Statute Law Revision Act 1873

The Statute Law Revision Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 91) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed enactments from 1742 to 1830 which had ceased to be in force or had become unnecessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes, which was then in progress.

Section 2 of the Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict. c. 35) provided that the Criminal Costs (Dublin) Act 1815 (55 Geo. 3. c. 91), which had been repealed by the 1873 act, was revived so far as it related to the county of the city of Dublin.

Section 3 of the Statute Law Revision Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 66) provided that section 25 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 58), which had been repealed by the 1873 act, was revived as from the date of its repeal. It further stated that all proceedings taken under that section since its repeal would be deemed as valid and effective as if the section had never been repealed.

Section 2 of, and schedule 2 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 79) revived several acts repealed by the 1873 act, including:

Licensing (Scotland) Act 1828 (9 Geo. 4. c. 58)
Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 44)

Background

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.

In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting a report on the best way to reduce the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time an authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament passed resolutions declaring it "very expedient" to commission an eminent lawyer, assisted by 20 clerks, to compile a digest of the statutes. However, this was never carried out.

At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, Lord Cranworth announced his intention to improve statute law. In March 1853, he appointed the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal obsolete statutes and continue consolidation, with a broader remit that included civil law. The Board issued three reports, recommending the establishment of a permanent body for statute law reform.

In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law. The Commission produced four reports.

An alternative approach—prioritizing the repeal of obsolete laws before consolidation—was proposed by Peter Locke King, an MP, who strongly criticized the Commission's expenditure and lack of progress. This approach led to the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64), considered the first Statute Law Revision Act.

On 17 February 1860, the Attorney General, Sir Richard Bethell, informed the House of Commons that he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts that, while not expressly repealed, were no longer in force, working backward from the present time.

Passage

The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 26 June 1873, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 7 July 1873 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 10 July 1873, with amendments. The amended bill was considered and had its third reading in the House of Lords on 11 July 1873 and passed, without amendments.

The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 15 July 1873, introduced by the Attorney General, John Coleridge . The bill had its second reading on 22 July 1872 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 28 July 1873, with amendments. The amended bill was considered on 29 July 1873, and had its third reading in the House of Commons on 30 July 1873 and passed, without amendments.

The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 2 August 1873.

The bill was granted royal assent on 5 August 1873.

Legacy

The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.

The act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.

The preamble and the schedule to this act were repealed by section 1 of, and Part 1 of the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 22).

The act was amended by section 2 of the Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict. c. 79).

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 on 25 July 1991.

The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007.

Repealed enactments

Section 1 of the act repealed 1,255 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.