Legislative standards for Wales

We have identified some areas of law that our experience and discussion with stakeholders suggest may require reform. They could be potential projects for the Programme. We would like to hear your views about these, and whether you think they should form part of our work over the next few years.

Legislative standards for Wales

Should Welsh legislation be subject to a new, objective set of legislative standards?

Our report on the Form and Accessibility of the Law in Wales recommended that Wales would benefit from the establishment of a set of a legislative standards.

Broadly speaking, legislative standards are directed to governments and set standards as to what a piece of legislation should seek to achieve and how it should be presented to the legislature. The key benefit of legislative standards is that they provide an objective yardstick against which to measure the quality of legislation.

Properly thought out, such standards could be a valuable resource for government officials when considering whether and how to legislate. Moreover, they could inform the assessment of proposed legislation by the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, other Assembly committees and more widely — for example in the context of pre-legislative scrutiny. A clear and accessible set of standards, ideally agreed between government and the Assembly, against which good or bad law could sensibly be judged, could be a powerful tool for achieving better quality legislation.

What do you think?

Should we consider this project for inclusion in our 13th Programme of law reform? Please use this form to send us your comments, and email it to programme@lawcommission.gsi.gov.uk.

Return to Law Commission suggested projects