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100 not out

09 May 2025 / Andrew Francis
Issue: 8115 / Categories: Features , Property , Landlord&tenant , Housing
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Andrew Francis looks back at six pieces of 1925 property legislation, brought into effect by vigorous effort & with a legacy that remains largely intact
  • A celebration and examination of six pieces of legislation that received royal assent 100 years ago, and which still form the bedrock of much property law in 2025.

Thursday, 9 April 1925. This is not a date which occupies a place in the nation’s memory as one of celebration or remembrance. Nor is it one which marks an event revered by those sharing a common faith. The day itself was unremarkable. Records show it was fair and quite warm. The prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, had been in office since the Conservative Party’s victory at the general election in November 1924. The Lord Chancellor, Viscount Cave, held the Great Seal. In the morning, King George V attended the Maundy Service at Westminster Abbey. Across the Atlantic, New York publishers Scribners were getting ready for publication of The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald the next day.

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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