Cabinet approves term extension of twenty-second Law Commission

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the extension of the tenure of the Twenty-second Law Commission of India till 31 August 2024.

The Law Commission of India – a non-statutory body appointed by the Government of India – was established in 1955 and is regularly renewed. The current tenure of the twenty-second Law Commission of India will expire on February 20, 2023, a Cabinet press release said.

Various Law Commissions have contributed significantly to the gradual development and codification of the country's law, the report said, adding that the Law Commission has submitted 277 reports so far. The Chairman and members of the Twenty-second Law Commission recently took office and began work on several pending projects for investigation and reporting. Therefore, the tenure of the Twenty-Second Law Commission has been extended to August 31, 2024, the report said.

The Twenty-second Law Commission will have the same composition, including a whole-time Chairman, four whole-time members (including a Member-Secretary), a Secretary, the Legal Affairs Department as an ex-officio member, the Secretary of the Legislative Department as an ex-officio member and more than five part-time members. The statement further states that the Law Commission will continue to fulfill its existing duties as assigned to it by the order dated 21 February 2020.

The Law Commission’s responsibilities include:

• Identification of laws which are no longer relevant and recommending for the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments.
• Suggesting enactment of new legislations as may be necessary to implement the Directive Principles and to attain the objectives set out in the Preamble of the Constitution.
• Considering and conveying to the Government its views on any subject relating to law and judicial administration that may be specifically referred to it by the Government through Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs).
• Considering the requests for providing research to any foreign countries as may be referred to it by the Government through Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Legal Affairs).
• Preparing and submitting to the Central Government, from time to time, reports on all issues, matters, studies and research undertaken by it and recommending such reports for effective measures to be taken by the Union or any State.
• Performing such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Central government from time to time.