Law Revision Commission

VISION AND MISSION OF THE COMMISSION

1. VISION

To revise the laws of Trinidad and Tobago on a constant and continuous basis in order to make the law accessible to everyone.

2. MISSION

To create a database of the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago (i.e. Acts and Subsidiary Legislation) in order to facilitate the revision of the laws (i.e. to annotate, consolidate and update those laws) with the view to making the laws user friendly whereby it will be possible to know what is the existing law at any given time.

1. ESTABLISHMENT

The Law Revision Commission is a statutory body established by the Law Revision Act (Ch. 3:03), and falls within the portfolio of the Minister of Legal Affairs who is answerable to Parliament for its administration and functioning.

2. FUNCTION

The principal function of the Commission is to prepare, publish and maintain a Revised Edition of the written laws (Acts and Subsidiary Legislation) of Trinidad and Tobago.

3. LAW REVISION – ITS MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE

3.1. MEANING OF LAW REVISION

3.1.1. Law revision, in essence, is the updating (i.e. annotating and consolidating) of the existing Acts and Subsidiary Legislation (viz, Regulations, Rules, Orders, etc.)

3.1.2. Every year innumerable new Acts are enacted and Subsidiary Legislation made thereunder; and, when these Acts and Subsidiary Legislation are, in later years, subsequently amended, they have to be updated (i.e. annotated and consolidated) if they are to be assimilated and made accessible for their correct interpretation.

3.2. SIGNIFICANCE OF LAW REVISION

3.2.1. Law revision is of cardinal importance to the administration of justice. Essentially, it is to make the law user friendly in order to ascertain what is the extant law at any given time.

3.2.2. In a free and democratic society the written laws should be made readily accessible if they are to properly serve the needs of Parliament, the Courts, Judicial and Legal Officers in the Service, the Legal Profession and the general public, in a more efficient manner than the assented copies of the written laws contained in the Annual Volumes which, if they are to be assimilated for their correct interpretation, will have to be read in conjunction with the amendments made thereto - a time wasting and tedious process which involves considerable research in annotating and consolidating such laws by Legislators, Judges, Judicial and Legal Officers, Attorneys-at-Law and other members of the public in order to determine what is the extant law at any given time.

4. OPERATION OF THE COMMISSION:

4.1 PAST PERFORMANCE AND ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION

The Commission was established in 1979 and the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago were last revised in 1980 and were published as the 1980 Revised Edition of the Laws of Trinidad and Tobago. This Edition was updated by the publication of two Supplements (i.e. the First and Second Supplements - the Second Supplement revising the written laws up to December 31, 1986).

4.2. PRESENT PROGRAMME OF THE COMMISSION

4.2.1. Since 1987 the revision of the written laws was in abeyance due to the paucity of trained personnel in the field of Law Revision, and it was not until the beginning of the year 2002 that the Commission began, in earnest, to revise the written laws of Trinidad and Tobago. Preparatory to the revision process, the Commission has commenced work on the creation of a database of all the extant written laws of Trinidad and Tobago.

4.2.2. It is envisaged that the written laws when revised will be published in the Year 2006 in a new Revised Edition.

4.2.3. The New Revised Edition will be published both in textual formats (i.e. Hard Copies, which would be contained in about twenty (20) Volumes) and also in electronic formats (i.e. CD-ROMS).

5. SERVICES OFFERED BY THE LAW REVISION COMMISSION, WHERE THEY CAN BE ACCESSED, HOW THEY CAN BE ACCESSED AND THE COST INVOLVED.

5.1. The Law Revision Commission, (unlike other Departments within the Ministry of Legal Affairs which deal directly with the public) does not deal with the public directly nor does it offer any direct services to the public in general.

5.2. The functionaries that have direct access to the services of the Commission are Parliament, the Judiciary, Ministries, Government Departments and Statutory Authorities. These functionaries can obtain, on request, Updated Editions of the laws which fall within their purview and administration by giving the Commission reasonable notice.

5.3. The general public, (such as Members of the Legal Profession, the Business Community, etc.), on the other hand, can obtain the services of the Commission indirectly by purchasing from the Sales Division of the Government Printery Revised Editions of the Laws which have been previously published (i.e. the 1980 Revised Edition of the Laws and the First and Second Supplements referred to at paragraph 2 above), the laws which have been updated during the present revision exercise (e.g. the Constitution, the Companies Act (Chap. 18:01), etc.); and the New Revised Edition when it is published in the Year 2006 in both textual and electronic formats.

6. ACCESS TO THE REVISED LAWS VIA THE INTERNET

6.1. The Commission proposed to make available Laws which have already been revised and to provide thereafter on a continuous basis copies of the Laws as soon as they have been revised, in PDF formats for inclusion on Ministry of Legal Affairs website (www.legalaffairs.gov.tt) and also to provide a link for Parliament to Parliament’s website (www.ttparliament.org) thereby making it possible for anyone to access, (for references purposes only) a copy of a Revised Law.

6.2. The New Edition when it is published in the Year 2006 will also be included on Parliament’s website.