Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.

In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.{{Cite book |last=Ilbert |first=Courtenay |author-link=Courtenay Ilbert |url=https://archive.org/details/legislativemetho00ilbeiala/page/56 |title=Legislative methods and forms |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1901 |location=Oxford |pages=43–76 |language=en |access-date=9 September 2024}} {{Source-attribution}} From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done.{{Cite Hansard|title=Consolidation Bills|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Lords|date=5 June 1967|volume=283|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1967-06-05/debates/bf2ce8b2-4c99-4e79-8f57-fa6c8a9a2c05/ConsolidationBills|column=179|speaker=Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner}}

At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, Lord Cranworth announced his intention to the improvement of the statute law and in March 1853, appointed the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal expired statutes and continue consolidation, with a wider remit that included civil law. The Board issued three reports dated 18 August 1853, 31 January 1854 and 2 June 1854, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform.

In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law. The Commission made four reports.

An alternative approach, focusing on expunging obsolete laws from the statute book, followed by consolidation, was proposed by Peter Locke King MP, who was heavily critical of the expenditure of the Commission and the lack of results.{{Cite hansard|title=Supply—Miscellaneous Estimates|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Commons|date=2 June 1856|volume=142|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1856-06-02/debates/941919a6-49da-4d77-862d-180d89f77c54/Supply%E2%80%94MiscellaneousEstimates|column_start=865|column_end=880}}

The Sleeping Statutes Bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 29 April 1856,{{Cite Hansard|title=House Of Commons|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House Of Commons|date=29 April 1856|volume=141|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1856-04-29/debates/6f3750c0-e06a-443e-8871-36081c015929/HouseOfCommons|column=1702}} introduced by Peter Locke King {{Postnominals|country=GBR|MP}}.{{Cite book |last=Commons |first=Great Britain Parliament House of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MRs6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA167 |title=Journals of the House of Commons |date=1856 |publisher=By order of the House of Commons. |volume=111 |pages=167 |language=en}} The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 7 May 1856 and was committed to a committee of the whole house,{{Cite Hansard|title=House Of Commons|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House Of Commons|date=7 May 1856|volume=142|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1856-05-07/debates/95a6cad1-e7dd-488f-9314-58833cc5c79e/HouseOfCommons?highlight=%22sleeping%20statutes%22#contribution-a4e4ecd7-82bd-4c3e-8c13-4d5001c03a61|column=137}} which met and reported without amendments on 20 May 1856. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 5 June 1856.{{Cite Hansard|title=House of Commons|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Commons|date=5 June 1856|volume=142|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1856-06-05/debates/5c78b9e7-ad5f-4970-85ea-a474ac78f786/HouseOfCommons?highlight=%22sleeping%20statutes%22#contribution-9e08f837-a5c5-49b9-8c9a-3353ee62c5c3}}

The bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 6 June 1856.{{Cite hansard|title=Minutes|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Lords|date=6 June 1856|volume=142|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1856-06-06/debates/cbf6b282-5acc-49fc-9d6e-f9741d0399de/HouseOfLords|column=1054}} The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 24 June 1856, introduced by Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue.{{Cite Hansard|title=Sleeping Statutes Bill|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Lords|date=24 June 1856|volume=142|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/1856-06-24/debates/532a0463-e50e-44ba-9bd4-14e27a9fdfc4/SleepingStatutesBill|page=1895}} The bill was supported by George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll and the Lord Chancellor, Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth. A similar process for Irish statutes was suggested, leading to the Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1872. The bill was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 27 June 1856 and reported with amendments on 1 July 1856, renaming the bill to the "Statutes not in Use Repeal".{{Cite book |last=Lords |first=Great Britain Parliament House of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLMf0I8tiWMC&pg=PP319 |title=Journals of the House of Lords |date=1856 |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |pages=319,337 |language=en}} The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 8 July 1856 with further amendments made.{{Cite hansard|title=Statutes not in Use Repeal|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Lords|date=8 July 1856|volume=143|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1856-07-08/debates/c52ecfa4-d7e1-443d-a387-76ccfda738dc/HouseOfLords|column=490}}

The amended bill was considered by the House of Commons on 17 July 1856, which agreed to the change of the short title to "Statutes not in Use Repeal".

The bill was granted royal assent on 21 July 1856.{{Cite hansard|title=Minutes|jurisdiction=Parliament of the United Kingdom|house=House of Lords|date=21 July 1856|volume=143|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/1856-07-21/debates/7437ef2f-5a92-4a6a-a889-87b2c17fe2fc/HouseOfLords|column=1064}}

The whole act was itself repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict. c. 66).

The act repealed 120 obsolete acts that had been deemed unnecessary by the Statute Law Commission. In addition to the explicitly listed acts, any act "confirming, continuing, or perpetuating the same" were also repealed.

• Statute Law Revision Act

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Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1856

Category:Repealed United Kingdom Acts of Parliament

Category:Statute Law Revision Acts