English: It seems to me that, on a quiet Tuesday on the run up to Christmas at around 5.05 p.m., the Counsel General stood up in the Chamber in a very measured and calm way and said something that was quite a landmark moment in terms of legislatures within the UK and internationally, and I commend him for doing so. He has put his comments forward in a very measured way, in a very calm way, and reassured this Parliament that he will take this forward, he will 'tread cautiously' I think were his words, on a very long journey and this might take very many years. But I wonder, on this quiet afternoon, if he were successful, the repercussions of the journey that he's just set out on might not only be long lasting, but extremely influential as well, across other legislatures. What he has, in effect, said is that he's going to approach the issues of clarity, simplicity, transparency and accessibility of the law, not only to those who make law, but to the members of the public who need to understand the law - the citizens of this country - in a very different way. We look across the plethora of legislation that has accumulated, not simply over years and decades, but over centuries, and the complex jungle of legislation that that has built that underpins our current legislation, and how difficult that is, then, to navigate the way through that. So, in setting out on what he has described very moderately, in very moderate terms this afternoon, I think he has picked up already the appetite from members of the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee, a desire to wish him well in the hope that he succeeds as he takes these steps forward. I pay tribute, by the way, to predecessor committees as well - the Constitutional and Legislative Affairs committee under the stewardship of previous Chairmen, including David Melding himself, who put some of the underpinning thought to this, alongside the work of others, such as the Law Commission. As Members will be aware, our predecessor committee published a very comprehensive and wide-ranging report, 'Making Laws in Wales', in October 2015, and in that report it was noted that the Law Commission was keen to develop closer links with the committee and provide regular updates of its work every six months. Well, the first of those meetings, I can report to the Assembly, took place at the start of December, when we received a briefing on the Law Commission's 'Form and Accessibility of the Law Applicable in Wales' report, and we discussed its findings at length. Clearly, both our reports covered very similar ground. At the heart of each is a desire to ensure that law made in Wales by this Assembly is accessible to all our citizens. It's a fundamental pillar of our democracy. The 'Making Laws in Wales' report recommended, 'that the Welsh Government, in collaboration with the Law Commission, develops a long-term plan for consolidating law in Wales.' So, it's pleasing, therefore, for the Counsel General and the Welsh Government to indicate support for the development of procedures for consolidating the Bill, which was also a recommendation of our predecessor committee. That committee didn't look at the issue of codification. I'm sure we'll want to look at this issue further, bearing in mind the statement today, but I think he can pick up already, from the comments of committee members, that there's a clear interest and, in some ways, an excitement around the potential of this proposal. I believe, as a committee, we are well placed to explore how we can take forward the delivery of more accessible law to our citizens. So, we wish him very well on this journey, beginning with a few small steps, looking at piloting this within certain areas. David Melding has already commented that there may be areas that we could look at within this session of this Assembly that we could actually bring forward and see codified law, if that is the way forward. I can't compete with Hywel Dda or Aristotle, but it is probably pertinent to use that line from that old joke, which is, 'You wouldn't want start from here.' This is going to be quite a journey. The complexity of what has been inherited could be quite overwhelming, but our advantage is that we are a young and dynamic institution. If anybody can do this, we can. In that regard, it is very exciting indeed. So, good luck to the Counsel General. Good luck to us in taking this forward as well. We are pioneering, and that's what this place should do.
Welsh: Mae'n ymddangos i mi, ar ddydd Mawrth tawel yn y cyfnod cyn y Nadolig tua 05:05, bod y Cwnsler Cyffredinol wedi sefyll ar ei draed yn y Siambr mewn ffordd bwyllog a thawel iawn a dweud rhywbeth a oedd yn dipyn o garreg filltir o ran deddfwrfeydd o fewn y DU ac yn rhyngwladol, ac rwy'n ei gymeradwyo am wneud hynny. Mae wedi rhoi ei sylwadau ymlaen mewn ffordd bwyllog iawn, mewn ffordd dawel iawn, ac wedi rhoi sicrwydd i'r Senedd hon y bydd yn bwrw ymlaen â hyn, ac y bydd yn 'troedio'n ofalus' rwy'n credu oedd ei eiriau, ar daith hir iawn a gallai hyn gymryd blynyddoedd lawer. Ond tybed, ar y prynhawn tawel hwn, pe byddai'n llwyddiannus, efallai y bydd ôl-effeithiau'r daith y mae wedi cychwyn arni nid yn unig yn barhaol, ond yn eithriadol o ddylanwadol, hefyd, ar draws deddfwrfeydd eraill. Yr hyn y mae wedi'i ddweud, mewn gwirionedd, yw ei fod yn mynd i fynd at faterion eglurder, symlrwydd, tryloywder a hygyrchedd y gyfraith, nid yn unig i'r rhai sy'n gwneud y gyfraith, ond i aelodau'r cyhoedd y mae angen iddynt ddeall y gyfraith - dinasyddion y wlad hon - mewn ffordd wahanol iawn. Rydym yn edrych ar draws y doreth o ddeddfwriaeth sydd wedi cronni, nid dim ond yn ystod y blynyddoedd a'r degawdau, ond dros y canrifoedd, a'r jyngl cymhleth o ddeddfwriaeth y mae hynny wedi'i adeiladu sy'n sail i'n deddfwriaeth gyfredol, a pha mor anodd yw hi, wedyn, i lywio'r ffordd drwy hynny. Felly, wrth osod allan ar hyn y mae wedi ei ddisgrifio yn gymedrol iawn, mewn termau cymedrol iawn y prynhawn yma, rwy'n meddwl ei fod eisoes wedi ennyn archwaeth aelodau'r Pwyllgor Materion Cyfansoddiadol a Deddfwriaethol, awydd i ddymuno'n dda iddo yn y gobaith y bydd yn llwyddo wrth iddo gymryd y camau hyn ymlaen. Talaf deyrnged, gyda llaw, i bwyllgorau blaenorol yn ogystal - y pwyllgor Materion Cyfansoddiadol a Deddfwriaethol o dan stiwardiaeth Cadeiryddion blaenorol, gan gynnwys David Melding ei hun, a roddodd rywfaint o feddwl tanategol i hyn, ochr yn ochr â gwaith eraill, megis Comisiwn y Gyfraith. Fel y gŵyr yr Aelodau, cyhoeddodd y pwyllgor a'n rhagflaenodd adroddiad cynhwysfawr ac eang iawn, 'Deddfu yng Nghymru', ym mis Hydref 2015, ac yn yr adroddiad hwnnw nodwyd bod Comisiwn y Gyfraith yn awyddus i ddatblygu cysylltiadau agosach gyda'r pwyllgor a darparu diweddariadau rheolaidd ar ei waith bob chwe mis. Wel, cynhaliwyd y cyntaf o'r cyfarfodydd hynny, gallaf adrodd i'r Cynulliad, ddechrau mis Rhagfyr, pan gawsom sesiwn friffio ar adroddiad 'Ffurf a Hygyrchedd y Gyfraith sy'n Gymwys yng Nghymru' Comisiwn y Gyfraith, a buom yn trafod ei ganfyddiadau yn drylwyr. Yn amlwg, roedd ein dau adroddiad yn cwmpasu tir tebyg iawn. Wrth wraidd pob un y mae awydd i sicrhau bod y gyfraith a wneir yng Nghymru gan y Cynulliad hwn yn hygyrch i'n holl ddinasyddion. Mae'n golofn sylfaenol o'n democratiaeth. Argymhellodd yr adroddiad 'Deddfu yng Nghymru', y dylai Llywodraeth Cymru, mewn cydweithrediad â Chomisiwn y Gyfraith, ddatblygu cynllun hirdymor ar gyfer cyfuno cyfraith yng Nghymru. Felly, mae'n ddymunol, felly, bod y Cwnsler Cyffredinol a Llywodraeth Cymru yn dangos cefnogaeth ar gyfer datblygu gweithdrefnau ar gyfer cyfuno'r Bil, a oedd hefyd yn argymhelliad y pwyllgor a'n rhagflaenodd. Ni wnaeth y pwyllgor hwnnw edrych ar y mater o godeiddio. Rwy'n siŵr y byddwn ni'n dymuno edrych ar y mater hwn ymhellach, gan gadw datganiad heddiw mewn cof, ond rwy'n credu ei fod wedi casglu eisoes, o sylwadau aelodau'r pwyllgor, fod diddordeb clir ac, mewn rhai ffyrdd, bod cyffro o amgylch potensial y cynnig hwn. Credaf, fel pwyllgor, ein bod mewn sefyllfa dda i archwilio sut y gallwn fwrw ymlaen â chyflawni cyfraith fwy hygyrch i'n dinasyddion. Felly, dymunwn yn dda iawn iddo ar y daith hon, gan ddechrau gydag ychydig o gamau bach, gan edrych ar dreialu hyn o fewn rhai meysydd. Mae David Melding eisoes wedi gwneud sylwadau y gallai fod meysydd y gallem edrych arnynt o fewn y sesiwn hwn y Cynulliad hwn y gallem mewn gwirionedd eu cyflwyno a gweld cyfraith wedi'i chodeiddio, os mai dyna'r ffordd ymlaen. Ni allaf gystadlu gyda Hywel Dda nac Aristotle, ond mae'n fwy na thebyg yn berthnasol i ddefnyddio'r llinell o hen jôc, sef, 'Ni fyddech eisiau dechrau o'r fan yma.' Mae hon yn mynd i fod yn dipyn o daith. Gallai cymhlethdod yr hyn a etifeddwyd fod yn eithaf llethol, ond ein mantais yw ein bod yn sefydliad ifanc a deinamig. Os gall unrhyw un wneud hyn, gallwn ni. Yn hynny o beth, mae'n gyffrous iawn yn wir. Felly, pob lwc i'r Cwnsler Cyffredinol. Pob lwc i ni wrth fwrw ymlaen â hyn hefyd. Rydym yn arloesi, a dyna beth ddylai'r lle hwn ei wneud.