Reforming the offence of misconduct in public office – Law Commission

‘The law that governs misconduct in public office is unclear, ambiguous and in need of reform, according to the Law Commission, independent law reform adviser to the Government.’

Full story

Law Commission, 5th September 2016

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Law Commission consults on reform to law on misconduct in public office – Local Government Lawyer

‘The law on misconduct in public office is “unclear, ambiguous and in need of reform”, the Law Commission has said, issuing a consultation paper on a new statutory offence.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 5th September 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Fixing the vicious cycle – Counsel

Posted September 1st, 2016 in civil justice, criminal justice, Law Commission, news, parliament by sally

‘Rawdon Crozier considers what legislators and policy makers could learn from British cycling.’

Full story

Counsel, September 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Needs Must! Family Justice Council provides guidance for financial orders in ‘needs’ cases – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 26th, 2016 in choice of forum, divorce, financial provision, Law Commission, news by sally

‘The law relating to financial orders is inherently unclear. It is not possible to discern from the statute what the law requires, although the courts and family lawyers administer the law with confidence’.

Full story

Tanfield Chambers. 18th July 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Consumer Prepayments on Retailer Insolvency – Law Commission

‘This project is complete. We laid our report before Parliament on 13 July 2016 and await the Government’s response.
This project, which was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), considered whether greater protection is needed for consumers who lose deposits or gift vouchers when retailers or other service providers become insolvent.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 14th July 2016

Source: http://www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

Form and Accessibility of the Law Applicable in Wales – official-documents.gov.uk

‘This is the Law Commission’s final report on the form and accessibility of the law applicable in Wales.’

Full press release

official-documents.gov.uk, 30th June 2016

Source: official-documents.gov.uk

Threatening IP infringers – what you can (and can’t) say – Technology Law Update

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in bills, enforcement, intellectual property, Law Commission, news by sally

‘The UK’s unjustified threats legislation is intended to prevent IP rights-holders from abusive behaviour – threatening to sue a competitor’s customers, for example, to persuade them to take their business elsewhere. While there is still a place for these rules, they have become outdated and inconsistent between the various forms of IP. The Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Bill aims to tidy up and modernise the threats rules.’

Full story

Technology Law Update, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

A New Sentencing Code for England and Wales Transition – Final Report and Recommendations – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted May 20th, 2016 in codes of practice, Law Commission, reports, sentencing by tracey

‘This report contains the Law Commission’s formal recommendations on transition to the New Sentencing Code.’

Full report

Official-documents.gov.uk, 20th May 2015

Source: official-documents.gov.uk

Strengthening the foundations of land ownership – Law Commission

Posted March 31st, 2016 in consultations, conveyancing, fraud, land registration, Law Commission, news by sally

‘The Law Commission is reviewing the legal framework that governs the registration of land in England and Wales. In a consultation opening on Thursday 31 March the Commission – the independent body that advises government on law reform – is asking how the Land Registration Act 2002 is working in practice and whether there are opportunities for the system to be clarified and updated.’

Full story

Law Commission, 31st March 2016

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Land registration law up for review – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 31st, 2016 in consultations, conveyancing, fraud, land registration, Law Commission, news by sally

‘A new formula for determining which of two innocent parties of a land fraud should keep the property in question is among proposals for reform of the legal framework governing land registration in England and Wales to be published today.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 31st March 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court rewrites law on multipliers in fatal accident cases – Legal Futures

‘The Supreme Court has overturned two House of Lords judgments in ruling that the multiplier in assessing damages for fatal accident claims should be calculated from the date of the trial, not the date of death.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 24th February 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Jury Service and the Price of Curiosity – Emma Fenelon – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 16th, 2016 in contempt of court, human rights, juries, Law Commission, news, reports by sally

‘Like the 179,000 or so people selected at random from the electoral register each year in England and Wales, in July 2011 Ms. Theodora Dallas was summoned to attend jury service. Along with other jurors summoned that day, she was shown a video about their service, and told by the court’s jury officer that internet research about anyone involved in the trial was not permitted. For good measure, the jury waiting room contained notices stating “You may also be in contempt of court if you use the internet to research details about any cases you hear along with any cases listed for trial at the Court…”. The notices made it clear that contempt of court was punishable by a fine or by imprisonment.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 15th February 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

A single legal framework for UK elections – Law Commission

Posted February 4th, 2016 in elections, Law Commission, press releases, reports by tracey

‘The UK needs a new, modern and rational legal framework to govern the conduct of elections and referendums, according to an interim report published today by the three Law Commissions of the UK.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 4th February 2016

Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

Reviewing the offence of misconduct in public office – Law Commission

Posted January 29th, 2016 in consultations, Law Commission, misfeasance in public office by tracey

‘What is misconduct? And who is in public office? The existing law that governs misconduct in public office does not provide clear answers to either of these questions, according to the Law Commission.

Today the Law Commission launched a consultation aimed at exploring how the current law is being used and discovering the problems caused in practice by the law’s lack of clarity.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 20th January 2016

Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

Modernising the rules on unfitness to plead – Law Commission

Posted January 13th, 2016 in fitness to plead, Law Commission, mental health, news by sally

‘A new test is needed to establish who is unfit to plead. The existing rules for deciding whether a defendant is unfit to participate in a criminal trial – and what the courts should do if they are not – are out of date, misunderstood and inconsistently applied.’

Full story

Law Commission, 13th January 2016

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Fitness-to-plead court test out of date, says Law Commission – BBC News

Posted January 13th, 2016 in fitness to plead, Law Commission, mental health, news by sally

‘New tests should be introduced to assess whether a defendant facing criminal charges is mentally fit to stand trial, the Law Commission says.’

Full story

BBC News, 13th January 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too many people unfit to plead face criminal trials, says Law Commission – The Independent

Posted January 11th, 2016 in criminal justice, fitness to plead, Law Commission, mental health, news, trials by tracey

‘Commission will tell Government legal tests to determine whether someone is mentally fit for trial are Victorian legacies.’

Full story

The Independent, 10th January 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bringing the law on firearms up to date – Law Commission

Posted December 17th, 2015 in firearms, Law Commission, legislation, press releases, reports by tracey

‘In a report published today, we make recommendations to solve pressing problems that undermine the effectiveness of the law governing the acquisition and possession of firearms. The existing law is confused, unclear and difficult to apply. There are over 30 pieces of overlapping legislation, some of the key terminology – such as “lethal”, “component part” and “antique” – is not clearly defined, and the law has fallen out of step with developments in technology.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 16th December 2015

Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

Outdated marriage law in need of reform – Law Commission

Posted December 17th, 2015 in Law Commission, legislation, marriage, press releases, reports by tracey

‘The law that governs how and where couples in England and Wales can marry is badly in need of reform, according to the Law Commission.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 17th December 2015

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Call for tougher laws to stop imitation firearms being ‘reactivated’ – The Guardian

Posted December 16th, 2015 in firearms, Law Commission, news by sally

‘Those “reactivating” imitation weapons should face tougher legal sanctions because of the widespread availability of conversion kits, according to a Law Commission review of firearms legislation.’

Full story

The Guardian, 16th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk