LAW REFORM NUMBER
| Published date | 01 January 1961 |
| Date | 01 January 1961 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1961.tb00649.x |
THE
MODERN LAW REVIEW
Volume
24
January
1961
No.
1
The
Modern
Laze,
Review
has always considered the publication
of suggestions for the reforming
of
our
laws as very much among
its objectives. We have accordingly from time to time published
articles and notes on such matters as the improvement
of
our
company law, of
our
criminal law, of
our
family law (in a number
of different aspects), and of other branches
of
our
jurisprudence.
When therefore Messrs. Stevens
&
Sons Limited most generously
offered to publish for
us
a double number as part of their celebra-
tions of their one hundred and fiftieth birthday, the Editorial
Committee felt that this would provide an excellent occasion for a
general survey of the whole field of law reform.
On consideration, however, we thought that it would be more
useful and more manageable to confine
our
attention to the area in
which the Law Revision Committee operates. Specific topics such
as family law and company law have been
or
are under considrra-
tion by expert committees
or
commissions: indeed in some cases,
as
with the Morton Commission, their proposals have been sub-
jected to detailed discussion in our pages, and have already been
largely implemented by legislation. And now of course a special
Committee on the reform of the criminal law has been set
up.
On the other hand we felt that insufficient attention had been
given to the technical problems involved in the mechanics of
statutory lam reform. The experience resulting from the proposals
of
the Law Revision Committee
of
pre-war years has not been
altogether satisfactory, and this has possibly influenced the present
Committee to take
up
an excessively cautious position. We decided
accordingly to preface
our
series of individual attacks on the
problems of reform by a survey
of
past experience in this field,
arid by an analysis of the drafting difficulties actually involved.
In
the result the present number will be found to contain articles on
the historical development of the present situation, on the problem
of drafting, on property law and equity,
on
contract (including
quasi-contract) and tort, and on evidence.
The Editorial Committee wish to express their deep gratitude
VOL.
24
1
1
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