We have launched a consultation to explore how the current law governing misconduct in public office is being used and discover the problems caused in practice by the law’s lack of clarity. Misconduct in public office is a common law offence, not defined in statute. It is unclear and ambiguous: “Public office” is not clearly … Read more >
What is misconduct? And who is in public office? The existing law that governs misconduct in public office does not provide clear answers to either of these questions, according to the Law Commission. Today the Law Commission launched a consultation aimed at exploring how the current law is being used and discovering the problems caused … Read more >
A new test is needed to establish who is unfit to plead according to the Law Commission. The existing rules for deciding whether a defendant is unfit to participate in a criminal trial – and what the courts should do if they are not – are out of date, misunderstood and inconsistently applied. In a … Read more >
A new test is needed to establish who is unfit to plead. The existing rules for deciding whether a defendant is unfit to participate in a criminal trial – and what the courts should do if they are not – are out of date, misunderstood and inconsistently applied. Our new report sets out recommendations to … Read more >
The Law Commission has agreed to examine the law surrounding breaches of protected Government data. We expect to start work early in 2016 with a view to reporting within the year.
The law governing how and where couples in England and Wales can marry is badly in need of reform. “Getting Married”, published today, reports on an initial scoping review of marriage law we conducted at the request of Government. The aim of the review was to consider whether the current law provides a fair and … Read more >
The law that governs how and where couples in England and Wales can marry is badly in need of reform, according to the Law Commission. In March 2015, at the request of the government, the Law Commission began work on an initial scoping review of marriage law. The purpose was to consider whether the current … Read more >
In a report published today, we make recommendations to solve pressing problems that undermine the effectiveness of the law governing the acquisition and possession of firearms. The existing law is confused, unclear and difficult to apply. There are over 30 pieces of overlapping legislation, some of the key terminology – such as “lethal”, “component part” … Read more >
In a report published today, the Law Commission makes a number of recommendations to solve pressing problems that undermine the effectiveness of the law governing the acquisition and possession of firearms. The existing law is confused, unclear and difficult to apply. There are over 30 pieces of overlapping legislation, some of the key terminology – … Read more >
In a report published on Tuesday 10 November the Law Commission recommends reforms to modernise and simplify the law regulating wildlife and create a flexible legal framework for the future. The current law regulating wildlife is spread over a collection of Acts dating back to 1831. The original purpose of much of the law was … Read more >