Summary of the impact

In 2010 the Ministry of Justice formally accepted recommendations by the Law Commission to introduce a new non-statutory rule of disclosure for trustee exemption clauses in England and Wales. Newcastle research had a direct impact upon the development of the law on trustee exemption clauses. In 2002 Dunn successfully tendered to undertake research on trustee exemption clauses in England and Wales on behalf of the Law Commission. Dunn's research was published by the Law Commission as a separate and distinct chapter of its consultation paper on trustee exemption clauses. The research (alongside consultation responses) influenced the Law Commission's recommendation that a non-statutory rule of disclosure be introduced into the law of England and Wales. This recommendation was accepted by the Government in 2010 and has been implemented by the trust industry.

Summary of the impact

A research programme led by Boyle in Edinburgh (with Birnie (LSE) and Redgwell (UCL)) pioneered the discipline of international environmental law. That work, in turn, informed the infrastructure for international environmental law in practice. Through Boyle's work as legal counsel in several high-profile international cases (2010-11), his proposed subject-paradigm has been translated from theory to legal framework. Crucially, it has been endorsed and applied by both the International Law Commission and relevant international courts, including the International Court of Justice.

Summary of the impact

Research by the Centre for Business and Insolvency Law is helping to increase investor confidence and economic stability through influence on laws in Africa and practice in the UK.

Integrating developing countries into the global economy and encouraging investment require sound legal infrastructure, with modern insolvency laws that increase investor confidence over likely outcomes of financial crisis. Burdette's research has directly influenced Seychelles legislation, legislation currently before parliament in Malawi and insolvency practice in South Africa.

Robust insolvency laws are also important for maintaining a stable domestic economy. Walters (with external co-authors) has influenced public debate regarding costs in insolvency.

Summary of the impact

With over 130,000 insolvencies (corporate and personal) recorded annually in England and Wales insolvency is a significant area of legal practice. This study spotlights one major publication (Sealy and Milman: Annotated Guide to Insolvency Legislation) which has informed, and is informed by, other scholarly pieces. Evidence is offered of this publication's reach, indicating how it has developed into an authoritative legal source in its own right. Users of the research include lawyers advising/representing their clients, repeat players (such as HMRC) and judges dealing with issues of interpretation. These groups benefit by having professional time saved in researching points and by having something to base advice or a decision upon when there is no available precedent. The ultimate beneficiaries are the public who rely on legal advice and whose rights depend upon favourable judicial rulings.

Summary of the impact

Influential work on insurance law by Professor Rob Merkin led directly to the repeal of the outmoded and increasingly unpopular Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930. With its predecessor criticised for its demands on time and costs, a new Act made it simpler, faster and cheaper for a third-party claimant to recover compensation from an insurer without instituting proceedings against the insured. Merkin not only drew policymakers' attention to the old Act's defects but provided a detailed basis on which to formulate its successor, which earned Royal Assent in 2010.

Summary of the impact

Beale was a major contributor to research published in 2000 as The Principles of European Contract Law (The Principles). The Principles had and continue to have a major impact on the development of contract law at both the EU and national levels. They formed the basis of subsequent work that led to the Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR, 2009), which incorporated The Principles. The Principles and the DCFR have influenced interpretation in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) / Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and are cited in national courts. They have had a significant impact on reform of national laws and led directly to the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law (CESL, 2011). With support from the University of Warwick, Beale played a key role not only in producing The Principles but in all the subsequent stages, including being a member of the Expert Group that produced a first draft of the CESL.

Summary of the impact

Research undertaken by Barlow at Exeter into cohabitation, marriage and the law has shaped, informed and influenced long-running public and policy debates in Britain over the need to reform aspects of family (property) law, in light of widespread public confusion and on-going societal shifts. The research findings on attitudes to cohabitation and marriage, community of property and pre-nuptial agreements and the law, each cited in public consultation papers and reports advocating reform, have influenced the Law Commission and judiciary in the UK and informed German policymakers. The cohabitation research in particular has-

• shaped public information and legal advice;
• informed and stimulated high-profile law reform lobbying campaigns and media debates;
• strongly influenced Law Commission legislative proposals on cohabitant intestacy, and
• shaped national policy in use by government to oppose reform in parliamentary debates.

Summary of the impact

Since the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States, a key issue for central banks has been the extent to which they should use monetary policy, along with macroprudential tools, to promote financial stability. University of Manchester (UoM) research has developed small theoretical models, and more detailed quantitative macroeconomic models, to help address this issue. This analytical work has helped to: firstly, influence the policies and operations of several major central banks (Brazil, Turkey and Morocco); and secondly, fuel the debate about global reform of bank regulation in international forums, such as the Financial Stability Board, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and annual meetings of central banks from Latin America. Impact has been achieved through presentations to these forums, alongside discussions with senior policymakers from other countries.

Summary of the impact

This research has made a sustained and continuing impact on the development and application of the substantive criminal law, including mens rea and general defences, and especially in the areas of complicity and homicide, in terms of

i) development of the law by the appellate courts;

ii) application of the law by practitioners; and

iii) government policy as to the reform of the law of murder and complicity.

Summary of the impact

Professor Geoff Gilbert's research on exclusion in international refugee law has influenced policies of international organisations and courts around the world. His research on extradition prompted the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to invite Gilbert to write the Global Consultation on exclusion, adopted in 2001 at the 50^th Anniversary meeting for the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. This Consultation directly influenced UNHCR's 2003 Guidelines on Exclusion that have been cited worldwide in hundreds of cases during the impact period. Canadian and German appellate courts have also favourably cited Gilbert's work directly.