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News, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR's case law and UK legislation platform
Yesterday the Court of Appeal roundly allowed an appeal by the prosecuting authority and the Secretary of State for Justice (intervening, or as some might suggest, interfering) against the trial judge’s decision to stay a major fraud case by reason of the unavailability of counsel for five legally aided defendants. The case has aroused a… Continue reading
A weekly roundup of topical legal news, including the continuing VHCC saga, a review of criminal advocacy (or what might be left of it), and a torrent of historical “divorce porn” from the new Family Court. But first, that “unforgettable” google ruling from the ECJ. You have a right to remain silent, thanks to Magna… Continue reading
Reviewed by Paul Magrath When the drugged, strangled corpse of a blonde in a green dress is found in the bedroom of hedge fund honcho Vernon James’s trashed hotel suite, the morning after the gala awards ceremony where he was awarded the Ethical Man of the Year prize, his protestations of innocence meet a wall… Continue reading
A weekly roundup of topical legal news This week’s stories deal largely with issues of representation: its quality (if you can get it) and what happens if you can’t. Operation Cotton Over the past week, there’s been a lot of commentary on the collapse of a major fraud trial, owing to the lack of suitable… Continue reading
The news that an experienced criminal barrister and part-time judge, Constance Briscoe, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for three offences of perverting the course of justice has prompted widespread comment and, in some quarters, indignation. It brings a promising career to an abrupt end and, for a once inspiring role model, it is also a sad fall from grace.… Continue reading
“The law reports are replete with examples of important judicial law-making in diverse areas affecting many aspects of our national life.” So said the Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson in a recent speech. But for how much longer can this continue? King Henry II (1133 – 1189): his legal reforms laid the basis for… Continue reading
In an earlier post, The Curious Case of The Court, The Commentators, The Woman, and Her Baby, we considered the story, widely and hysterically covered in the media, and more rationally by legal bloggers, of a pregnant Italian woman who had visited the UK in the summer 2012 only to be “sectioned” under the Mental… Continue reading
Privatised civil justice – how it might look Artist’s impressions A shadowy and mysterious legal think tank known as the Seven Stars Symposium has recently announced proposals for the privatisation of the litigation services currently provided by the High Court of England and Wales and the County Courts. In a press release issued on 1… Continue reading
By Tim Thomas, 1 Pump Court In his speech to Justice on 3rd March 2014 Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd CJ addressed what he sees as the challenge of ensuring the quality of justice is not diminished by the cuts to Legal Aid when those cuts are likely, he suggested, to remain permanent. Putting aside any challenge… Continue reading
A Silken slur about fatcat barristers, a ban on sending books to prisoners and the controversy over the role of religion in law: check out the latest legal issues to surface in the blogosphere. Books for prisoners Twitter was pretty lively over the weekend about a ban imposed by the Secretary of State for Justice… Continue reading
