The Statute Law Revision Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 59) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1275 to 1822 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the 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In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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.
The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 28 July 1887, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hardinge Giffard, 1st Baron Halsbury. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 1 August 1887 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 2 August 1887 and reported on 4 August 1887, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 5 August 1887 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 15 August 1887. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 10 September 1887 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 10 September 1887 and 12 September 1887 and reported on 12 September 1887, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 12 September 1887 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 13 September 1887.
The bill was granted royal assent on 16 September 1887.
Several acts repealed by this act were already repealed by the Sheriffs Act 1887 (50 & 51 Vict. c. 55), which was passed simultaneously.
The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the statutes.
The act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.
The enactments which were repealed (whether for the whole or any part of the United Kingdom) by the act were repealed so far as they extended to the Isle of Man on 25 July 1991.
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 schedule to the act was repealed by section 1 of, and the Schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 49).
Section 1 of the act repealed 203 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.