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Law Reform Committee

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This article is about the body established in 1952. Not to be confused with the Law Commission for England and Wales established in 1965.

The Law Reform Committee was a committee in England and Wales appointed by the Lord Chancellor[1] "to consider, having regard especially to judicial decisions, what changes are desirable in such legal doctrines as the Lord Chancellor may from time to time refer to Committee".[2]

The Lord Chancellor's decision to create this committee was announced on 2 May 1952 by the Attorney General, Lionel Heald, at the dinner of the West Surrey Law Society. The Solicitors Journal said that the proposed step was "overdue".[3] The Committee was appointed on 16 June 1952.[4] In 2006, John Wheeler said that the Committee was "defunct".[5]

Composition[edit]

Six members of the Committee were judges, two were Queen's Counsel, two were solicitors and the remaining three were professors of law.[5]

Reports[edit]

Law Reform Committee reports
Report Subject Command paper Date Implementing act
1st Statute of Frauds and Section 4 of the Sale of Goods Act 1893 Cmd. 8809 1953 Law Reform (Enforcement of Contracts) Act 1954[6]
2nd Innkeepers' liability for property of travellers, guests and residents[7] Cmd. 916 May 1954 Hotel Proprietors Act 1956
3rd Occupiers' liability to invitees, licensees and trespassers Cmd. 9305 November 1954 Occupiers' Liability Act 1957[8]
4th Rule against perpetuities Cmnd. 18 1956 Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 1964[9]
5th Conditions and exceptions in insurance policies Cmnd. 62 1957
6th Courts' power to sanction variations of trusts Cmnd. 310 1957
7th Effect of tax liability on damages[10] Cmnd. 501 August 1958
8th Formalities of contracts by non-trading corporations[11] Cmnd. 622 1958
9th Liability in tort between husband and wife Cmnd. 1268 January 1961
10th Innocent misrepresentation Cmnd. 1782 1962 Misrepresentation Act 1967[12][13]
11th Loss of services Cmnd. 2017 1963 Section 2 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982[14]
12th Transfer of title to chattels Cmnd. 2958 April 1966 Not implemented by 2006[5]
13th Hearsay evidence in civil proceedings Cmnd. 2964 May 1966
14th Acquisition of easements and profits by prescription Cmnd. 3100 October 1966
15th The Rule in Hollington v. Hewthorn Cmnd. 3391 September 1967
16th Privilege in civil proceedings Cmnd. 3472 December 1967
17th Evidence of opinion and expert evidence Cmnd. 4489 October 1970
18th Conversion and detinue Cmnd. 4774 September 1971 Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 (partial and modified effect).[15]
19th Interpretation of wills Cmnd. 5301 May 1973 sections 20 and 21 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982[16]
20th Interim report on limitation of actions: In personal injury claims Cmnd. 5630 May 1974
21st Final report on limitation of actions Cmnd. 6923 September 1977 Limitation Amendment Act 1980.[17]
22nd The making and revocation of wills Cmnd. 7902 May 1980 section 17 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982[18]
23rd The powers and duties of trustees Cmnd. 8733 October 1982
24th Latent damage Cmnd. 9390 November 1984 Latent Damage Act 1986[19]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

  • Blair, Michael C. "The Law Reform Committee: The First Thirty Years" (1982) 1 Civil Justice Quarterly 64
  • Andrew S Burrows. Clerk & Lindsell on Torts. Sixteenth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. London. 1989.
  • Sir Robert Megarry and Sir William Wade and Charles Harpum and Stuart Bridge and Martin Dixon. The Law of Real Property. Seventh Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. London. 2008.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ The Solicitors Journal. Volume 96. Page 418. Published in No 26 dated 28 June 1952.
  2. ^ Law Reform Committee. Third Report (Occupiers' Liability to Invitees, Licensees and Trespassers). Cmd 9305. HMSO. London. November 1954. Page 5.
  3. ^ The Solicitors Journal. Volume 96. Page 285. Published in No 19 dated 10 May 1952.
  4. ^ Law Reform Committee. Third Report (Occupiers' Liability to Invitees, Licensees and Trespassers). Cmd 9305. HMSO. London. November 1954. Page 5.
  5. ^ a b c John Wheeler. Essentials of the English Legal System. Pearson Education. 31 December 2006. Page 349 from Google Books.
  6. ^ Actionstrength Ltd (t/a Vital Resources) v. International Glass Engineering In.Gl.En. SpA & Ors [2003] UKHL 17, [2003] 2 AC 541, [2003] 2 WLR 1060, [2003] 2 All ER 615, [2003] BLR 207, 88 Con LR 208, [2003] 1 CLC 1003, [2003] 2 All ER (Comm) 331 (3 April 2003)
  7. ^ Blom-Cooper, L. J. (1955). "Second Report of the Law Reform Committee on the Law of Innkeepers' Liabilities for Property of Travellers, Guests and Residents. (Cmd. 9161; May 1954; 4d.)". The Modern Law Review. 18 (4): 374–379. ISSN 0026-7961.
  8. ^ Andrew Tettenborn. Clerk & Lindsell on Torts. Sixteenth Edition. Sweet & Maxwell. London. 1989. Paragraph 13-02 at page 708.
  9. ^ Deech, Ruth (1984). "The Rule against Perpetuities Abolished". Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. 4 (3): 454–463. ISSN 0143-6503.
  10. ^ Jolowicz, J. A. (1959). "Damages and Income Tax". The Cambridge Law Journal. 17 (1): 86–98. ISSN 0008-1973.
  11. ^ Wade, H. W. R. (1959). "Contracts by Non-Trading Corporations. Formalities. Law Reform". The Cambridge Law Journal. 17 (1): 28–30. ISSN 0008-1973.
  12. ^ Goodhart, Arthur L. (1964). "Liability for Innocent but Negligent Misrepresentations". The Yale Law Journal. 74 (2): 286–301. doi:10.2307/794781. ISSN 0044-0094.
  13. ^ Atiyah, P. S.; Treitel, G. H. (1967). "Misrepresentation Act 1967". The Modern Law Review. 30 (4): 369–388. ISSN 0026-7961.
  14. ^ F v Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council and Another [1991] Fam 69, [1991] 2 WLR 1132
  15. ^ Burrows 1989, Paragraphs 22-08 and 22-09 at page 1224
  16. ^ Megarry et al. 2008, Note 312 and 316 to paragraph 14-064 at page 580 and note 326 to paragraph 14-067 at page 581.
  17. ^ Megarry et al. 2008, Note 31 to paragraph 35-003 at page 1412.
  18. ^ Megarry et al. 2008, Note 72 to paragraph 14-015 at page 559.
  19. ^ Burrows 1989; Note 49 to paragraph 9-55 at page 418.
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