The Law Commission

The Work of the Law Commission Incorporating the Twelfth Programme

December 2015

The Law Commission was set up by the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purpose of promoting the reform of the law.

The Law Commissioners are:  The Right Honourable Lord Justice Bean, Chairman  Professor Nick Hopkins  Stephen Lewis  Professor David Ormerod QC  Nicholas Paines QC

The Chief Executive of the Law Commission is Elaine Lorimer.

The Law Commission is located at 1st Floor Tower, 52 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1H 9AG.

This document is available on the Law Commission’s website at www.lawcom.gov.uk

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Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum. Contents

INTRODUCTION 1 About the Law Commission 1 LAW REFORM PROJECTS YEAR BY YEAR 5 LAW REFORM PROJECTS 8 Bills of sale 8 Charity law, selected issues 8 Consumer prepayments on retailer insolvency 9 Contempt of court 10 Electoral law 11 Family financial orders – enforcement 12 Firearms 13 Form and accessibility of the law applicable in Wales 13 Insurance contract law 14 Land registration 16 Marriage 17 Mental capacity and deprivation of liberty 17 Misconduct in public office 18 Planning and development control in Wales 18 Sentencing procedure 19 Transfer of title and change of occupancy fees in leaseholds 20 Unfitness to plead 20 Wills 21 STATUTE LAW 23 Consolidation 23 Statute law repeals 23

Introduction “Outside of Parliament itself and the Departments of State it is probably true to say that no body has had greater impact on the law and the lives of our About this document citizens than the Law Commission since its creation in 1965.” This report provides an overview of our current The Rt Hon Lord Justice Etherton, Chancellor of work, including projects from the 12th the High Court. Evidence to the 2013 Triennial Programme of Law Reform and ongoing Review of the Law Commission. projects from previous programmes. For each project, we explain why we believe there is a need for law reform in the area, and summarise Who we are the potential impact and benefits of reform. The Law Commission is headed by a Chairman About the Law Commission and four Commissioners, all of whom are appointed by the Lord Chancellor. At 1 October The Law Commission of England and Wales is 2015, the Law Commissioners were: an advisory, non-departmental public body  The Rt Hon Lord Justice Bean, Chairman which was created by the Law Commissions Act 1965, and forms part of the family of  Professor Nick Hopkins, Property, Family Ministry of Justice arm’s-length bodies. and Trust Law Our role is to review areas of the law and make  Stephen Lewis, Commercial and Common recommendations for change, with the aim of Law ensuring that the law is as simple, accessible,  Professor David Ormerod QC, Criminal Law fair, modern and cost-effective as possible. Our remit includes codification and consolidation of  Nicholas Paines QC, Public Law the law, removal of anomalies and the repeal of The Commissioners are led by a Chief obsolete and unnecessary legislation. Executive, and supported by the staff of the Over the years we have established a Law Commission plus a team of research reputation for excellence at home and abroad assistants. for our expertise in tackling technically complex areas of the law, for the thoroughness of our Our stakeholders research and the wide-ranging nature of our Our work is supported by a wide range of consultations. stakeholders. Their input and expertise helps us Underpinning the way we work is our to ensure that our projects are robust, and that independence from Government and the they we are taking into account the full range of objective way in which we conduct ourselves. views and opinions on any given aspect of the Stakeholders tell us that it is this strong ethos that law. Our main stakeholders include the sets us apart as an organisation. It means that the judiciary, parliamentarians, legal experts, public can be confident that proposals will be subject experts from the third and private considered impartially, and that we will always sectors and academia, the public sector, seek the best solutions, free from any political government officials and ministers. We also bias. work with our sponsor department the Ministry of Justice, other Law Commissions, schools and universities and the general public.

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The Law Commission Act 2009 Law reform in Wales

Looking back over our work since the Law A Protocol between the Law Commission and Commission was established in 1965, around Welsh Ministers was laid before the National 69 per cent of the law reform reports we have Assembly for Wales on 10 July 2015. produced have been implemented either in The Protocol, which was signed on 2 July, sets whole or in part. However, in recent years there out the approach that the Commission and have been concerns that implementation rates Welsh Ministers will jointly take to the are falling. Commission’s law reform work in relation to The Law Commission Act 2009 sets out some Welsh devolved matters. It covers how the practical ways of tackling this issue, ensuring relationship will work throughout all the stages that reports are considered and implemented in of a project, from our decision to take on a a timely and efficient way. First, it places a piece of work, through to the Ministers’ requirement on the Lord Chancellor to deliver response to our final report and an annual report to Parliament outlining the recommendations. Government’s progress in implementing our The Wales Act 2014, which amended the Law reports. Commissions Act 1965 to take account of Second, a Protocol was introduced in March Welsh devolution, provided for the Protocol to 2010 which stated that the Law Commission be agreed. The Act also empowers the would not take on a project without an Commission to give information and advice to undertaking by the relevant minister that there Welsh Ministers, and enables Welsh Ministers is a serious intention to take forward law reform to refer law reform projects directly to the in that area. It also requires the relevant Commission. minister to provide an interim response within In a direct reflection of the obligations placed on six months of a report being published, and a the Lord Chancellor by the Law Commission final response within a year. Act 2009, the Wales Act 2014 also requires Third, in October 2010 the House of Lords Welsh Ministers to report annually to the approved a new parliamentary procedure for Assembly about the implementation of our “uncontroversial” Law Commission Bills. This reports relating to Welsh devolved matters. procedure allows for the Second Reading of In 2013 we set up a Welsh Advisory Committee technical and politically non-controversial Law to give the people of Wales a stronger voice in Commission Bills to be taken off the floor of the law reform and help us continue to act as an House, enabling valuable legislation that has effective law reform body for both England and previously found it difficult to secure a place in the Wales. The Committee advises on the exercise main legislative programme to proceed to the of our statutory functions in relation to Wales, statute book. and helps us to identify the law reform needs of Wales and to understand who we should be “[The Law Commission] is unique, carrying out engaging and working with to bring reform a much needed task. It has set a model for the about. rest of the world in independence, scholarship, The two Welsh projects of the 12th Programme pragmatism and success. There is a real are the first Wales-only projects ever conducted danger that law would stagnate without it.” by the Law Commission. The Baroness Deech DBE MA HonLLd. Evidence to the 2013 Triennial Review of the Law Commission.

2 | The work of the Law Commission How we work statute law repeals work helps to save time and costs for practitioners who work with the law and others who need to use it, and makes it Law reform easier for citizens to access justice. Every three or four years we consult widely, Since 1965, 19 Statute Law Repeals Bills have asking for suggestions for appropriate law been enacted, repealing more than 3,000 Acts reform projects. Although we have a duty to in their entirety and thousands more in part. On “take and keep under review all the law”, it is 3 June 2015, we published our 20th Statute important that our efforts are directed towards Law Repeals Report with a Bill that we hope will areas of the law that most need reform and be introduced into Parliament at the earliest towards reforms that are most likely to be opportunity. As social and technological change implemented, in line with the 2010 Protocol. continue to be reflected in new legislation, so There should be a focus on change that will the need for systematic and expert review of deliver real benefits to people, businesses, older legislation will remain. organisations and institutions. Consolidation We also undertake law reform projects that have been referred to us directly by Over 200 consolidation Acts have been enacted Government Departments, giving us the since the Commission was established in 1965. flexibility to respond to pressing issues that The aim of this work is to make statute law emerge outside the cycle of our programme. more accessible and comprehensible; it can have real practical benefits. Before starting a law reform project, we will agree terms of reference with the relevant Department A consolidation Bill draws together different and, in some cases, set one or more review enactments on the same subject to produce a points. This provide an opportunity to stop and single statutory text while preserving the effect look at whether there is still a need for a of the current law. The text usually replaces substantive law reform project in the light of the provisions in a number of different Acts or research and analysis carried out so far. instruments. But a good consolidation does much more than produce an updated text. The cumulative effect of amendments and new law “The Government holds the excellent work of can distort the structure of legislation. the Law Commission in very high regard and Consolidation will make it more rational and the progress we have made during this past intelligible. It will also aim to remove obsolete year demonstrates the continued relevance and material, modernise language and resolve resilience of the Commission’s work.” minor inconsistencies or ambiguities that have The Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Lord Chancellor. arisen. Report on the Implementation of the Law Commission Proposals Jan 2013 to Jan 2014, Implementation May 2014. Crucial to the implementation of our consolidation and statute law repeals Bills is a Statute law dedicated parliamentary procedure. The Bills are introduced into the House of Lords and, Consolidation of statute law and the repeal of after Lords Second Reading, are scrutinised by statutes that are obsolete or no longer serve the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills, any useful purpose have been important which was appointed by both Houses functions of the Law Commission since its specifically to consider consolidation and creation. statute law repeal Bills, before returning to the Statute law repeals House of Lords for the remaining stages. By modernising the statute book and leaving it clearer, shorter and more accessible, our

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This process ensures that the Bills take up a appropriate, we act in consultation or work jointly minimum of parliamentary time on the floor of with the Northern Ireland Law Commission and each House and that they should always be the Scottish Law Commission. enacted once introduced. At the end of the consultation period, we will make our recommendations in a report to Consultation government. These could be in the form of Some projects begin with a scoping or guidance, advice to government, or law reform discussion paper, in order to help us recommendations. In cases where understand the key issues, identify interested implementation would require primary parties and establish the extent of the project. legislation, the report will usually contain a Bill Then, following initial research, we publish a drafted by Parliamentary Counsel. The report is consultation paper outlining the problems with laid before Parliament, and it is then for the current law and setting out provisional Government to decide whether to accept the proposals for reform. recommendations and introduce any necessary Bill, often working in partnership with the We are committed to consulting fully with all Commissioner, members of the relevant legal stakeholders that could potentially be affected by team and the Parliamentary Counsel who our proposals. The consultation stage includes drafted the Bill. meetings with individuals and organisations, public events, conferences and symposia. We often work in partnership with representative organisations in order to reach their members and stakeholders.

Why consultation matters Consultation is the cornerstone of our law reform projects, and is critical to the final outcome. Wide- ranging consultation allows us to gain an in-depth, up-to-date and thorough understanding of an area of law, the problems that arise and how they are experienced by the courts, legal practitioners and other interested parties, including business, the voluntary sector and members of the public. The result of our consultation process is virtually always to produce a more effective set of final recommendations. “It is the responses of consultees which is a vital part of the dynamics of law reform.”

Stephen Worthington QC, Chairman, Law Reform Committee, Bar Council, letter to the Chairman.

We ask consultees to submit formal, written responses through a choice of different channels, including online. All the responses we receive are analysed and considered carefully. They are published, either separately or in the final project report. Throughout the process, where

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Law reform projects year by year

The following table shows the projects on which the Law Commission will be working during each year. Shading indicates the years during which the project is expected to run. Not all projects are full-term law reform projects. Some are scoping exercises only; some are conducted in phases, with review points at which the Commission and lead Department take stock and decide whether to move on to the next phase.

Name of project Lead department Key dates 2014 2015 2016 2017 Bills of sale Department for Business, Start: summer 2014 Innovation and Skills Consultation: September 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, summer 2016 Charity law, selected issues Office for Civil Society, Start: April 2013 Cabinet Office Consultation: (1) April 2014 ; (2) March 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, end 2016 Consumer prepayments on Department for Business, Start: summer 2014 retailer insolvency Innovation and Skills Consultation: June 2015 Conclude: scoping report, autumn 2016 Contempt of court Ministry of Justice Start: May 2012 Consultation: (1) Scandalising the court, August 2012; (2) Contempt generally, November 2012 Conclude: (4th report) law reform recommendations and draft Bill, early 2016 Electoral law Cabinet Office Start: 2011 Scoping consultation: June 2012 Consultation: December 2014 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, spring 2017 Family financial orders, Ministry of Justice Start: March 2014 enforcement Consultation: March 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, late 2016/early 2017

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Name of project Lead department Key dates 2014 2015 2016 2017 Firearms Home Office Start: early 2015 Consultation: July 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, spring 2016 Form and accessibility of the Ministry of Justice, Wales Start: summer 2014 law applicable in Wales Office, Welsh Government Consultation: July 2015 Conclude: advice to Government, late 2015 Insurance contract law Department for Business, Start: 2006 Innovation and Skills Consultation: (1) Misrepresentation, non-disclosure and breach of warranty by the insured, July 2007; (2) Post- contract duties and other issues, December 2011; (3) The business insured’s duty of disclosure and law of warranties, June 2012 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, late 2015 Land registration Department for Business, Start: spring 2015 Innovation and Skills; Land Consultation: March 2016 Registry Conclude: recommendations and draft Bill, late 2017 Marriage Ministry of Justice Start: Summer 2015 Conclude: scoping report, December 2015 Mental capacity and Department of Health Start: summer 2014 detention Consultation: July 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, summer 2017 Misconduct in public office Ministry of Justice Start: summer 2014 Consultation: September 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations, spring 2016

Planning and development Welsh Government Start: summer 2014 control in Wales Consultation: September 2015 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, summer 2017

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Name of project Lead department Key dates 2014 2015 2016 2017 Sentencing procedure Ministry of Justice Start: January 2015 Consultation: November 2016 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, summer 2017 Transfer of title and change Department for Communities Start: October 2014 of occupancy fees in and Local Government Consultation: October 2015 leaseholds Review point: interim law reform review, March 2016

Unfitness to plead Ministry of Justice Start: 2010 Consultation: October 2010 Issues paper: May 2014 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, autumn 2015 Wills Ministry of Justice Start: February 2015 Consultation: February 2016 Conclude: law reform recommendations and draft Bill, early 2018

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Law reform projects to give consumers the standard protections associated with other forms of credit, such as hire purchase. All bills of sale must be registered, but the system is paper-based Bills of sale and inefficient. A voluntary code of conduct, which came into force in February Source: 12th Programme 2011, seems to have had little impact on lenders’ behaviour. Lead Department: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills There are good reasons to believe that the Start: Summer 2014 use of bills of sale will continue to increase, and with it consumers’ need for protection. Consultation: September 2015 This project reviews the existing legislation Scheduled completion: Summer 2016 and registration regime for bills of sale, which Outcome: Law reform recommendations has been described as “untenable” by the Citizens Advice Bureau, with the aim of modernising and simplifying the law. It also A bill of sale is a way for people to use their looks at the growing use of bills of sale in the existing goods as security for a loan. A consumer credit market, with a view to common example is the so-called “logbook providing borrowers with greater protection. loan”, where a person hands over the ownership document for their vehicle, while continuing to use it. This often happens Charity law, selected issues where the borrower cannot access credit from mainstream lenders. Source: 11th Programme The use of bills of sale has grown Lead Department: Office for Civil Society, dramatically, from 2,840 in 2001 to 38,000 Cabinet Office in 2008, and it seems likely that their use Start: April 2013 will continue to grow. The complexity of the Consultation(1): Social investments, April law in this area means that consumers and to June 2014 businesses rarely understand the Consultation(2):Technical Issues in Charity implications of using bills of sale; in any Law, March to July 2015 case, the existing legislation offers them Scheduled completion: 2016 little protection. Outcome: Law reform recommendations Interest rates can be in excess of 500 per and draft Bill cent APR; if the borrower fails to make the repayments, the property can be seized without notice. It is very difficult to tell This project looks at a range of issues whether a piece of property is subject to a concerning how charities are constituted and bill of sale, so purchasers can be left out of how their activities are regulated. One part pocket. All of these issues have a looks at the way charities incorporated by disproportionate impact on the most Royal Charter and by Act of Parliament vulnerable in society, who can find it hard amend their governing documents, while the to access properly regulated credit, and on rest comprises issues arising from Lord small businesses experiencing short-term Hodgson’s 2012 review of the Charities Act cash flow problems. 2006 that were referred to us by the Office for Civil Society in the Cabinet Office. One of The law covering this area is set out in the these issues is whether the law is clear Bills of Sale Acts 1878 and 1882, and is enough with regard to charity trustees’ complex, arcane and out-dated. It imposes powers and duties when making social unnecessary costs on businesses, but fails investments.

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Social investment recommendations on social investment by charities. A “social investment” is one that delivers a financial return at the same time as helping Technical issues the charity achieve its specific goals. Examples include offering low-interest Our second consultation paper covers the loans to start-up businesses, buying empty remaining areas of the project, including: properties in order to let them at low cost to the power of charities to amend their homeless people and investing in medical governing documents; the obligations on research or green technologies. charity trustees when they sell land; Social investment is an important and restrictions on spending; ex gratia developing area for charities, enabling payments; mergers, incorporations and them to combine investment with direct insolvencies; the powers of the Chariity spending so that they are generating more Tribunal. resources at the same time as pursuing their objectives. Charities registered with Consumer prepayments on the Charity Commission hold combined retailer insolvency investment assets worth £126 billion: if these assets can be put to more effective Source: 12th Programme use, there is significant potential benefit to Lead Department: Department for the public. Business, Innovation and Skills Many charities are already involved in Start: Summer 2014 social investment, and the existing law is Consultation: June 2015 not an impediment. But there is concern Scheduled completion: Summer 2016 that a lack of clarity as to their precise powers and duties means that some Outcome: Scoping study charity trustees are not confident about making social investments. A study by Consumer Focus in 2009 found Our initial consultation paper proposed a that approximately 24.5 million prepayment new default statutory power for charity transactions are made each year in the UK trustees to make social investments, along by around 20 million consumers. with a list of factors that trustees may take Prepayments are popular because they into account when investing. This new can be used to budget for big spends, such power – combined with the accompanying as Christmas, or as a deposit for major checklist – would make it clear to trustees purchases like cars or new kitchens. On a that they should consider all the potential smaller scale, gift vouchers and cards benefits of a social investment, rather than solve the dilemma of choosing the “right” focusing solely on achieving the best gift. The benefits for businesses are that financial return. prepayments provide a cheap source of Following an 8-week consultation, we working capital and can lock in consumers published our recommendations and then to a particular brand. drafted a Bill to give effect to our However, recent high-profile retailer recommendation for the creation of a new insolvencies have highlighted the lack of statutory power, which the Government protection for consumers making these has included within the Charities kinds of payments. The collapse of the (Protection and Social Investment) Bill Farepak Christmas savings club in 2006 currently before Parliament. We await the left many consumers out of pocket. More response of Government to our other recently, the collapse of Comet reportedly

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caused consumers to lose £4.7 million in Scandalising the Court, August 2012 to unused gift vouchers. October 2012 When a retailer becomes insolvent, the law Contempt of court generally, November imposes a strict hierarchy of creditors to be 2012 to February 2013 paid out from any remaining assets. Scheduled completion: tbc Consumers, who are classed as unsecured creditors, are very near the bottom of the Outcome: Law reform recommendations, in list. four reports This lack of protection is causing concern. The issues are complex and go to the Scandalising the court heart of the insolvency regime. In 1982, the Cork report rejected greater protection for In August 2012, we published a consumers, noting that consumers typically consultation paper on scandalising the lose small and affordable amounts while court – a historic form of contempt of court the effect on suppliers can be catastrophic. covering conduct likely to undermine the But following the Farepak collapse the administration of justice or public Treasury Select Committee described the confidence in courts and judges. This work existing safety net as “inadequate and was brought forward in order to feed into incomplete”. The OFT carried out a review, the Government’s deliberations on the and ministers asked the Department for Crime and Courts Bill. Our Business, Innovation and Skills to consider recommendation that the offence be providing more protection for consumers. abolished was accepted as an amendment to the Bill in December 2012. We do not believe that the problem will go away. If anything, given the current Abolition of the offence of scandalising the economic climate, retailer insolvencies court was implemented in the Crime and may increase. There are also good Courts Act 2013. reasons for giving consumers more protection, not least to maintain consumer confidence in these products. But we must Contempt of court – other bear in mind that greater protection for areas consumers will necessarily lead to less protection for others. Contempt of court covers a wide variety of activities and behaviour that undermine or The project will consider possible ways threaten to undermine the course of forward, gathering empirical evidence about justice. The law covering contempt of court the scale of the problem and consulting on is vast. In our consultation paper we possible solutions. We are also looking at therefore chose to focus on a number of possible differences in approach to the issue specific areas, including: in Scots law and the law of England and Wales.  Contempt by publication: We looked at how best to balance the right to a fair trial with the right to freedom of Contempt of court expression Source: 11th Programme  The impact of new media: Much of the Lead Department: Ministry of Justice law pre-dates the internet, and there are concerns as to whether it can deal Start: May 2012 effectively with contempts involving Consultation: new media and in particular social media.

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 Contempts by jurors: We looked at the Court reporting issue of jurors using external sources to find information about the case they We published our second report in March are trying. There is a need to strike a 2014, recommending: balance between ensuring that justice  that all postponement orders on court is done, the defendant’s right to a fair reporting be posted on a single publicly trial and jurors’ own rights. accessible website (as already happens in Scotland), and adding a  Contempt in the face of the court: The paid-for service where users can law in this area is confusing, with gaps access the terms of the order and sign and inconsistencies between the up for automated email alerts of new provisions that apply to the Crown orders. Court and those applying to the Final report magistrates’ courts. The remaining report in this project will deal  Reporting restrictions: Current law with contempt in the face of the court and gives courts the power to postpone aspects of contempt by publication not court reporting where this is necessary already covered in our previous reports. to avoid prejudicing the proceedings, but there is no formal system for communicating these orders to the Electoral law media. Source: 11th Programme Lead Department: Cabinet Office Juror misconduct and Start: 2011 internet publications Scoping consultation: June to September 2012 In this first post-consultation report, published in December 2013, we made Consultation: January 2016 recommendations including: Scheduled completion: Early 2017  Making it a criminal offence for jurors to Outcome: Law reform recommendations conduct prohibited research. and draft Bill  Introducing an exemption from The law covering the administration of contempt liability for publishers relating elections is old, disparate, confusing and to archived online material. sometimes contradictory. Particularly since  Making a limited exception to the 1997, the original 19th century structure has prohibition on jurors revealing their been patched up and adapted to deliberations where it could highlight accommodate new elections to new miscarriages of justice, or where they institutions with new voting systems. People are taking part in controlled research. are now often asked to vote for a range of representatives at the same time. Each type The first recommendation was given of election comes with its own set of rules legislative effect by section 71 of the and systems, and combining different types Criminal Justice and Courts Act, which was into one electoral event introduces yet more given Royal Assent in February 2015. layers of electoral law. To keep running, the system has come to depend on the production of voluminous guidance, and on

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the considerable energy and ingenuity of election was not affected. The reforms will electoral administrators. not cover matters of a fundamentally political nature, like the franchise, voting Our project to reform electoral law is split systems, electoral boundaries and the into three stages. In accordance with the national funding of political parties. scoping stage, which ran from July 2011 to December 2012, we are now considering The third stage will be the writing of a draft substantive law reform in the following Bill, after we deliver a report of our areas: proposals.  the administration of local campaigns; The project has, since the start of the second phase, been a tripartite project with the  the law covering polling days and Scottish and Northern Ireland Law counts; Commissions.  combination of polls (when more than one election is taking place at the same Family financial orders – time); enforcement  election timetables;  challenges to the result and criminal Source: 11th Programme offences; and Lead Department: Ministry of Justice  the administration of referendums. Start: March 2014 Consultation: March 2015 Consultees responding to our scoping Scheduled completion: Winter 2016/17 paper agreed that there was a clear need Outcome: Law reform recommendations to: and draft Bill  review the legislative framework for electoral law to provide a clear, The courts have statutory powers to order principled and consistent structure; people to make financial provision for their  review electoral administration law to children or for a former spouse or civil rationalise, simplify and modernise the partner following divorce or the dissolution of rules governing the conduct of elections, a civil partnership. Sometimes, obtaining so as to reduce the risk of mistakes; these orders comes at significant financial and emotional cost to those involved. But  identify where the electoral process – this damage may be compounded – and and the electorate – would benefit from have a long-term impact on both adults and rules that are more specific and clear; children – if the orders are not then enforced. and The current law on the enforcement of  recommend how existing rules could be family financial orders has been described less prescriptive and more flexible to as “hopelessly complex and procedurally reduce the complexity and volume of tortuous”. The enforcement mechanisms laws, and reflect the best interests of are contained in a wide range of legislation voters. and members of the public, legal practitioners and even the courts have The reforms also look at the circumstances difficulty understanding how they work. under which electoral administration might The law may be preventing some sensible be challenged. The current system leaves arrangements being put in place. little room for investigating, and drawing conclusions from, a complaint about how This project will look at the various ways in an election was run if the outcome of the which family financial orders made under

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the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the Civil In part, this is because the way weapons Partnership Act 2004 and the Children Act have been categorised in law and 1989 are enforced. Reform of the law could understood in society in the past no longer offer a clear set of rules and the ability to reflects present reality. For example, no access the full range of enforcement definitions are given for key terms such as options, without the need for multiple “antique”, “imitation”, “lethal” and even hearings. It would enable the court to “weapon”. There is considerable overlap consider enforcement against a wide range between offences, making it difficult to of assets and allow the enforcement establish clearly which charges apply in an regime to work effectively when small individual case. The law has also failed to amounts are owed, so that parties do not keep abreast with modern technology, and have to wait until large arrears are due in particular with the availability of before enforcing orders in their favour. equipment that can be used to convert objects into active firearms. Better law in this area will help to ensure that money that has been ordered to be The implications are serious and wide- paid for the support of children and adults ranging. Experts are taking longer to is paid. It would also limit the damaging classify weapons, prosecutors are effects of ongoing litigation on families, struggling to select appropriate charges enabling the parties to move on with their and there are many examples of lives. A simpler and more intuitive defendants escaping prosecution on a enforcement process would assist technicality by successfully arguing that the individuals and could ease pressure on the weapon in their possession has been court system and legal advice agencies. wrongly identified. We are currently investigating law and Public confidence in the criminal justice practice in this area in light of developments, system is understandably dented when particularly in the court system, that have defendants walk free because the statutes taken place since the project was initially designed to criminalise their behaviour are included in our work programme. This will not fit for use in the modern age. This inform the scope of the project and our scoping exercise will survey the current anticipated timetable for completing it. landscape, identify the problems with the law and propose a range of reform possibilities. It Firearms will consider the enactment of a single statute, containing modified and simplified versions of all firearms offences and Source: 12th Programme providing clear definitions of all relevant Lead Department: Home Office terms. Start: Early 2015 Consultation: July 2015 Form and accessibility of the Scheduled completion: Early 2016 law applicable in Wales Outcome: Scoping report Source: 12th Programme The current law relating to firearms and other Lead Department: Ministry of Justice, offensive weapons is contained in a number Wales Office, Welsh Government of different statutes and statutory Start: Summer 2014 instruments, resulting in a confused and Consultation: July 2015 confusing picture and creating significant practical difficulties for investigating Scheduled completion: Summer 2016 authorities and prosecutors. Outcome: Advice to Government

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Problems with the form and accessibility of reform.” the law relating to Wales have been apparent for some time, and are becoming Maura McGowan QC, Chairman of the Bar. more serious. The process of devolution has Letter to the Chairman, December 2012. led to a situation in which it is difficult for both professionals and the public to access the law relating to Wales. Insurance contract law The Government of Wales Act 1998 transferred executive powers to the Source: 9th Programme National Assembly for Wales by means of Lead Department: Department for transfer of functions orders. Other powers Business, Innovation and Skills were transferred to the Assembly by statute. In 2007, these functions were Start: January 2006 transferred to Welsh ministers, and Consultations: provision was made for transferring Misrepresentation, Non-disclosure and legislative competence either by statute or Breach of Warranty by the Insured, July to by legislative consent order. The system September 2007 changed in 2011, and the National Post Contract Duties and other Issues, Assembly now has broader powers to December 2011 to February 2012 make laws in devolved areas. The Business Insured's Duty of Disclosure As a result, it can be very difficult to find and the Law of Warranties, June to August and understand the law in devolved areas. 2012 The problem is particularly acute in respect Scheduled completion: Summer 2015 of executive powers, but is certainly not Outcome: Law reform recommendations confined to them. For example, a power and draft Bills, in three reports which, on the face of a statute, appears to be exercised by the Secretary of State may in fact have been transferred to Welsh The current law on insurance contracts dates ministers. However, this will not be back to 1906 and is now seriously out of apparent without in-depth research. Pre- date. The 1906 Act was developed at a time devolution statutes may have been when the person being insured knew their subsequently amended, so that they now business while the insurer did not, and was contain some provisions that cover designed to protect the fledgling insurance England and Wales, some that relate to industry against exploitation. England and some that are specific to Working with the Scottish Law Wales only. Commission, we have been conducting a This project will be purely advisory, and our wide-ranging review that aims to simplify final report will not contain a draft Bill. We will the law and bring it into line with modern consider ways in which the earlier legislation market practice. can be simplified and made more accessible, The review is being carried out in phases. and how future legislation could reduce, Our first priority was consumer insurance rather than multiply, the problems. law, on which we reported in 2009, leading to the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure “Since it was established in 1965 the Law and Representations) Act 2012. Our Commission has achieved a deservedly second report will cover four further topics: high reputation for the quality of its work  the duty of disclosure in business and the rigour of its approach to law insurance;

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 the law of warranties; modernise and simplify insurance contract law across the UK.  damages for late payment; and The Insurance Act 2015 will give  the insurer’s remedies for fraud. effect to reforms recommended by the Law Commissions in their 2014 Consumer Insurance report Insurance Contract Law: (Disclosure and Business Disclosure, Warranties, Insurers’ Remedies for Fraudulent Representations) Act 2012 Claims, and Late Payment. The law under the Marine Insurance Act The duty of disclosure in business 1906 requires consumers to volunteer insurance information about everything which a In the past, a business policyholder had a “prudent insurer” would consider duty to disclose every material relevant. The aim of our project was to circumstance it knew about the risk it remove the duty on consumers to wanted to insure against. Failure to do so volunteer information to the insurer and entitled the insurer to “avoid” the contract, replace it with a duty to answer the ie to treat it as if it did not exist and refuse insurer’s questions honestly and all claims. The duty was unclear and reasonably. sometimes poorly understood, and the The Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and penalties for failure were too harsh. Representations) Bill, which was derived Under a new “duty of fair presentation”, from our report, was introduced into business policyholders will still have a duty Parliament using the special procedure for to volunteer information, but what is uncontroversial Law Commission Bills. The required of them is made clearer, and Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and insurers will have to play a more active role Representations) Act 2012 came into force in asking questions to the policyholder. A on 6 April 2013. The Act: new scheme of proportionate remedies will  abolishes the consumer’s duty to replace the existing single remedy of volunteer material facts. Instead, avoidance, which allows insurers to refuse consumers must take reasonable care the whole of a claim. to answer their insurer’s questions fully The law of warranties and accurately and, if they volunteer In insurance law, a “warranty” is a information, must take reasonable care particularly onerous term. Typically, a to ensure that it is not misleading; and warranty requires the policyholder to take  prescribes the insurer’s remedies where some action to mitigate risk, for example they have been induced by a maintaining a burglar alarm. The problem misrepresentation to enter into an is that any breach discharged the insurer insurance contract. from liability, even if the breach had been remedied. Insurance Act 2015 Under the Insurance Act 2015, insurers will be liable to pay any claim that arises after a The Insurance Bill received Royal breach of warranty has been remedied Assent on 12 February 2015, such as where a broken burglar alarm has implementing reforms recommended been repaired before the claim arises. by the Law Commissions of England They will no longer be able to escape and Wales and of Scotland to liability on the basis of the policyholder’s breach of a contract term that is shown to

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be completely irrelevant to the loss Registry suffered. And “basis of the contract” clauses, which used to turn any statement Start: Spring 2015 from a policyholder into a warranty, have Consultation: March 2016 been abolished. Scheduled completion: Late 2017 Damages for late payment Outcome: Law reform recommendations and draft Bill The Government did not include the Law Commissions’ recommendations relating to late payment in the The Land Registration Act 2002 established Insurance Act 2015 but has a regime for the registration of title to incorporated them into the Enterprise freehold and some leasehold land, and Bill, which is currently before interests affecting such land. The 2002 Act Parliament. was implemented following a joint project between the Law Commission and Land Insurers’ remedies for fraud Registry. Insurers are particularly vulnerable to fraud The land registration regime is of by policyholders, and the law needs to enormous and growing importance. Over provide well-known, robust sanctions. The 80% of the land in England and Wales is law in this area was confused. registered, with Land Registry maintaining Implementing our recommendations, the more than 23 million titles. Act will now provide insurers with clear, This project comprises a wide-ranging robust remedies when a policyholder review of the 2002 Act, with a view to makes a fraudulent claim. Where any part amendment where elements of the Act of a claim is fraudulent, they will be entitled could be improved in light of experience to refuse the whole claim. They will also with its operation. There is evidence that in have the right to refuse any claim arising some areas revision or clarification is after the fraud but must pay earlier, valid needed; the 12th Programme consultation claims. revealed a range of often highly technical Insurable interest issues that have important commercial implications for Land Registry and its Our final report and Bill on this project will stakeholders, including mortgage cover the issue of insurable interest. providers.

In March 2015 we published an issues paper Dealings and disputes that engage the setting out updated proposals to clarify the land registration regime can be complex concept of insurable interest in indemnity and require expert advice. Uncertainty in insurance and to extend the concept for life the regime makes advising clients difficult, insurance. We propose that people should incentivises litigation, and increases costs be allowed to insure the lives of their for landowners. children, cohabitants or employees, and the In particular, this project examines the extent law should not put controls on this. of Land Registry’s guarantee of title, rectification and alteration of the register, and Land registration the impact of fraud. The project also re-examines the legal Source: 12th Programme framework for electronic conveyancing. We Lead Department: Department for consider how technology might be Business, Innovation and Skills, Land harnessed to reduce the time and resources required to process applications while

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maintaining the reliability of the register and to make those decisions in their best public confidence in it. interests. In 2004, a case before the European Court Marriage of Human Rights established that it was possible for decisions taken in a person’s Source: 12th Programme best interests about the provision of Lead Department: Ministry of Justice residential and social services were capable of amounting to a deprivation of Start: Summer 2015 liberty under Article 5 of the European Scheduled completion: December 2015 Convention on Human Rights. The UK was Outcome: Scoping report found to be in breach of the Article, because in such circumstances the law in This project involves a review of the law England and Wales did not provide for an governing how and where people can marry adequate system of authorisation and in England and Wales. The underlying review of the deprivation of liberty. question is whether the current law, which In 2007, in reaction to the finding, the has evolved over a long period of time, deprivation of liberty safeguards (DOLS) provides a clear and coherent legal were introduced into the Mental Capacity framework, which meets people’s needs and Act 2005 by the Mental Health Act 2007. wishes and also recognises the interests of They were introduced in order to plug the society and the state in protecting the status gap identified in the case, and to ensure of marriage. that such situations are properly regulated in line with the person’s human rights. The Law Commission agreed to carry out DOLS applies only to deprivations of liberty some initial work to prepare the way for that take place in hospitals and care homes. potential future reform. We have published the results of a preliminary study identifying If a person’s right to liberty is compromised and providing an initial analysis of the in other settings, his or her deprivation of issues that need to be addressed in order liberty has to be authorised and supervised to develop proposals for the reform of by the Court of Protection. marriage law. The DOLS provisions have been criticised since they were introduced for being overly Mental capacity and complex and excessively bureaucratic. It is said that staff often do not understand deprivation of liberty them and that there is confusion over the differences between the powers of the Source: 12th Programme Mental Health Act 1983 and DOLS. Lead Department: Department of Health In March 2014 a House of Lords select Start: Summer 2014 committee conducting a post-legislative Consultation: July 2015 scrutiny of the Mental Capacity Act found Scheduled completion: December 2016 that DOLS were not “fit for purpose” and Outcome: Law reform recommendations called for them to be replaced. The and draft Bill committee also recommended that the new system should extend to cover people in supported living arrangements, not just The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides the hospitals and care homes. Shortly framework for assessing whether people afterwards, the Supreme Court found that have the necessary capacity to make certain a person will be deprived of their liberty in decisions, and where they do not, for others

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more situations than had previously been law offence. It will also ensure that the law thought to be the case. takes into account practices whereby traditionally public functions are discharged The Department of Health has accepted by private individuals and volunteers to that there are difficulties with DOLS and ensure that the scope of the offence is has announced various measures neither over- nor under-inclusive. designed to improve the way the safeguards operate. “The Commission continues to fulfil an Our project considers how deprivation of important function within the justice system liberty should be authorised and supervised and the commitment of those working at in settings other than hospitals and care the Commission to continue to do this homes, where it is possible that Article 5 despite various pressures [is] impressive.” rights would otherwise be infringed. In addition to considering these settings, the Triennial Review of the Law Commission, project will also assess the implications of Report of Stage Two (2014), p11. this work for DOLS to ensure that any learning which may be relevant is shared. Planning and development Misconduct in public office control in Wales Source: 11th Programme Source: 12th Programme Lead Department: Ministry of Justice Lead Department: Welsh Government Start: Summer 2014 Start: Summer 2014 Consultation: January 2016 Consultation: Spring 2016 Scheduled completion: Summer 2016 Scheduled completion: Summer 2017 Outcome: Law reform recommendations Outcome: Law reform recommendations and draft Bill Misconduct in public office is a common law offence but there is no exhaustive definition. Planning law in both England and Wales is As a result the boundaries of the offence are over-complicated and difficult to understand. uncertain and despite there being relatively The statutory provisions have not been few prosecutions each year a consolidated since the Town and Country disproportionately high number of those Planning Act 1990, and there has been cases are the subject of appeal. Areas of piecemeal legislative development ever difficulty identified in recent appeals include since. the fact that the fault element of the offence varies according to the conduct that is the The position is even more complex in subject of prosecution and that there is Wales. Some, but not all, of the recent uncertainty as regards the liability of private English legislation is applicable to Wales, individuals who discharge public functions. while some provisions are specific to Wales only and some have been In 2010 the Committee on the Issue of commenced in England but not in Wales. Privilege (Police Searches on the This means that it is very difficult, even for Parliamentary Estate) recommended that professionals, to understand which parts of the Law Commission revisit its 1997 the planning law apply in Wales, leading to proposal to create a statutory offence. increased costs to individuals, communities This project will involve the simplification, and businesses, as well as to local clarification and codification of a common planning authorities.

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The planning system in England and This makes it difficult, if not impossible at Wales is based on local development times, for practitioners and the courts to plans. Individual planning applications understand what the present law of should comply with these. The Planning sentencing procedure actually is. This can (Wales) Act 2015 reforms plan-making lead to delays, costly appeals and unlawful functions in Wales but does not sentences. A survey of 400 Court of fundamentally address the distinct process Appeal cases from 2012 by the sentencing of development management and expert Robert Banks found that 262 were consideration of planning applications, nor appeals against sentences and that of the relationship between development these, 95 related to sentences that had management and local development plans. been unlawfully passed in the Crown Court. Banks wrote, “[This] figure shows This project considers the benefits of a that we can no longer say the sentencing simplified and modernised system that system is working properly. Cases since reflects the needs of Wales, a smaller then have indicated that these figures are country with different types of land use, not unrepresentative.” and where there is a close connection between government bodies. The main There seems to be near unanimity from all focus is the reform of the development in practice, on the bench and in academia control process, and the relationship that the law in this area is in urgent need of between this and plan-making. reform. The courts have repeatedly complained about the complexity of A simplified and modernised planning modern sentencing procedure. There is system for Wales will have the potential to strong evidence that the high number of promote economic growth, housing supply unlawful sentences being handed down is and protection of the environment, as well as a direct result of the inability of sentencing increasing efficiency and reducing tribunals to find their way through the transaction costs. relevant provisions. This undermines public confidence in sentencing and costs a great Sentencing procedure deal of public money to rectify on appeal. Our aim in this project is to introduce a Source: 12th Programme single sentencing statute that will act as the Lead Department: Ministry of Justice first and only port of call for sentencing Start: January 2015 tribunals. It will set out the relevant Consultation: November 2016 provisions in a clear and logical way, and Scheduled completion: Summer 2017 ensure that all updates to sentencing procedure can be found in a single place. It Outcome: Law reform recommendations is not the aim of this project to interfere and draft Bill with mandatory minimum sentences or with sentencing tariffs in general. Those will The law on sentencing affects all criminal remain entirely untouched, but the process cases, and is applied in hundreds of by which they come to be imposed will be thousands of cases and thousands of streamlined and much improved. appeals each year. Currently, the law lacks coherence and clarity: it is spread across a In July 2015 we published an issues paper, myriad of statues, and frequent updates are examining how the New Sentencing Code brought into force at different times by should be introduced. We expect to publish different statutory instruments and have a a series of consultative documents variety of transitional arrangements. throughout the project.

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existing regulatory regimes. As a result “I can state unequivocally that in my view there may be no means by which someone the Law Commission continues to play a leasing a property can effectively challenge vital role in helping the shape the criminal a term or the amount of the fee. law in England and Wales.” In response to the OFT’s report some Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public landlords voluntarily entered into Prosecution. Evidence to the 2013 Triennial undertakings on the use of the terms. Review of the Law Commission. However, the OFT also recommended that the Government should consider Transfer of title and change of further measures, including legislative reform. occupancy fees in leaseholds Our project considers the problems caused Source: Ministerial reference by terms in residential leases generally that require the lessee to pay a fee on a Lead Department: Department for transfer of title or change of occupancy, Communities and Local Government and in the retirement home sector and Start: October 2014 similar markets in particular. Consultation: October 2015 We are looking at how the current law Review Point: March 2016 addresses the problems that are identified Outcome: Interim law reform review and considering whether greater protection is needed for lessees, for example through: The project looks at leasehold terms that  unfair terms legislation oblige a person leasing a property to pay a  landlord and tenant law, and/or fee when the title to that property is transferred or where there is a change in  conveyancing procedure. occupancy. We are also considering what the impact of These sorts of leasehold terms are most any greater protection may be. often found in retirement home and similar developments. Concerns were raised with Unfitness to plead the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) about their operation. The fee is usually calculated as Source: 10th Programme a percentage of the sale price or the Lead Department: Ministry of Justice original purchase price. Fees can be charged where the transfer of title is Start: 2010 voluntary, for example when the property is Initial consultation: October 2010 to sold, or involuntary such as under a January 2011 property transfer order. Change of Further questions: May 2014 to July 2014 occupancy can be broadly defined and Scheduled completion: Early 2016 fees can be triggered on more than one Outcome: Law reform recommendations occasion over the lifetime of a lease, for and draft Bill example if the occupant has to go into hospital for a time. When a defendant facing criminal The OFT concluded that the terms were prosecution is “unfit to plead”, they cannot potentially unfair and there was a lack of engage with the process because of their transparency, particularly in sales mental or physical condition. These materials. The nature of the terms can be defendants are tried using a different unclear and some appear to fall outside the

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process and if it is found that they did commit reflect the experience and views of all the act in question, they may be detained in those who encounter these issues, a hospital or supervised in the community. whether by working within the criminal justice system or experiencing it as a The legal test used to decide whether a victim, witness, defendant or general defendant is “unfit to plead” dates from member of the public. 1836, and does not adequately reflect advances in modern psychiatric and Once we have completed this project, we psychological thinking. would like to return to our project on insanity and automatism. This project is In addition, the law has developed currently on hold, as practitioners have told piecemeal and independently of the us that reform of unfitness to plead is more development of the right to “effective urgently needed. participation” that forms part of the fair trial guarantees set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. The test “The Commission’s commitment to needs to be reformed so that it achieves a openness was…greatly welcomed by the fair balance between protecting vulnerable Commission’s stakeholders. Its open and defendants and ensuring that the rights of transparent approach to law reform and victims and the security of the general policy making is an exemplar of the kind of public are properly addressed. open policy making championed in the Civil Service Reform Plan.” In our consultation, we made provisional proposals for comprehensive reform of the Triennial Review of the Law Commission, law on unfitness to plead in England and Report of Stage Two (2014), p12. Wales. Having reviewed the responses, and taking into account changes to the criminal justice system since the Wills consultation, we returned to stakeholders with a number of additional questions. Source: 12th Programme These included: Lead Department: Ministry of Justice  How can special measures to enhance Start: Early 2016 the defendant’s ability to participate in Consultation: tbc trial be fairly incorporated into the test for unfitness? Complete: tbc Outcome: Law reform recommendations  Should the procedure in the magistrates’ and draft Bill and youth courts be the same as that in the Crown Court? It is estimated that 40% or more of the adult  What should the process be for dealing population does not have a will, and where with a defendant who has been found they do, the state of the law means it will unfit to plead? often be found to be invalid. Where there is  At a hearing to deal with a defendant no will or a will is invalid, the intestacy rules found unfit, what issues should be will apply; they are a blunt instrument that considered by the court? cannot replace the expression of a person’s own wishes. Certain individuals and bodies  What options should the court have in cannot benefit under the rules, including dealing with unfit defendants? cohabitants and charities. It is therefore These aim of these additional questions is important that people make wills and that the to ensure that our final recommendations law supports this. to Government are practical and properly

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The primary wills statute, the Wills Act 1837, dates from the Victorian era. The law governing testamentary capacity, the mental capacity to make a will, derives from a case from 1870. There is concern that the current law discourages some people from making wills, that it is out of step with social and medical developments, and that it may not work in such a way as to give best effect to a person’s intentions on death. It has been criticised for being difficult to understand and apply, and for sometimes being unworkable in practice. In the case of mental capacity, this presents a growing problem, since conditions that affect capacity are becoming more common as people live longer. This project will review the law of wills, focusing on four key areas that have been identified as potentially needing reform: testamentary capacity, the formalities for a valid will, the rectification of wills, and mutual wills. It will consider whether the law could be reformed to encourage and facilitate will-making in the 21st century: for example, whether it should be updated to take account of developments in technology and medicine. It will also aim to reduce the likelihood of wills being challenged after death, and the incidence of litigation. Such litigation is expensive, can divide families and is a cause of great stress for the bereaved.

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Statute law 20th century legislation

Consultation: late 2014 Consolidation of statute law and the repeal Complete: February 2015 of statutes that are obsolete or no longer Outcome: Statute Law Repeals report and serve any useful purpose have been draft Bill important functions of the Law Commission since its creation. By modernising the statute book and leaving it clearer, shorter A review of 20th century legislation suggests and more accessible, this work helps to the existence of a considerable amount of save time and costs for practitioners who comparatively modern but obsolete law that work with the law and others who need to has fallen outside our previous repeals use it, and makes it easier for citizens to projects. access justice. We completed a chronological examination of 20th century Acts and recommended Consolidation repeals in a number of areas.

Over 200 consolidation Acts have been Finance, taxation and other repeals enacted since the Commission was established in 1965. The aim of this work is Consultation: late 2014 to make statute law more accessible and comprehensible; it can have real practical The largest single component is obsolete benefits. Acts relating to finance and taxation. We Following discussions with the Ministry of consulted on potential repeals of obsolete Justice we have decided to restart work on Acts relating to the police, criminal law, the consolidation of the law of Bail (a shipping and social security. project suspended in 2010). That is subject to competing priorities for our drafting Trade and industry resources, but we hope work can restart later in 2015. Consultation: June 2014

“I end by thanking the Law Commission, We recommended the repeal of 37 obsolete which does an extremely good job for us in Acts and the partial repeal of 11 other Acts this country. I add my tributes to it for the relating to trade and industry. The Acts span work that it does all the time to present us the period 1860 to 2007. with considered and measured proposals The repeals are in two groups. The first for legislation.” covers coal industry legislation starting just Simon Hughes MP, HC Debate, 26 March before the nationalisation of the coal 2014, C427. industry in 1947. Much of the post-Second World War legislation relates to the

Government’s funding of the coal industry Statute law repeals and the National Coal Board and is now obsolete. The work set out in this section forms the The second group relates more generally to basis of the 20th Statute Law (Repeals) Bill, trade and industry legislation. Mostly dating which we recommended to Government in from the 1940s, the obsolete enactments June 2015.

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reflect economic and social changes in the second half of the 20th century. Churches The recommendations include the repeal Consultation: July 2014 of: Complete: June 2015  five Acts passed to regulate the Outcome: Statute Law Repeals report and telegraph industry; draft Bill  a 1938 Act passed to maintain stocks of food and fuel in the event of war; This project examined 18th and 19th century Acts that were passed to raise money for the  a 1939 Act passed to restrict the repair or rebuilding of ancient churches in advertisement of insurance aimed at England and Wales. protecting home owners against war risks; Parliamentary authority had been needed for these works because the costs were  a 1975 Act passed to prevent important met by rates levied on the inhabitants of manufacturing firms passing to non- the parishes. In nearly every case, the Acts residents; and became obsolete once sufficient money  a 1979 Act passed to regulate the had been raised from parishioners. Indeed, Crown Agents. many of the churches in question no longer exist. British India We have recommended the repeal of 121 obsolete Acts. Consultation: 2012 Complete: June 2015 Outcome: Statute Law Repeals report and draft Bill

This work represents the third and final phase of the Commission’s review of obsolete or spent UK legislation relating to British India. We reviewed some 24 statutes that enabled companies to be established and operate a variety of commercial undertakings either in, or in connection with, what was – until 1947 – British India (today principally India, Pakistan and Bangladesh).

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