A. W. & C. Barsby: Legal Research and Publishing

Chapter 1 - Overview

1-1 Acts of Parliament from 1988 can be found on the HMSO site. The Acts are shown here in their original form-if there have been later amendments, these are not included. Since 1999, Acts have been published with Explanatory Notes which help to explain their effect. Link to HMSO for legislation.

1-3 Link to HMSO for statutory instruments from 1987 onwards. These are listed by number (the statutory instrument or "SI" number). Example: to look up the Town and Country Planning (Trees) Regulations 1999, SI 1999/1892, click on the heading "1999", then on the heading "Nos. 1800-1899". Then scroll down the list to No. 1892, and click on the title to see the text of these regulations.

1-20 Link to the Land Registry for list of publications, including one on boundaries.

1-22 Where the road is a highway maintainable at the public expense, the presumption of ownership applies to the land under the "top two spits" owned by the local authority.

1-29 Home information packs. Legislation on this subject is contained in Part 5 of the Housing Bill currently before Parliament. Link to Parliament site for the Housing Bill.

1-34 Link to HMSO for the Order.

1-40 Link to Land Registry for information about searching the Land Register.

1-45 Adverse possession. An important case-JA Pye v Graham-has been heard by the House of Lords, and this is has clarified the law on adverse possession. The House of Lords (among other points) decided that a person seeking to obtain title by adverse possession must show that he intended to possess the land, though not necessarily to own it. Link to UK Parliament site for judgment. The case is now reported at [2002] 3 WLR 221.

1-45 Adverse possession and the Land Registration Act 2002. This Act came into effect on 13 October 2003, and has made important changs to the law in relation to registered land. Under the new law, a person who has been in adverse possession of land for 10 years may apply to the Land Registry to be registered as the owner. The registered owner must then be informed and if she objects the application can succeed only on a number of specific grounds. If she does not object (or if the registered owner successfully opposes an application but does not follow it up) the person in advsre possession is entitled to be registered as the owner.

1-46 Adverse possession. In Inglewood Investment Co Ltd v Baker [2002] EWCA Civ 1733, [2003] 2 P&CR 23, the court rejected a claim to some land. Possession of the land was intermittent; and fencing it off in this case was mainly to keep livestock in, rather than to exclude the world at large.

1-46 Parking on land will usually not amount to going into to adverse possession of it: see Central Midlands Estates Ltd v Leicester Dyers Ltd, The Times, 18 February 2003.

1-50 High hedges. Public concern about Leylandii and feuding neighbours has now been reflected in legislation, namely Part 8 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. The Act received the Royal assent on 20 November 2003, but Part 8 is not yet in force. When in force, the Act will allow domestic landowners to complain of evergreen hedges more than 2 metres in height which spoil the enjoyment of their property. Local authorities will have power to deal with complaints and enforce the law. Link to HMSO for the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003.

1-58 For a practical guide to the effects of administrative law see The Judge Over Your Shoulder, a guide which was written for civil servants but is available to the public generally. Link to the Treasury Solicitor's Department for guide.