‘I have been raising since 2014 the pressing need to reform the way in which vulnerable people give evidence in family proceedings. I have made clear my view that the family justice system lags woefully behind the criminal justice system.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 30th December 2016
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent important judgments in the field of public children law.’
Family Law Week, 7th December 2016
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Re: W (A child) [2016] EWCA Civ 1140. A Family Court judgment was severely critical of two witnesses and the applicant local authority. In an oral “bullet point” judgment at the end of the hearing, the Judge found that the witnesses, a social worker (“SW”) and a police officer (“PO”), had improperly conspired to prove certain allegations regardless of the truth, or professional guidelines.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th November 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A social worker and a police officer have successfully crossed what McFarlane LJ called “legal landmines” to secure deletion of criticisms made of them by a judge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd November 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A public hearing into allegations of child abuse against the late Lord Janner is to be put back to an undisclosed date, the national inquiry into institutional abuse has said.’
The Guardian, 16th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Solicitors who served witness statements two months late cannot call any witnesses at trial after the Court of Appeal upheld the first instance judge’s decision to refuse relief from sanctions.’
Litigation futures, 14th November 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Guidelines say children and people with learning difficulties should not be subject to unnecessarily harsh questioning.’
The Guardian, 14th November 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Regina v Sardar (Anis Abid) [2016] EWCA Crim 1616
‘The defendant was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and, as an alternative count, conspiracy to cause an explosion. It was the Crown’s case that the defendant had been directly involved in the construction and/or deployment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), one of which had caused the death of an American soldier near Baghdad in September 2007. The defendant’s case was that he had been acting in lawful and proportionate defence of Sunni communities who were under threat from Shia militia; his fingerprints had been found on two of the bombs, although not the one which had resulted in the fatal explosion. The defendant was convicted of murder and conspiracy to murder; no verdict was sought on the alternative count of conspiracy to cause an explosion. He appealed against conviction on the ground, inter alia, of fresh evidence from two anonymous witnesses (C and D) who were now available to give evidence as to the frequency and quality of attacks by the Shia militia on the Sunni communities and the need for the Sunnis to act in self-defence. C and D were prepared to disclose their identities to the court and, within a strict “confidentiality ring”, to counsel for the Crown, the Crown Prosecution Service lawyer and two senior investigating officers with undertakings that there should be no further disclosure to anyone. However, the Crown was not prepared to give such undertakings. The defendant applied for an order under section 87(3) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (which required the defendant to inform the court and the prosecutor of the identity of the witness) for anonymity measures to be put in place. It was submitted that although the “prosecutor” had to be informed, that did not necessarily envisage disclosure beyond the person of the prosecutor.’
WLR Daily, 18th October 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The judge leading efforts to drag the courts system into the 21st century has reassured sceptical lawyers they will be won over by technological advances.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 7th November 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission has confirmed it is reviewing six cases involving celebrities who were convicted following involvement with Mazher Mahmood, better known as the Fake Sheikh.’
The Independent, 6th October 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In a unanimous decision, the European Court of Human Rights has held that the proceedings that lead to the conviction of an individual for drug trafficking charges were entirely compliant with Article 6, ECHR. Despite the inability to cross-examine a key prosecution witness, the Court considered that in light of the existence of supporting incriminating evidence (amongst other factors) the proceedings as a whole were fair.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th September 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Metropolitan Police faced fresh questions over the aborted VIP paedophile inquiry last night after “preposterous” evidence from its chief witness was made public.’
Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Three servicemen who face being prosecuted for manslaughter over the death of an Iraqi teenager were cleared a decade ago, after it emerged that key witnesses had lied about the claims and were paid expenses in exchange for their testimony.’
Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Vulnerable victims and witnesses will no longer have to appear in court under new plans to roll out pre-trial evidence sessions.’
Ministry of Justice, 15th September 2016
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
‘Alleged Iraq abuse claims brought against British troops by a leading human rights law firm have often been made up of poor, inaccurate information, a review by a former director of public prosecutions has said. Sir David Calvert-Smith said investigators tasked with wading through hundreds of alleged abuse claims had found key details such as names, dates and times were often wrong.’
Daily Telegraph, 15th September 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Vulnerable victims and witnesses will be able to give their evidence before a trial starts, as part of planned court reforms in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 15th September 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Individuals providing certain evidence to the Undercover Policing Inquiry can do so without fear of prosecution.’
Attorney General’s Office, 6th September 2016
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
‘A telematics-based motor insurer has claimed a first after data from a “black box” recorder was successfully used in a defence at a collision liability trial.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 1st August 2016
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
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