The Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 24), sometimes called the Irish Statute Law Revision Act, is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for Ireland enactments of the Parliament of Ireland from 1537 to 1800 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the Irish statutes, then in progress.
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.
From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing the first authoritative collection of acts. The first statute law revision act was not passed until 1856 with the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). This approach â focusing on removing obsolete laws from the statute book followed by consolidation â was proposed by Peter Locke King MP, who had been highly critical of previous commissions' approaches, expenditures, and lack of results.
Leave to bring in the Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill was granted to the Attorney-General for Ireland, Edward Gibson had its first reading in the House of Commons on 23 April 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 7 May 1879 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 8 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 10 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The re-introduced Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 12 May 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 13 May 1879, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 27 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 29 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The bill was granted royal assent on 3 July 1879.
The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the Irish statutes, however no further Statute Law Revision Acts for Ireland were passed in the 19th-century.
The schedule to the act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 56).
The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007.
The savings in the act were considered to be complex. As to savings in this act, see Queen v Justices of Meath. As to amendments by this act, see The State (O'Connor) v O'Caomh-Anaigh.
Section 1 of the act repealed 1,023 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:
Section 1 of the act included several safeguards to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters. Specifically, any legal rights, privileges, or remedies already obtained under the repealed laws, as well as any legal proceedings or principles established by them, remain unaffected. Section 1 of the act also ensured that repealed enactments that have been incorporated into other laws would continue to have legal effect in those contexts. Moreover, the repeal would not revive any former rights, offices, or jurisdictions that had already been abolished.