The major business of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission is to keep under review all Federal Laws with a view to their systematic development and reform in consonance with prevailing norms of the Nigerian society.

The Commission regards the public as its most important strategic partner in this business and has therefore always placed a very high premium on public communication

The functions of the Commission are spelt out in section 5 (1) of the Act in the following terms:

It shall be the duty of the Commission generally to take and keep under review all Federal laws with a view to their systematic and progressive development and reform in consonance with the prevailing norms of the Nigerian society including, in particular, the codification of such laws, the elimination of anomalies, the repeal of obsolete, spent and unnecessary enactments, the reduction in number of separate enactments, the reform of procedural laws in consonance with changes in the machinery of the administration of justice and generally, the simplification and modernization of the law.

In pursuance of its general mandate, under subsection (2) of section 5 of the Act, the Commission –

  1. shall receive and consider any proposals for the reform of the law which may be made or referred to it by the Attorney-General of the Federation (hereinafter referred to as “the Attorney-General”);
  2. may prepare on its own initiative and submit to the National Council of Ministers, from time to time, programmes for the examination of different branches of the laws with a view to reform;
  3. shall undertake, pursuant to any such recommendations approved by the National Council of Ministers, the examination of particular breaches of the law and the formulation, by means of draft legislation or otherwise, or proposals for reform therein;
  4. shall prepare, from time to time at the request of the Attorney-General, comprehensive programmes of consolidation and stature law revision, and undertake the preparation of draft legislation pursuant to any such programme approved;
  5. may provide advice and information to Federal Government departments and other authorities or bodies concerned, at the instance of the Federal Government, with proposals for the reform or amendment of any branch of the law.

Nigerian Law Reform Commission
Phase III, Block J, 4th Floor
C&C Towers
Federal Secretariat Complex
Central Area
PMB 359 Garki
Abuja.