The Bar Council has welcomed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s announcement of the government wanting to look into establishing an independent law reform commission tasked with reviewing the country’s legislation.

Yesterday theSun daily had reported Nazri as saying that the government would look into setting up an “independent law reform commission to review and modernise archaic laws in the country”.

Noting that Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong had made a similar statement in November last year, Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee also lauded Nazri’s reported statement that the commission would comprise “people from all walks of life”.

“(Last year), we had applauded Datuk Liew Vui Keong’s reported announcement that the composition of the commission would include ‘retired or serving federal court judges, retired or serving law professors, experts or specialists on law, senior and experienced lawyers as well as senior members of civil society’,” said Lim in a press release today.

He hopes that the announcement was not just “‘feel-good’ rhetoric” in anticipation of the coming general election, pointing out that the Bar had in the past had repeatedly called for such an enity that would “make recommendations to the Parliament, without fear or favour”.

He added that if the government is genuine coupled with the political will to fulfil its stated desire, then the Bar Council would be more than willing to assist and play an active role in the process of forming and participating in this long overdue commission.

He also cited the New South Wales Law commission in Australia, the Australian Law Reform Commission and the English Law Commission as models for the government to emulate.