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Laws that meet our needs
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However, whereas in the UK the possible scrapping of laws is a government initiative, the question here is being posed by the Law Commission – though, ultimately, the States will bear the responsibility for turning ideas into legislative action.
It appears that the Law Commission initiative concerning potentially superfluous laws is part of a sudden spate of activity. The senior lawyers who sit on the commission are poised to launch a three-year plan which will address a range of issues connected with Jersey law. As commission chairman Clive Chaplin has explained, this is part of an attempt to make the commission’s work more systematic and to engage with the public more effectively.
Although it is unlikely that the lay public will inundate the experts with a huge number of suggestions about laws which might be beyond their sell-by date, other aspects of the commission’s inquiries will strike a chord. For example, an examination of the costs of going to law will be widely welcomed.
Legal advice is seldom cheap in any jurisdiction, but it is possible that the nature of the modern legal profession in Jersey – which focuses to a large extent on financial services – means that fees for domestic legal services are dragged upwards by the high-value work which is now the standard stock in trade.
It is, meanwhile, entirely appropriate that the commission should look at the extent to which French is still used in legal matters. There are sound reasons to be proud of the Island’s legal heritage, which is so very different from England’s or Scotland’s, but we must remain aware that times change, that the law is meant to serve people rather than itself, and that change is sometimes necessary.
In some people’s eyes, the Law Commission might appear to be a remote body with scant relevance to everyday life. That would be to underestimate its importance and the significance of its present plans.
If the commission produces a report which leads to legislation and the practice of law in his Island meeting the 21st century needs of all Islanders more perfectly, it will, without doubt, prove its worth.
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