The 2000 annual report of the Law Commission provides a useful insight into likely future development of the law. Among developments of potential interest to business are:
- proposals to introduce a new criminal offence of corporate killing when a business has adopted policies leading to death;
- compensation for personal injury should be increased by up to 100%;
- complex rules on illegal transactions should be replaced by a simple provision allowing a court to uphold an illegal transaction according to some basic criteria;
- the present various limitation periods should be replaced by a single code giving three years from the date when the claimant knows he has a cause of action, with an absolute limit of ten years from the date of the action (other than personal injury claims);
- modernising partnership law;
- making it easier for third parties to claim against insurance companies;
- requiring company directors to make a statement about self-dealing,. and requiring directors to make a statement about their duties;
- a limited exception to the double jeopardy rule so that a person acquitted of an offence could be tried again in closely defined circumstances;
- introducing a single offence of fraud;
- creating a new criminal offence of misusing trade secrets.
[2000]