Bhubaneswar, Nov. 22: Odisha will shortly set up a panel on the lines of Central Law Commission to aid and advise the government on new legislations and repeal of archaic laws.

"We are in the process of constituting a law commission to help us in matters of legal reforms and qualitative legislation relevant to the present day society," Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik said today while inaugurating the first state committee meeting of the new legal cell of the BJD.

Sources in the law department said it had vetted the file concerned and sent it for the chief minister's approval. It would be placed before the state cabinet after Naveen approved it. Thereafter, it would take a few days to constitute the commission.

A retired justice of the high court would head the law commission and secretary of the law department would act as the ex-officio member of the commission.

The state last commission will examine the archaic laws of the state. Its immediate job would be to suggest to the government whether it should set up first-class judicial magistrate courts in all the tehsils of the state or not.

"It will also asses the need of the state to fill up vacancies in the judiciary," an official said.

Former president of Orissa High Court Bar Association Tarini Charan Mohanty said: "It is definitely a welcome step. The government should immediately set up the commission."

The BJD, which have been setting up cells to represent various sections of the society, today constituted a legal cell. "The BJD legal cell will work to create legal awareness among the people," Naveen said.

Sources said the party had decided to constitute the cell because it wanted more advocates as active members so that it was able to deal better with lawyers' agitations.

"Once we have the support of advocates, we will be able to convince the bar associations of the need to understand government's stand and the party's stand on various issues better," said a senior party leader.