Govt sets up 23rd Law Commission for legal reforms

The government is yet to appoint the members. The last Law Commission was notified in February 2020, but the chairperson and members were only appointed in November 2022.

The chairperson and members could be serving judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts or “other category of persons”, which has been the case for previous Law Commissions as well. Usually, the chairperson of the commission is a retired judge.

Similar to the terms of reference of the 22nd Law Commission that was created in 2020, this time, too the Law Commission has been tasked with examining “the existing laws in the light of Directive Principles of State Policy and to suggest ways of improvement and reform and also to suggest such legislations as might be necessary to implement the Directive Principles and to attain the objectives set out in the Preamble of the Constitution.”

The 22nd Law Commission, chaired by former Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, was working on reports on Uniform Civil Code and simultaneous elections, but had not submitted them to the government before Justice Awasthi left to take office as a member of the Lokpal in March. The 22nd Law Commission’s term came to an end on August 31, before the reports could be published.

The 23rd Commission has also been asked to “examine the impact of globalisation on food security, unemployment and recommend measures for the protection of the interests of the marginalised”, which was also in the terms of reference of the last 22nd Law Commission.

The terms of reference include reviewing the judicial administration system to make it more responsive to the demands of the time. Among the goals are eliminating delays, simplifying High Courts rules and implementing a framework for case flow management.