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15 September 2016 / Kathleen Shields
Issue: 7714 / Categories: Features , Profession
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The 13th Programme

What should the Law Commission include in its next programme of law reform? Kathleen Shields discusses some options

The Law Commission has a statutory duty to keep “all the law” under review with a view to its development and reform. In order to ensure that our work is as relevant and informed as possible, we embark on wide public consultations when drawing up our programmes of law reform. We are now consulting for our 13th Programme, which will inform our work until 2020. In addition to calling for new ideas, we have identified some areas of law that our experience and discussion with stakeholders suggest may require reform and so could be potential projects for the Programme. Among these potential areas for reform are leasehold law, public inquiries, weddings and surrogacy.

Leaseholds

Leasehold law impacts the lives of millions of people, whether they are landlords or tenants of homes, farms or businesses. In England alone, the most recent statistics show 8.2 million households are rented privately or socially and 4.1 million dwellings are

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

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Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

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NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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