Speech by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Dinner for Her Majesty’s Judges, 5 July 2017 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 7th, 2017 in courts, judges, judiciary, jurisdiction, legal profession, London, speeches by tracey

‘Speech by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Dinner for Her Majesty’s Judges, 5 July 2017.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 6th July 2017

Brexit will prove Britain’s judges are the best in the world, says new Justice Secretary – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 6th, 2017 in brexit, choice of forum, EC law, judgments, judiciary, news, speeches, treaties by sally

‘Brexit will see Britain’s top judges prove they are the best in the world, the new Justice Secretary has insisted.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 6th July 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Why we need more black and minority ethnic magistrates – The Guardian

‘Jacqueline Macdonald-Davis and Jessica Baldwin are spearheading a campaign to court greater diversity among volunteers to the bench.’

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The Guardian, 4th July 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Speech by the Lord Chief Justice: Law Reform Now in 21st Century Britain – Brexit and Beyond – Courts and Tribunals Judicairy

Posted June 27th, 2017 in brexit, EC law, judiciary, Law Commission, legislation, speeches, treaties by tracey

‘I have taken as the first part of the title of this lecture words with which Lord Scarman would have been very familiar: Law Reform Now – the three words which formed the title of the Gerald Gardiner and Andrew Martin book which contained their blueprint for what would become the Law Commission. As Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC, in the course of tracing the origins and huge success of the Law Commission in his 2015 Scarman Lecture, recalled, it started with a proposition; one they took to be axiomatic: “. . . that much of our English law is out of date, and some of it shockingly so.” They were not wrong.’

Full speech

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Drawing the Line: case management and allegations of judicial bias in the family courts – Family Law Week

‘Jennifer Youngs and Vondez Phipps, pupil barristers at 42 Bedford Row, summarise the circumstances in which judicial conduct at a case management hearing might form the basis of an application for recusal, and provide guidance to practitioners as to the manner in which such an application might be made.’

Full Story

Family Law Week, 22nd June 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

The UK Jurisdictions After 2019 – Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court

The UK Jurisdictions After 2019 (PDF)

Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court

Lecture to the Faculty of Advocates, 20th June 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

‘Strong judiciary’ pledge as Lidington sworn in as lord chancellor – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 20th, 2017 in judiciary, lord chancellor, news by sally

‘David Lidington MP today [19 June] told the most senior legal figures in England and Wales that he will be ‘resolute and unflinching’ as lord chancellor in upholding the rule of law and defending the independence of the judiciary.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th June 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Prevalence of all-male teams of counsel at Supreme Court “damaging diversity”, research finds – Legal Futures

Posted June 20th, 2017 in advocacy, barristers, diversity, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, trials by sally

‘Supreme Court judges should question the make-up of all-male teams of barristers appearing before the highest court in the land as their prevalence is damaging diversity in the profession, researchers have argued.’

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Legal Futures, 20th June 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Leading female lawyers among cadre of new deputy High Court judges – Litigation Futures

‘Twenty one new deputy High Court judges were appointed yesterday, of whom a third were women – among them a senior government solicitor, the vice-chair of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and an academic.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th May 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Lionel Cohen Lecture by the Lord Chief Justice: The judiciary within the state – governance and cohesion of the judiciary – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Lionel Cohen Lecture by the Lord Chief Justice: The judiciary within the state – governance and cohesion of the judiciary.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 22nd May 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Not “wrong in law” for judges to change transcripts – Litigation Futures

Posted May 19th, 2017 in amendments, judgments, judiciary, news, reasons by tracey

‘It is not “wrong in law” for judges to amend transcripts of judgments to better explain the reasons behind their decisions, the High Court has held.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th May 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The Jill Poole Memorial Lecture by the Lord Chief Justice: Keeping commercial law up to date – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted May 19th, 2017 in contracts, judiciary, legal education, shipping law, speeches by tracey

‘The Jill Poole Memorial Lecture by the Lord Chief Justice: Keeping commercial law up to date.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 16th May 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Give us a heavyweight lord chancellor, bar urges next government – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 12th, 2017 in barristers, judiciary, lord chancellor, news by sally

‘The next lord chancellor must be someone whose ’experience is combined with the requisite authority among ministerial colleagues’ to defend the independence of the judiciary, the bar’s representative body says today in a thinly veiled attack on Liz Truss.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 8th May 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

No ‘judicial consent’ needed for MI5 to quiz ‘ward of court’ teens, judge rules – Daily Telegraph

‘MI5 agents and anti-terror police have been given the go-ahead to question teenagers placed under the control of family court judges as a result of radicalisation fears.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 5th May 2017

Source; www.telegraph.co.uk

President’s guidance: Judicial Cooperation with Serious Case Reviews – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted May 3rd, 2017 in family courts, judiciary, press releases by tracey

‘Guidance issued by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division on 2 May 2017.’

Full press release

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 2nd May 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Rachel Jones: Increasing Judicial Diversity – A Constitutional Imperative? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted April 28th, 2017 in diversity, judiciary, news by tracey

‘Tuesday marked the launch of JUSTICE’s Working Party report, Increasing judicial diversity. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, spoke at the event, alongside Chair of the Working Party and leading public law barrister Nathalie Lieven QC. She urged those present to take up the report’s vision, and outlined recommendations for systemic, long-term change. Attendees included policy-makers, practitioners and members of the senior judiciary.

This post offers some brief reasons to support the report’s key contention: the current lack of gender, ethnic and social diversity in our highest courts is indeed a serious constitutional issue. With this in mind, the article then turns to consider some of the report’s key recommendations.’

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2017

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Lack of diversity among UK senior judiciary is ‘serious constitutional issue’ – The Guardian

Posted April 26th, 2017 in diversity, judiciary, news by sally

‘The senior judiciary is dominated by privately educated white men and may need “targets with teeth” – if not quotas – to improve diversity on the bench, a report by senior lawyers has warned.’

Full story

The Guardian, 25th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court of Appeal warns judges against interrupting witness evidence too much – Litigation Futures

‘The Chancellor of the High Court has urged judges to “temper eagerness with restraint” in the way they conduct trials, after a circuit judge was found to have made excessive interventions while witnesses were giving evidence.’

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Litigation Futures, 10th April 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

You’ve got bail: judge lets lawyer off over beeping phone – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2017 in courts, internet, judiciary, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘The sudden trilling of a mobile phone amid the solemn atmosphere of a court hearing often leads to stern glances from the bench and cringing embarrassment from the offender. But Mr Justice Holman, one of the longest-serving high court judges in England and Wales, responded to an electronic interruption from one lawyer’s device in the family court on Thursday with compassionate forbearance.’

Full story

The Guardian, 6th April 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Justice Secretary Liz Truss ‘could be stripped of Lord Chancellor role’ after series of mishaps – The Independent

‘Cabinet ministers are reportedly urging Theresa May to sack Liz Truss from her role as Lord Chancellor after a series of embarrassing mistakes.’

Full story

The Independent, 6th April 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk