Land Law Reform
The need to modernise property law to accommodate changing social, demographic and economic requirments has long been recognised. It has also been generally recognised that the law should be simplified to make it more easily understood and accessible. The Land Law Reform Project has been established with the primary aim of reforming and modernising land law and conveyancing law.
Many of the concepts of land law are enshrined in ancient legislation and the conveyancing process is largely governed by laws which were enacted in the 19th century. Some of the rules and principles are obsolete, others cause unnecessary complications and many are of reduced relevance today.
One of the principal aims of the Project is to remove anomalies and anachronisms in the law of property and to remove the traps for the unwary. We also hope to simplify the law to make it more easily understood and accessible as well as facilitating the conveyancing of property.
Our Project to reform the substantive law of property is complemented by the work of the Land Registers of Northern Ireland (LRNI)
to introduce electronic registration and to examine the technical requirements for the further development of electronic processes within the system of land registration. Without a sound framework of modern land law underpinning the conveyancing process it would not be possible to develop a high quality advanced approach to land registration. A substantial reform of the underlying law will also facilitate improvements in the conveyancing process, assisting in making it simpler and less protracted.
Another important strand of the work of the Project is to undertake a review of all the statutes from the 13th century to date that have any relevance to property. These will then be screened with a view to identifying those which can be repealed without replacement and are now completely obsolete or otherwise inappropriate. The review will also select those statutes which remain relevant but which will require amendment to be effective in a modern environment.
All expressions of interest in land law reform and preliminary comments are welcome. For further information please contact: sarah.witchell@nilawcommission.gov.uk