Does existing law prevent farmers from farming in more sustainable ways? Does the law governing commercial leasehold transactions impose needless bureaucracy? Does the concept of ‘deeds’ remain fit for purpose? How can housing estate residents be given greater management control? What should a legal framework for public sector automated decision-making look like? These are some of the questions the Law Commission will be attempting to answer over the next few years.

More than 500 people responded to a consultation on what the commission should explore in its 14th programme of work.

As well as agricultural tenancies, commercial leasehold, deeds, housing estate management and public sector automated decision making, the commission will also look at consent in the criminal law, the defence of insanity, desecration of a corpse, product liability and ownerless land.

Read more:

The commission said the UK’s product liability regime has failed to keep pace with AI and increased use of digital products. On public sector automated decision making, the commission said public law developed to ensure the accountability of human officials, not automated systems. Fundamental legal questions, such as whether it is lawful to use an ADM system to discharge a statutory function, remain unanswered.

Financial remedies on divorce could not be added to the list as the government has yet to publish its response to the commission’s scoping paper. However, the commission said it is keen to continue its work in this area.

Thanking consultation respondents for their input, commission chair Sir Peter Fraser said: ‘Our values are independence, integrity and expertise. In all our projects, we endeavour to provide high-quality recommendations for law reform for parliament to consider so that the law remains modern and relevant to our changing society.’