New York Law Revision Commission
Encyclopedia
The New York State Law Revision Commission is the oldest continuous agency in the common law
world devoted to law reform
through legislation
.
was also published in McKinney's Session Laws, while the Commissions' studies on possible legislation were published separately. Since 1970 the whole report has been published in McKinney's Session Laws.
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
world devoted to law reform
Law reform
Law reform or Legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing changes in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency....
through legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
.
Legal mandate
The Law Revision Commission was created by Chapter 597 of the Laws of 1934 which enacted Article 4-A of the Legislative Law. The Commission is charged by statute with the following duties:
- To examine the common law and statutes of the State and current judicial decisions for the purpose of discovering defects and anachronism
AnachronismAn anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s in the law and recommending needed reforms.- To receive and consider proposed changes in the law recommended by the American Law Institute
American Law InstituteThe American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...
, the commissioners for the promotion of uniformity of legislation in the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, any bar associationBar associationA bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
or other learned bodies.- To receive and consider suggestions from judge
JudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
s, justices, public officials, lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and the public generally as to defects and anachronisms in the law.- To recommend, from time to time, such changes in the law as it deems necessary to modify or eliminate antiquated and inequitable rules of law, and to bring the law of this state, civil and criminal, into harmony with modern conditions.
Reports
From 1934 to 1970 the Reports of the Law Revision Commission were published in the Law Revisions Commission Reports. From 1950 to 1970 the basic Commission Report to the legislatureLegislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
was also published in McKinney's Session Laws, while the Commissions' studies on possible legislation were published separately. Since 1970 the whole report has been published in McKinney's Session Laws.