The Nova Scotia Law Reform Advisory Commission: An Early Appraisal

The Nova Scotia Law Reform Advisory Commission has now been in existence for two and a half years, having been established by the Law Reform Act 19691 and constituted by an Order of the Governor in Council on January 25, 1972. As the members of the Commission are appointed for a period of two years, the term of appointment of the first members of the Commission expired on January 25 this year, but new members were not in fact appointed until June 25 this year. From February to June, the Commission was more or less in limbo. In view of the recent appointment of the new members and the commencement of a new era in the Commission's activities, it is the purpose of these notes first to review the progress of the Commission in its first two years and second, to suggest ways in which the Commission might be improved or operate more effectively in future. The notes are divided into parts, each dealing with one aspect of the Commission and its activities - its construction, its terms of reference, its powers and the fetters on its powers, its programme and plans for the future, its procedure for implementing its plans, its finances, its relationship with the different branches of the legal profession and its general function in the community. The intention is not be be unduly critical of the Commission at this early stage, but rather to offer some constructive suggestions for its future development.