Law Reform Committee
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The Law Reform Committee was a committee in England and Wales appointed by the Lord Chancellor "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".
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". The Committee was appointed on 16 June 1952. In 2006, John Wheeler said that the Committee was "defunct".
Composition
Six members of the Committee were judges, two were Queen's Counsel, two were solicitors and the remaining three were professors of law.
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 |
| 2nd | Innkeepers' liability for property of travellers, guests and residents | Cmd. 916 | May 1954 | Hotel Proprietors Act 1956 |
| 3rd | Occupiers' liability to invitees, licensees and trespassers | Cmd. 9305 | November 1954 | Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 |
| 4th | Rule against perpetuities | Cmnd. 18 | 1956 | Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 1964 |
| 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 | Cmnd. 501 | August 1958 | |
| 8th | Formalities of contracts by non-trading corporations | Cmnd. 622 | 1958 | |
| 9th | Liability in tort between husband and wife | Cmnd. 1268 | January 1961 | |
| 10th | Innocent misrepresentation | Cmnd. 1782 | 1962 | Misrepresentation Act 1967 |
| 11th | Loss of services | Cmnd. 2017 | 1963 | Section 2 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 |
| 12th | Transfer of title to chattels | Cmnd. 2958 | April 1966 | Not implemented by 2006 |
| 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). |
| 19th | Interpretation of wills | Cmnd. 5301 | May 1973 | sections 20 and 21 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 |
| 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. |
| 22nd | The making and revocation of wills | Cmnd. 7902 | May 1980 | section 17 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 |
| 23rd | The powers and duties of trustees | Cmnd. 8733 | October 1982 | |
| 24th | Latent damage | Cmnd. 9390 | November 1984 | Latent Damage Act 1986 |
See also
Sources
- 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.