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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> The Law Commission >> Law Commission's 39th Annual Report 2004/05 (Report) [2005] EWLC 294(9) (14 June 2005)
URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/other/EWLC/2005/294(9).html
Cite as: [2005] EWLC 294(9)
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    PART 9
    EXTERNAL RELATIONS

    9.1      The Law Commission greatly values its strong links with a variety of organisations and individuals committed to reforming the law. We are indebted to those who give feedback on our consultations papers, and provide input at all stages of the process of making recommendations to Government.

    9.2      We are particularly proud of the strong links we have built with Government and other law reforming agencies both in this country, and internationally.

    PARLIAMENT, MINISTERS AND GOVERNMENTAL BODIES

    9.3      The Law Commission enjoys productive relationships with Ministers and officials in Government Departments. We particularly benefit from a strong relationship with the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), which is our "sponsor" Department.

    9.4      The Chairman, Commissioners and staff are grateful for the assistance they have received from a number of organisations, ministers and officials, particularly:

    • The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Lord Falconer of Thoroton.
    • Permanent Secretary at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Alex Allan.
    • The Home Secretary, the Right Hon. Charles Clarke MP.
    • The Home Secretary, the Right Hon. David Blunkett MP.
    • The Right Hon. Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC.
    • The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, Phil Woolas MP.
    • The Attorney-General, the Right Hon. The Lord Goldsmith QC.
    • The Solicitor-General, the Right Hon. Harriet Harman QC MP.
    • The Director of Public Prosecutions Ken MacDonald, QC.
    • The Charity Commission, and especially James Dutton.
    • The Inland Revenue.
    • We have maintained strong relations with the Scottish Assembly, mainly through our colleagues in the Scottish Law Commission.[1]
    • We have worked closely with various Welsh Assembly staff. These include Iwan Roberts and Tamlyn Rabey on the Resolving Housing Disputes project. On the Termination of Tenancies project we consulted with Maggie Firth and Maureen Hare (Office of the Counsel General), Steve Long (Housing Directorate) and Julian Dawkins (Estates Division).
    • Alex Clark and Daniel Webb in the Family Justice Directorate, and Mavis McLean in the Research Unit in Consumer Strategy Unit at DCA.
    • Chris Pitt Lewis from the Land Registry.
    • Deborah Grice, Roderick Macauley, Paul Stephenson and Rachel Reynolds from the Home Office, and Deborah Garrihy, who works for the DCA but was seconded to the Home Office for a time.
    • Richard McDonald, Richard Footitt, Dawn Eastmead and John Daniels at ODPM.
    • David Leam and Keith Jackson at the Treasury.
    • Judith Marsden from DEFRA.
    CONSULTEES AND STAKEHOLDERS

    9.5      We want to engage more people in our consultation processes. During the last year we have been working closely with a number of individuals and organisations, for whose help we are very grateful. These include:

    • Shirley Ford and Teresa Reynolds from Victim Support.
    • Patsy Callinan and Rose Dixon from Support after Murder and Manslaughter.
    • The Manchester Law Society.
    • The Compulsory Purchase Association.
    • All of our working group on tenancy reform, especially: Laura Coode from the Country Land and Business Association; George Dunn from the Tenant Farmers' Association; Barrie Jones from the Farmers' Union of Wales; Alex Madden from the National Farmers' Union; and Geoff Whittacker from the Agricultural Law Association.
    • Phil Morgan from the Tenants Advisory and Participation Service.
    • Sue Baxter from SITRA; David Hawkes from Gloucestershire Money Advice Service; John Martin from Bradford Resource Centre; Kimi Rochard-Bovell and Phil Walker at Brent Council; Howard Springett from Kingston CAB and Neil Wightman from Camden Council.
    • Liz Phelp from Citizens Advice: Bridget Stark from the Camden Federation of Private Tenants; Joe Oldman from Help the Aged; Deborah Garvie from Shelter; Adrian Turner from the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA); Adam Rollins from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA); and Andrew Greathead from the Association of Tenants Relations Officers (ATRO).
    • Professor David Clarke from the University of Bristol; Professor Elizabeth Cooke from the University of Reading; Michael Croker from Stevenage District Land Registry; Philip Freedman from Mishcon de Reya; Jonathan Gaunt QC and Paul Morgan QC from Falcon Chambers; and Emma Slessenger from Allen and Overy LLP.
    • Members of the Property Litigation Association, including: Tim Fogarty from Bevan Ashford; Jason Hunter from Russell Cooke; David Cox from Berwin Leighton Paisner; Jacqui Joyce from Lovells; Alan Langleben from Rochman Landau; Kerry Glanville from Pemberton Greenish; and Lynn Smith from Dechert.
    • Martin Davey from the University of Manchester; Graham Ferris from Nottingham Trent University; Peter Luxton from Sheffield University; Susan Bright from Oxford University; Martin Dixon from Cambridge University; David Dennis from the University of Liverpool; Nick Roberts from Oxford Brookes University; Warren Barr from the University of Liverpool; and Alison Clarke from University College London.
    • The Family Law Committee of the Law Society.
    • Resolution (formerly the Solicitors Family Law Association).
    • Camden Federation of Private Tenants; ARLA; the National Association of Estate Agents; Help the Aged; Shelter; Citizens Advice Bureau; Nottingham Private Landlords Forum; the Association of Tenancy Relations Officers.
    • Professor David Ormerod from the University of Leeds.
    • Professor R A Duff of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Stirling.
    • The Wills and Equity Committee of the Law Society.
    • The Trust Law Committee, and especially Professor David Hayton, Sir John Vinelott and John Dilger.
    • The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.
    • The Lord Chief Justice, The Master of the Rolls, The Vice-Chancellor, Judge LJ, Carnwath LJ, Rose LJ, Sedley LJ, Beaumont J, Collins J and His Honour Judge John Colyer QC.
    • Claire Curtis-Thomas MP, Chair of the All Party Group for Abuse Investigations.
    SEMINARS, LECTURES AND CONFERENCES, ETC

    9.6      Members of the Law Commission are frequently invited to attend and speak at seminars and conferences. While we cannot fulfil every request, we try to be as involved as possible in expanding general knowledge about law reform, and engaging people in the processes by which the law is improved. Events we have taken part in include:

    Compulsory Purchase Orders
    • The Chairman, Stuart Bridge and Lord Justice Carnwath launched the report: Compulsory Purchase Order: Procedure (LC290) at the River Room in the House of Lords.
    Contract Law
    • Professor Hugh Beale gave a paper to the Society of Legal Scholars conference on European Contract Law in Sheffield.
    • Professor Beale also spoke on 'English Law Reform and the Impact of European Private Law' at a conference organised by the Institute of European and Comparative Law at the University of Oxford.
    Criminal Law
    • The Chairman spoke about Partial Defences to Murder at the Society for Advanced Legal Studies.
    • The Chairman talked about the reform of criminal law to the Statute Law Society at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
    • His Honour Judge Alan Wilkie QC delivered a series of lectures at the Criminal Justice Reform seminars organised by the Judicial Studies Board.
    • Mr Justice Wilkie kindly spoke on Partial Defences to Murder at the Law "A2" Level Student Conference, although he had left the Law Commission.
    • David Hughes, Manager of the Criminal Law Team, attended the annual conference of the Society of Legal Scholars and delivered a talk on law reform.
    • Julia Jarzabkowski lectured at Anglia Polytechnic University, Cambridge on our recommendations for Partial Defences to Murder.
    Personal Property Security Interests
    • Professor Beale spoke at the annual Lord Morris Memorial Lecture at the University of Wales, Swansea.
    • He also spoke at a seminar held by DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary in Manchester
    • In addition, he gave a lecture at the University of Wales 2005 Gregynog Conference.
    Statute Law
    • The Chairman and John Saunders, head of the Statute Law Revision team, attended the annual meeting of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Statute Law in the House of Lords.
    Trust Law
    • Stuart Bridge spoke with Professor David Hayton at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies on Capital and Income in Trusts: Classification and Apportionment.
    • He also attended the Trust Law Committee Annual General Meeting.
    • He spoke on Termination of Tenancies at a seminar at the Manchester Law Society, and at the "Battle of the Sexes" Annual Conference of the Manchester Law Society Family Law Panel.
    • In addition, Mr Bridge gave a talk at the Medland Branch of the Society of Trust and Estates Practitioners (STEP) seminar at Nuffield Centre, and at the Economic and Social Research Council on "Changing Social Norms, Changing Family Law".
    • Matthew Jolley, the team manager in the Property and Trust team attended the Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners Annual Conference.
    • Judith Cairns, a lawyer in the Property and Trust team, attended a reception to commemorate the implementation of Part 1 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 at the River Room in the House of Lords.
    Public Law
    • The Public Law team held a seminar on Resolving Housing Disputes, attended by around 70 people, including representatives of charities, local authorities, government departments, universities and various associations.
    • The Public Law team also held a seminar for over 40 people on Monetary Remedies in Public Law, which was attended by judges, academics, practitioners, Ombudsmen and representatives from Treasury Solicitors and the Welsh Assembly.
    SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH

    9.7      The Commission often uses socio-legal, economic and empirical research to ensure that our recommendations to Government are thoroughly considered with sound evidence. Where possible we use existing research, but where funds permit, we sometimes commission external researchers.

    9.8      In particular, we commissioned a public opinion research survey in connection with Partial Defences to Murder from Professor Barry Mitchell, and empirical research was conducted into the defences of provocation and diminished responsibility by Professor Ronnie Mackay on behalf of the Nuffield Foundation. The research of both Professor Mitchell and Professor Mackay proved invaluable.[2] We are very grateful to each of them and the Nuffield Foundation.

    SCOTTISH LAW COMMISSION

    9.9      We work closely with the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) on various projects. Over the course of the year, we have collaborated on Unfair Contract Terms, Company Security Interests, our statute law revision work, and are in regular contact with the SLC concerning the two Commissions' trust law work. The Ninth Programme of Law Reform includes three projects where we will need to work jointly.[3]

    INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

    9.10      We have continued to receive international guests at the Law Commission, and to visit colleagues around the world. Among the guests we have received or met are:

    • Jean Kyazee from the Ugandan Law Reform Commission, who stayed with us for two weeks in October.
    • Mr Egidijus Kuris, President of the Constitutional Court of Lithuania.
    • We received two delegations from China. The first was a delegation from the Qingdao Administration Institute. The second was a delegation, largely made up of officials from the Ministry of Justice, and organised by the British Institute for International Comparative Law. Their visit to the Commission made up part of an EU-China Legal and Judicial Co-operation Programme.
    • We were visited by Mr Martín Avramov, the Legal Adviser of the Minister of State Administration in Bulgaria and Mr Mustapha Yousef, the Libyan appointed Manager of the Legal Affairs Department.
    • Egmont Neubauer, a German PhD student who is undertaking a comparative research study for his PhD into easements in Germany, England and Wales and Scotland visited the Commission in September 2004.
    • A delegation of Vietnamese Visitors, headed by the Deputy Head of the Commission for Legislative Affairs.
    • The Chairman, the Chief Executive, Dr Horder and David Hughes received a delegation from Penn State University, USA to discuss issues of mutual interest appertaining to the reform of criminal law.
    • Professor Partington, Stuart Bridge and Julia Jarzabkowski met the Honourable Reba Meagher, the New South Wales Minister for Fair Trading.
    • We were visited by the Hon Justice Bruce Robertson, Chairman of the New Zealand Commission.
    • We received a delegation from the Commonwealth Secretariat (Public Administration International Study Programme: "Lawyers and Government – Managing Change").
    • The Chairman visited Harvard University for a series of lectures, seminars and events.
    • Professor Beale chaired a session on contract law at a meeting held in Brussels by the German associations of Notaries.
    • The Chief Executive and Professor Partington attended the Australasian Law Reform Agencies Conference in New Zealand in April 2004. Professor Partington addressed the conference on Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Note 1    See para 9.9    [Back]

Note 2    See appendices A-C of the report Partial Defences to Murder (2004), Law Com No 290.    [Back]

Note 3    On Consumer Law, Transfer of Title to Goods by Non-Owner, and Insurance Contract Law.    [Back]

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