Identify two key reforms or agents of law reform and their influence on legislative change.

• A. Only political parties and elections drive reform.
• B. Law reform commissions or royal commissions; media and public advocacy; they provide findings and recommendations that lead to legislation.
• C. International courts directly rewrite domestic law.
• D. Private corporate lobbying is the sole driver.

Answer: (B)

Identifying two key agents of law reform involves understanding how reforms are initiated and shaped. Law reform commissions or royal commissions are formal bodies that carry out in-depth investigations, gather evidence, consult stakeholders, and produce findings and recommendations. These outputs provide a credible, researched basis for legislative change, and governments or parliaments often use them as the foundation for drafting new laws or amending existing ones.

Media attention and public advocacy play a crucial role by bringing issues to light, shaping public opinion, and creating political pressure. When a reform idea gains public momentum, legislators are more likely to prioritise it and translate the discourse into concrete legislation. The combination of expert recommendations from commissions and the persuasive power of media and advocacy helps move reforms from concept to law.

Other options are less central as standalone drivers. Elections and political parties influence reform by electing governments that set agendas, but they do not inherently produce the detailed, evidence-based recommendations that commissions do. International courts don’t directly rewrite domestic law, and private corporate lobbying, while influential in some contexts, is not the primary mechanism for systematic, credible law reform across the electorate.