Are you OK with cookies?

We use small files called ‘cookies’ on lawcom.gov.uk. Some are essential to make the site work, some help us to understand how we can improve your experience, and some are set by third parties. You can choose to turn off the non-essential cookies. Which cookies are you happy for us to use?

Analytics cookies
Name	Purpose	Expires
_ga	These help us count how many people visit on lawcom.gov.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	2 years
_gid	These help us count how many people visit on lawcom.gov.uk by tracking if you’ve visited before	24 hours
_gat	These help us to manage how we collect analytics when we have lots of visitors on the site at one time	10 minutes

All users
Name	Purpose	Expires
wordpress_test_cookie	This is used to test whether the browser accepts cookies	When you close your browser
PHPSESSID	This is used to link your device to the information sent to the server from your browser. It is typically used to avoid you having to retype information when moving from one page to another.	When you close your browser
ccfw_wp_plugin.banner.hidden	Lets us know you have chosen which cookies are used so we can stop the cookie banner appearing when you return to the site.	1 year
ccfw_wp_plugin.ga.accept	Lets us know you have accepted Google Analytics cookies so we can stop them loading when you return to the site.	1 year

Logged in users
Name	Purpose	Expires
wordpress_[hash]	This authenticates you when you log in to the admin area	When you close your browser
wordpress_logged_in	This shows the site that you’re logged in and who you are so you can access the functions you need	When you close your browser
wordpress_sec	If you are logged in as a site admin, this stores your authentication details.	When you close your browser
wp-settings-{time}-[UID]	The number on the end [UID] is your individual user ID from the users database.	1 year

Smart contracts project paused

12th March 2019

The Commission’s project on smart contracts has been paused to avoid potential duplication with other initiatives.

We were asked by the Lord Chancellor to include work on Electronic Signatures and Smart Contracts as part of our 13^th Programme, agreed in December 2017. We have prioritised work on Electronic Signatures and are currently analysing consultation responses. Following the launch of that consultation we explored how best to take forward our proposed scoping study on Smart Contracts. After discussions with stakeholders, our initial intention was to publish a call for evidence in January 2019, followed by a symposium in March 2019.

In the same period the LawTech Delivery Panel was created. There is clearly some common ground between the proposed Law Commission work and that of the Delivery Panel. In these circumstances, we have taken the view that it makes sense to pause our work until such time as the conclusions of the Panel are known. The Law Commission stands ready to help where appropriate to ensure that the law of England and Wales is sufficiently certain and flexible and to promote the use of English law and UK jurisdiction as a foundation for LawTech.

< Previous | Next >