Right to challenge government in courts overhauled – BBC News
‘Plans to change how government decisions are challenged in the courts have been announced by the justice secretary.’
BBC News, 18th March 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: Ministry of Justice
Crime: Thieves, robbers and burglars to be fitted with GPS tags – BBC News
‘Prolific burglars, robbers and thieves are to be tagged with GPS trackers in a bid to stop them reoffending.’
BBC News, 17th March 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Multiple employment claims shoot up as Covid hits working conditions – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Multiple claims in the employment tribunal nearly doubled towards the end of 2020 as the effects of the pandemic took effect. Statistics published this week by the Ministry of Justice show 29,000 claims were made by more than one person based on the same set of facts in the final three months of last year. This is 82% up on the same period in 2019.’
Law Society's Gazette, 12th March 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Councils and other public bodies to be put under legal duty to share data and intelligence in cases of serious violence – Local Government Lawyer
‘A new legal duty is to be imposed on local authorities, the police, criminal justice agencies, health and fire and rescue services to share data and intelligence in cases concerning serious violence.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Government to align online and paper court fees – Litigation Futures
‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is to press ahead with increasing online court fees in money and possession claims to bring them into line with paper claims in the face of opposition from the legal and credit sectors.’
Litigation Futures, 9th March 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Number of judicial review challenges lodged against councils continued downward trend in 2020: Ministry of Justice – Local Government Lawyer
‘The number of judicial review applications received by local authorities in 2020 was down slightly (2.8%) on the previous 12 months, Ministry of Justice data has revealed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Buckland raises judicial retirement age to 75 – Litigation Futures
‘The mandatory retirement age (MRA) for judges is to be raised from 70 to 75 to deal with shortfalls in judicial recruitment, the government has decided.’
Litigation Futures, 9th March 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Justice overhaul to better protect the public and back our police – Ministry of Justice
‘Cutting crime and building safer communities will be at the heart of new legislation unveiled in Parliament today (9 March 2021).’
Ministry of Justice, 9th March 2021
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Judges will be allowed to retire at 75 – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Judges, magistrates and coroners will be allowed to work up until the age of 75, the government announced today. The current standard mandatory retirement age of 70 dates from 1993. The Ministry of Justice said the change seeks to address the fact that people now work later into their lives and the government did not want to lose valued members of the judiciary.’
Law Society's Gazette, 8th March 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Miscarriage of justice body’s workload doubled despite severe cuts – report – The Guardian
‘The miscarriage of justice watchdog has suffered the “biggest cut” of any part of the criminal justice system since 2010 and its caseload has more than doubled over the same period, according to a parliamentary investigation.’
The Guardian, 5th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Call for vulnerable victims to give video evidence amid courts backlog – The Guardian
‘Up to 10,000 vulnerable victims facing long delays for trials should be allowed to give evidence by video in an attempt to stop them falling out of the system, according to the victims’ commissioner for England and Wales.’
The Guardian, 5th March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Rape social media posts: How speaking out got twin sisters sued – BBC News
‘Two sisters say they’ve been silenced by the man they reported for sexual assault after he sued them for talking about what happened.’
BBC News, 24th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Victims’ law call amid falling confidence in criminal justice – BBC News
‘The victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has called for a law to ensure people affected by crime are treated properly as they wait for justice.’
BBC News, 24th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Litigants baffled as civil procedure rules move to new site – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Lawyers and litigants awoke this morning to the wholesale move of procedure rules to a government website described by one as “unusable”.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
DPP reveals concerns over age of criminal responsibility – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The director of public prosecutions has called into question the age of criminal responsibility amid fears too many children are facing adult justice.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th February 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Abuse survivor calls for UK children born of rape to have ‘victim’ legal status – The Guardian
‘One of the survivors of the Rotherham grooming scandal has asked the government to give children born from rape legal “victim” status so they can receive specialist help and potentially prosecute their fathers.’
The Guardian, 16th February 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Time to consider regulating lawtech firms, report says – Legal Futures
‘The time has come for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to consider whether lawtech companies, along with other unregulated legal services providers, should be regulated, the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO) has said.’
Legal Futures, 16th February 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
New rules for legal practice: guidance for legal professionals – Family Law
‘The Ministry of Justice has published a page on the gov.uk website bringing together guidance for legal professionals on the new rules for various areas of legal practice.’
Family Law, 28th January 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Financial Remedy Update, January 2021 – Family Law Week
‘Naomi Shelton, Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP considers the important news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during December 2020.’
Family Law Week, 21st January 2021
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
