LAW REVISION 1 THE LAW REVISION ACT ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 1. Short title. 2. Interpretation. 3. Appointment and remuneration of Commissioners. 4. Duty of Commissioners to revise laws. 5. Revised Laws to be published in loose-leaf form. 6. Inclusion in or removal of pages from Revised Laws. 7. Validity of Revised Laws. 8. Contents of Revised Laws. 9. Laws or parts of laws may be omitted, and shall continue in force. 10. Revised Laws to be prepared as at the prescribed date and thereafter annually kept up to date 11. Powers of Commissioners. 12. Limitation of Commissioners’ powers. 13. Construction of references to laws embodied in Revised Laws. 14. Expenses. SCHEDULES 1 Feinclusion of this page is authorized by L.N. 480/1973] LAW REVISION 3 Act THE LAW REVISION ACT 42 01 1969. [23rd December, 1969.1 1. This Act may be cited as the Law Revision Act. Short title. 2. In this Act unless the context otherwise requires- himm tation. “Commissioner” means a Statute Law Commissioner appointed by the Governor-General under section 3; “Commonwealth laws” means Acts and other in- struments of a Commonwealth country (other than Jamaica) having legislative effect in Jamaica and includes any law applied to Jamaica by any such Act or other instrument; “laws” means Laws, Acts, regulations and other subsidiary legislation and includes Commonwealth laws; “prescribed year” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (3) of section 10. 3.41) The Governor-General shall appoint one or Appoint- ment and more fit and proper persons as Commissioners for the remmcra. purposes of this Act, to be known as the “Statute Law ,!$AfiS- Commissioners”. 91a. (2) In case any of the Commissioners shall from any cause be unable fully to discharge his commission under this Act, the Governor-General may appoint some other fit and proper person to be a Commissioner in his stead. (3) There shall be paid to the Commissioners such salaries or remuneration as may be determined by the Minister. IThe inclusion of thia page is suthorized by L.N. 480/19731 4 LAW REVISlON Duty of 4. It shall be the duty of the Commissioners to cause Commis- sioners to to be prepared, maintained and published an edition of revise laws. the laws of Jamaica in accordance with the provisions of this Act, which edition shall be known for all purposes as the “Revised Laws of Jamaica”. Revised 5.41) The Revised Laws of Jamaica (hereafter referred Laws to he published in to as “the Revised Laws”) shall be published in loose- loose-leaf form leaf form or in such other form as the Commissioners may determine and shall comprise such pages as may be authorized to be included therein by order of the Minister made under section 6. (2) Every page comprised in the Revised Laws shall bear a reference to the order by which its inclusion therein was authorized. Inclusionin 6.41) It shall be lawful for the Minister by order or removal of Pages published in the Gazette to authorize the inclusion in the from Reviscd Revised Laws of each page to be comprised therein. Laws. (2) Any order made under this section may authorize the removal from the Revised Laws of any page- (a) which has been replaced by a new page authorizd by such an order to be included therein; or (b) in any case where the provisions contained in that page may be omitted from the Revised Laws by the Commissioners by virtue of the powers con- ferred on them by this Act. (3) The inclusion in or removal from the Revised Laws of a page by the authority of an order made under this section shall have effect from such date as the Minister , shall declare in the order. Validity of 7. Subject to the provisions of section 9 and section 12, RC”i*od LWS. the pages of the Revised Laws shall from the date declared - [The inclusion of this page is authorized by L.N 480/19731 LAW REVlSION 5 in the order or orders by which their inclusion was authorized, be in all courts and for all purposes whatsu- ever deemed to be and shall be the sole and proper Statute Book of Jamaica in respect of the laws contained therein, other than Commonwealth laws : Provided that nothing in this section shall affect the operation of any provision in a law (in relation to which pages have not been included in the Revised Laws) which repeals or amends any law for the time being contained in the Revised Laws, or modifies the construction or application of any provision of any such law. 8. The Revised Laws shall subject to the provisions of Contentsof Revised this Act contain- Laws. (a) as far as practicable every Law or Act in force, and which was enacted prior to the date declared pursuant to subsection (3) of section 6 in the last order made by the Minister under that section other than Laws or Acts omitted under the authority of this Act; (b) such regulations or other subsidiary legislation in force, and which were made prior to such last-mentioned date as the Commissioners think fit to include therein; (c) any Commonwealth laws which the Commis- sioners think fit to include therein; (d) a chronological list of Laws and Acts (with con- version table), a table of contents and an index: Provided that where a page has been authorized to be included in the Revised Laws by an order made by the Minister other than an order made authorizing the inclu- sion of pages prepared pursuant to subsection (1) of phe inclusion of this page is authorized by L.N. 480/1973] 6 LAW REVISION section 10, it shall not be necessary to authorize by such first-mentioned order the inclusion in the Revised Laws of any Act enacted subsequent to the 31st day of Decem- ber of the prescribed year. Laws or 9.-(1) It shall not be necessary for the Commissioners parts of laws may to include in the Revised Laws- be omiltkd, and shall (a) the laws specified in the First Schedule; conlinue in force. (b) those parts of the laws mentioned in the first and First second columns of the Second Schedule which are Schedule. Seomd specified in the third column of the said Schedule; Schedule. (c) any current financial appropriation Act; (d) any law containing only special provision in relation to the pension of any person named therein; or (e) any enactment making provision in relation to the application or non-application of any law of Jamaica to the Turks and Caicos Islands or the Cayman Islands as Dependencies or otherwise: Provided, however, that the said Acts, laws, or enact- ments shall remain in force until the same shall have been repealed or shall have expired or become spent or had their effect. (2) The Minister may by order published in the First and Gazetre vary or add to the First and Second Schedules Second Schedules. or either of them. Revised 10.-(1) As soon as practicable after the 31st day of Laws to be ppared as December of the prescribed year and thereafter of each at the pre- scribed date succeeding year it shall be the duty of the Commissioners and there- to prepare in accordance with the provisions of Act after this aMudly the necessary pages for inclusion in the Revised Laws so kept up to date. that it may contain all the laws which are required or me inclusion of this page is authorized by L.N. 480119731 LAW REVlSION 7 authorized by the provisions of this Act to be included therein and are in force on that date. (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to- (a) prevent the Commissioners from preparing pages for inclusion in the Revised Laws at more frequent intervals; (b) prevent the Minister from authorizing by Order under and in accordance with section 6 the inclu- sion in the Revised Laws of any pages and the removal therefrom of any pages. (3) In this Act “prescribed year” means the year 1969 or any other year which the Minister may prescribe in substitution therefor.* 11.-(1) In the preparation of the Revised Laws the Powersor Commis- Commissioners shall have the following powers, that is to smnm.. say- (a) to omit- (i) all laws or parts of laws which have been repealed or revoked expressly or speci- fically or by necessary implication, or which have expired or have become spent or have had their effect; (ii) all repealing or revoking enactments con- tained in laws and also all tables and lists of repealed or revoked enactments, whether contained in Schedules or otherwise; (iii) all preambles and long titles to laws, where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioners, be conveniently made; (iv) all words of enactment in any law or sec- tion of a law; ‘L.N.N. 275/1970, 173/1971, 137/1972, 429/1973. me inclusion of this page is authorized by LH. 480/1973] 8 LAW REVISION (v) all enactments prescribing the date when, or the manner in which, any law or part of any law is to come into force, where such omission can, in the opinion of the Commissioners, conveniently be made; (vi) all amending laws or parts thereof, where the amendments effected thereby have been embodied by the Commissioners in the laws to which they relate; (vii) all enactments providing for the validation of acts or indemnity or alterations as to names, localities, offices, titles or ranks where such alterations have been embodied by the Commissioners in the laws to which they relate; (viii) transitional provisions relating to the vest- ing or transfer of assets and liabilities or enactments providing for the continuance in force of existing regulations and other instruments or the validation thereof; (b) to arrange the laws by chapters in such order and manner as the Commissioners may determine and to leave unallocated such chapter numbers as they consider may be required for future enactments; and to attach appropriate marginal references at the head of each chapter; (c) to consolidate into one law any two or more laws in pari rnareria, making the alterations thereby rendered necessary in the consolidated law and affixing if necessary such date thereto as may Seem most convenient; (d) to alter the order of sections h, or Schedules to, any law and, in any case where it is necessary to do so, to renumber the sections or Schedules; [The inclusion of this page iS authorized by L.N.