Durham Legal Reforms

The Durham Legal Reforms were a set of legislative proposals created and proposed by William Somerset, The Earl of Durham, that sought to overhaul the judiciary system and surrounding legislature of the Empire.

Proposals included:

• The return of standards to be called to the bar to the administration of the Bar Council, with the view that an independent Bar entry exam would be created to combat the variations in standards of legal education across the region;
• The creation of a new law course, which was implemented at the University of Cambridge;
• The introduction of financial crimes;
• The redefinition of poaching;
• The introduction of evidencing standards in the Reasonable Evidencing Limitations Act 2024 and the Evidencing Provision Alteration (REL Amendment) Act 2024;
• The formal definition of subpoenas in the above;
• The introduction of personal data protections in the Personal Data Protection Act 2024;
• The introduction of copyright laws in the Copyright Act 2024, written with Tobias, Prince Royal;
• The reformation of the register of interests to the Disclosure of Interests Act 2024;
• The introduction of temporary and rotating justices;
• The introduction of a separate court of appeal, known as the Supreme Court;
• The introduction of the Legal Practice Act 2024, which modernised and replaced the 2023 edition to allow interfacing with other reforms.
• The reduction of legislative types and the introduction of Secondary Legislation via the Secondary Legislation Act 2025.