The origins and work of the Scottish Law Commission, and the problem of the codification of Scottish private law

Abstract

The subject covered in the paper is the origins, structure and workings of the Scottish Law Commission created, along with its English counterpart, under the Law Commissions Act of 1965. The author of the article outlines the course of conceptual and legislative work to constitute the new commission, the extent of its relationship with and dependence on public authorities, as well as the key differences between the legal position of the two commissions, symbolically highlighted by the English commission’s gaining a stronger mandate under the 2009 Law Commission Act. The final part of the paper is devoted to an attempt to assess the achievements of the Commission to date, the reasons for the failure of the premise of the grand codification endeavour, and the successes that the Commission claim in terms of reforming specific institutions and branches of law.