Law Commission: 14th Programme of Law Reform

Overview

Dear consultee,

Thank you for your interest in the Law Commission and our 14^th Programme of Law Reform. Your contribution will help to shape law reform priorities for the next three to four years.

The Law Commission carries out law reform projects with the aim of making the law fair, modern, simple and cost-effective. The purpose of this consultation is to establish what new areas of law we should review in our next programme. To do this we are asking you to tell us where you think the law is failing to work properly.

We want to hear about your ideas for reform. We have suggested a number of themes and some specific ideas for potential individual projects where we are keen to make the case for reform and therefore welcome comments. Our suggested themes for law reform are available here and our specific suggestions for reform are available here. But please do not worry if your idea for law reform is not mentioned or does not fit any particular theme; we still want to hear from you and are we are not limiting ourselves to the areas that we have outlined or to any particular theme.

Not every project suggested to us as a candidate for reform can be taken forward. It is therefore important those making suggestions complete this questionnaire as fully as possible. Your submission will be a vital part of making the case for reform. This is essential as we can only take on projects that are supported by Government. It will help you shape your suggestions if you familiarise yourself with the criteria which sets out the type of work the Commission is likely to undertake. Information about the criteria is available here. 

Not all types of legal reform are suitable for the Law Commission. We cannot for example provide solutions to problems where the underlying issues relate to the allocation of government funding. We are resolutely non-political and do not get involved in issues which are essentially political in nature, for example abortion or capital punishment, or issues of established Government policy such as taxation. We do not consider problems that relate to a particular individual’s experience of the law as opposed to a more general problem. We also cannot work on issues that arise only in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

It is worth noting that a number of projects which we have not yet commenced from the 13^th Programme will roll over into the 14^th Programme and so we do not require submissions for these projects. Details about 13^th Programme projects not yet commenced are available here. 

What happens next?

Your submission will automatically be logged into our 14^th Programme database and you will receive an automatic email confirming receipt. We are a small organisation and typically our consultations on possible reform issues can generate thousands of responses. Unfortunately, we are unable to reply personally to all submissions or to provide individual updates on the consideration of proposals. Nonetheless you can be assured that we value all suggestions and consider them very carefully.

All suggestions are analysed thoroughly as we start the process of refining the suggestions and progress towards the new Programme being finalised and approved by the Lord Chancellor.

An approximate timetable is:

• Consultation period: 24 March to 31 July 2021
• Analysis of responses, research and consultation with Government: mid-2021 to early 2022
• Subject to the Lord Chancellor’s approval, publish the final Programme during the first half of 2022.

We will post updates on progress on our website and may, if required, contact you for further information as we put our Programme together.

What happens next