 Hale Commission

The Hale Commission was established by the Commonwealth of England on 30 January 1652 and led by Sir Matthew Hale to investigate law reform.Consisting of eight lawyers and thirteen laymen, the Commission met approximately three times a week and proposed changes as radical (at the time) as reducing the use of the death penalty, allowing witnesses, legal aid and lawyers for defendants in criminal cases and creating County Courts and a Court of Appeal for criminal cases.