A group of senior former judges and legal academics has called for an acceleration in the take-up of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in the face of commercial contract disputes arising from Covid-19.
Litigation Futures, 4th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Serafin had sued Malkiewicz & Ors for libel in respect of an article they had published about him in Nowy Czas, a newspaper addressing issues of interest to the Polish community in the UK. The Court of Appeal found that the conduct of the trial by Mr Justice Jay in the High Court had been unfair towards the claimant and allowed the claimant’s appeal. The defendants appealed against that finding to the Supreme Court. They also challenged the Court of Appeal’s analysis of the effect of the Defamation Act 2013, S4, which sets out “the public interest defence” to a defamation claim.’
UKSC Blog, 3rd June 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
‘A High Court judge “harassed and intimidated” a litigant in person in ways which “surely would never have occurred if the claimant had been represented”, the Supreme Court has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 3rd June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The supreme court has ordered the re-trial of a long-running libel case after finding that a high court judge, Mr Justice Jay, subjected the unrepresented claimant to a “barrage of hostility” and offensive language.’
The Guardian, 3rd June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A Family Division judge has rejected a birth father’s application under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to revoke an adoption order made in November 2019, despite levelling criticisms at the local authority and Children’s Guardian over a lack of rigour and urgency to identify him.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A woman who is the first UK deputy district judge to wear a hijab said she hoped to be a “trailblazer”.’
BBC News, 27th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The first Justice of the Supreme Court to be appointed direct from academia, Professor Andrew Burrows, will be sworn in at a closed ceremony on 2 June, it has been announced.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A judge has rejected a recusal application on the grounds of apparent bias, based on him being in the same class at school as the director of a defendant company more than 45 years ago.’
Litigation Futures, 13th May 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘A High Court judge has been forced to issue a detailed judgment in writing because his voice was “breaking up” at the end of a telephone hearing with a litigant in person (LiP) and the law firm suing her for fees.’
Legal Futures, 13th May 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A judge has questioned the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to charge a man who said he was homeless with allegedly breaching coronavirus regulations by leaving “the place where he was living”.’
The Guardian, 12th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A High Court judge has sent ministers a copy of a ruling in which he expressed concern at a “nationwide problem” of the very limited capacity in the children’s social care system for young people with complex needs who need secure care.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘International courts and arbitral tribunals need a “breathing space” if they are not to be overwhelmed by a wave of commercial cases due to the pandemic, a group of senior retired judges said today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 27th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Separated couples exploiting the Covid-19 lockdown to stop an ex-partner from seeing their child could face court action, says a senior judge.’
BBC News, 21st April 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The High Court has insisted that there must be a “level playing field” when it comes to recording medical examinations.’
Litigation Futures, 21st April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘All judges and leadership judges need to recognise that doing as much as possible remotely “does not mean, and cannot mean, trying to do everything remotely”, there senior members of the judiciary have warned.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘There is no question that remote hearings are a good means of ensuring the continued delivery of the decision-making element of the family justice system. It is amazing that we can do it at all and it is great that we can. But doing so in this way is at the cost of our ability properly to connect to one another, and judges like me are compromised in their ability to conduct hearings with the empathy, fairness, understanding and compassion that is rightly valued as an essential element of the Family Court. I appreciate that in order to deliver justice in the time of Covid-19 we must accept compromise. I wanted to share my experiences however, as there have been times that the extent to which I have felt constrained has been uncomfortable, and I worry about the impact on the parties, and the wider goal of delivering justice fairly. Even though huge progress has and will continue to be made in improving remote hearings, we will be working under the effects of Covid-19 for many months yet to come. I am concerned about the responsibility that will continue to fall on judges for deciding what cases are to be heard or not, and for setting the terms of reference for what constitutes a fair hearing in the time of Covid-19.’
Transparency Project, 7th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Criticism by former Supreme Court justice Lord Sumption of apparent over-reach by police officers enforcing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions appears to have struck a chord in the legal profession.’
Law Society's Gazette, 31st March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘”Shouting and snarling” is not the way to get judges to accept curbs to their powers, a former top judge has warned.’
BBC News, 13th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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