Law Commission of England and Wales

What Law Commission of England and Wales does

The Law Commission of England and Wales is an independent statutory body established in 1965 under the Law Commissions Act 1965 and sponsored by the UK Ministry of Justice. It is headquartered at 1st Floor, Tower, 52 Queen Anne's Gate, London, and operates as a non-departmental public body of the UK Government with a headcount in the 101-250 range. Its statutory remit is to keep the law of England and Wales under review and to recommend reform where needed, covering criminal law, commercial and common law, property/family/trust law, and public law including devolved Welsh law. Over more than 50 years, the Commission reports that more than two-thirds of its recommendations have been accepted or implemented by Parliament and Government.

The Commission's "products" are consultation papers, final reports, and draft Bills rather than commercial goods or software. These outputs are made freely available to the public at no charge under the Open Government Licence v3.0, with parallel Welsh-language versions. It runs formal public consultations, publishes via its website (lawcom.gov.uk), and engages stakeholders through events, webinars, and social media (LinkedIn, X, YouTube). Funding flows through the Ministry of Justice as part of the UK Government's parliamentary supply process; the Commission has no shareholders, no equity capital, and no commercial revenue line. It partners with diversity internship programmes (Bridging the Bar, Ledlet Summer Scheme, Boardroom Apprentice) and, on specific projects, with research funders such as UKRI (Future Flight Challenge) for the aviation autonomy review.

From a commercial-investment perspective the entity is not an investable target: it is a Crown body that cannot be acquired, has no revenue model, and operates under a fixed statutory mandate. Its strategic significance lies in its monopoly role as the UK's primary law-reform engine and the institutional credibility that produces a 60-year track record of accepted recommendations.

Name

Law Commission of England and Wales

Legal name

Law Commission

Website

https://lawcom.gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Law Commission of England and Wales is an independent statutory body, established in 1965 and sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, that reviews and recommends reform of the law of England and Wales through consultation papers, reports, and draft legislation for Parliament and Government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Law Reform Services

NAICS

Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

akta.pro primary industry

Rule of Law & Justice Sector Reform (BPADAGAB)

Keywords

• Law reform consulting
• Statutory law reviews
• Draft legislation preparation
• Public policy recommendations
• Legal research services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Law Commission of England and Wales is an independent statutory body that reviews the law of England and Wales and recommends reform. Its core work products are consultation papers, final reports, and draft Bills prepared by topic-specific legal teams (Commercial and Common Law; Criminal Law; Property, Family and Trust Law; Public Law and Law in Wales), delivered to Government and Parliament for consideration. Outputs are published freely on its website under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Product overview

The Law Commission is an independent government body established in 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and recommend reform where needed. The organization does not offer commercial products or software services. Its work consists of law reform projects across various legal areas (including criminal law, property law, commercial law, and public law), which result in consultation papers, final reports, and draft bills published for government consideration. The organization also provides career opportunities for lawyers and research assistants, as well as academic placement programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Law Commission Website and Publications The Law Commission's official website serves as the primary portal for accessing law reform projects, consultation papers, reports, draft Bills, news, and career information. It provides public access to the organisation's work on reviewing and reforming the law of England and Wales, with all content available under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over two-thirds of recommendations accepted or implemented over 50+ years

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bridging the BarminorOthersThe Law Commission has run annual internships through Bridging the Bar, an organisation supporting aspiring lawyers from under-represented communities. This is a diversity internship initiative rather than a commercial partnership.
• Ledlet Summer SchememinorOthersThe Law Commission supports the Ledlet Summer Scheme, which provides opportunities for aspiring lawyers from under-represented communities. This is a shared internship initiative.
• Boardroom Apprentice ProgrammeminorOthersThe Law Commission is a host board as part of the Boardroom Apprentice programme, which aims to help people from under-represented communities gain boardroom experience. This is a work experience initiative rather than a commercial partnership.
• UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) / Future Flight ChallengecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe three-year aviation autonomy review was partly funded by UKRI through the Future Flight Challenge. This is a research funding partnership for the aviation autonomy project.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Singapore Law Reform Committee: Committee under the Singapore Ministry of Law that reviews and recommends reform of Singapore law. Comparable in role as a government-sponsored body producing law reform recommendations for parliamentary action.
• Scottish Law Commission: Statutory body established by the Law Commissions Act 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend reform. It is the directly comparable sister body for Scotland, operating under the same founding statute as the Law Commission of England and Wales.
• Law Reform Commission of Ireland: Independent statutory body that advises the Irish Government on reform of civil and criminal law. It is the closest direct peer in terms of statutory mandate, scope of work, and product (consultation papers, reports, draft legislation).
• New South Wales Law Reform Commission: Independent statutory body reviewing NSW law and recommending reform. Closely comparable in mandate, methodology (consultation papers, reports, draft legislation), and relationship with state government.
• California Law Revision Commission: Independent state-level statutory body that studies and recommends revision of California law. Comparable in function as a permanent, government-sponsored law reform body producing recommendations and draft legislation.
• Victorian Law Reform Commission: Australian state-level statutory body that reviews Victorian law and recommends reform. It is a directly comparable independent law reform commission producing consultation papers and final reports under a similar framework.
• Hong Kong Law Reform Commission: Statutory body that reviews Hong Kong law and makes reform recommendations to the Chief Executive. It operates with a comparable structure (commissioners, subcommittees, consultation papers, and final reports) mirroring the England and Wales model.

Broad incumbents

• Law Commission of India: Statutory body established to undertake law reform in India, operating at a national scale across a far larger and more complex legal system. Comparable in mandate but with substantially broader jurisdiction and output volume.

Others

• Office of the Parliamentary Counsel: UK Government legal office that drafts legislation and advises on parliamentary counsel matters. Adjacent rather than competing, since it executes drafting while the Law Commission recommends reform, but the two collaborate on legislative output.
• Uniform Law Commission: US non-profit organisation that drafts uniform state laws. Thematically related as a structured law reform and harmonisation body, but operates via state adoption rather than a single national statutory mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Law_Commission
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@LawCommissionEandW/videos?app=desktop&view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=1
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/law-commission-england-and-wales-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Law Commission of England and Wales