The Law Reform Commission of Ireland
Introduction
The Law Reform Commission of Ireland
is an independent body corporate established
under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975.
Its overall function is to keep the law
under review and make recommendations
for its reform. The establishment of
the Commission was recognition of the
need for a new approach to law reform,
enabling the law to respond to a rapidly-changing society.
Against this background of change,
the Commission approaches its work
in the following ways:
• supplying an expanded base of
knowledge and ideas, some of them
drawn from elsewhere, but adapted for
Irish conditions and character.
• offering fresh ways of looking at
familiar issues.
• evaluating matters of public interest
in an impartial manner.
• contributing models or legislative
responses to developments in Irish society.
The Commission has published
73 Reports and 37 Consultation Papers
as well as a number of Working Papers,
all of which can be viewed on line or downloaded.
Publications
In browsing the website you will
appreciate the great breadth of the
topics dealt with by the Commission,
and the potential that law reform has
for change in Irish society.
An approved Programme of Law Reform by
the Government forms the basis for the
Commission’s work up to the year 2007.
Participation in the law reform process
by interest groups and members of the
public at large is of major interest and
importance to the work of the Commission,
and Submissions are actively sought.
The Law under Review contains a list of
projects currently being undertaken by the Commission.
Consultation Paper on Vulnerable Adults
and the Law: Capacity
The Law Reform Commission’s Consultation
Paper on Vulnerable Adults and the Law:
Capacity, was published recently.
This Paper is the second in a series of
two that address the subject of vulnerable
groups and the law.
The first, a Consultation Paper on Law and
the Elderly was published in June 2003
and made provisional recommendations for
the protection of older people including
the establishment of a new Office of the
Public Guardian.
It also recommended that personal guardians
could be appointed to make decisions
on behalf of adults who lack legal capacity
in a particular area.
The Consultation Paper on Vulnerable Adults
and the Law: Capacity, deals with legal
capacity issues which affect adults with
limited decision-making ability such as
those with an intellectual disability,
mental illness, acquired brain injury,
dementia or limited communication skills.
The Commission would be particularly
interested to hear from any persons
or organisations with views on the reforms proposed.
Please Note !
The closing date for receipt of
submissions by the Commission on the
Consultation Paper on Vulnerable Adults
and the Law: Capacity is 31 August 2005.
This page was updated on 28th July, 2009