New Delhi:
A proposal to make the Law Commission into a permanent body has been put on hold by the Government which has decided to continue with the present system of reconstituting it every three years.
The Department of Legal Affairs in the Law Ministry had recently proposed to make the law panel, which advises government on complex legal issues, into a permanent body either through an Act of Parliament or an executive order (resolution of the Union Cabinet).
The move to shelve the proposal came after the Prime Minister’s Office felt that the present system should continue, highly-placed sources in the government said here.
At present, the Union Cabinet re-constitutes the Commission every three years. After the Commission is reconstituted, a new Chairman and members are appointed to run the panel.
The Union Cabinet had last month approved reconstitution of the body. With the approval of the Cabinet, the Law Ministry would now constitute the 21st Law Commission as the three-year term of the 20th panel ended on August 31.
The Law Ministry is understood to be in the process of shortlisting names of retired judges to head the Commission. The names could include some high court chief justices who retired in the recent past, the sources said.
