A rare EAT finding of the appearance of unconscious confirmation bias – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In Laing v Bury & Bolton Citizens Advice [2022] EAT 85, the EAT found that a tribunal had erred in dismissing a claim brought by Litigant in Person where it had commented extensively, at times using strong and personalised language, on the Claimant’s behaviour throughout the hearing drawing upon such behaviour in support of how he must have behaved at work. It concluded that a fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there was a real possibility that his behaviour had engendered an antipathy towards him which unconsciously influenced the tribunal’s collective decision in relation to a victimisation complaint.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 1st August 2022

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Police racial bias played role in UK Covid fines regime, says report – The Guardian

Posted August 5th, 2022 in bias, coronavirus, equality, fines, news, police, race discrimination, racism by tracey

‘Bias in policing at least partly explains why minority ethnic people were more likely to receive fines for Covid breaches than their white counterparts, research says.’

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The Guardian, 5th August 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK data watchdog investigates whether AI systems show racial bias – The Guardian

‘The UK data watchdog is to investigate whether artificial intelligence systems are showing racial bias when dealing with job applications.’

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The Guardian, 14th July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court gives guidance on scope of article 2 inquests – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 29th, 2022 in bias, coroners, evidence, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘In R (Gorani) v HM Assistant Coroner for Inner West London [2022] EWHC1593 (QB), a Divisional Court comprising Macur LJ and Garnham J rejected on all grounds a wide-ranging challenge to the conduct of in inquest into a suicide. Of particular interest were the Court’s observations on the effect of a finding that the investigative duty under article 2, ECHR was engaged, and their clarification that a coroner does not need to hear submissions before refusing to make a ‘preventing future deaths’ report. That said, it is a broad and interesting judgment and deserves reading in full by those with an interest in coronial law.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th June 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Police in England and Wales to get anti-racism training – BBC News

Posted May 25th, 2022 in bias, equality, news, police, race discrimination, racism by sally

‘Police officers in England and Wales will be given mandatory anti-racism training under a new plan to tackle racism, discrimination and bias.’

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BBC News, 24th May 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Laurence Fox denied first libel jury trial for a decade – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 20th, 2022 in bias, defamation, interpretation, judges, juries, news, racism, trials by sally

‘Actor and political activist Laurence Fox has failed in his bid for the first libel trial by jury in a decade over a social media spat between him and three public figures he called “paedophiles” on Twitter.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Arbitrators escape the red card in Manchester City case – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted September 23rd, 2021 in arbitration, bias, news, remuneration, sport by tracey

‘What, I hear you ask, am I doing writing about football? Well, despite the title of this blog, it’s actually about an arbitration and subsequent court proceedings that just happen to involve a football club. I think it’s interesting for a number of reasons, not least because it applies the Supreme Court’s findings in Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd, which I blogged about last year.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 22nd September 2021

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

QC arbitrators in Man City case were not “beholden” to Premier League – Legal Futures

Posted August 11th, 2021 in arbitration, barristers, bias, news, queen's counsel, sport by tracey

‘The High Court has rejected a claim by Manchester City football club that there was apparent bias on the part of three QCs sitting on a Premier League arbitration panel.’

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Legal Futures, 11th August 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Transparency 1 – 0 Confidentiality?: Manchester City v The Premier League in the Court of Appeal – Littleton Chambers

‘The Court of Appeal this week handed down its decision in Manchester City Football Club Ltd v The Football Association Premier League & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1110, the latest judgment to consider the difficult tension that exists between the generally confidential nature of sports arbitration and the desirability of transparency where matters of public interest arise.’

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Littleton Chambers, 22nd July 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

When complaints must be referred to the Independent Office of Police Conduct – UK Police Law Blog

Posted July 27th, 2021 in bias, chambers articles, complaints, news, ombudsmen, police, professional conduct by sally

‘In R (Rose) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police [2021] EWHC 875 (Admin), a businessman successfully challenged a decision not to refer his complaint to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) under the mandatory referral criteria. The High Court concluded that the chief constable had failed to review the conduct alleged and consider whether, if substantiated, it would constitute serious corruption as defined in the (then) Independent Complaints Commission (IPCC) Statutory Guidance on the handling of complaints. Instead, he had performed an assessment of the merits which had rendered the decision not to refer the complaint unlawful. The case makes clear that complaints engaging the mandatory criteria, especially that of “serious corruption”, must be referred to the IOPC.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 26th July 2021

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Digital forensics experts prone to bias, study shows – The Guardian

Posted June 1st, 2021 in bias, computer programs, evidence, expert witnesses, news by sally

‘Devices such as phones, laptops and flash drives are becoming increasingly central to police investigations, but the reliability of digital forensics experts’ evidence has been called into question.’

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The Guardian, 31st May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Lawyers must do better’: Lord Hodge criticises use of expert witnesses – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 28th, 2021 in bias, expert witnesses, judges, news, solicitors, statistics by tracey

‘Instructing solicitors must not jeopardise the impartiality of expert evidence, the deputy president of the Supreme Court said today, citing a study which suggests expert witnesses are being used as “hired guns” by lawyers.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 28th May 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge rejects recusal application after barristers withdraw – Legal Futures

Posted April 21st, 2021 in barristers, bias, case management, complaints, judges, news, recusal by tracey

‘A judge has rejected a recusal application on the grounds of apparent bias made after two barristers withdrew at the last minute from a hearing and complained about his conduct of the case.’

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Legal Futures, 21st April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court rejects claim that ‘stern’ judge was hostile towards LiPs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted April 19th, 2021 in appeals, bias, judges, litigants in person, news, probate, retrials by tracey

‘The High Court has thrown out the suggestion that a judge was biased against three litigants in person, saying the deputy master was stern and showed signs of impatience but handled the case in a “fair and open-minded way.”‘

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th April 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Rare public judgment on s.24 application for removal of arbitrator – Littleton Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2021 in arbitration, bias, chambers articles, news, recusal, Saudi Arabia, sport by sally

‘The Commercial Court (HHJ Pelling QC) recently handed down judgment in the case of Newcastle United Football Company Limited v (1) The Football Association Premier League Limited (2) Michael Beloff QC (3) Lord Neuberger (4) Lord Dyson [2021] EWHC 349 (Comm).’

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Littleton Chambers, 16th March 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

Towuaghantse v GMC [2021] EWHC 681 (Admin) Coroner’s findings, independence of experts and registrant denials: this case is not one to put on the “read later” pile – 2 Hare Court

‘It is difficult to know where to start with Towuaghantse v GMC [2021] EWHC 681 (Admin). I will give you a briefest account of the facts in a moment, but potentially Mostyn J’s judgment in this case stands as authority for the following principles:
a. The factual findings of a coroner, and any narrative conclusion, are all admissible against a registrant.
b. Authors of expert reports do not have to be independent in the sense of uninvolved with the institution or any of the players in a case, they are merely subject to a Porter v McGill style test of bias or apparent bias.
c. The capacity of a registrant to remediate sincerely should be judged by reference to evidence unconnected with their denials of the factual charges, unless the fact-finding decision included findings of blatant dishonesty by the registrant (a refinement of the same judge’s recent pronouncements in GMC v Awan [2020] EWHC 1553 (Admin)).’

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2 Hare Court, 30th March 2021

Source: www.2harecourt.com

Case Comment: Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (Formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd) [2020] UKSC 48 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Neil Newing and Olivia Flasch who both practice at Signature Litigation, comment upon the decision handed down by the UK Supreme Court in the matter of Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (Formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd) [2020] UKSC 48. They ask: is the decision a missed opportunity?’

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UKSC Blog, 2nd February 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

W (Children): judge’s recusal does not indicate bias – Transparency Project

Posted December 21st, 2020 in appeals, bias, children, contact orders, families, judges, news, recusal by sally

‘Reading the case name W (Children: Reopening/recusal) I assumed that this would be another of those applications by a party, invariably the father, for the recusal of the judge in a children application, on the basis of alleged bias.’

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Transparency Project, 18th December 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Role of grooming of women involved in violent crime examined as part of new gangs guidance – Crown Prosecution Service

‘Prosecutors working on gang-related cases which involve women and girls should consider if there is evidence they have been forced or groomed into committing crime, according to new legal guidance published today. The guidance, Decision-making in “gang” related offences, has been drawn up by the Crown Prosecution Service to give lawyers practical advice on building the strongest possible cases and gathering robust evidence to present to the court.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 16th December 2020

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Ofcom investigating row over Emily Maitlis’ Newsnight monologue about Dominic Cummings – The Independent

‘The UK’s broadcasting watchdog is investigating the row over BBC host Emily Maitlis’ monologue about Dominic Cummings’ infamous trip to Barnard Castle.’

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The Independent, 15th December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk