Law Commission launches consultation on law in Wales

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on simplifying the law in Wales due to confusion over the functions and powers exercised by Westminster and the Welsh Assembly and the growing divergence of many areas of the law in Wales.

Recent years has have seen significant areas of the law applicable in Wales – such as education, health and housing – diverging from the law in England and the aim of the consultation is to discover where existing law relating to Wales can be made easier to use and understand. The Law Commisson said it would be be asking whether consolidation or codification of the law in Wales was required and whether new measures need to be put in place to improve the National Assembly of Wales' systems for making law.

It is also consulting on measures that could make the law more accessible and available to the public, such as explanatory notes for legislation, Welsh law text books, and the need for a free, up-to-date and comprehensive online resource. The consultation also considers issues relating to the making and interpretation of legislation in two languages.

Sir David Lloyd Jones, Chairman of the Law Commission, said: “For the law to be fair it must be capable of being understood. We are at a crucial moment in the development of the law relating to Wales. We have an excellent opportunity to pave the way for clearer, simpler, more modern and more accessible legislation, that is easily and freely available, and readily understood by professionals and the public.

“As the Welsh Assembly gains wider law-making powers, this is the time for us to consider carefully how the Government and the legal system can work together to make good law for Wales.”

The consultation is open until 9 October 2015. A consultation paper and more information are available via www.lawcom.gov.uk.