More funding for judges to tackle record court delays – BBC News

Posted March 5th, 2025 in budgets, Crown Court, delay, judiciary, news by tracey

‘Ministers have pledged to increase the number of judges hearing criminal cases in an attempt to cut unprecedented backlogs and delays in Crown Courts in England and Wales.’

Full Story

BBC News, 5th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

“Time to review” selection and return to practice of salaried judges – Legal Futures

‘A report for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has called for a review of the selection process used by the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) for salaried judges. It also called for new guidance from the MoJ on whether salaried judges should be allowed to return to practice after leaving the bench.’

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Legal Futures, 28th February 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Family President publishes guidance for judges on writing to children in family court proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

‘The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has issued guidance for family judges on when, how and why to write to children in family court proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th February 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Three-quarters of judges report stress symptoms – Legal Futures

Posted February 26th, 2025 in health, judiciary, mental health, news, statistics by sally

‘Three-quarters of salaried judges and two-thirds of fee-paid judges report symptoms of stress, while a third of circuit judges are under “high or extreme stress”, the latest Judicial Attitude Survey has found.’

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Legal Futures, 26th February 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judicial Attitude Survey 2024 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted February 25th, 2025 in judges, judiciary, news, statistics by tracey

‘The latest Judicial Attitude Survey is published today (Monday 24 February 2025).’

Full survey

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 24th February 2025

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Lady Chief Justice’s annual press conference 2025 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘The Lady Chief Justice, The Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, held her annual press conference yesterday (Tuesday 18 February 2025).’

Full transcript

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 19th February 2025

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Max Taylor: A Role for Parliament in Independent Judicial Appointments: A Comparison with the Comptroller and Auditor General – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 19th, 2025 in judiciary, news, parliament, recruitment by tracey

‘The Starmer ministry plans to “…deepen our democracy by reforming Parliament…”, but missing from its proposals is any reconsideration of whether Parliament should adopt a role in judicial appointments somewhat analogous to that of the US Senate in federal judicial appointments (US Constitution, Art II, s 2). Debate about such a proposal has recurred from time to time (for example, in the wake of the Miller II judgment in 2019), but has invariably been rejected for reasons well encapsulated by the House of Lords Constitution Committee.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 19th February 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Starmer in public row with most senior judge over Gaza immigration decision – The Independent

Posted February 19th, 2025 in appeals, government departments, immigration, Israel, judges, judiciary, news, parliament by tracey

‘Sir Keir Starmer has found himself in a row with the most senior judge in England and Wales after criticising an immigration decision at last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions.’

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The Independent, 19th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New sentencing guidelines for blackmail, kidnap and false imprisonment offences – Sentencing Council

‘The Council has published two new guidelines for sentencing offenders convicted of: blackmail, and kidnap or false imprisonment. The new guidelines are the first for these serious offences. They have been developed through consultation to help judges sentence the wide range of offending covered by cases of blackmail, kidnap or false imprisonment. The new guidelines apply to adults sentenced in England and Wales and will come into effect on 1 April 2025.’

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Sentencing Council, 12th February 2025

Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk

JAC explores adding disability to ‘equal merit’ tie-breaker – Legal Futures

Posted February 12th, 2025 in disabled persons, judiciary, news, recruitment by sally

‘The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is actively exploring whether disability could be added to the ‘equal merit’ approach to the selection of judges, its vice-chair said this week.’

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Legal Futures, 12th February 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ex-supreme court judge says high court signoff for assisted death unnecessary – The Guardian

Posted January 30th, 2025 in assisted suicide, bills, judiciary, news by sally

‘A former supreme court judge has told MPs that applications for assisted dying should not need high court approval.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judiciary to produce new strategy to tackle underrepresentation of black judges in 2025 – Local Government Lawyer

‘Tackling the underrepresentation of black judges and improving accommodations for disabled judges will be the main areas of work on judicial diversity for 2025.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

BSB “not fit for purpose”, says Proudman after tribunal dismisses case – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has proven itself “unfit for purpose”, Dr Charlotte Proudman said yesterday after a disciplinary tribunal ruled she had no case to answer over tweets she sent.’

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Legal Futures, 13th December 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Barrister cleared of misconduct after criticising ‘boys’ club’ attitude in legal profession – The Guardian

‘A barrister has attacked misogyny in the legal profession after a misconduct case brought against her for calling out a “boys’ club” attitude was thrown out.’

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The Guardian, 12th December 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

The View from the Bench – a speech by Mr Justice Fordham to the Hart Judicial Review Conference – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted December 10th, 2024 in case management, electronic filing, judicial review, judiciary, news, speeches by tracey

‘Mr Justice Fordham delivered a speech as part of the Hart 18th Annual Judicial Review Conference on Friday 6 December 2024.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 6th December 2024

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Carr hits out over civil digitisation and criminal court sitting days – Legal Futures

‘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.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judiciary risks ‘debasement’ without more solicitors, warns lady chief justice – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 26th, 2024 in judiciary, news, recruitment, solicitors by tracey

‘City solicitors spend hours on pro bono work yet still do not believe they can find the time to get on to the judicial ladder. So claims the lady chief justice, who has warned that the bench risks become ‘debased’ without more solicitors stepping up.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th November 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Assisted Dying: What Role for the Judge? – Transparency Project

‘The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its first, purely formal, reading in the House of Commons on 16 October 2024, when it was presented by Kim Leadbeater MP. The important second reading is fixed for 29 November 2024.’

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Transparency Project, 30th October 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Elizabeth Adams: The Judicial Approach to the Judicial Discretion under s.4 HRA in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer [2024] UKSC 12 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 28th, 2024 in declarations of incompatibility, human rights, judiciary, news, Supreme Court by tracey

‘In Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer [2024] UKSC 12 (Mercer), the Supreme Court was confronted with whether and how to exercise its powers under sections 3 and 4 of the HRA 1998. This blog post will focus on assessing how the Supreme Court approached the judicial discretion to grant a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 HRA (s.4). Section 4 states that if the court is satisfied that the provision is incompatible with a Convention right, it may make a declaration of that incompatibility – “may” demonstrates the judicial discretion at the core of the mechanism.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th October 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Family court judges use victim-blaming language in domestic abuse cases, finds AI project – The Guardian

‘Judges in the family courts are using victim-blaming and gender-biased language towards domestic abuse survivors, AI analysis of judgments and appeals in England and Wales reveals.’

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The Guardian, 8th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com