The Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2013 (c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which repealed the whole of 817 acts of Parliament, and portions of more than 50 others. It is the largest Statute Law (Repeals) Act which has been recommended by the Law Commission.[3][4][5]

Provisions

The act repealed[6]

  • 16 Scottish laws relating to imposing a duty on every pint of ale, beer or porter sold or brewed in certain parts of Scotland

In total, the act repealed 817 acts in full.[7] The act partially repealed 50 other acts.[6]

Enactments repealed in full

Schedule 1 listed repeals and revocations. The enactments repealed in full included:

Benevolent societies

Part 1 listed acts relating to benevolent societies that no longer existed (plus the Philanthropic Society, whose successor Catch22 is now regulated by charity law).

Civil and criminal justice

Part 2 covered enactments relating to criminal law.

The Police Act 1969 (c. 63) was technically still in force despite all of its sections having been repealed since 1994.

Indian railways

Part 3 listed acts relating to railways in India, no longer under British sovereignty.

Dublin

Part 4 relates to Dublin, no longer under British sovereignty.

Local courts and administration of justice

Part 5 relates to courts that no longer exist.

London

Part 6 covers acts relating to London, for churches and improvements, and acts regulating London gas lights, which had been replaced with electric lights.

Lotteries

Part 7 covered lotteries from past centuries.

Poor law

Part 8 contained acts relating to long-since reformed aspects of poor law.

Railways

Part 9 listed acts relating to railways.

Abortive railway projects

General
Scottish
Rates and charges
Miscellaneous

Taxation

Part 10 covered taxation.

General taxation
Scottish local taxation

A tax of two pennies Scots (equivalent to one sixth of an old penny sterling) was imposed by a series of local acts for specific burghs in Scotland. This allowed the burgh to raise money for local projects, such as road building. These acts included expiry dates, and were spent, having not been extended.

Turnpikes

Part 11 lists acts relating to long-since abolished turnpike trusts.

Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire
Surrey

London to Holyhead

Other

Further developments

In its 2016-17 report the Law Commission said that future statute law repeals work would narrow its focus to dead law which misleads the broadest range of individuals relying on the statute book in whatever capacity.[8]

Notes

  1. ↑ Section 4(b) of the Interpretation Act 1978.

References

  1. ↑ "House of Lords Hansard for 10 October 2012". Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ↑ "House of Lords Hansard for 31 January 2013". Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "19th Statute Law Repeals Report - Law Commission". Law Commission. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Kelly, David (2024). "Sources of Law: Legislation". Slapper and Kelly's The English Legal System. Routledge. p. 133.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Steve; Wilson, Stephen R.; Rutherford, Helen; Storey, Tony; Wortley, Natalie (2014). "Legislation and the Law Making Process". English Legal System. Oxford University Press. p. 71.
  6. 1 2 "Beer tax among old laws commission recommends be repealed". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "'Dead laws': Call to reform statute books". BBC News. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
  8. ↑ Lee, James (5 June 2023). "'Not Time to Make a Change'? Reviewing the Rhetoric of Law Reform". Current Legal Problems. 76 (1): 129–172. doi:10.1093/clp/cuad004. ISSN 0070-1998. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_Law_(Repeals)_Act_2013