Why have the government accepted some proposals for reform and rejected others? Were they right to do this? What are the arguments against reform?

Homicide

‘The law governing homicide in England and Wales is a rickety structure set upon shaky foundations. Some of its rules have been unaltered since the seventeenth century, even though it has long been acknowledged that they are in dire need of reform’ (Law Commission, 2005)

Consider the statement above and decide whether the law governing homicide in England and Wales is in need of reform.

You must answer within an essay format, within a word limit of 1500 words.

In order to fully address this task question, some of the relevant content includes:
– What is the current law governing Homicide in England and Wales?
– Some of the key issues: partial defences to murder, controversy surrounding the intent required for murder, is the breadth of manslaughter too broad?
– The proposals that have been put forward by the Law Commission and other bodies
– Why have the government accepted some proposals for reform and rejected others? Were they right to do this?
– What are the arguments against reform?