Member News
5th January 2011
The Law Commission looks back at a year of law reform.
2010 was a significant year not just for the Law Commission but also for the process of law reform in England and Wales. 2011 looks set to be another, with the launch of our new programme of law reform.
2010 began with the Law Commission Act 2009 coming into force on 12 January. The Act creates a duty on the Lord Chancellor to report to Parliament annually on the implementation of Law Commission proposals. It also provides for the Lord Chancellor and the Commission to agree a protocol on how the government and the Law Commission should work together. The protocol was agreed and laid before Parliament, and came into force on 29 March.
Both the Act and its associated protocol represent a landmark in the development of a more productive working relationship between the Commission and the government. They set out how the Commission will work with government departments on law reform projects, with obligations on both; and how the government will account to Parliament for its response to the Commission's work. They represent an important contribution to ensuring that the Law Commission's work is implemented.
Equally significant was the approval by the House of Lords of a special procedure for Law Commission Bills. The procedure allows for the Second Reading of technical and politically non-controversial Law Commission Bills to be taken off the floor of the House. Approval came in October after a trial period that saw two of our Bills pass through Parliament, one of which, the Third Parties' (Rights Against Insurers) Act, received Royal Assent on 26 March.
Recommendations made by the Law Commission led to other notable reforms of the law during the year. The Bribery Act 2010 received Royal Assent in April, bringing the criminal law up to date and enabling the courts to respond more effectively to bribery at home or abroad.
Our recommendations for modernising and simplifying the law on leaving property in trust were implemented when the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act came into force, also in April. And in October our recommended reforms of the partial defences of diminished responsibility and provocation were substantially implemented in the provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
By the end of October, the government had revealed the contents of both the Strategic Spending Review and the Public Bodies Bill. We were pleased to learn that the important role played by the Commission had been recognised, and the organisation would be retained to continue its work of law reform, albeit with a much reduced budget. But, as we sit alongside other government bodies in Schedule 7 of the Bill, there remains the potential that the Commission could, at any time, through secondary legislation, be modified, merged or abolished.
With a tighter budget and the uncertainties brought about by changing – and difficult – times, the year ahead will be immensely challenging for the Law Commission. But we anticipate that 2011 will be rewarding too, not least because we will be announcing our new programme of law reform projects.
From time to time the Commission refreshes its programme of projects through consultation. During 2010 we sought ideas from all our stakeholders, who include the Members of both Houses of Parliament, the judiciary, legal practitioners and academics, the voluntary and commercial sectors and the general public. We are enormously grateful for the valuable suggestions we have received, and we shall be recommending our new programme of reform projects to the Lord Chancellor early in this new year.
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