Plan to reform Human Rights Act – Ministry of Justice
‘The Human Rights Act will be revised under plans unveiled by the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab today (14 December).’
Ministry of Justice, 14th December 2021
Source: www.gov.uk
Category: statute law revision
How we marry is changing, and the law needs to keep up – Law & Religion 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
Law Commission to review the Arbitration Act 1996 – Law Commission
‘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
Is An Overhaul Of The Human Rights Act Imminent? – Each Other
‘Dominic Raab has announced his intention to “overhaul” the UK’s Human Rights Act (HRA), despite widespread criticism.’
Each Other, 27th October 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
HRA reform in this parliament, Raab promises party faithful – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The Human Rights Act will be overhauled before the next general election, the lord chancellor and justice secretary pledged today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Racist’ drug laws should be reformed, says former government adviser – The Independent
‘Britain’s drug laws are racist and need to be overhauled, a former government adviser has said. Lord Simon Woolley, who used to lead the government’s race disparity unit, said the 50-year-old Misuse of Drugs Act should be reviewed, as it is a “tool of systemic racism”.’
The Independent, 30th September 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Government to undertake review of ‘Retained EU law’, ensure courts have full ability to depart from EU case law “according to normal rules” – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Government is to conduct a review of “Retained EU law”, the legislation taken onto the statute book through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act of 2018, Lord Frost has announced.
Local Government Lawyer, 17th September 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Equality laws could be changed to protect women in menopause, says MP – The Guardian
‘Changing equality legislation to protect women going through the menopause should “not be ruled” out, according to the chair of a group of MPs leading an inquiry into discrimination on the issue.’
The Guardian, 18th August 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Does The Legal Definition Of Rape Need Updating? – Each Other
‘The current legal definition of rape means that victims of sexual assault without penile penetration cannot technically claim the word, feeding the stigma felt by some survivors.’
Each Other, 17th August 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
Reform of s 25 criteria for a divorce financial settlement: after 50 years it’s time for the Law Commission to propose a new law – Family Law
‘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
UK company law change could make section 172 fit for purpose – OUT-LAW.com
‘A relatively small change to section 172 of the UK’s Companies Act 2006 could have a transformative impact on company law, directors’ duties, corporate governance, businesses and, ultimately, the economy, society, and the environment.’
OUT-LAW.com, 20th April 2021
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Florence Powell and Stephanie Needleman: How radical an instrument is Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The operation of the Human Rights Act 1998 (the “HRA”) is currently being reviewed by the Government’s Independent Human Rights Act Review (the “Review”). One of the Review’s key themes is “the impact of the HRA on the relationship between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature”. In respect of this theme, the Terms of Reference ask how s.3 has operated and whether it should be amended or repealed.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 24th March 2021
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
UK government use of Henry VIII clauses to be challenged in court – The Guardian
‘A government move to change state aid rules after Brexit without a vote in parliament is being challenged in court, with a legal campaign group warning the manoeuvre could lead to a similar lack of scrutiny in areas such as workers’ rights and environmental protections.’
The Guardian, 1st February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Ex-judge Sir Peter Gross to head human rights law review – BBC News
‘Former Court of Appeal judge Sir Peter Gross has been appointed to lead an independent review of the Human Rights Act.’
BBC News, 7th December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Government urged to fix ‘disastrous state’ of rape prosecutions – The Guardian
‘An alliance of women’s organisations is calling for radical reforms to address the “disastrous state” of rape investigations and prosecutions, including a ministerial lead, a commission on juries and a ban on the use of sexual history evidence.’
The Guardian, 30th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Civil law, religion and marriage in the United Kingdom: a long read – Law & Religion UK
‘This began as a handout for the Cardiff LLM in Canon Law: it’s about the law on the formation of marriage – “weddings law” – rather than matrimonial law more generally.’
Law & Religion UK, 11th November 2020
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
Law Commission begins project on Corporate Criminal Liability – Law Commission
‘The Government has asked the Law Commission to investigate the laws around corporate criminal liability and provide options to reform them.’
Law Commission, 3rd November 2020
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
Search warrants reform to help law enforcement investigate crime – Law Commission
‘Reforms that would reduce the number of unlawful search warrants being issued and help law enforcement to investigate crime and collect evidence (especially that stored electronically) have today [7 October 2020] been recommended by the Law Commission, the Government’s independent law reform body.’
Law Commission, 7th October 2020
Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk
Theodore Konstadinides, Lee Marsons and Maurice Sunkin: Reviewing Judicial Review: The constitutional importance of the Independent Review of Administrative Law 2020 – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Last year, the Government committed itself to establishing a Commission on the Constitution, Democracy and Rights, which would consider reform of the UK’s constitutional order, including judicial review and the Human Rights Act 1998. Instead, on 30 July 2020, the Government launched an ostensibly narrower Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) to examine the need for reforms of judicial review in particular. This is to be conducted by an advisory panel of experts led by Lord Faulks QC. Any options for reform put forward by the Review will be considered by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland QC MP and by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove MP. Both the report of the Review and the Government’s response will be published by the end of 2020 or shortly thereafter.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 24th September 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
