4 Establishment  of  an  independent  law  reform  body,  with  expert  commissioners appointed  for  fixed  terms  to  lead  projects,  is  in  line  with  the  practice  in  most similar jurisdictions.  Recognition of the shared basis of law in Commonwealth countries,  and  commitment  to  consistency  of  approach  and  international  quality standards  in  law  reform,  have  forged  strong  links  between  law  commissions internationally.      An   association   of   Law   Commissions,   the   Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies, with 20 member countries, was formally established in 2003.  (See Appendix One for a list of law reform bodies similar to the Law Commission). 5 Sir Geoffrey Palmer in his review of the Law Commission in 2000 gave a positive endorsement  of  its  contribution  but  recommended  some  changes  to  align  its operation more effectively with the law reform objectives of the Government of the  day.²    Sir  Geoffrey  looked  at  the  implementation  rate  of  Law  Commission reports  in  terms  of  legislation  passed,  and  found  that  legislation  was  under consideration by Government in relation to almost all reports but had only been passed in response to 48% of them.   6 Sir Geoffrey regarded it as important to increase this rate and made a number of recommendations  to  that  end.    Changes  as  a  result  have  included  a  Cabinet directive  that  a  Government  response  should  be  tabled  within  six  months  of publication of a Law Commission report; the appointment of a separate Minister Responsible  for  the  Law  Commission;  and  regular  scrutiny  by  the  Justice  and Electoral   Select   Committee   of   Government’s   uptake   of   Law   Commission recommendations.    The  Law  Commission  has  also  worked  more  closely  with Government  in  the  selection  of  topics  and  the  completion  of  projects,  thus enhancing the probability of implementation.   7 As  at  2005,  there  have  been  71  final  reports  since  the  inception  of  the  Law Commission,³ 53 of which have contributed, or are contributing, to Government’s policy and legislative programme.⁴  While this may be a less rigorous test than was applied by Sir Geoffrey, it certainly suggests significant improvement in the impact  of  Commission  reports  since  his  report  was  written.    However,  the influence of a Law Commission report on subsequent legislation can be difficult to assess without detailed analysis, and as Sir Geoffrey said, “it is vital to observe that   enactment   is   not   the   only   measure”.      Ultimately,   the   success   of   the Commission in contributing to policy making is determined by the extent to which it both influences law reform and fosters public understanding of the need for that reform. 8 The   Crown   Entities   Act   2004,   which   establishes   consistent   governance relationships between all crown entities and government, now applies to the Law Commission   except   to   the   extent   that   the   Law   Commission   Act   expressly                                                  2   Rt. Hon Sir Geoffrey Palmer; Evaluation of the Law Commission, Report for the Associate Minister of Justice and Attorney-General Hon. Margaret Wilson; 2000. 3   This number excludes 55 preliminary reports, 15 study papers and 12 miscellaneous papers (the   latter   all   between   1996   and   1999),   which   do   not   have   recommendations   for Government.    4   Five reports either did not make recommendations or the recommendations did not relate to the  Government  and  in nine  cases Government  has  said further  work will  proceed when there is capacity to do so.  Only in four cases is no further work currently envisaged.