The Kenya Law Reform Commission was established on 21 May 1982 by the Law Reform Commission Act (Cap 3). The principle objective of the KLRC as contained in Section 3 of the Act is to:
Keep under review all the law of Kenya to ensure its systematic development and reform, including in particular the integration, unification and codification of the law, the elimination of anomalies, the repeal of obsolete and unnecessary enactments and generally its simplification and modernization. 

(s. 3(1) of the Law Reform Commission Act, 1982, Cap. 3)

For this purpose the KLRC is expected to:

(a) Receive and consider any proposals for the reform of the law that may be made or referred to it;

(b) Prepare and submit to the Attorney-General programmes for the examination of different branches of the law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to the agency by which that examination should be carried out;

(c) Undertake, pursuant to any programme approved by the Attorney-General, the examination of particular branches of the law and the formulation, by means of draft Bills or otherwise, of proposals for reform therein;

(d) Prepare, at the request of the Attorney-General, comprehensive programmes of consolidation to facilitate the exercise by him of his powers under the Revision of the Laws Act, and to undertake the drafting of Bills pursuant to any programme of consolidation approved by him;

(e) Provide advice and information to ministries and departments in the Government with regard to the reform or amendment of a branch of the law appropriate to that ministry or department.
It is generally accepted that for most of the time that it has been in existence the KLRC has not lived up to its expectations. However the Government is determined to bring the KLRC into the mainstream of law reform action and facilitate it to be able to achieve its mandate. A new bill to give the KLRC more autonomy will be tabled in parliament soon and new commissioners were appointed to guide the KLRC for a period of three years. This Strategic Plan, which is the first to be prepared in the life of KLRC, should therefore make a contribution to the revival process and give the commissioners benchmarks to measure the performance of the KLRC.