LAW COMMISSION

(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be established a Commission which shall be called the Law Commission, and which shall consist of a Chairman and of not less than ten and not more than fourteen other Commissioners all of whom shall be appointed by the President from among persons appearing to the President to be suitably qualified for such appointment and the majority of whom shall be persons who have held or hold judicial office, or have experience as attorneys-at-law or teachers in law, or are academically qualified in law.

(2) A Commissioner shall, unless he earlier vacates his office, hold office for such period, not exceeding five years, as may be determined by the President at the time of his appointment, and shall be eligible for reappointment; Provided, however, that if a Commissioner vacates his office prior to the expiration of his term of office, his successor shall, unless he earlier vacates his office, hold office only for the unexpired portion of such term.

(3) A Commissioner may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President.

(4) There shall be paid to the Commissioners for their services such remuneration as may be determined by the Minister, with the prior concurrence of the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance.

(a) to receive and consider any proposals for the reform of the law which may be made or referred to them ;

(b) to prepare and submit to the Minister, from time to time, programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to the agency (whether the Commission or any other body) by which any such examination should be carried out;

(c) to undertake, in pursuance of any such recommendations approved by the Minister, the examination of particular branches of the law and the formulation, by means of draft Bills or otherwise, of proposals for reform therein;

(d) to prepare, from time to time, at the request of the Minister comprehensive programmes of consolidation and statute law revision, and to undertake the preparation of draft Bills in pursuance of any such programme approved by the Minister ;

(e) to obtain such information as to the legal systems of other countries as appears to the Commission likely to facilitate the achievement of the objects of the Commission ;

(f) to keep under constant review the exercise by bodies, other than Parliament, of the power to legislate by subsidiary legislation with a view to ensuring that they conform to well-established principles and to the rule of law, that they do not have retrospective effect unless the enabling enactment confers express authority so to provide and that they do not make some unusual or unexpected use of the power conferred by the enactments under which they are made;

(g) to formulate programmes for rationalising and simplifying legal procedures including procedures of an administrative character connected with litigation ; and

(h) to formulate programmes for the codification of the law in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

(1) The Law Commission shall have its own Fund which shall be administered by the Commission. There shall be paid into the Fund of the Law Commission all such sums of money as may be received by the Commission by way of donations, gifts or grants from any source whatsoever.

(2) There shall be paid out of the Fund of the Law Commission all such sums of money as are required by the Commission for the purpose of exercising the power of disposition conferred on the Commission by section 9.