13 January 2012 Mr Peter Morris Mens Aid NI

Dear Mr Morris, On behalf of the Law Commission, I am indebted to you for taking the trouble to respond to our consultation paper by formulating a proposal for law reform in Northern Ireland. Please note that all proposals received for inclusion in the Law Commissions Second Programme of Law Reform have been fully and carefully considered. This exercise has involved the application of the Commissions project selection criteria. Having performed this exercise, the Commission has formed certain views about the contents of the Second Programme. These views can only be provisional since, under the statutory arrangements, the decision maker is the Department of Justice and not the Commission. Against this background, the Commission communicated with the Department in appropriate terms in June 2011. The Commission has been informed by the Department that its process remains incomplete. The contents of the Second Programme of Law Reform will be determined by the outcome of this process. Please note that when the outcome of the approval process has been received by the Commission there will be no avoidable delay in communicating further with you. In the interim, I reiterate my appreciation of your engagement with the Commission and I thank you for your continuing patience. Yours sincerely,