The Northern Ireland Law Commission is a Law Commission

Law Commission

A Law Commission or Law Reform Commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal changes or restructuring...

 in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 created under section 50 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, implementing recommendations following the Good Friday Agreement. It replaced the existing non-statutory Law Reform Advisory Committee

Law Reform Advisory Committee

The Law Reform Advisory Committee was a body that reviewd the civil law in Northern Ireland, with a view to making recommendations for law reform. It was the equivalent in Northern Ireland of the Law Commission in England and Wales or in Scotland...

.

The Northern Ireland Law Commission keeps the law of Northern Ireland under review, with a view to law reform

Law reform

Law reform or Legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing changes in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency....

. It has five members, a part-time chairman and four full-time commissioners, appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, informally the Northern Ireland Secretary, is the principal secretary of state in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State is a Minister of the Crown who is accountable to the Parliament of...

. The chairman is a judge of the High Court of Northern Ireland, who retains judicial office while acting as chairman. The other commissioners include a barrister

Barrister

A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...

, a solicitor

Solicitor

Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...

, a legal academic, and a layperson.

External links

• Section 50 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002