23rd Law Commission of India

September 3, 2024

President Droupadi Murmu has approved the creation of the 23rd Law Commission of India. This new commission will be active from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2027. The decision comes as the 22nd Law Commission’s term ends, and there were delays in pending reports due to the lack of a chairperson.

Structure of the Commission

The 23rd Law Commission will consist of the following members:

Chairperson: A full-time leader who will head the commission.
Full-Time Members: Four full-time members, including a Member-Secretary.
Ex-Officio Members: Two members who are Secretaries of the Legal and Legislative Departments.
Part-Time Members: Up to five part-time members.

The main purpose of the Law Commission is to review the Indian legal system and suggest improvements. They focus on making laws more effective and relevant to current needs.

Pending Issues from Previous Commission

The 22nd Law Commission faced difficulties after its Chairman, Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, resigned. This led to delays in addressing important topics like the Uniform Civil Code and the idea of holding elections simultaneously across the country.

Terms of Reference for the 23rd Commission

The 23rd Law Commission has several key objectives:

Review and Repeal of Obsolete Laws: Identifying old laws that are no longer needed and suggesting their removal. They will also develop a process to review laws regularly.
Law and Poverty: Evaluating how laws affect economically disadvantaged people and suggesting changes to benefit them.
Judicial Administration: Finding ways to reduce court delays and make the legal process more efficient.
Directive Principles and Constitutional Objectives: Ensuring that current laws align with the Directive Principles of State Policy, which guide the government’s policies.
Gender Equality: Proposing changes to laws to promote equality between men and women.
Revision of Central Acts: Simplifying important Central Acts (laws passed by the Parliament) to make them easier to understand and apply.
Government References: Handling specific legal issues referred to them by the government.
International Research Assistance: Providing legal research support to other countries.
Globalization Impact: Assessing how globalization affects key social issues, such as food security.

Additional Provisions

The Commission will make recommendations after consulting relevant stakeholders. These recommendations will be documented in both Hindi and English and will be accessible online. The Commission will also work with educational institutions to support legal research and education initiatives.

« Previous Post Next Post »