Partnership Law

Current project status

  • Initiation: Could include discussing scope and terms of reference with lead Government Department
  • Pre-consultation: Could include approaching interest groups and specialists, producing scoping and issues papers, finalising terms of project
  • Consultation: Likely to include consultation events and paper, making provisional proposals for comment
  • Policy development: Will include analysis of consultation responses. Could include further issues papers and consultation on draft Bill
  • Reported: Usually recommendations for law reform but can be advice to government, scoping report or other recommendations

Part implemented/part accepted/part rejected

A review of partnership law conducted under the existing law of partnership, ie the Partnership Act 1890 and the Limited Partnerships Act 1907, with particular reference to:

  • independent legal personality
  • continuity of business irrespective of changes of ownership
  • simplification of solvent dissolution
  • a model partnership agreement.

We published our report on Partnership Law on 18 November 2003.

This was a joint project with the Scottish Law Commission.

In 2006 the Government announced that it rejected our recommendations on general partnerships, but that it intended to implement the recommendations specifically relating to limited partnerships.

The Government announced that the reform to limited partnerships would be carried out in stages.  The Legislative Reform (Limited Partnerships) Order 2009 implements two of the Law Commission’s recommendations: making a certificate of registration conclusive evidence that a limited partnership has been formed at the date shown on the certificate; and requiring all new limited partnerships to include “Limited Partnership”, “LP” or equivalent at the end of their names.  The Government plans to address the remaining recommendations “as and when resources and priorities allow”.

For further detail, see paragraph 12 of the Lord Chancellor’s 2013 Report on the implementation of Law Commission proposals.

Documents and downloads

Project details