‘The most sophisticated kind of electronic signatures can be “more reliable” than signatures witnessed the traditional way in an “unsupervised environment”, a government-backed industry working group has said.’
Legal Futures, 2nd February 2022
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (the Law Commissions) have today (26 January 2022) published their joint report, making recommendations for the safe and responsible introduction of self-driving vehicles.’
Law Commission, 26th January 2022
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘The Law Commission has announced recommendations to reform hate crime legislation to ensure that disabled and LGBT+ victims receive the same protections as victims with other protected characteristics (race and religion). If enacted, the reforms would ensure all five characteristics are protected equally by the law.’
Family Law, 27th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Legislation introduced during the pandemic allowing wills to be witnessed over Zoom and Skype will be extended until January 2024, the government announced today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2022
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Law Commission has today [17 December 2021] launched a project to review how evidence is used in prosecutions of sexual offences, and to counter misconceptions about sexual harm (“rape myths”).’
Law Commission, 17th December 2021
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘A coalition of women’s rights campaigners have voiced their disappointment and frustration after the Law Commission decided to reject a proposal to make misogyny a hate crime.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Public sexual harassment, such as cat-calling and making sexually explicit comments, to be made an offence in wake of Sarah Everard murder.’
Daily Telegraph, 3rd December 2021
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘It has long been recognized that the law governing the process of getting married needs reform. Following on from Getting married: a scoping paper, published in December 2015, in September 2020 the Law Commission published Getting Married: A Consultation Paper on Weddings Law, setting out a series of provisional reform proposals for weddings law. An empirical study conducted by us titled “When is a wedding not a marriage? Exploring non-legally binding ceremonies” investigated wedding ceremonies taking place outside of the legal framework which reflected a variety of faiths, beliefs and non-beliefs. Drawing on the extensive data we gathered from September 2020 to May 2021, a Briefing Paper for the Law Commission has been published this week analysing the potential impact of the Commission’s proposals for reform.’
Law & Religion UK, 4th December 2021
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Law Commission has today, 30 November 2021, announced that it will conduct a review of the Arbitration Act 1996, the principal legislation governing arbitrations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.’
Law Commission, 30th November 2021
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘The Law Commission has today confirmed that the existing law of England and Wales is able to accommodate and apply to smart legal contracts, without the need for statutory law reform. The Law Commission notes that, in some contexts, an incremental development of the common law is all that is required to facilitate the use of smart legal contracts within the existing legal framework.’
Law Commission, 25th November 2021
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘There is no need for new legislation on smart contracts because the existing laws of England and Wales can accommodate them, the Law Commission has said.’
Legal Futures, 25th November 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The statutory criteria to decide what is a fair financial settlement on divorce comes from the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, now almost 50 years old. In reality it derives from judge made law. This has the benefit of being responsive and able to change. It has the disadvantage that there is no public or policy input into the law or changes in the law. It has the significant difficulty that by reference to almost unfettered discretion with propensity for contradictions or nuances in the judge made law it encourages litigation and discourages early settlement. David Hodson has proposed to the Law Commission, in its request for topics for its 14th programme of reform, that there should be a review of the criteria for fair and appropriate financial settlements. This sets out his proposals for the need for reform. It is in a question-and-answer process as required by the Law Commission for any submissions. It would be very helpful to hear from other lawyers and members of the public with their opinions on whether reform is needed and, far more problematical, what that reform should be.’
Family Law, 12th August 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Unsolicited sending of obscene images should be made illegal through the creation of a new offence of cyberflashing, a UK government-commissioned review recommended.’
The Guardian, 21st July 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Law Commission is seeking views on whether, and how, the law relating to corporate criminal liability can be improved so that they appropriately capture and punish criminal offences committed by corporations, and their directors or senior management.’
Law Commission, 9th June 2021
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk/
‘The Law Commission has announced a consultation on proposals to allow for the legal recognition of electronic versions of documents such as bills of lading and bills of exchange. If implemented, the reforms could revolutionise global trade and bring the processes into the 21st Century. We are also considering reform of the legal treatment of cryptoassets and digital assets and today published a call for evidence as part of that process (see below).’
Law Commission, 30th April 2021
Source: https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/proposals-to-allow-electronic-documents-would-revolutionise-trade/
‘The Law Commission has today published a draft Bill that would introduce new rules into the Consumer Rights Act 2015 about the transfer of ownership under contracts for the sale of goods between a trader and a consumer.’
Law Commission, 23rd April 2021
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk/
‘Why might couples in England and Wales today opt for a non-legally binding wedding ceremony in addition to their legally binding one?’
Law & Religion UK, 12th January 2021
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Law Commission has today [17 December 2020] launched a call for evidence to help ensure that the technology of smart contracts can thrive in England and Wales.’
Law Comission, 17th December 2020
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
‘The “outdated and unclear” common law offence of misconduct in public office should be replaced by two new statutory offences of corruption in public office and breach of duty in public office, the Law Commission has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th December 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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