In our consultation paper we propose the repeal of more than 40 obsolete Acts relating to the charges levied on railway freight traffic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The railways were operated by private companies and these Acts were an attempt by Government to regulate the charges for transporting railway freight. These … Read more >
Project status: Pre-project
Our earlier work on Abusive and Offensive Online Communications can be found here. Contact us here: online-comms@lawcommission.gov.uk The problem The internet offers extraordinary new opportunities to communicate with one other in new ways and on an unprecedented scale. These remarkable changes have been accompanied by growing incidents of abusive and offensive communication online. The criminal … Read more >
Project status: Complete
Project status: Pre-project
Problem Chancel repair liability is an obligation on a landowner to pay for certain repairs to a local church. It has its origins in the feudal system and is rarely enforced, but when it is the liability can be huge. The intention of the Land Registration Act 2002 was that chancel repair liability should not … Read more >
Project status: Complete
Download the report Download the report summary The problem The primary purpose of professional regulation is to ensure public safety. In the UK there are nine regulatory bodies responsible for regulating 32 – consisting of approximately 1.44 million professionals. For healthcare professionals. regulation is one element of a much broader system of ensuring patient and … Read more >
Project status: Complete
Project status: Complete
Nearly a third of the population of Wales – just under 400,000 households – rent their homes. The law governing their relationship with their landlords is an irrationally complicated mess. This project seeks to replace it with a modernised, understandable, and just legal structure. The project The Welsh Government announced in 2012 that it would … Read more >
Project status: Pre-project
The problem In England and Wales, properties can either be owned as freehold or as leasehold. Leasehold is a form of ownership where a person owns a property for a set number of years (typically, 99 or 125 years) on a lease from a landlord, who owns the freehold. Flats are almost always owned on … Read more >
Project status: Complete
In March 1990 the Lord Chancellor made a reference to the Commission: to examine the law relating to payments made but not lawfully due and in particular the common law rule that payments made under a mistake of law are irrecoverable, and to make recommendations. In 1991 we published a consultation paper, in which we … Read more >
Project status: Complete