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Law FAQs : How can I find out about proposed law reforms?

The Law Commmision

A good website to be aware of is the UK Law Commission. Within the Law Commission site, click on "Publications" on the left side of the page to view the full text of recent Law Commission reports and consultations. For example, on the "Publications" page, select "Law Commission reports". You will notice that for 2009, it is possible to view the full text of a report, draft legislation (or "Bill") and press release relating to intoxication and criminal liability.

Westlaw

You should also be aware that the Westlaw database includes a Legal and Regulatory Development Index. To access this index, after logging into Westlaw, click on the Services link at the top of the page, then select Westlaw International from the drop down menu. This will take you to the old Westlaw interface where you need to select the Westlaw UK tab from the top of the page. Go to "Leg & Reg Dev Index" from the "Quick Searches" menu on the left side of the page. This index includes abstracts (but not necessarily full text) of legal documents produced by government bodies in the UK, for instance "Green papers" (which are essentially consultation documents). As an example, within the Index type "unfair terms in contracts" in the "Term(s)" box and click on "Go". You will notice that you retrieve 6 hits the second of which is for the Law Commission report (mentioned above) which was published in February 2005 on this topic.

Ask for help

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Online Library for assistance.