Statute Law Revision Act 1870

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Statute Law Revision Act 1870

What it was
- A United Kingdom law aimed at cleaning up the statute book by repealing old laws about the National Debt and forgery that were no longer in force or had been consolidated into newer Acts. The goal was to help prepare a revised edition of the statutes.

Key details
- Crown year and citation: 33 & 34 Vict. c. 69
- Purpose: Repeal obsolete or unnecessary enactments to simplify the law
- Section 1: Repealed 251 enactments across six categories, with safeguards to protect rights, ongoing legal matters, and existing rules. The repeal did not revive old rights, offices, or jurisdictions, and repealed laws that had been incorporated into other laws would continue to have effect in those contexts.
- Scope: Focused on obsolete laws relating to the National Debt and forgery; supported consolidation and revision of the statute book
- Commencement and assent: Royal assent and start of effect on 9 August 1870

Process and context
- Introduction in Commons: by Robert Lowe MP (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and James Stansfeld MP
- Introduction in Lords: by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
- Passage: Cleared all stages in July–August 1870 without amendments
- Relation to prior work: Built on earlier efforts to remove obsolete statutes, beginning with the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856

After and later history
- Schedule repeal: The schedule of repeals was later repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1894
- Repeal of the act: The Statute Law Revision Act 1986 repealed this act
- Ireland: The act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by the Statute Law Revision Act 2007
- Related law: Amended by the Statute Law Revision Act 1894; connected to the broader Repeals Acts

Summary
The Statute Law Revision Act 1870 cleaned up outdated laws about the National Debt and forgery to help produce a revised edition of the statutes, repealing 251 old enactments while protecting existing rights and ongoing legal matters. It was part of a broader effort begun in the 19th century to tidy up and modernize the English statute book.