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]
Six members of the Committee were judges, two were Queen's Counsel, two were solicitors and the remaining three were professors of law. [5]
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] |
The system of tort law in Australia is broadly similar to that in other common law countries. However, some divergences in approach have occurred as its independent legal system has developed.
In American jurisprudence, the Restatements of the Law are a set of treatises on legal subjects that seek to inform judges and lawyers about general principles of common law. There are now four series of Restatements, all published by the American Law Institute, an organization of judges, legal academics, and practitioners founded in 1923.
English tort law concerns the compensation for harm to people's rights to health and safety, a clean environment, property, their economic interests, or their reputations. A "tort" is a wrong in civil law, rather than criminal law, that usually requires a payment of money to make up for damage that is caused. Alongside contracts and unjust enrichment, tort law is usually seen as forming one of the three main pillars of the law of obligations.
Rylands v Fletcher (1868) LR 3 HL 330 is a leading decision by the House of Lords which established a new area of English tort law. It established the rule that one's non-natural use of their land, which leads to another's land being damaged as a result of dangerous things emanating from the land, is strictly liable.
Winterbottom v Wright (1842) 10 M&W 109 was an important case in English common law responsible for constraining the law's 19th-century stance on negligence.
In conflict of laws, the choice of law rules for tort are intended to select the lex causae by which to determine the nature and scope of the judicial remedy to claim damages for loss or damage suffered.
In the English law of tort, professional negligence is a subset of the general rules on negligence to cover the situation in which the defendant has represented him or herself as having more than average skills and abilities. The usual rules rely on establishing that a duty of care is owed by the defendant to the claimant, and that the defendant is in breach of that duty. The standard test of breach is whether the defendant has matched the abilities of a reasonable person. But, by virtue of the services they offer and supply, professional people hold themselves out as having more than average abilities. This specialised set of rules determines the standards against which to measure the legal quality of the services actually delivered by those who claim to be among the best in their fields of expertise.
English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trusts were a creation of the English law of property and obligations, and share a subsequent history with countries across the Commonwealth and the United States. Trusts developed when claimants in property disputes were dissatisfied with the common law courts and petitioned the King for a just and equitable result. On the King's behalf, the Lord Chancellor developed a parallel justice system in the Court of Chancery, commonly referred as equity. Historically, trusts have mostly been used where people have left money in a will, or created family settlements, charities, or some types of business venture. After the Judicature Act 1873, England's courts of equity and common law were merged, and equitable principles took precedence. Today, trusts play an important role in financial investment, especially in unit trusts and in pension trusts. Although people are generally free to set the terms of trusts in any way they like, there is a growing body of legislation to protect beneficiaries or regulate the trust relationship, including the Trustee Act 1925, Trustee Investments Act 1961, Recognition of Trusts Act 1987, Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, Trustee Act 2000, Pensions Act 1995, Pensions Act 2004 and Charities Act 2011.
The Royal Commission on Civil Liability and Compensation for Personal Injury, better known as the Pearson commission was a United Kingdom royal commission, established in 1973 under the chairmanship of Lord Pearson. The commission reported in 1978 and made radical recommendations for tort reform, Pearson believing that tort's traditional role of compensation had become outdated with the rise of the welfare state since the end of World War II. He saw the benefits system as having the primary role of providing compensation and security following an accident, and litigation as being secondary. As a result, the commission recommended a no-fault insurance scheme for road traffic and industrial accidents, similar to the subsequent New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation, and a scheme of strict liability for consumer protection. However, the government's response was cool and the recommendations were not followed up, much to Pearson's disappointment.
The Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that covers occupiers' liability for trespassers. In British Railways Board v Herrington 1972 AC 877, the House of Lords had decided that occupiers owed a duty to trespassers, but the exact application of the decision was unclear. The matter was then referred to the Law Commission for a report, and as a result the Occupiers' Liability Bill was introduced to Parliament by Lord Hailsham on 23 June 1983. The Act was given the royal assent on 13 March 1984 as the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 and came into force on 13 May.
The Misrepresentation Act 1967 is a United Kingdom act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which amended the common law principles of misrepresentation. Prior to the Act, the common law deemed that there were two categories of misrepresentation: fraudulent and innocent. The effect of the act is primarily to create a new category by dividing innocent misrepresentation into two separate categories: negligent and "wholly" innocent; and it goes on to state the remedies in respect of each of the three categories.
Henderson v Merrett Syndicates Ltd [1994] UKHL 5 was a landmark House of Lords case. It established the possibility of concurrent liability in both tort and contract.
Lister v Hesley Hall Ltd [2001] UKHL 22 is an English tort law case, creating a new precedent for finding where an employer is vicariously liable for the torts of their employees. Prior to this decision, it had been found that sexual abuse by employees of others could not be seen as in the course of their employment, precluding recovery from the employer. The majority of the House of Lords however overruled the Court of Appeal, and these earlier decisions, establishing that the "relative closeness" connecting the tort and the nature of an individual's employment established liability.
Rose v Plenty [1976] 1 WLR 141 is an English tort law case, on the issue of where an employee is acting within the course of their employment. Vicarious liability was tenuously found under John William Salmond's test for course of employment, which states that an employer will be held liable for either a wrongful act they have authorised, or a wrongful and unauthorised mode of an act that was authorised.
The Law Reform Act 1962 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows husbands and wives to sue each other under tort law. Originally covering both England and Wales and Scotland, the Scottish provisions were repealed by the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006.
The Arbitration Act 1979 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed arbitration law in England and Wales. Prior to 1979, arbitration law was based on the Arbitration Act 1950, which allowed use of the "case stated" procedure and other methods of judicial intervention, which marked English arbitration law as significantly different from that of other jurisdictions. The prior law significantly increased the cost and time required for arbitration, which made England an unpopular jurisdiction to conduct such negotiations in. As a result, while London maintained its traditional position as a centre for arbitration in insurance, admiralty and commodities trading, it failed to attract more modern forms of trade. Following pressure from industry groups, the Lord Chancellor introduced the Arbitration Bill into Parliament, having it passed hours before the dissolution of James Callaghan's government. It was given royal assent on 4 April 1979, and commenced working on 1 August 1979.
The Defamation Act 1952 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Administration of Justice Act 1977 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Torts Act 1977 is an act of Parliament to amend the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland concerning conversion and other torts affecting goods.
Collins v Wilcock is an appellate case decided in 1984 by a divisional court of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of England and Wales. It is concerned with trespass to the person focusing on battery.