‘The lord chief justice admitted progress on diversity is too slow, while Chris Grayling’s offer of ‘partnership’ should be eyed warily.’
The Guardian, 10th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘As part of the current debate on identifying the best values of British culture and society, the proper workings of the British legal system, would surely have to occupy a prominent place. After all, it is the judiciary that would enhance the sense of wellbeing of its citizen every time that justice is felt to have been established.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 9th July 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘Last night saw the House of Lords’ first reaction to the Government’s proposed changes to judicial review as the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill had its second reading. Already dissected at some length in this blog, the proposals have been roundly criticised by both the senior judiciary and the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Consultations responses, including from JUSTICE, expressed concern that the measures appear, by design or coincidence, to undermine the rule of law, inhibit transparency and shield the Government from judicial scrutiny. Two key concerns arise from the Government proposals: restricting access for individuals without substantial means and limiting the courts’ discretion to do justice in the public interest. Yesterday’s debate was robust and eloquent, with former Law Lords joined by bishops and backbenchers alike to condemn the new measures.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st July 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Byron James, barrister, Fourteen considers some of the less publicised consequences of the reform of the family justice system.’
Family Law Week, 27th June 2014
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Women in the Judiciary (PDF)
Lady Hale
Fiona Woolf Lecture for the Women Lawyers’ Division of the Law Society, 27th June 2014
Source: www.supremecourt.uk
‘The appointment of Alison Russell QC reminds us of the legal system’s diversity deficit.’
The Guardian, 22nd May 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Lord Chief Justice has said the country has a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to build a proper court IT system, and failing to make a success of it would be a “disaster”. In a strongly-worded speech highly critical of previous court IT failures, Lord Thomas said that if the Courts Service and the judiciary squandered the £300-£400m promised by the Treasury, it would “not be forgotten” and “we would not be given that money again”.’
Litigation Futures, 21st May 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Response of the Judicial Executive Board, drafted with input from the Association of Her Majesty’s District Judges and the Council of Her Majesty’s Circuit Judges.’
Judiciary of England and Wales, 13th May 2014
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘Senior judges have launched their most scathing attack yet on the government’s cuts to civil legal aid. In written evidence responding to the government’s consultation on the first year of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act, the Judicial Executive Board said courts have faced an ‘unprecedented increase’ in numbers of litigants in person (LiPs).’
Law Society’s Gazette, 14th May 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘There has been a large increase in unrepresented claimants, outbreaks of courtroom violence, extra litigation and increased costs, according to senior judges who have criticised the impact of legal aid cuts in the family courts.’
The Guardian, 14th May 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Why were drug courts set up?
The introduction of drug courts in the UK has followed a slightly different trajectory to other jurisdictions, where drug courts filled an important gap in the range of community-based sanctions available to the courts to deal with drug-related crime.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th May 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘The tide of interest (among those who care about these things) in the idea of a written, codified constitution for the United Kingdom rises and falls. At the moment the tide is quite high, but certainly not high enough to flow into the estuaries of government policy making.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th May 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘There is “disquiet” among judges about the quality of lawyers in England and Wales’s crown courts, a report says. Former civil servant Sir Bill Jeffrey’s report raises concerns about training and the “talent pipeline” for future QCs and judges, and says keeping current arrangements is not “viable”. It also says defence lawyers should get special training before working on rape and other sexual offence cases.’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘One of the changes introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was to amend section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which provides that the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) must select candidates for judicial office ‘solely on merit’. Schedule 13 of the 2013 Act clarified that making selections solely on merit does not prevent the JAC from recommending a candidate on the basis of improving diversity on the bench where there are two candidates of equal merit. This is variously known as the ‘equal merit’, ‘tie-break’ or ‘tipping point’ provision and derives from s 159 of the Equality Act 2010. After a consultation exercise last summer, the JAC last month published its policy on how it will implement the equal merit provision. In this post, we draw on research conducted as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence to explain why the JAC’s policy is disappointingly cautious, limits the prospect of further progress on diversity and offers further evidence of what we believe is the excessive judicial influence on judicial appointments.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th May 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Judges should warn juries about the common misconceptions people have about rape before they are allowed to hear any evidence, two of the leading figures in the fight against sex crime say today.’
The Independent, 6th May 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Angela Patrick, Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE, summarises the important Joint Committee on Human Rights report “The implications for access to justice of the Government’s proposals to reform judicial review”.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Couples agreeing to divorce by consent should be able to arrange their own separations with a trip to the registrar rather than having to go to court, the most senior family judge in England and Wales says.’
The Guardian, 29th April 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Constitutional Reform Act redrew relationships between the senior judiciary and Parliament in a number of ways. Amongst the most significant was removing the right of the LCJ to speak in the Lords. Earlier this month, the new LCJ Lord Thomas repeated the lament of his immediate predecessors that it was a mistake to deprive the LCJ of the right to address Parliament on the floor of the House on important matters relating to the administration of justice. In this context, some have read the LCJ’s suggestion of a new approach to s5 of the CRA as significant. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2011-13 as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence, I want to shed some light on tensions that have arisen about the use of s5.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th April 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
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