An exercise in restraint: amending the presumption of advancement

Abstract

This article considers the law concerning the presumption of advancement as it applies in the United Kingdom and other common law countries. The article suggests that the proposed legislative reforms in the United Kingdom, by which the presumption would be abolished, provide no sure guide for the path the law will take in the future. This is evidenced by the fact that they have failed to come into force as of January 2023. Governments should instead exercise restraint, permitting the law to continue to be developed by the courts on a case-by-case basis, sensitive to the realities of modern social conditions and human relationships, on which the presumption has always been, and should continue to be, anchored.