CROSS RIVER – LAW REFORM COMMISSION LAW
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CROSS RIVER STATE LAWS
CHAPTER L7
LAW REFORM COMMISSION LAW
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
- Establishment of the Commission.
- Appointment of Chairman and constitution of Commission.
- Status of Commission.
- Qualification for appointment.
- Tenure of office of Chairman.
- Removal of Chairman or Commissioner from office.
- Functions of Commission.
- Attorney-General to lay programmes before State Executive Council.
- Commission to be autonomous.
- Secretary and other staff of Commission.
- Appointment of persons to assist Commission.
- Service in Commission to be pensionable, etc.
- Commission’s fund.
- Accounts and audit.
- Enactment of proposed revised laws.
- Bringing revised laws into force.
- Distribution of copies of revised edition.
- Expenses of preparation and publication of revised laws.
- Validity of acts of Commission.
- Repeal of Law No. 7 of 1984.
- Interpretation.
- Short title.
CHAPTER L7
LAW REFORM COMMISSION LAW
(14th May, 1987)
[Commencement]
- Establishment of the Commission
There is established for the State, for the purpose of promoting the reform and revision of the Laws of the State, a Law Reform Commission.
- Appointment of Chairman and constitution of Commission
(1) The Governor shall appoint a Chairman as head of the Commission and not less than two or more than five part-time Commissioners to constitute the Commission.
(2) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and hearings of the Commission, and in the absence or disability of the Chairman, the members of the Commission shall select one of their number to preside.
(3) The appointment of the Chairman shall, subject to the provisions of this Law, be in accordance with such terms and conditions as may be contained in his instrument of appointment, but the salary and other conditions of service of the Chairman shall not be less favourable than those applicable to a High Court Judge.
(4) The remuneration and conditions of service of a Commissioner shall, subject to the provisions of this Law, be in accordance with such terms as may be specified in the instrument of appointment: Provided that the salary and other conditions of service of a full-time Commissioner shall not be less favourable than those applicable to a High Court Judge.
- Status of Commission
The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and may hold, acquire and dispose of any property or interest in property, movable and immovable.
- Qualification for appointment
(1) A person may be appointed a Chairman or a Commissioner under this Law if he is or has been—
(a) a judge of a superior court of record having unlimited jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters in Nigeria or any part of the Commonwealth or a court having jurisdiction in appeals from any such court; or
(b) a legal practitioner of not less than twelve years’ post-qualification experience in the case of a Chairman and not less than ten years’ in the case of a Commissioner; or an eminent scholar in law.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Law a person who holds a judicial office may be appointed a Commissioner but shall not relinquish the judicial office except that having been so appointed he shall not be required to perform his duties as holder of a judicial office while serving as a Commissioner.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section, a judicial office holder appointed as a part-time Commissioner may combine the duties of a Commissioner with the duties of his judicial office.
- Tenure of office of Chairman
(1) The Chairman or a Commissioner shall, subject to the provisions of this Law, hold office for such period as the Governor may specify in the instrument appointing such Chairman or Commissioner, as the case may be.
(2) The Chairman or a Commissioner may at any time by writing addressed to the Governor through the Attorney-General, resign his appointment.
- Removal of Chairman or Commissioner from office
(1) The Governor may at any time remove the Chairman or a Commissioner from office if the Governor is satisfied that such Chairman or Commissioner—
(a) is unable to perform the functions of his office owing to physical or mental illness;
(b) has failed to comply with the conditions of his appointment.
(2) A person who ceased to be a Chairman or Commissioner otherwise than under subsection (1) of this section may be reappointed.
- Functions of Commission
(1) The Commission shall take and keep under review all laws of the State and shall systematically develop and reform them; in particular he may recommend the codification of the laws, the elimination of anomalies in the laws, the repeal of obsolete or unnecessary enactments, the reduction of the number of separate enactments and generally the simplification and modernisation of the laws.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) above, the Commission shall—
(a) receive and consider any proposals for the reform of any law which the Attorney- General may make or refer to him;
(b) prepare and from time to time submit programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to any agency (whether the Commission or another body) by which any such examination may be carried out;
(c) undertake the critical examination of particular branches of the law and the formulation, by means of draft laws or otherwise, of proposals for reform;
(d) prepare from time to time a comprehensive programme of consolidation and statute law revision and undertake the preparation of draft laws pursuant to any such programme;
(e) provide advice to Government departments and other authorities or bodies with proposals for reform, revision or amendment of any law relating to such departments, authorities or bodies; and
(f) obtain such information as to the legal systems of other countries as may assist the Commission in its proposals for the reform or modernisation of the laws of the State.
(3) Where a proposal for the reform of any law is referred to the Commission by the Attorney-General, the Commission shall—
(a) critically examine the law with respect to the matter mentioned in the reference;
(b) report to the Attorney-General the results of the examination of the law and as to whether that law—
(i) is obsolete, unnecessary, incomplete, of a temporary nature, of restricted or person application or otherwise defective;
(ii) ought to be simplified, consolidated, codified, repealed or revised, and, if appropriate, whether new or more effective methods for the administration of that law ought to be developed and suggest such new or more effective methods; or
(iii) ought to be changed so as to accord with modern conditions.
- Attorney-General to lay programmes before State Executive Council
It shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to lay before the State Executive Council any programmes prepared by the Commission and any proposals for reform formulated by the Commission pursuant to such programmes.
- Commission to be autonomous
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, the Commission shall be autonomous in its day-to-day operations.
- Secretary and other staff of Commission
(1) There shall be provided for the Commission such supporting legal, administrative and other staff as would enable the Commission to carry out its functions under this Law and such staff shall be under the immediate supervision of the Secretary to the Commission.
(2) The Secretary, who shall be appointed by the Civil Service Commission, shall be a legal practitioner of not less than seven years’ post-qualification experience.
(3) The Secretary shall, in the discharge of his duties, be responsible to the Chairman.
(4) The supporting legal, administrative and other staff of the Commission shall be drawn where possible from the public service of the State.
(5) The remuneration and tenure of office of the employees of the Commission shall be determined by the Commission after consultation with the Department of Establishment and Training.
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the Chairman may cause the Civil Service Commission to engage on contract such professional persons as may be necessary to enable the Commission to carry out effectively its functions under this Law.
- Appointment of persons to assist Commission
The Commission may appoint a person or group of persons as may appear to it necessary for the purpose of research and making recommendations on a subject matter in which the person or group of persons has expertise.
- Service in Commission to be pensionable, etc.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, persons employed in the Commission shall in respect of their service in the Commission be entitled to pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits as prescribed under the Pension Law in force in the State in respect of persons holding equivalent posts.
(2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment of a person to any office in the Commission on terms and conditions which preclude the grant of a pension or gratuity in respect of services in that office.
- Commission’s fund
(1) The Commission shall establish and maintain a fund consisting of such moneys as may in each financial year be appropriated by the State Government for the purposes of the Commission.
(2) The Commission shall defray from the fund established pursuant to subsection (1) above all the amounts payable under or in pursuance of this Law, being sums representing—
(a) amounts payable to the Chairman and other members of the Commission (including allowances);
(b) costs of employment of staff of the Commission;
(c) amounts payable as pensions, gratuities and other retirement benefits under or pursuant to this Law or any other enactment;
(d) costs of acquisition and upkeep of premises belonging to the Commission and any other capital expenditure of the Commission;
(e) any other payment for anything incidental to the foregoing provision or in connection with or incidental to any other function of the Commission under or pursuant to this Law.
- Accounts and audit
(1) The Secretary to the Commission shall in each financial year prepare estimates of recurrent and capital expenditure and when approved by the Chairman, the estimates shall be forwarded through the Attorney-General by the Commissioner for approval by the State Executive Council.
(2) The Secretary shall keep proper accounts and proper records in relation thereto.
(3) The accounts of the Commission shall be annually audited by the Auditor-General or his representative.
- Enactment of proposed revised laws
(1) The Chairman shall as soon as the Commission completes work on the revised edition or proposed reform forward copies thereof to the Attorney-General who shall, by memorandum, submit the same to the State Executive Council for consideration and approval.
(2) After the State Executive Council has approved the revised edition or proposed reform the House of Assembly shall enact same into law.
- Bringing revised laws into force
(1) On the enactment of the revised edition or proposed reform into law the Governor may, by order published in the Gazette or otherwise, appoint a date for the coming into force of the revised edition or reform.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the Governor may, by order published in the Gazette or otherwise, bring into force the whole or such part or parts of the revised edition or reform as may from time to time be completed and published.
- Distribution of copies of revised edition
(1) After the enactment and publication of the revised edition the Chairman shall forward a copy thereof to the Chief Judge of the State for the records of the High Court and another copy to the Attorney-General.
(2) Copies of the revised edition shall be distributed among such persons, bodies, ministries and institutions as the Attorney-General may direct.
(3) Copies of the revised edition or reform may also be distributed without cost to other States with which there is reciprocal arrangement with the State.
(4) The Attorney-General shall, having regard to the cost of production and publication, give directions as to the price at which the revised edition or reform may be offered for sale to the general public.
- Expenses of preparation and publication of revised laws
The Accountant-General shall, upon the direction of the Governor, defray all expenses incurred in connection with or incidental to the preparation, printing and publication of the revised edition or reform.
- Validity of acts of Commission
No act of the Chairman, Commissioner or staff of the Commission or of any person or group of persons appointed under section 12 of this Law shall be questioned or rendered invalid by reason only of any defect in the instrument by which each of such persons is appointed.
- Repeal of Law No. 7 of 1984
The Law Reform Commission Law 1984 is hereby repealed.
- Interpretation
In this Law unless the context otherwise requires—
“Accountant-General” means the State Accountant-General;
“Attorney-General” means the State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice;
“Auditor-General” means the State Auditor-General;
“Commission” means the Commission established under section 1 of this Law;
“Executive Council” means the State Executive Council;
“function” includes power and duty;
“Gazette” means the State Gazette;
“law” includes subsidiary legislation made under any enacted law;
“Governor” means the Governor of the State;
“revised edition” means the revised edition of the laws of the State prepared under the authority of this Law;
“State” means Cross River State of Nigeria.
- Short title
This Law may be cited as the Law Reform Commission Law.
CHAPTER L7
LAW REFORM COMMISSION LAW
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
No Subsidiary Legislation
