The Community Law Reform Program was established on 24 May 1982 by the then Attorney General, the Honourable F J Walker, QC, MP, by letter addressed to the Chairman of the Commission. The letter included the following statement:

This letter may therefore be taken as an authority to the Commission in its discretion to give preliminary consideration to proposals for law reform made to it by members of the legal profession and the community at large. The purpose of preliminary consideration will be to bring to my attention matters that warrant my making a reference to the Commission under s10 of the Law Reform Commission Act, 1967.

The background to the Community Law Reform Program and its progress since 1982 are described in detail in the Commission’s Annual Reports.

This is the seventeenth Report in the Program.