The Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 24), sometimes called the Irish Statute Law Revision Act,Queen v Justices of Meath is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for Ireland enactments of the Parliament of Ireland from 1537 to 1800 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the Irish statutes, then in progress.
Background
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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.
From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing the first authoritative collection of acts. The first statute law revision act was not passed until 1856 with the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). This approach – focusing on removing obsolete laws from the statute book followed by consolidation – was proposed by Peter Locke King MP, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results. +Previous statute law revision actsYear passedTitleCitationEffect1861Statute Law Revision Act 186124 & 25 Vict. c. 101Repealed or amended over 800 enactments1863Statute Law Revision Act 186326 & 27 Vict. c. 125Repealed or amended over 1,600 enactments for England and Wales1867Statute Law Revision Act 186730 & 31 Vict. c. 59Repealed or amended over 1,380 enactments1870Statute Law Revision Act 187033 & 34 Vict. c. 69Repealed or amended over 250 enactments1871Promissory Oaths Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 48Repealed or amended almost 200 enactments1871Statute Law Revision Act 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 116Repealed or amended over 1,060 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 63Repealed or amended almost 490 enactments1872Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 187235 & 36 Vict. c. 98Repealed or amended over 1,050 enactments1872Statute Law Revision Act 1872 (No. 2)35 & 36 Vict. c. 97Repealed or amended almost 260 enactments1873Statute Law Revision Act 187336 & 37 Vict. c. 91Repealed or amended 1,225 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 187437 & 38 Vict. c. 35Repealed or amended over 490 enactments1874Statute Law Revision Act 1874 (No. 2)37 & 38 Vict. c. 96Repealed or amended almost 470 enactments1875Statute Law Revision Act 187538 & 39 Vict. c. 66Repealed or amended over 1,400 enactments1876Statute Law Revision (Substituted Enactments) Act 187639 & 40 Vict. c. 20Updated references to repealed acts1878Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 187841 & 42 Vict. c. 57Repealed or amended over 460 enactments passed by the Parliament of Ireland1878Statute Law Revision Act 187841 & 42 Vict. c. 79Repealed or amended over 90 enactments.
Passage Leave to bring in the Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill was granted to the Attorney-General for Ireland, Edward Gibson had its first reading in the House of Commons on 23 April 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 7 May 1879 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 8 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 10 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The re-introduced Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 12 May 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 13 May 1879, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 27 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 29 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The bill was granted royal assent on 3 July 1879.
Subsequent developments The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the Irish statutes, however no further Statute Law Revision Acts for Ireland were passed in the 19th century.
The schedule to the act was repealed by section 1 of, and the first schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 54), which came into force on 25 August 1894.
The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and part 4 of schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007, which came into force on 8 May 2007.
The savings in the act were considered to be complex. As to savings in this act, see Queen v Justices of Meath.Queen v Justices of Meath (1897) 2 Irish Reports 619; 32 Irish Law Times Reports 98 As to amendments by this act, see The State (O'Connor) v O'Caomh-Anaigh.
Repealed enactments Section 1 of the act repealed 1,023 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:
Expired Spent Repealed in general terms Virtually repealed Superseded Obsolete
Section 1 of the act included several safeguards to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters. Specifically, any legal rights, privileges, or remedies already obtained under the repealed laws, as well as any legal proceedings or principles established by them, remain unaffected. Section 1 of the act also ensured that repealed enactments that have been incorporated into other laws would continue to have legal effect in those contexts. Moreover, the repeal would not revive any former rights, offices, or jurisdictions that had already been abolished.