On 19 November 2024, the Special Public Bill Committee on the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, established by the House of Lords, issued a call for written evidence on the Bill.
The Bill
The Bill provides that something may be capable of attracting property rights even if does not fit into either of the two categories of personal property that have traditionally been recognised under the law of England and Wales (i.e. things in possession and things in action). It had its first reading in the House of Lords on 11 September 2024.
The call for evidence
Special Public Bill Committees are empowered to take written and oral evidence on a Bill before considering it. In this call for evidence, the Committee is asking for written evidence in response to questions on:
- Views on the Bill (in fewer than 300 words).
- Whether the Bill, in its current form, is necessary and effective.
- Any negative or unexpected consequences the Bill would have.
- How the Bill could be improved and whether it should be amended to achieve this.
- Whether the Bill should have retroactive effect.
- What implications the Bill could have for the development of this area of common law (in this and other jurisdictions).
Next steps
The deadline for submitting evidence to the Committee is 20 December 2024.