# Repeal of Acts Concerning Importation Act 1822

The Repeal of Acts Concerning Importation Act 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 41) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed enactments relating to navigation in the United Kingdom.

## Background

In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book.
In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.
By the early 19th-century, British customs law, relating to trade, navigation, the import and export of goods, and the collection of customs revenue, had become increasingly intricate and difficult to navigate due to the large number of acts passed that had accumulated over many years. This complexity posed challenges for both commerce and law enforcement. The preamble of the act acknowledged that the existing system had become an impediment to trade and proposed the repeal of inconsistent or obsolete acts "for the encouraging of shipping and navigation".
In 1810, the Lords of the Treasury asked Nicholas Jickling to produce a Digest of the Laws of the Customs, which was published in 1815, numbering 1,375 pages from the earliest period to 53 Geo. 3. This Digest was continuously published to bring the state of the law up to date to the end of every session. In 1814, the Commission of Public Records published their 14th Report, recommending consolidation of the statute law.
In 1822, bills were introduced to encourage shipping and navigation and to repeal related inconsistent or obsolete enactments.

## Passage

Leave to bring in the Ancient Commercial Statutes Bill to the House of Commons was granted to James Brogden MP and the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, Thomas Wallace MP on 19 March 1822. The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 25 March 1822, presented by the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, Thomas Wallace MP. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 6 May 1822 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met on 20 May 1822 and reported on 23 May 1822, with amendments. The amended bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 4 July 1822 and passed, without amendments.
The bill, now named the Commercial Statutes Repeal Bill, had its first reading in the House of Lords on 6 June 1822. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 17 June 1822, introduced by Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 18 June 1822, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 19 June 1822 and passed, with amendments.
The amended bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Commons on 20 June 1822.
The bill was granted royal assent on 24 June 1822.

## Provisions

Section 1 of the act repealed ? enactments relating to importation of goods, commerce or navigation, listed in that section.

## Legacy

The Repeal of Acts Concerning Importation (No. 2) Act 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 42), was passed at the same time for a similar purpose to the act. The Navigation and Commerce Act 1822 (3 Geo. 4. c. 43) was passed simultaneously to further encourage shipping and navigation.
The act was criticised by Thomas Chisholm Anstey, a member of the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law, for its lack of clarity and organization, with legal commentators noting that it contributed to confusion by requiring inquirers to navigate back and forth through different historical statutes, exacerbating the difficulties of interpreting legislative repeals.
The whole act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 91).