Jeremy Miles AM, Counsel General and Brexit Minister
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
I have spoken before about the complexity of our laws, about the problems people experience in understanding their rights and obligations. Members across the Senedd agree that the law for which we are responsible needs to become more accessible, and I am delighted the Legislation (Wales) Act 2019 is now in force.
Today I am continuing our work to make Welsh law more accessible by publishing more detail about the government’s proposals for the classification, consolidation and codification of the law. This is a vision for the future, one in which all laws that fall within the legislative competence of the Senedd are in order, easy to navigate, available in up-to-date form and as understandable as the complexity of the content allows.
Achieving this requires a revamp of the statute book. This will be done by instigating a system of classification of existing law so that it can be organised by reference to its subject matter; through subsequent consolidation of that law in accordance with the subject classification; and, once order is achieved in this way, a process of codification intended to keep the law in order. It also means improving our communication about the law both by better publishing and providing more explanatory material about legislation.
The proposals I am publishing today describe our proposals for getting there. We have set out what we mean by classification, consolidation and codification and outline other related projects that will contribute to our goal. I look forward to hearing the views of the public practitioners and users of legislation in Wales.
The future of Welsh law: classification, consolidation and codification.