The Law Commission and Law Commission Bill Procedures

The Law Commission of England and Wales (the Law Commission) is a statutory independent body created by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep the law under review and to recommend reform where it is needed.

The Law Commission Act 2009 made a number of reforms. Amongst other things it created a duty on the Lord Chancellor to report annually to Parliament on the extent to which government has implemented Law Commission recommendations.

The procedures followed by the two Houses in passing a Law Commission bill – a bill introduced by the government, following recommendations from the  Law Commission for changes to legislation – differ slightly compared to the passage of other government bills. This procedure, involving the use of second reading committees in the House of Commons and special public bill committees in the House of Lords, is periodically reviewed.

The House of Lords appoints special public bill committees to examine Law Commission bills. In autumn 2024, following a report (PDF) from the Procedure and Privileges Committee, the House of Lords agreed that these committees could spend up to 40 days on evidence-taking, an increase from 28 days