‘Senior judges have savaged government proposals for reforming court fees, warning that they are based on ‘inadequate’ and compromised research, and basic misconceptions about the way the courts operate.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th March 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A recent run of High Court rulings shows that a “sensible and pragmatic” approach to the circumstances in which relief from sanctions for breaches of the civil court costs rules will be granted is gradually beginning to emerge, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 25th February 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) looks set to introduce an exemption from costs management for all civil cases that are worth in excess of £10m – even though Sir Rupert Jackson himself is opposed to any exceptions. Newly released papers from the 6 December meeting of the CPRC reveal that it fell into line with the joint recommendation of the Master of the Rolls, Lord Dyson, and the deputy head of civil justice, Lord Justice Richards.’
Litigation Futures, 26th February 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Justice secretary Chris Grayling has told MPs his plans for judicial reviews will stop pressure groups using individuals as “financial human shields” to bring cases.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 25th February 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘For law students who slept their way through their first Latin 101 lessons in ‘ultra vires’, public law and judicial review may have seemed very detached from the realities of everyday life; less relevant to the man on the Clapham Omnibus than the rigours of a good criminal defence or protection from eviction offered by landlord and tenant law.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 24th February 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The daughter of musicians Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde has been found guilty after supergluing herself to a fellow anti-fracking protester outside the main gate of an exploratory oil drilling site.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Mitchell ruling is not to be used as a tactical weapon, the High Court has warned litigators in a case where its opprobrium was reserved for the conduct of the party on the other side of the default.’
Litigation Futures, 21st February 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Upholding the rights of individuals who lack the mental capacity to conduct proceedings can be a minefield for the unwary or even, as shown by this case, the wary. The point at issue before the court was whether, where a party loses mental capacity in the course of proceedings, such loss of capacity has the automatic and immediate effect of terminating their solicitor’s retainer.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Litigation costs are troublesome, but they are particularly difficult in environmental cases where the claimant is not necessarily pursuing his private interests. This case is the result of a long-running and successful campaign by NGOs to persuade the EU Commission to investigate UK environmental legal costs. The main finding may not bother the UK too much, because wisely it saw this one coming and changed costs rules in environmental public law cases. But a subsidiary ruling about cross-undertakings as to damages will cause the courts, if not the Government, to rethink things.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A European Union (“EU”) Directive could not be transposed by national case law since EU law conferred on individuals specific rights which would need unequivocal rules in order to be effective. In the field of public participation in decision‑making and access to justice in environmental matters, the costs regime laid down by United Kingdom case law did not ensure a claimant reasonable predictability in relation to both whether the costs of the judicial proceedings in which he became involved were payable by him and their amount, although such predictability appeared particularly necessary because judicial proceedings in the United Kingdom entailed high lawyers’ fees. Moreover, the United Kingdom’s system of cross-undertakings in respect of the grant of interim relief constituted an additional element of uncertainty and imprecision so far as concerned compliance with the requirement that proceedings not be prohibitively expensive.’
WLR Daily, 13th February 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘Following recent announcements in the press, including a front page headline in The Times this week, the Government published the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill on Wednesday, 5 February 2014. Part 4 of the Bill contains a number of important changes to be introduced which seek, in the words of the Lord Chancellor, to prevent judicial review from being a “brake on growth”. However, whilst it has been reported in the national press that the proposals mean that only individuals or groups with a financial interest in a case will be able to bring a challenge, this is inaccurate. The Government originally proposed narrowing the test for standing so as to restrict the availability of judicial review to those with a “direct interest” but that proposal has now been dropped.’
No. 5 Chambers, 6th February 2014
Source: www.no5.com
‘A string of recent cases indicate that judges may be increasingly tempted to remind solicitors of their duty to act impartially in litigation, in an era of alternative business structures (ABSs) where their loyalties might be tested, according to a leading criminal lawyer.’
Legal Futures, 13th February 2014
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected a Mitchell challenge to a budget that could have left well-known car manufacturer Lotus with hundreds of thousands of pounds of costs up in smoke.’
Litigation Futures, 11th February 2014
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Filing a costs budget even just a day late does not count as a “trivial” breach of rules, a county court has ruled.’
Law society’s Gazette, 11th February 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Changes to the rules governing judicial review (JR) claims will ensure that those challenging the decisions of public bodies face a “fair level of financial risk”, the Government has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 7th February 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A Birmingham solicitor has been struck off for practising while suspended, including appearing in court.’
Legal Futures. 10th February 2014
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘At first sight, proposals full of sound and fury, and signifying not a great deal for planning and environmental challenges. There are some slippery costs changes which we need to look at, but some of the potentially more concerning proposals do not fully apply to this area, as I shall explain. There are also some perfectly sensible proposals about harmonising planning challenges which lawyers have been advocating for years.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th February 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The High Court has ruled that the loss of a client’s mental capacity should not automatically terminate the solicitor’s retainer.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘An employment tribunal has ordered a claimant who unsuccessfully took a local authority to tribunal to pay record costs for an individual.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
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