Category: judiciary

Has The Golden Thread Finally Been Snapped? – Zenith Chambers

Posted March 21st, 2013 in burden of proof, case management, criminal justice, guilty pleas, judiciary, speeches by sally

“‘Throughout the web of the English Criminal Law one golden thread is always to be seen, that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner’s guilt subject to what I have already said as to the defence of insanity and subject also to any statutory exception

No matter what the charge or where the trial, the principle that the prosecution must prove the guilt of the prisoner is part of the common law of England and no attempt to whittle it down can be entertained.’

Per Viscount Sankey in Woolmington v DPP [1935] AC 462 – emphasis added.

There cannot be an English lawyer who is unaware of this paragraph in Viscount Sankey’s judgment in Woolmington. Many non-lawyers who have chanced to read the Rumpole stories will also be as aware of, if not as attached to, it.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 19th March 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Judges would regret Human Rights Act repeal, warns Lady Hale – The Guardian

Posted March 14th, 2013 in human rights, judges, judiciary, legislation, news, repeals by sally

“UK’s most senior female judge says withdrawing from Strasbourg human rights court would require Britain to exit EU.”

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The Guardian, 14th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judiciary: from friend of the state to champion of the people – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 14th, 2013 in human rights, judiciary, legal history, news by sally

“This week, statements about the role of Parliamentary government in ensuring our liberties seems to die on our lips, while judges seem to enjoy an increasingly high profile in promoting human rights and mitigating the apparent harshness of government schemes. Roll back the clock a few centuries, however, and you find the popular view of the judiciary as self-serving, or delighting in pointless legal technicalities at the expense of justice. The future seemed to require more Parliamentary statutes and less work by judges.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th March 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Lord Neuberger to the executive: get your tanks off the judicial lawn – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 6th, 2013 in human rights, judiciary, legal aid, news, United Nations by sally

“In a rare public intervention Lord Neuberger, President of the UK Supreme Court, has flagged three important issues that should be of concern to us all.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th March 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Britain’s most senior judge takes aim at gender imbalance – The Guardian

Posted March 5th, 2013 in closed material, diversity, evidence, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

“The stereotypical image of judges as male and white may be so deeply entrenched that there could be an ‘unconscious bias’ against women, the United Kingdom’s most senior judge has suggested.”

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The Guardian, 5th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Secret courts plan faces Commons vote – The Guardian

Posted March 4th, 2013 in bills, civil justice, closed material, human rights, intelligence services, judiciary, news, public interest immunity, terrorism by sally

“MPs will vote on Monday on the final form of the government’s justice and security bill, which radically expands the use of so-called secret courts.”

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The Guardian, 3rd March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Secret courts: Former top judge Lord Woolf backs government changes – BBC News

Posted March 4th, 2013 in bills, civil justice, closed material, intelligence services, judges, judiciary, news, parliament, terrorism by sally

“The former head of the judiciary, Lord Woolf, has thrown his support behind plans to allow more civil courts to examine secret intelligence in private.”

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BBC News, 4th March 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Should jurors have to take a literacy test? – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2013 in education, evidence, judiciary, juries, media, news by sally

“The judge in the Vicky Pryce trial last week dismissed the jury for ‘fundamental deficits in understanding’. Should jurors have to sit a test?”

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The Guardian, 23rd February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

When Can Judges Change Their Minds? The Supreme Court’s judgment in L and B (Children) – Family Law Week

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in appeals, child abuse, judgments, judiciary, jurisdiction, news, Supreme Court by sally

“Martha Gray, Pupil at 1 Garden Court, considers whether and in what circumstances a judge who has announced her decision is entitled to change her mind, particularly in the context of fact-finding hearings in care proceedings, in the light of the Supreme Court’s recent judgment.”

Full story

Family Law Week, 22nd February 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Equality in the Judiciary – Speech by Lady Hale

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, speeches, women by sally

Equality in the Judiciary (PDF)

Speech by Lady Hale

Kuttan Menon Memorial Lecture, 21st February 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Sub-£2m cases “will be subject to costs management” amid criticism of big-case exemption – Litigation Futures

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in costs, judiciary, news, personal injuries by sally

“Cases before the Chancery Division, Technology and Construction Court (TCC), and Mercantile Courts that are worth less than £2m will be subject to costs management, it was confirmed yesterday.”

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Litigation Futures, 22nd February 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UK’s most senior female judge calls for more diversity at the top – The Guardian

Posted February 22nd, 2013 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

“Positive discrimination may be needed to redress the gender imbalance among senior judges, the only woman in Britain’s highest court has proposed.”

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The Guardian, 21st February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A human rights reality check for the Home Secretary – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 19th, 2013 in deportation, human rights, immigration, judiciary, ministers' powers and duties, news, parliament by sally

“The Home Secretary, Theresa May, is no stranger to ill-founded outbursts concerning the evils of human rights. Against that background, her recent article in the Mail on Sunday (to which Adam Wager has already drawn attention) does not disappoint. May’s ire is drawn by certain recent judicial decisions in which the deportation of foreign criminals has been ruled unlawful on the ground that it would breach their right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Some of these judgments, May contends, flout instructions issued to judges by Parliament about how such cases should be decided.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Theresa May attacks judges over deportation rules – The Guardian

Posted February 18th, 2013 in deportation, extradition, families, human rights, immigration, judiciary, news by sally

“The home secretary, Theresa May, has accused judges of ‘subverting’ British democracy and making the streets of Britain more dangerous by ignoring rules aimed at deporting more foreign criminals.”

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The Guardian,

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Part-time judges to get up to £2 billion in public pensions – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 18th, 2013 in judiciary, news, part-time work, pensions by sally

“Thousands of part-time judges will be entitled to a public-sector pension for the first time at a cost of up to £2 billion following a ruling by fellow judges in the highest court in the land.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Supreme court denies government pressure to select a woman – The Guardian

Posted February 15th, 2013 in judiciary, news, Supreme Court, women by sally

“The UK supreme court has denied rumours that it has come under pressure from the government to select a woman for appointment to one of three current vacancies.”

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The Guardian, 15th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

In the public interest – Speech by Mr Justice Foskett

Posted February 11th, 2013 in disciplinary procedures, judiciary, litigants in person, public interest, speeches by sally

In the public interest (PDF)

Speech by Mr Justice Foskett

The ‘Disciplinary Conference’, 8th February 2013

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Ministry of Justice (formerly Department of Constitutional Affairs) v O’Brien – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2013 in EC law, judiciary, law reports, news, part-time work, pensions by sally

Ministry of Justice (formerly Department of Constitutional Affairs) v O’Brien [2013] UKSC 6; [2013] WLR (D) 47

“A part-time fee-paid judge was a worker under European Union law and had a right not to be treated in a less favourable manner than comparable full-time workers. The denial of retirement pensions to part-judges when full-time judges were granted pensions was less favourable treatment for which there was no objective justification. Accordingly, on the basic principle of remunerating part-time workers pro rata temporis, a recorder was entitled to a pension on terms equivalent to those applicable to a circuit judge.”

WLR Daily, 6th February 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judges ‘should talk to children before making care decisions’ – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2013 in bills, care orders, case management, children, evidence, family courts, judiciary, mental health, news, social services by sally

“Many children who end up in care are never interviewed by the judge who makes the decision to remove them from their families, according to a report by an influential group of MPs and child protection experts.”

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The Guardian, 10th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

O’Brien (Appellant) v Ministry of Justice (Formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) (Respondents) – Supreme Court

Posted February 6th, 2013 in appeals, EC law, employment tribunals, judiciary, law reports, part-time work, pensions, Supreme Court, time limits by sally

O’Brien (Appellant) v Ministry of Justice (Formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) (Respondents) [2013] UKSC 6 | UKSC 2012/0168 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 6th February 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt