Project status: Pre-project
“Contempt of court” covers a wide variety of conduct which undermines or has the potential to undermine the course of justice, and the procedures which are designed to deal with them. The law governing contempt of court is vast. The Law Commission published a consultation paper on contempt of court in November 2012. It focused … Read more >
Project status: Complete
In 2001, the Department of Trade and Industry asked the Law Commission and Scottish Law Commission to rewrite the law of unfair contract terms as a single regime, in clearer and more accessible language. We were also asked to consider whether the law should do more to protect businesses, particularly small businesses. The project responded … Read more >
Project status: Complete
The Act consolidates legislation from 1965 onwards on co-operative and community benefit societies (formerly known as industrial and provident societies). It gives effect to a Report made by the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission making recommendations for changes to the law being consolidated. The Report was laid before Parliament and published on 19 … Read more >
Project status: Complete
Download the report Download the report summary The problem There is a complex web of rights and obligations that link different parcels of land, and their owners, together. Three of those are easements, profits à prendre and covenants. Easements are rights enjoyed by a landowner over another person’s land. A positive easement (such as a … Read more >
Project status: Analysis of responses
The main recommendations we made in this project aimed to establish a principled basis for the creation of criminal law in regulatory contexts. We also considered particular doctrines of liability applicable to businesses and make proposals to ensure that they are fair to such bodies, in particular small businesses. The project A significant proportion of the new … Read more >
The Law Commission undertook a review of the law of damages, particularly personal injury damages, as part of the 5th and 6th Programmes of Law Reform.
Project status: Complete
Data sharing affects us all. Public bodies report that they cannot always share the data they need to share and, as a result, miss out on opportunities to provide better services to citizens. At the same time, the protection of privacy is fundamental to any data sharing regime. The law surrounding data sharing is complex. … Read more >
Project status: Complete
A preliminary investigation to clarify the issues relating to defamation on the internet. We were asked to provide preliminary advice to Government on whether the existing law causes difficulties for online publishers, internet service providers, their customers or others, with a view to informing possible further work.
Project status: Complete
In this project, we considered whether changes were needed in the law relating to inquiries undertaken by local authorities. In February 2000 Sir Ronald Waterhouse published the results of the inquiry he chaired into the abuse of children in council homes in North Wales. He was concerned there might be circumstances where local authorities might feel … Read more >
Project status: Complete
A project to review the need for reform of two distinct but related rules: the rule against double jeopardy, and the rule that the Crown cannot appeal against an acquittal even if it results from an erroneous ruling by the judge.