International Law Research; Vol. 8, No. 1; 2019 ISSN 1927-5234 E-ISSN 1927-5242 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Modernising English Land Law Graham McBain1,2 1 Peterhouse, Cambridge, UK 2 Harvard Law School, USA Correspondence: Graham McBain, 21 Millmead Terrace, Guildford, Surrey GU2 4AT, UK. E-mail:
[email protected] Received: January 22, 2019 Accepted: February 28, 2019 Online Published: March 5, 2019 doi:10.5539/ilr.v8n1p30 URL: https://doi.org/10.5539/ilr.v8n1p30 1. INTRODUCTION At present, the legal situation in respect of land in England and Wales is confusing. Title to most land in England and Wales is now registered. However, title to some 15% (or less) is still governed by older legal principles, including the need for title deeds. Further, there are many antiquated pieces of legislation relating to land still existing - various pieces of which are obsolete and others which should be re-stated in modern language. For a list of existing land legislation, see Appendices A-B. Antiquated (and obsolete) land legislation complicates the legal position as well as prevents the consolidation of English land law. Such has major financial implications since a clearer, consolidated, land law would help speed up land sales - including house purchases - and reduce costs for businesses and individuals. Also, old laws can (often) be a ‘trap for the unwary.’1 The purpose of this article is to consider various ancient pieces of land legislation and to argue that they should be repealed. In particular, this article argues for the repeal of the following: Inclosure Acts.