Number 23 of 2015 Statute Law Revision Act 2015 Number 23 of 2015 STATUTE LAW REVISION ACT 2015 CONTENTS Section 1. Interpretation 2. General statute law revision revocation and saver 3. Specific revocations 4. Assignment of citations 5. Savings 6. Amendment of sections 2 and 3 of Statutory Instruments Act 1947 7. Evidence of certain instruments and designation of specified institution 8. Transfer of functions under section 8 of Statute Law Revision Act 2007 9. Short title and collective citations SCHEDULE 1 INSTRUMENTS RETAINED IN FORCE Part 1 IRISH INSTRUMENTS 1169 TO 1800 Part 2 INSTRUMENTS OF ENGLAND 1066 TO 1707 Part 3 INSTRUMENTS OF GREAT BRITAIN 1707 TO 1800 Part 4 INSTRUMENTS OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN IRELAND 1801 TO 1820 Part 5 UNITED KINGDOM INSTRUMENTS 1801 TO 1820 1 [No. 23.] Statute Law Revision Act 2015. [2015.] SCHEDULE 2 Part 1 IRISH INSTRUMENTS 1169 TO 1800 Part 2 INSTRUMENTS OF ENGLAND 1066 TO 1707 Part 3 INSTRUMENTS OF GREAT BRITAIN 1707 TO 1800 Part 4 INSTRUMENTS OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT IN IRELAND 1801 TO 1820 Part 5 UNITED KINGDOM INSTRUMENTS 1801 TO 1820 2 [2015.] Statute Law Revision Act 2015. [No. 23.] ACTS REFERRED TO Defence (Amendment) Act 1990 (No. 6) Defence Act 1954 (No. 18) Documentary Evidence Act 1868 (31 & 32 Vict.) c. 37 Documentary Evidence Act 1882 (45 & 46 Vict.) c. 9 Evidence Act 1845 (8 & 9 Vict.) c. 113 Interpretation Act 2005 (No. 23) Short Titles Acts 1896 to 2012 Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict.) c. 98 Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict.) c. 57 Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict.) c. 24 Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict.) c. 57 Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict.) c. 51 Statute Law Revision (No. 2) Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict.) c. 54 Statute Law Revision (Pre-1922) Act 2005 (No. 32) Statute Law Revision (Pre-Union Irish Statutes) Act 1962 (No. 29) Statute Law Revision (Substituted Enactments) Act 1876 (39 & 40 Vict.) c. 20 Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict.) c. 101 Statute Law Revision Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict.) c. 59 Statute Law Revision Act 1870 (33 & 34 Vict.) c. 69 Statute Law Revision Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict.) c. 116 Statute Law Revision Act 1872 (35 & 36 Vict.) c. 63 Statute Law Revision Act 1872 (No. 2) (35 & 36 Vict.) c. 97 Statute Law Revision Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict.) c. 91 Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (37 & 38 Vict.) c. 35 Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (No. 2) (37 & 38 Vict.) c. 96 Statute Law Revision Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict.) c. 66 Statute Law Revision Act 1878 (41 & 42 Vict.) c. 79 Statute Law Revision Act 1883 (46 & 47 Vict.) c. 39 Statute Law Revision Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict.) c. 59 Statute Law Revision Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict.) c. 3 Statute Law Revision Act 1890 (53 & 54 Vict.) c. 33 Statute Law Revision Act 1891 (54 & 55 Vict.) c. 67 Statute Law Revision Act 1892 (55 & 56 Vict.) c. 19 Statute Law Revision Act 1893 (56 & 57 Vict.) c. 14 Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict.) c. 56 Statute Law Revision Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict.) c. 22 3 [No. 23.] Statute Law Revision Act 2015. [2015.] Statute Law Revision Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7) c. 49 Statute Law Revision Act 1983 (No. 11) Statute Law Revision Act 2007 (No. 28) Statute Law Revision Act 2009 (No. 46) Statute Law Revision Act 2012 (No. 19) Statutory Instruments (Amendment) Act 1955 (No. 26) Statutory Instruments Act 1947 (No. 44) 4 Number 23 of 2015 STATUTE LAW REVISION ACT 2015 An Act to promote the revision of statute law by revoking, with the exception of certain instruments, every instrument made before 1 January 1821, to identify those instruments that are not being revoked by this Act, to assign citations to those instruments so as to facilitate their citation, to amend the Statutory Instruments Act 1947, to provide a means by which prima facie evidence of certain instruments may be given, to transfer certain functions under the Statute Law Revision Act 2007 and to provide for related matters. [18th July, 2015.] Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows: Interpretation 1. In this Act— “Act of 2005” means the Interpretation Act 2005; “instrument” means— (a) an order, regulation, rule, bye-law, scheme or proclamation, (b) any similar instrument (including a warrant, licence, certificate, direction, notice or guideline) of a regulatory, general or public nature, howsoever described, other than a charter or letters patent, or (c) any instrument referred to in Schedule 2, which was made in exercise of a power conferred by or under a statute, instrument, charter, administrative authority or executive authority including a prerogative power, or which was published in, or notice of the making of which was published in, the Dublin Gazette or the London Gazette; “made” includes issued, granted or otherwise created; “Minister” means the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform; “statute” includes, where the context allows, a royal ordinance, charter or similar document that— (a) is of a public and general nature, and (b) by virtue of its antiquity and having been granted or otherwise made before or during the development of the parliamentary system, is judicially noticed as having the force and effect of an Act of Parliament. 5 [No. 23.] Statute Law Revision Act 2015. [2015.] General statute law revision revocation and saver 2. (1) Subject to subsection (2), all instruments made before 1 January 1821 that are in force in the State immediately before the passing of this Act are revoked. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to— (a) the instruments specified in Schedule 1, or (b) any saving, or any transitional or continuing matter, provided for or in respect of an instrument revoked by or under— (i) any instrument made, or (ii) any statute passed, before the passing of this Act. (3) Subsection (2)(b) is without prejudice to section 27 of the Act of 2005 and section 5. (4) The inclusion of an instrument in Schedule 1 shall not confer any statutory effect on the instrument or restrict the exercise of any power to amend or revoke that instrument. (5) An instrument specified in column (3) of Schedule 1, opposite a reference number specified in column (1) of that Schedule, may be revoked by an order made by the Minister of the Government specified in column (5) of that Schedule opposite that reference number. (6) Subsection (5) is without prejudice to any other power of revocation, including section 22(3) of the Act of 2005. (7) An order under subsection (5) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if either such House, within the next 21 days on which the House sits after the order is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the order, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it. Specific revocations 3. (1) For ease of reference, there is set out in Schedule 2 a list of instruments made before 1 January 1821 which— (a) were not wholly revoked before the passing of this Act, and (b) are not saved by virtue of section 2(2)(a), and for the purposes of this subsection “wholly revoked” includes an instrument to which section 2(2)(b) relates. (2) The fact that an instrument, other than an instrument to which section 2(2)(a) relates, is not referred to in Schedule 2 shall not be read as saving or continuing such instrument for any purpose other than as provided for by or referred to in section 2(2) (b). 6 [2015.] Statute Law Revision Act 2015. S.3 [No. 23.] (3) The inclusion of an instrument in Schedule 2 shall not be taken as evidence that the instrument, or any provision of it, was of full force and effect immediately before the passing of this Act. Assignment of citations 4. In respect of each instrument specified in column (1) in any Part of Schedule 1, each such instrument may be cited by the citation assigned to it in column (4) of the Part concerned opposite the mention of that instrument in column (3). Savings 5. (1) This Act does not affect any existing principle or rule of law or equity or any established jurisdiction, form or course of pleading, practice or procedure or any existing trust, notwithstanding that it may have been in any manner derived from, affirmed or recognised by any instrument revoked by this Act. (2) Where any instrument not revoked by this Act, or statute, has been commenced, applied, confirmed, revived or perpetuated by a revoked instrument, such commencement, application, confirmation, revival or perpetuation is not affected by the revocation. Amendment of sections 2 and 3 of Statutory Instruments Act 1947 6. The Statutory Instruments Act 1947 is amended— (a) in section 2— (i) by inserting after subsection (2) the following: “(2A) Statutory instruments made under any of— (a) sections 17, 21 to 23, 25 to 27, 29, 33, 35, 36(3) as respects revocation orders, 37 to 49, 53, 55, 56, 60 to 68, 70, 72, 73, 75, 80 to 82, 84, 86 to 88, 90, 92 to 94, 97, 98, 100, 102, 103, 114 to 117, 180, 182, 184, 243, 244, 246, 290 and 292 of the Defence Act 1954, or (b) sections 2 and 5 of the Defence (Amendment) Act 1990, shall not be instruments to which this Act primarily applies.”, (ii) by repealing subsections (3) and (4), and (iii) in subsection (5)— (I) in paragraph (a), by deleting “or direction”, and (II) in paragraph (b), by deleting “or direction” in both places where it occurs, and 7 S.6 [No.