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REPORT FOURTH PROGRAMME OF LAW REFORM (LRC 110 – 2013) © COPYRIGHT Law Reform Commission FIRST PUBLISHED November 2013 ISSN 1393-3132 LAW REFORM COMMISSION’S ROLE The Law Reform Commission is an independent statutory body established by the Law Reform Commission Act 1975. The Commission’s principal role is to keep the law under review and to make proposals for reform, in particular by recommending the enactment of legislation to clarify and modernise the law. Since it was established, the Commission has published 190 documents (Working Papers, Consultation Papers, Issues Papers and Reports) containing proposals for law reform and these are all available at www.lawreform.ie. Most of these proposals have contributed in a significant way to the development and enactment of reforming legislation. The Commission’s role is carried out primarily under a Programme of Law Reform. This Fourth Programme of Law Reform was prepared by the Commission following broad consultation and discussion. In accordance with the 1975 Act, it was approved by the Government in October 2013 and placed before both Houses of the Oireachtas. The Commission also works on specific matters referred to it by the Attorney General under the 1975 Act. The Commission’s Access to Legislation project makes legislation in its current state (as amended rather than as enacted) more easily accessible to the public in three main outputs: the Legislation Directory, the Classified List and the Revised Acts. The Legislation Directory comprises electronically searchable indexes of amendments to primary and secondary legislation and important related information. The Classified List is a separate list of all Acts of the Oireachtas that remain in force organised under 36 major subject-matter headings. Revised Acts bring together all amendments and changes to an Act in a single text. The Commission provides online access to selected Revised Acts that were enacted before 2006 and Revised Acts are available for all Acts enacted from 2006 onwards (other than Finance and Social Welfare Acts) that have been textually amended. iii MEMBERSHIP The Law Reform Commission consists of a President, one full-time Commissioner and three part-time Commissioners. The Commissioners are: President: Mr Justice John Quirke Former Judge of the High Court Full-time Commissioner: Finola Flanagan, Barrister-at-Law Part-time Commissioner: Marie Baker, Senior Counsel Part-time Commissioner: Donncha O’Connell, Professor of Law Part-time Commissioner: Thomas O’Malley, Barrister-at-Law iv LAW REFORM RESEARCH STAFF Director of Research: Raymond Byrne BCL, LLM (NUI), Barrister-at-Law Legal Researchers: Kerri McGuigan LLB (Dub), LLM (UCL), Attorney-at-Law (New York) Karen McLaughlin LLB (Ling Germ) (Dub), LLM (QUB) Sarahrose Murphy BCL (NUI), LLM (NUI), Barrister-at-law Fiona O’Regan BCL, LLM, PhD (NUI) Denise Roche BCL (Int.), Solicitor Mary Travers BA (Law), LLM (NUI) ACCESS TO LEGISLATION Project Manager: Alma Clissmann, BA (Mod), LLB, Dip Eur Law (Bruges), Solicitor Deputy Project Manager: Jane Murphy LLB (UL), LLM (NUI), Barrister-at-Law Legal Researchers: Aileen O’Leary BCL (NUI), LLM (NUI), AITI, Solicitor Morgan Harris LLB (UKC), Barrister-at-Law v ADMINISTRATION STAFF Head of Administration: Ciara Carberry Executive Officer: Deirdre Fleming Staff Officer: Annmarie Cowley Clerical Officers: Ann Browne Joe Cooke Liam Dargan Legal Information Manager: Órla Gillen, BA, MLIS PRINCIPAL LEGAL RESEARCHERS FOR THIS REPORT Kate McGovern LLB (Dub), LLM (Edin), Barrister-at-Law Emma Roche-Cagney BCL (Clinical) (NUI), LLM (NUI) vi CONTACT DETAILS Further information can be obtained from: Head of Administration Law Reform Commission 35-39 Shelbourne Road Ballsbridge Dublin 4 Telephone: +353 1 637 7600 Fax: +353 1 637 7601 Email: [email protected] Website: www.lawreform.ie vii FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT It is a privilege for my fellow Commissioners and me to introduce this Fourth Programme of Law Reform. The content of the Programme is the result of an extensive consultation process which began in the second half of 2012 and which continued well into 2013. The Commission is especially grateful to the large number of individuals and bodies from all parts of Ireland who took the time and trouble to submit written submissions and suggestions (listed in the Appendix to this Report) on areas of law which might usefully be included in the Programme. The Commission wishes to ensure that the projects selected for inclusion in the Programme will truly reflect the current and anticipated needs of Irish society and will be capable of completion within a relatively short time period. As a result, the Commission decided to propose 11 projects for inclusion in this new Fourth Programme. The extensive consultation process which I have mentioned included the Commission’s Annual Conference 2012 at which we heard from a number of distinguished speakers. A key theme that emerged from that Conference was the need to explore in depth the question of corporate liability and regulatory enforcement, notably in the economic setting, and this is a project on which the Commission has already begun work. Another important theme that emerged during the consultation process and within the written submissions was the need for consolidation and indeed codification of our laws. The Commission is fully committed to this objective which has been an important part of all the Commission’s proposals for law reform since its foundation in 1975. The Commission’s commitment to codification is also complemented by its present work on Access to Legislation. The 11 projects in the Fourth Programme range over many key areas of law, including corporate and regulatory law, criminal law, international law, land law and statute law. Each of these projects will receive the Commission’s full and committed attention. Since my appointment as President of the Commission I have become increasingly conscious of the remarkable generosity demonstrated by so many individuals and bodies who willingly and voluntarily provide the Commission with their invaluable expertise, knowledge and experience. viii The Commission will continue to rely on the support of those whose interest in law reform greatly assists its work. We constantly seek and receive information and opinions from experts and non-governmental organisations in their areas of expertise and also from interested members of the public. Members of the legal profession and the judiciary assist us with their invaluable experience and knowledge of the law while other professions and disciplines provide us with their practical knowledge of how law impacts on Irish society in general. All these contributions add important dimensions to our deliberative processes as we seek to ensure that our laws remain relevant for Irish society now and into the foreseeable future. My fellow Commissioners and I greatly appreciate and are grateful for the significant and ongoing support which we have received from the Attorney General Máire Whelan SC during our term of office to date. We would like to thank also the members of her Consultative Committee who discussed and considered with great care the content of the draft Fourth Programme of Law Reform. We are also grateful for the consideration given to the draft Programme by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality and Defence, chaired by David Stanton TD. In conclusion we look forward to working through the 11 approved projects during the coming two years and to continuing the collaborative and consultative processes which we have begun in this latest phase of the important task of law reform. Mr Justice John Quirke President ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PART 1 THE FOURTH PROGRAMME OF LAW REFORM 1 (1) Corporate offences and regulatory enforcement 1 (2) Disclosure and discovery in criminal cases 2 (3) Sexual offences involving children 2 (4) Contempt of court and other offences and torts involving the administration of justice 3 (5) Suspended sentences 3 (6) Crime affecting personal safety, privacy and reputation, including cyber-bullying 3 (7) Aspects of succession law 4 (8) Compulsory acquisition of land 4 (9) Landlord and tenant law for residential tenancies 5 (10) Domestic implementation of international obligations 5 (11) Codification/Consolidation/Simplification of the Law 6 PART 2 BACKGROUND TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FOURTH PROGRAMME 7 A Functions of the Law Reform Commission 7 B Programmes of Law Reform 8 C Subject-Matter of Projects in the Third Programme 8 D Development of the Fourth Programme 9 (1) The context for the Fourth Programme 9 (2) Criteria used to select projects for the Fourth Programme 10 (3) Consultation process 11 (4) Content of the Fourth Programme of Law Reform as approved 12 (5) The Commission’s approach to the specific projects in the Fourth Programme 13 APPENDIX LIST OF WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS 15 xi 1 PART 1 THE FOURTH PROGRAMME OF LAW REFORM 1.01 In accordance with section 5(1) of the Law Reform Commission Act 1975, on 8 October 2013 the Government approved the Commission’s Fourth Programme of Law Reform. The 11 projects in the Fourth Programme are: 1. Corporate offences and regulatory enforcement; 2. Disclosure and discovery in criminal cases; 3. Sexual offences against children; 4. Contempt of court and other offences and torts involving the administration of justice; 5. Suspended sentences; 6. Crime affecting personal safety, privacy and reputation, including cyber-bullying; 7. Aspects of succession law; 8. Compulsory acquisition of land; 9. Landlord and tenant law for residential tenancies; 10. Domestic implementation of international obligations; 11. Codification/Consolidation/Simplification of the Law. 1.02 The Commission sets out below an abstract for each of the 11 Projects in the Fourth Programme of Law Reform. These abstracts will form the basis for the scoping and development of each project, including where relevant the preparation and publication of Issues Papers in order to inform the Commission’s analysis of the areas of law involved in the projects.