Crown court backlog has reached ‘crisis levels’, report warns – The Guardian

‘The backlog of crown court cases in England and Wales has reached “crisis levels”, with the increased remand population likely to disproportionately impact children and young people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, a parliamentary committee has warned.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 30th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

£1 million voucher scheme to help families resolve disputes outside of court – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 29th, 2021 in budgets, dispute resolution, families, family courts, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘Separating parents will be helped to avoid stressful court battles through a new million-pound mediation scheme launched by the government today.’

Full Story

Ministry of Justice, 26th March 2021

Source: www.gov.uk

Public Accounts Committee warns of “huge backlogs” in courts, justice system under “unprecedented pressure” – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Ministry of Justice “faces significant risks across the full range of its services, without a clear sense of prioritisation” and huge backlogs that have built up are causing “unacceptably long waiting times for people to access justice”, the Public Accounts Committee has said.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 24th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ministry of Justice to consult on judicial review reforms including power to suspend quashing orders, removal of ‘Cart judgments’, and procedural changes – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation on giving the courts the power to suspend quashing orders, removing so-called “Cart judgments”, and introducing a series of changes to civil procedure rules, following recommendations by the Independent Review of Administrative Law (IRAL) led by Lord Faulks QC.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

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.’

Full Story

BBC News, 18th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government to align online and paper court fees – Litigation Futures

Posted March 10th, 2021 in consultations, courts, fees, internet, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics by sally

‘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.’

Full Story

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

Posted March 10th, 2021 in judicial review, local government, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics by sally

‘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.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Buckland raises judicial retirement age to 75 – Litigation Futures

Posted March 10th, 2021 in consultations, judiciary, Ministry of Justice, news, retirement, statistics by sally

‘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.’

Full Story

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).’

Full press release

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

Posted March 9th, 2021 in coroners, judiciary, magistrates, Ministry of Justice, news, retirement by sally

‘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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

BBC News, 24th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Victims’ law call amid falling confidence in criminal justice – BBC News

Posted February 24th, 2021 in codes of practice, criminal justice, Ministry of Justice, news, victims by sally

‘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.’

Full Story

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”.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

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.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 16th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com