measures of consolidation, Statute Law revision and and Statute Law repeals will, if all goes well, have received the Royal Assent by the end of the Session. Although this form of legislation is rarely exciting—though it is sometimes—its value can hardly be denied; and again I think we are much in the debt of those, both inside and outside Parliament, who have devoted their labours to a notoriously difficult task. Particularly I should like to thank the Private Members in both Houses who have sponsored Bills drafted for the purpose.
852 My Lords, I hope that we keep up this momentum. I draw attention in particular to two statements on law reform by predecessors of mine. The first is that of Lord Campbell, who said:
They"—referring to his own law reform measures—passed through both Houses of Parliament without one single syllable being altered in any of them. This is the only way of legislating on such a subject…A mixed and numerous deliberative assembly is wholly unfit for such work.The second was Lord Haldane who, in his autobiography, wrote that important law reform was nearly always the work of three successive Lord Chancellors. I acknowledge that in my own activity in this field I am reaping some of the merit due to my predecessors. But I hope, in return, to leave a healthy "menu" for my successors to digest whenever my own tour of office may end. I beg to move that the Commons Amendments be now considered.
§ Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Motion agreed to.