ANOMALIES SEEN

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21759, 16 April 1936, Page 11

ANOMALIES SEEN

NEWS ZEALAND* STATUTE. : ! ■ ■liA.'W: "--■'■ ■. •' JUR W. J, SIM ADDRESSER LEGAL CONFERENCE :x- , \ - ~"' .■.:..* tTHE PRESS Special Service.] DUNEDIN, April 15. Numerous anomalies in the statute law of the Dominion were mentioned by Mr W. J. Sim,"of Christchurch, in a paper on law reform which he read to-night before the Dominion Legal Conference. There was need, Mr Sim said, for constant supervision and amendment by an authority not shackled by precedent. There was scope for,the enquiring mind that could look at the law afresh and with new energy. The question arose as to whose duty it was to consider from time to time how far the law in any particular respect was out of step with modern conditions. Mr Sim made it clear that he intended no reflection on the legislature. Most of the subjects to which he referred were of a special nature, and unsuited for discussion on the floor of the House. He referred in detail to recent reforms in law in England and said there was a large field in New Zealand for enquiry as to where in many respects our law had lagged behind England, or was in need of improvement; and he suggested that a committee should be set up comprising men of weight and learning to assist the law officers of the Crown, and that to this committee should be entrusted the consideration df all matters affecting the administration of justice and the reform of law. .___., The law could, said Mr Sim, by adherence to precedent, find itself nra position where it could not reflect the thought of the day, and the occasion then arose for legislative assistance. It was a commonplace that times were changing, but it was not so widely recognised that the rate of change had been greatly accelerated in recent ye Mr'Sim said that since 1925 in New Zealand 587 public acts and 227 personal and private acts had been passed, an average of 74 a session. There were various classes of legislation. One section, relating to the State, its assets and responsibilities, local body legislation and that concerning other corporate institutions discharging public functions, could be assigned 300 acts. The type of legislation seemed endless and without finality. ■• Another type included about iw acts referring to the supervision and control o'f industry, agriculture, and private services. Those acts were fostered by some special interest, and the absence of any such interest having a definite object might account for the diminutive output in a final classlegislation affecting the administration of justice, including procedure and dispatch of business in the courts, and legislation affecting rules of substantive law.

Progress in England In England, the Statute Law Revision Act of 1927 addressed itself to spent legislation, and repealed, wholly or in part, at one stroke, 755 acts. It was typical of an energetic spirit of reform determined to revitalise the law. The year 1932 marked the biggest advances. .. _ The "Business Courts" Committee was set up, with a personnel compounded entirely of eminent names in the profession, men of very great authority. Some of its recommendations were of a drastic nature, and included the advocacy of the abolition of grand juries, and the restriction of trial by jury in civil cases. The recommendations were given effect in the Administration of Justice Act, 1933. The paper dealt in detail with other sweeping English reforms, based on recommendations of committees of high legal standing. A Royal Commission had also dealt with the matter in England. Some Suggestions Mr Sim suggested that most practitioners of experience in New Zealand could make some contribution toward an improvement, if there existed a constituted body with a duty to receive and consider such suggestions.One suggestion would be the consideration of whether justice should be one of the revenue-making departments of the State, as at present. On present results, were not court lees too high, and should litigants be so taxed? Another was that judges might be relieved of much routine chamber work which could be entrusted to registrars, who in the cities should occupy positions equal to masters in England. At the present time, he said, there was no avenue of approach to legal reform. \ An interesting discussion followed, in which the Attorney-General (the Hon. H. G. R. Mason) took' part. Mr Mason said that a number of the reforms to which Mr Sim had referred were already under consideration, and were receiving the attention of the parliamentary law draftsman. He undertook that careful attention would be given to the reforms which Mr Sim and other speakers had mentioned. There was a constant need for vigilance, he said, in keeping the law up to date, and he had every sympathy with the suggestions which had been made.