12 The Structural and Operational Framework What   sort   of   organisation   is   required   to   deal   with   this   specific   and   unique   role?   Dedicated  law  reform  agencies  like  those  we  are  each  involved  with  do  not  have  a monopoly  on  this  revision  and  improvement.    Politicians  and  civil  servants  often  do reform.  So do Judges, although if it is too obvious they are doing so, they are at risk of being pejoratively labelled as activists by critics of an outcome.  So by what are we to be known? Statutory  independence  I  see  as  essential.    In  my  judgment  a  Law  Commission  must never be constrained in its ability to approach a problem as it sees fit, to assess an issue and all its ramifications and have the ability to recommend and report without inhibition or constraint.  That does not mean that a law reform agency can or should act in a way which  is  theoretically  or  practically  unrealistic,  lacking  in  principle,  inconsistent  or inequitable.  But the controls should not be external and certainly should not come from any of the branches of government.  A law commission cannot be beholden to a party political agenda.  It should not be responding to the demands of an interest group nor in a particularised way be reacting to an individual case.  It cannot be a body which is told what  the  answer  is  to  be  before  its  inquiry  ha s  begun.  There  must  be  a  vision  and principle at the core of the investigation which must nonetheless be locked in reality.    Those of us involved need to remember that the more ambitious recommendations are, the  more  opportunity  is  presented  for  those  who  are  uncomfortable  with  the  thrust,  or unhappy with the prospect of change, to go on the defensive and lobby against reform.   The  challenge  for  law  reformers  is  to  find  a  resolution  of  the  tension  between  what  is pragmatically achievable and what principle and integrity suggest.  There is an ongoing challenge  for  us  all  in  how  we  engage  with  politicians,  the  bureaucracy,  the  judiciary and the wider community without being captured by any of them.  We cannot hope to be  relevant  or  effective  if  we  have  an  agenda  which  is  unrelated  to  current  needs, perceptions and aspirations. But law reform bodies must be alongside these other parts of the community and not submerged by them.