‘The court modernisation project ends this month with the “very disappointing” outcome of only 23% of civil cases being digital end to end, the Master of the Rolls told MPs this week.’
Legal Futures, 21st March 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘There are no rules that require law firms to take on clients outside of criminal work and so they need to be willing to justify their choices publicly, the former senior partner of Allen & Overy said this week.’
Legal Futures, 20th March 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Law reform charity JUSTICE has proposed the first rights-based framework to guide AI use across the UK justice system in a report that has urged the deployment of the technology be guided by a “clear purpose and responsibility”.’
Local Government Lawyer, 30th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Imaging orders offer another useful tool to civil fraud litigators needing to urgently prevent the concealment and destruction of relevant digital evidence.’
OUT-LAW.com, 24th January 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘The lady chief justice’s new transparency and open justice board has asked the justice secretary to allow judicial reviews to be livestreamed – and potentially broadcast on television.
Law Society's Gazette, 6th January 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘On-the-spot penalties issued for offences including swearing, shouting, idling, loitering and begging, known as “busybody” fines, jumped 42% in 2023, according to a new report.’
The Guardian, 6th December 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Ministry of Justice is at risk of not meeting its statutory duty for civil legal aid to deliver access to justice, according to research it commissioned.’
Legal Futures, 2nd December 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The pre-action protocol (PAP) for judicial review should be amended to make sure the parties make clear their position on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) at an early stage, a report produced for the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has recommended.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th November 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Lady Chief Justice yesterday complained to MPs about the government’s decisions to reduce the digitisation of civil justice and limit sitting days in the criminal courts.’
Legal Futures, 27th November 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Holly Tibbits examines new recommendations from a working group of the Civil Justice Council on determining capacity to litigate in civil proceedings.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th November 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Businesses with experience of third-party litigation funding (TPF) in England and Wales have the chance to respond to a government-backed consultation and help shape the future regulation of this market.’
OUT-LAW.com. 14th November 2024
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Revenge porn should be made a statutory civil offence to allow victims redress without having to go through a “retraumatising” criminal trial, MPs have been told.’
The Independent, 13th November 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The UK government’s newly established Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) has become operational and businesses need to take note of the updated civil sanctions enforcement regimes and the three bodies with different responsibilities for licence applications.’
OUT-law.com, 22nd October 2024
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
‘Major reforms via the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 and subsequent reforms have reduced the legal aid budget and the scope of eligibility in criminal as well as civil cases. According to Mansfield et al., the principles of justice that embody the legal aid provision has been neglected by governments for over a decade and as such; created a gap that emasculates the most vulnerable in society, such as recipients of legal aid. This study employs an interview-based approach to investigate alternative perspectives in terms of the cuts and widespread impact on service providers in England and Wales, such as barristers, and solicitors. Detailed qualitative data were collected to provide insights into the diminishing legal aid scheme through the lived experiences of both civil and criminal legal aid providers. The study examines the concerns of service providers regarding their future as public defenders and the future of the judicial system post-LASPO 2012, focusing on safeguarding the rights of individuals facing litigation and ensuring that newly qualified lawyers are not deterred from public defence roles due to the long-term effects of ongoing legal aid cuts.’
Legal Ethics, 10th September 2024
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘There should only be a move to regulate third-party litigation funding (TPLF) in the event of “an identifiable problem or market failure”, a major report has concluded.’
Legal Futures, 16th October 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Post Office has recently explored resuming the practice of taking branch owner-operators to court, as mounting losses from shortfalls in its network of 11,500 outlets hit £12m a year. During the Horizon IT scandal more than 900 operators were wrongly prosecuted over discrepancies caused by the faulty accounting software, many of them brought privately by the Post Office, a practice it stopped in 2015 and has promised not to restart. However, the Post Office continued to use the court system for the civil recovery of losses from branches until 2018.’
The Guardian, 13th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In 2018, Sir Ernest Ryder warned that the future shift to online dispute resolution for most, and in some areas all disputes, risks eroding judicial accountability and fostering a democratic deficit. The pandemic, the £1.3 billion court modernisation program and six years later, the future of resolving the majority of disputes online appears to be much closer. The implementation of a truly holistic Digital Justice System – an integrated system of online advice services, online public and private out-of-court dispute resolution services (mediation and arbitration portals, ombuds services) and online courts – can make this future a reality. In fact, it is expressly intended that the majority of civil, family, and tribunal disputes will be settled or resolved online through the Digital Justice System, in accordance with rules specifically developed by the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) to cover the online pre-action and action space. It is also notable that such a system of various online private and public portals will have a common data architecture based on the open digital standards developed by OPRC. It is not yet known when this system will become operational, but as we approach such a reality, the potential loss of accountability and democratic deficit needs to be addressed as an extremely urgent threat.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘In 2018, Sir Ernest Ryder warned that the future shift to online dispute resolution for most, and in some areas all disputes, risks eroding judicial accountability and fostering a democratic deficit. The pandemic, the £1.3 billion court modernisation program and six years later, the future of resolving the majority of disputes online appears to be much closer. The implementation of a truly holistic Digital Justice System – an integrated system of online advice services, online public and private out-of-court dispute resolution services (mediation and arbitration portals, ombuds services) and online courts – can make this future a reality.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
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