Law Commission of India

• Retired High Court Chief Justice Rituraj Awasthi has been named Chairperson of India's 22nd Law Commission, which was established in 2020.

What is the Indian Law Commission?

• The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body established from time to time by the Government of India.
• The first independent Indian Law Commission was established in 1955 for a three-year term.
• The first Law Commission, chaired by Lord Macaulay, was established during the British Raj era in 1834 by the Charter Act of 1833.
• It serves as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice.
• The Law Commission conducts legal research and reviews existing laws in India in order to reform them and enact new legislation, either on the recommendation of the Central Government or on its own initiative.
• The commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary, in addition to a full-time chairperson.
• Ex-officio members of the commission will be the Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry.
• It will also have a maximum of five part-time members.
• The Commission will be led by a retired Supreme Court judge or a Chief Justice of a High Court.

What are the Commission's Key Recommendations?

• In its 262nd Report, the Law Commission advocated for the abolition of the death penalty for all crimes except terrorism-related offences and waging war against the state.
• It proposed simultaneous Lok Sabha and state assembly elections in its electoral reform report (1999) to improve governance and stability.
• The Law Commission of India also proposed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.
• In its 2018 recommendation, the 21st Law Commission stated that a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is "neither necessary nor desirable at this stage."
• The centre has now requested that the 22nd Law Commission of India investigate various issues related to the matter.

Syllabus subtopic: Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

Prelims and Mains focus: about the commission: composition and functions

News: The Union Cabinet gave its approval to set up the 22nd Law Commission. The Law Ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a three-year term.

Background

• In 2015, a proposal was mooted to make the law panel into a permanent body either through an Act of Parliament or an executive order (resolution of the Union Cabinet).

• The move was shelved after the Prime Minister’s Office preferred the existing system to continue. In 2010, the then UPA government had prepared a draft Cabinet note to give statutory status to the commission but the idea did not take off.

About Law Commission of India

• Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government from time to time.

• Originally formed in 1955, the commission is reconstituted every three years and so far, 277 reports have been submitted to the government. The tenure of the twenty-first Law Commission ended in August 2018.

Composition:

• Chairperson: A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court.

• Apart from a full-time chairperson, the commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary.

• The Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be ex-officio members of the commission.

• It will also have not more than five part-time members.

Functions

• The Law Commission advises the government on complex legal issues.

• The Law Commission shall, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo motu, undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms and enacting new legislation.

• It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation, etc..

21^st Law Commission

• The previous Law Commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd.), had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies and a uniform civil code.

• While it supported simultaneous elections, the commission had said the time for a common code was not yet ripe.