‘The crown court backlog in England and Wales will continue to rise and may be at the same level at the next general election despite a new package of reforms, Justice Secretary David Lammy has told the BBC.’
BBC News, 24th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Access to justice in public law contexts is mediated by several procedural rules, including standing and permission requirements, which reflect a concern to confine judicial review to cases that properly warrant the governmental costs of public law litigation. However, in addition to these universal checkpoints, which are a well-known feature of the judicial review terrain, Parliament has historically entrusted to the Attorney General a distinct gatekeeping role in relation to a subset of public law proceedings which require that law officer’s consent, or “fiat”, before they may be brought. Section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988 is a clear example. It provides that an application to the High Court to quash an inquest finding and order a fresh investigation may be made only by, or with the authority of, the Attorney General, thereby assigning to the law officer a “public interest” function at the threshold of a judicial process. This blog explores whether it would be appropriate for a public interest function of this nature to be examined by way of an application for judicial review under any circumstances, given that the UK Supreme Court has indicated it will hear competing arguments about this in the near future.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th February 2026
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the UK’s data watchdog for unlawfully using children’s personal information.’
BBC News, 24th February 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The training of lawyers in England and Wales, both at law schools and through CPD, “is not good enough” and could be improved by regulation, a leading legal academic has told MPs.’
Legal Futures, 25th February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has refused five claimants permission to bring a challenge to the Metropolitan Police’s policy requiring practicing Freemasons to declare membership of that organisation to their superiors. None of the grounds, including a challenge based on ECHR rights, had a realistic prospect of success. The judgment did not, however, consider the affected claimants’ rights under Article 9 ECHR, which may be a significant omission. The case is R (United Grand Lodge of England) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2026] EWHC 330 (Admin) (17 February 2026).’
Administrative Court Blog, 23rd February 2026
‘Last week saw publication of an important judgment from the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, in a case called Re Y (Experts and Alienating Behaviour: The Modern Approach) [2026] EWFC 38.’
The Transparency Project, 23rd February 2026
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Preventing the owners of law firms from being compliance officers could lead to “additional regulatory expenses” which will be passed onto clients, the Law Society has warned.’
Legal Futures, 24th February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has refused an anti-abortion protester permission for a judicial review challenge after the Crown Court dismissed his appeal over his conviction for breaching a safe zone around a clinic.’
Local Government Lawyer, 24th February 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Last week, the Court of Appeal dismissed the Home Secretary’s appeal against the decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) to allow the appeal of Kamran Safi against his deportation to Afghanistan on Articles 2 and 3 ECHR grounds. The result turned on the fact that the Home Secretary had not contested expert evidence adduced by Mr Safi in the FTT, underlining the importance of evidence in human rights cases. The case is Safi v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWCA Civ 149.’
Administrative Court Blog, 23rd February 2026
‘The Upper Tribunal has warned lawyers against putting client documents into ChatGPT and other open-source AI tools after a solicitor admitted doing so.’
Legal Futures, 24th February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Individuals who “hold themselves out to be psychologists” but who are not registered or chartered should not be instructed to provide assessments in proceedings relating to children, the president of the Family Division has said in a ruling following a “parental alienation” case.’
Law Society Gazette, 23rd February 2026
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘First purchased by HMCTS in 2022 for £111m and scheduled to go live the following year, the UK’s largest dedicated tribunal centre is set to open at last. The Newgate Street development next door to the Central Criminal Court in London, which houses 30 hearing rooms, will host its first employment tribunal (ET) case in March.’
Law Society Gazette, 24th February 2026
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A police chief has admitted artificial intelligence used to boost crime fighting will contain bias but pledged to combat the risks.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A cap on court sitting days is to be lifted as the government seeks to ease the cases backlog, David Lammy has announced.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Occasionally, we receive enquiries from adults who want to be ‘un-adopted’ – although the formal order was validly made when they were children – because of their own experiences of being an adopted person. However, being adopted changes your status so profoundly, normally this can’t be reversed. This problem is currently being considered by the Supreme Court.’
The Transparency Project, 20th February 2026
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The High Court was wrong to rule that it did not have jurisdiction to grant claimants a protective injunction stopping a defendant from harassing their lawyers, the Court of Appeal has decided.’
Legal Futures, 23rd February 2026
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Consultation opens on draft guidance to reduce short notice applications in the family courts.’
Family Law, 23rd February 2026
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The long-running debate over mandatory reporting of child abuse in England has entered a new legislative phase, with provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill progressing through Parliament amid continued professional and political scrutiny.’
Family Law, 23rd February 2026
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The Divisional Court in R (Ammori) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin)(Dame Victoria Sharp P and Swift and Steyn JJ) has held that the proscription of Palestine Action should be quashed on the basis that the Home Secretary had failed to follow relevant policy guidance and had not struck a fair balance in respect of relevant rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Home Secretary has indicated that she intends to appeal.
This ‘extended look’ article will examine the grounds on which the claim succeeded and evaluate the Home Secretary’s potential prospects on appeal.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd February 2026
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The long-awaited Representation of the People Bill was laid before the House of Commons on 12 February 2026. This followed the Government’s earlier policy paper, “Restoring Trust in our Democracy”, published in July 2025, which outlined the Government’s bold aim to “usher in a new chapter in our democracy, reflecting our principles, and restoring faith in our politics”.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 23rd February 2026
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
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