In the
United Kingdom,
acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.
Blackstone's
Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late
18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the
common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing
statute book. In 1806, the
Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825,
The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. On 16 March 1824, the
Select Committee on the Criminal Law in England was appointed to consider the expediency of consolidating and amending the
criminal law. The
select committee reported on 2 April 1824, resolving to consolidate the criminal law under several heads and to bring in Bills to do so. In 1827,
Peel's Acts were passed to modernise, consolidate and repeal provisions of the
criminal law, territorially limited to
England and Wales and
Scotland, including: •
Criminal Statutes Repeal Act 1827 (
7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 27), which repealed for
England and Wales over 140 enactments relating to the
criminal law. •
Criminal Law Act 1827 (
7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 28), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. •
Larceny Act 1827 (
7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to
larceny. •
Malicious Injuries to Property Act 1827 (
7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 30), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious
injuries to property. In 1828, parallel bills for
Ireland to
Peel's Acts were introduced, becoming: •
Criminal Statutes (Ireland) Repeal Act 1828 (
9 Geo. 4. 54), which repealed for
Ireland over 140 enactments relating to the
criminal law. •
Criminal Law (Ireland) Act 1828 (
9 Geo. 4. 54), which modernised the administration of criminal justice. •
Larceny (Ireland) Act 1828 (
9 Geo. 4. c. 55) which consolidated provisions in the law relating to
larceny. •
Malicious Injuries to Property (Ireland) Act 1828 (
9 Geo. 4. c. 56), which consolidated provisions in the law relating to malicious
injuries to property. In 1828, the
Offences Against the Person Act 1828 (
9 Geo. 4. c. 31) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to
offences against the person and repealed for
England and Wales almost 60 related enactments. In 1829, the
Offences Against the Person (Ireland) Act 1829 (
10 Geo. 4. c. 34) was passed, which consolidated provisions in the law relating to
offences against the person and repealed for
Ireland almost 60 enactments relating to the
Criminal law. By 1848, the institution of
justice of the peace in
England and Wales had fallen into disrepute in some legal circles and was dealing with a rapidly increasing case load, its statutory basis dating back to the
16th century. The system faced growing criticism, particularly regarding lay magistrates conducting jury trials, as even the quarter sessions chairmen who provided legal direction often lacked substantial legal expertise. This period also saw increasing complexity in regulatory law due to an active, reform-oriented Parliament. In 1848,
John Jervis was responsible for sponsoring, drafting and all but single-handedly guiding through the
House of Commons three bills to reform the criminal and civil roles of a
justice of the peace in
England and Wales. == Passage ==