3 - Checklist
Summary of The Main Questions to be Considered When Establishing a Law Reform Agency
Organisation
Creation
Should the law reform agency be created by statute or by some other means?
Financial resources
- What should be the level of funding?
- Who should provide the necessary financial resources?
Governing personnel
- Should commissioners be full-time or part-time?
- How many commissioners should the law reform agency have?
- Should commissioners come exclusively from the legal profession?
- Should commissioners be paid?
Research personnel
- Should there be a permanent legal research staff?
- Should there be reliance on external experts?
- Is there a role for advisory bodies?
Nature and scope of work
- What should be the law reform agency's mandate?
- How should the mandate be determined?
- Should a law reform agency undertake both long-term and short-term projects?
Independence and accountability
- To whom should the law reform agency report?
- What should be the agency's relationship with elected representatives?
- What should be the agency's relationship with the legal profession?
- What should be the role of academics in the law reform process?
- What should be the agency's relationship with the civil service?
Operation
Research programs
Is a large-scale research program necessary or desirable?
Method of work
What should be the steps in the process by which the law reform agency conducts its work?
Form of report
- Should the reports produced by the agency only provide recommendations for reform, or should they also explain why reform is needed?
- Should draft legislation be included with the final report?
Assessment of success
- Should legislative change alone be a measure of success?
- Should there be a formal procedure to ensure that law reform proposals are considered?
