Legislation (Wales) Act 2019

2 Programme to improve accessibility of Welsh law

(1) The Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General must prepare a programme setting out what they intend to do to improve the accessibility of Welsh law.

(2) A programme must be prepared for each term of the National Assembly for Wales that begins after this section comes into force.

(3) The programme must include proposed activities that are intended to—

(a) contribute to an ongoing process of consolidating and codifying Welsh law;

(b) maintain the form of Welsh law (once codified);

(c) promote awareness and understanding of Welsh law;

(d) facilitate use of the Welsh language.

(4) The programme may also include proposed activities—

(a) that may be undertaken in collaboration with the Law Commission (in accordance with the Law Commissions Act 1965 (c. 22)), or

(b) of any other kind the Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General consider appropriate.

(5) The Counsel General must lay a copy of the programme before the National Assembly within 6 months of the appointment of a First Minister after a general election held under Part 1 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32).

(6) The Welsh Ministers and the Counsel General may at any time revise the programme, and if they do so the Counsel General must lay a copy of the revised programme before the National Assembly.

(7) The Counsel General must report annually to the National Assembly on progress made under the programme.

(8) In subsection (3), codifying Welsh law includes—

(a) adopting a structure for Welsh law that improves its accessibility;

(b) organising and publishing consolidated Welsh law according to that structure.