By Richard Bhainie

THE Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill 2020 and the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration (Amendment) Bill 2020 were, on Wednesday, presented in the National Assembly by Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

The bills, No.11 of 2020 and No. 12 of 2020, were presented at the 14th sitting of the National Assembly of the 12th Parliament and underwent the First Reading in the National Assembly. The Law Reform Commission (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to amend Sections two, four, nine and 11 of the Principal Act, while the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration (Amendment) Bill 2020 seeks to amend Sections 19, 20 and 25 of the Principal Act.

The dominant amendment to the Law Reform Commission Act pertains to the Appointment of Commissioners (Section four); the bill seeks to implement clauses to cater for inclusivity. The amendment will allow for the commission to comprise persons who have a legal background as well as persons who have at least 10 years of experience in the areas of banking, industry, economics or commerce, social or natural sciences or law enforcement.

Section 4 (four) of the Act, as it stands, stipulates that for one to be appointed a member of the Commission, the person must possess legal and judicial qualifications. They must be the holder of, or held judicial office; be an attorney-at-law for at least 10 years; or possess experience as a teacher of law at a university.

The Attorney-General previously disclosed that while the Law Reform Commission must consist of legally-trained personnel, law-making is much more than technical law; there are social components, financial components, cultural and ethnic components and rights components to law-making and the bill will seek to implement that. Meanwhile, the principal amendment of the Deceased Persons Estates’ Administration (Amendment) Bill 2020 undertakes to amend archaic provisions in relation to estate values.

Under the current Act, letters of administration are not required for small estates in certain circumstances where the value of the estate does not exceed $1,000. In addition, proceeds of small intestate estates can be accessed from banks, in the absence of a grant of letters of administration, where the value of the estate of the deceased does not exceed $250,000.

The bill will amend Section 19 of the Act to increase the value of estates for which the registrar may summarily appoint an administrator, from $1,000 to $750,000. In addition, it will amend Section 20 to provide that in the absence of letters of administration, a bank manager may pay to a claimant, from a deceased person’s savings bank account, a sum not exceeding $750,000. Further, Section 25 of the Act will be amended to increase the value of estates that are administered by the Public Trustee without the grant of letters of administration from $1,000 to $750,000.