60 Years of Shaping Commercial and Property Law: The Scottish Law Commission's Impact

Alisdair Macpherson

60 Years of Shaping Commercial and Property Law: The Scottish Law Commission's Impact

Alisdair Macpherson^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Reflecting on the role of the Scottish Law Commission (SLC) in commercial and property law reform is no easy task. The topic is vast and the SLC’s role has been considerable and often vital. There is also the challenge of identifying the boundaries of commercial law and property law. Where property law applies in a commercial setting, significant overlap exists between the two areas, including as regards commercial leases, rights in security and the sale of goods. The outer boundaries are difficult to identify too. An expansive view may include contract, trusts and succession, further parts of private law and beyond.
If a broad perspective is adopted, a substantial proportion of the SLC’s work has involved commercial law and property law. Importantly, many of its reports on relevant topics have ultimately been implemented by legislation. The SLC continues to have a significant volume of work in these areas, including projects on heritable securities, leases and tenements

Original language	English
Journal	Edinburgh Law Review
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 12 Feb 2026

Bibliographical note

I am grateful to the attendees at the Scottish Law Commission’s 60th Anniversary Conference for their remarks and to Prof Hector MacQueen for encouraging the publication of my paper. I would also like to thank Prof Andrew Steven for his comments on an earlier draft of this article. Any errors are, however, mine alone.

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Cite this

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60 Years of Shaping Commercial and Property Law: The Scottish Law Commission's Impact

Abstract

Bibliographical note

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