4 TERMS OF REFERENCE 1. By  letter  dated  29  February  2000  Geoffrey  Palmer  was  requested  by  the Associate Minister of Justice, the Hon. Margaret Wilson, to evaluate the Law Commission on the following terms: Terms of Reference ·  To  evaluate  the  performance  of  the  Law  Commission  in  the  fifteen  years since  the  passage  of  the  Law  Commission  Act  1985,  and  to  report  to  the Associate Minister of Justice (Hon Margaret Wilson), having regard to: (a)   The Commission’s strengths and achievements; (b)   Any weaknesses that may exist in the Commission’s structure, legislative mandate or performance; (c)   The relationship of the Commission to Ministers, the Ministry of Justice, and the government system generally; (d)   Whether any improvements could be made, and if so, what? ·  To examine and report on the following questions: (a)   What has the Commission produced since it has been in existence? (b)   How many of its reports have led to parliamentary enactments? (c)   How  does  the  Commission  relate  to  the  Minister  of  Justice  and  the Government? (d)   How  is  the  division  of  responsibilities  for  law  reform  work  allocated between the Ministry of Justice and the Commission? (e)   How efficient has the Commission been in using its resources? (f)   Has it achieved its statutory objectives? (g)   How do the statutory objectives stand up in light of experience? (h)   To  what  extent  are  the  Commission’s  work  programmes  organised  in accordance with the Government’s legislative priorities? (i)What skills, experience, and qualifications are desirable in the Commission, including the Commissioners themselves? (j)What improvements, if any, could be made to the structure, processes and position of the Commission within the New Zealand government system? ·  To    undertake    qualitative    interviews    with    selected    members    of    the Commission and seek the views of those  individuals and representatives of the institutions most closely connected with the work of the Commission as identified in Appendix 1. ·  Research trends in overseas law reform commissions in countries with legal systems similar to New Zealand’s. 2. The list of interviewees for the evaluation of the Law Commission is attached as Appendix 1 to this Report.