Statute Law Revision Act 1874

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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.^[2]

From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing the first authoritative collection of acts.^[3] 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.^[4]

The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 21 May 1874,^[5] introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Baron Cairns.^[6] The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 15 June 1874 and was committed to a committee of the whole house,^[7] which met on 16 June 1874^[8] and reported on 18 June 1874, with amendments.^[9][6] The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 18 June 1874 and passed,^[10] with amendments.^[6]

The bill its first reading in the House of Commons on 22 June 1874,^[11] introduced by the Attorney General, Richard Baggallay MP.^[12] The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 29 June 1874 and was committed to a committee of the whole house,^[13] which met and reported on 2 July 1874, without amendments.^[14] The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 3 July 1874 and passed, without amendments.^[15]

The bill was granted royal assent on 16 July 1874.^[16]

The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.^[17]

Section 2 and the schedule of the act was repealed by section 1 of, and schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 56).

The enactments which were repealed (whether for the whole or any part of the United Kingdom) by the act were repealed so far as they extended to the Isle of Man^[18] on 25 July 1991.^[19]

This 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.

Section 1 of the act repealed 492 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:^[20][c]

• 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.^[17]

Section 2 of the act provided that the Criminal Costs (Dublin) Act 1815 (55 Geo. 3. c. 91), which had been repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1873, was revived, so far as it related to the county of the city of Dublin.^[17]

• Statute Law Revision Act