The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the extension of the 22nd Law Commission of India’s term up to August 31, 2024.
A non-statutory body, the commission was first constituted in 1955. It has since been reconstituted from time to time the codification of the law and has so far submitted 277 reports. The present commission was constituted until February 20.
“The Chairperson and Members of the Twenty-second Law Commission have joined office recently and have taken up several pending projects for examination and report, being the work in progress. Therefore, the tenure…has been extended…,” the government said in a statement.
The 22nd Law Commission will continue to identify laws, which are no longer relevant and recommend the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments. It will suggest the enactment of new legislation to implement the directive principles and to attain the objectives in the Constitution’s preamble.
The panel will consider and convey to the government its views on any subject relating to the law and judicial administration. It will consider the requests for providing research to any foreign countries as may be referred to it.
Former Karnataka high court chief justice Rituraj Awasthi took over as the panel’s head on November 7 last year.
Union law minister Kiren Rijiju this month told Parliament the government did not plan to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) but the 22nd Law Commission may take up matters related to it for consideration.
He said the government requested the earlier panel to undertake an examination of issues relating to UCC and to make recommendations. “However, the term of the 21st Law Commission ended on August 31, 2018.”
The previous law panel said UCC “is neither necessary nor desirable at this stage”.