Law Commission of India

About Law Commission of India:

• It is a non-statutory bodyand is constituted by a notification of the Government of India, Ministry of Law & Justice.
• It is constituted with definite terms of reference to carry out research in the field of law, and the Commission makes recommendations to the Government (in the form of Reports) as per its terms of reference.
• It functions to the Ministry of Law and Justice as an advisory body.
• History:
  • The first pre-independence law commission was established in 1834 by the British Government in India.
  • It was established by the Charter Act of 1833and was chaired by Lord Macaulay.
  • The first Law Commission of independent India was established in 1955 under the chairmanship of the former Attorney General for India,  C. Setalvad.
  • This Commission was created for a period of three years, and this practice has persisted ever since then, resulting in the reconstitution of Law Commissions every three years via executive orders.
• How is the Law Commission Created?
  • A law commission is created when the Union government passes a resolution for the formation a new commission after the expiry of the last one.
  • After the resolution is passed, and the President gives assent to it, the government has the liberty to choose the chairperson for the new commission.
• Functioning:
  • The Commission works on projects based on the references received from the Central Government and/or from the Supreme Court and High Courts.
  • At times, keeping in view the importance of the subject matter, the Commission initiates studies on specific subjects, suo moto.
  • The Commission is aided in its work on the legal side by the law officers of the Indian Legal Service and on the administrative side by the officers of the Central Secretariat Service.
  • The Commission always welcomes suggestions from any person, institution, or organization on the issues under consideration of the Commission.
• Reports:
  • The Reports of the Law Commission are laid in Parliament from time to time by the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice, and forwarded to the concerned administrative Departments/Ministries for implementation.
  • They are acted upon by concerned Departments/Ministries depending on the Government’s decision.
  • Invariably, the reports are cited in Courts, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and academic and public discourses.