Continuance of Laws Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 12)
The Continuance of Laws Act 1799 (39 Geo. 3. c. 12) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that continued various older acts.
Background
In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Many acts of parliament, however, contained time-limited sunset clauses, requiring legislation to revive enactments that had expired or to continue enactments that would otherwise expire.[1]
The Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring reported on 12 May 1796, which inspected and considered all the temporary laws, observed irregularities in the construction of expiring laws continuance acts, made recommendations and emphasised the importance of the Committee for Expired and Expiring Laws.[2]
Provisions
Continued enactments
Section 1 of the act continued the Importation Act 1795 (35 Geo. 3. c. 15), the Shipping Act 1795 (35 Geo. 3. c. 80) and the Merchandise in Neutral Ships Act 1796 (36 Geo. 3. c. 76), as continued by the Merchandise in Neutral Ships Act 1796 (37 Geo. 3. c. 12) and the Continuance of Laws (No. 2) Act 1797 (38 Geo. 3. c. 9), until 6 weeks after the start of the next session of parliament.[3][4]
Section 2 of the act continued the Cape of Good Hope Trade Act 1796 (37 Geo. 3. c. 21) until 6 weeks after the start of the next session of parliament.[3][4]
Legacy
The whole act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1871 (34 & 35 Vict. c. 116).
Notes
- ^ Start of session.
References
- ^ Imprisonment in Medieval England. CUP Archive. p. 345.
- ^ Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1803). Reports from Committees of the House of Commons which Have Been Printed by Order of the House: And are Not Inserted in the Journals [1715-1801. Vol. 14. pp. 34–118.
- ^ a b Ruffhead, Owen (1800). The Statutes at Large from Magna Charta to [the Forty-first Year of George III. Vol. 18. Eyre & Strahan. p. 29.
- ^ a b "UF Digital Collections". ufdc.ufl.edu. Retrieved 29 May 2025.
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