My question is:- 

Public and legal notices specific to the UK, such as planning
permissions, public tenders, bankruptcy announcements, announcements
of deceased persons, notice of wills, etc.

Where legally do public sectors (government / councils) and private
solicitors / lawyers have to place notices / announcements - do they
have to advertise in local and national newspapers or can they just
place the information on a website?

Please only answer the question if you can provide the relevant
information to my question, ideally the legal documentation as to
where, how public and legal notices must be placed, length of time /
area?s they need to place the notices, etc.

For example, a solicitor needs to notify that Joe Bloggs has died and
to notify that the will, will be read. Does the solicitor have to
advertise in local and national newspapers or can they just advertise
the notice on the web.

Please ask if you wish me to further clarify the question.

---

Request for Question Clarification by leli-ga on 22 May 2004 00:27 PDT

Dear reesy

Unfortunately, the answer will be different for each of the different
situations you mention. There are a few cases where a newspaper
announcement is required by law - but this isn't so in the example you
give about wills. In those cases where a formal notice in print is
required, there might need to be a change in the law to allow
publishing on a website as an alternative.

Giving you a comprehensive answer would be a challenging task, because
there are so many different scenarios in your question. If you would
like to focus on one particular part of the question, please do let us
know.

Sorry to be discouraging - but you know how complex the law can be!

By the way, if you do want us to pursue one particular point, would it
be right to assume you are interested in English law? (Not Scots law?)

Thanks - Leli

As leli-ga says, the requirements for advertisement differ in each circumstance. 

There are, however, newspapers of record, which everyone is deemed in
law to read. They are the London, Edinburgh, and Belfast Gazettes:

http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/

"What are Gazettes?
The London, Edinburgh, and Belfast Gazettes are the official
newspapers of record in the United Kingdom and include notices
relating to State, Parliament, Planning, Transport, Public Finance,
etc.

A large proportion of notices published in the London, Edinburgh and
Belfast Gazettes are mandatory, including Insolvency and Bankruptcy
notices. Notices are split into different categories: (list)
http://www.gazettes-online.co.uk/faqs.asp?webType=2

Owain