Current projects

The Law Commission is consulting on reforms to the law governing criminal appeals, including the tests applied by appeal courts and the Criminal Cases Review Commission, post-trial retention of and access to evidence, and compensation and support for the wrongly convicted.

Reforming the law to improve the current complex landscape, making kinship care for children options simpler and easier to navigate.

Reviewing the law relating to homicide offences, including full and partial defences, and the existing sentencing framework for murder.

The Law Commission is seeking to reform the law of burial in England and Wales which is piecemeal, complex and outdated. The consultation period for this project has now ended.

The Law Commission is reviewing the legal framework governing social care for disabled children in England. The consultation period for this project has now ended.

Reviewing whether the current law is working effectively and delivering fair, consistent outcomes for divorcing couples.

New funerary methods are being developed in England and Wales and elsewhere, but there is currently no regulatory framework for their use.

The Law Commission has been asked by the Government to review the law on contempt of court and consider reform to improve its effectiveness, consistency and coherence.

Establishing whether a person’s wishes about what happens to their body after death should be binding, and who should have rights and obligations in relation to bodies in other cases.

Reviewing outdated compulsory purchase laws to support a faster, simpler and more modern land acquisition process. The consultation period for this project is open until 31 March 2025.