Letter from Lord Justice Fulford: Flexible Operating Hours Pilots – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted August 3rd, 2017 in courts, pilot schemes, press releases, working time by tracey

‘In my capacity as the Judge in Charge of Reform, and in light of public comments – particularly from members of the legal profession – I thought it would be helpful to attempt to demystify the proposed Flexible Operating Hours Pilots. I regret the extent of the widely-broadcast misunderstandings and ill-informed comments from a range of sources.’

full letter

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 28th July 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Judge spearheading late-night courts confronts the critics – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in courts, diversity, judges, legal profession, news, pilot schemes by tracey

‘The senior judge in charge of modernising the courts service has hit out at “ill-informed comments” from lawyers and “misunderstandings” about controversial plans to test out-of-hours courts.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ministers ‘sneak out’ plans to privatise collection of court fines – The Independent

Posted August 2nd, 2017 in contracting out, courts, enforcement, fines, news by tracey

‘Plans to outsource the collection of court fines have been “snuck out” by the government, putting 150 civil service jobs at risk. HM Courts & Tribunals Service said it was in talks with “providers”, adding that the move would save millions of pounds.’

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The Independent, 1st August 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judge attempts to calm lawyers’ anger over extended court hours – Legal Futures

Posted August 1st, 2017 in courts, news, pilot schemes, working time by sally

‘The resident judge at Blackfriars Crown Court, one of the six courts due to take part in a Ministry of Justice (MoJ) pilot on extended court hours, has attempted to calm lawyers’ anger over the move.’

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Legal Futures, 1st August 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Speech by The Lord Chief Justice: Opening of the Business and Property Courts for Wales – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 27th, 2017 in courts, speeches, Wales by tracey

‘It is a privilege and a great pleasure to be in the other capital city of the jurisdiction of England and Wales to open the Business and Property Courts for Wales at Cardiff.
This opening represents the pragmatic and dynamic approach of our joint jurisdiction. As the Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales will explain in a little more detail, the bringing together of the specialist civil courts for Wales at Cardiff follows the launch of the Business and Property Courts in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, to be followed in due course by a similar opening in Bristol.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 25th July 2017

Brexit: what happens to international litigation? – OUP Blog

Posted July 24th, 2017 in agreements, brexit, courts, domicile, EC law, enforcement, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘At the present time, a large range of civil proceedings, especially in the commercial area, are governed by an EU measure, the Brussels I Regulation (Recast) of 2012. This applies whenever the defendant is domiciled in another EU country, whenever there is a choice-of-court agreement designating a court in the EU, and whenever an EU Member State has exclusive jurisdiction over a particular matter, for example title to land or registered intellectual-property rights. The Regulation also applies to the recognition and enforcement of judgments between different EU States.’

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OUP Blog, 24th July 2017

Source: blog.oup.com

Court Service records £100m ‘profit’ from civil litigation for first time – Litigation Futures

Posted July 19th, 2017 in civil justice, courts, fees, news, reports, statistics by sally

‘The civil courts recorded a surplus of more than £100m in 2016-17, their biggest profit to date, according to the annual report of HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).’

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Litigation Futures, 18th July 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Bar Chair: Time to admit flexible court hours is a bad idea – The Bar Council

‘Two things are on a collision course. The first is Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service’s (HMTCS) plan that courts operate on a shift system – so called “Flexible Operating Hours”.The second is the determination of the legal profession and many within the judiciary to do whatever it takes to retain talented women at the Bar so that the senior Bar and the judiciary at all levels exhibit a stronger representation of women.’

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The Bar Council, 12th July 2017

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Spending on Online Court “should be halted”, says leading academic – Legal Futures

Posted July 10th, 2017 in courts, dispute resolution, internet, news by sally

‘No further public money should be spent on the Online Court until the performance of the newly-expanded online tribunal in British Columbia – which went live for small claims last month – has been assessed, according to veteran justice campaigner Professor Roger Smith.’

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Legal Futures, 7th July 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Speech delivered by the Lord Chancellor at a HM Judges’ dinner at Mansion House – Crimeline

‘Speech delivered by the Lord Chancellor at a HM Judges’ dinner at Mansion House, 6th July 2017’

Full speech

Source: www.crimeline.info

Speech by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Dinner for Her Majesty’s Judges, 5 July 2017 – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 7th, 2017 in courts, judges, judiciary, jurisdiction, legal profession, London, speeches by tracey

‘Speech by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales at the Dinner for Her Majesty’s Judges, 5 July 2017.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 6th July 2017

Supreme Court rules against the Home Secretary on ‘Deport First, Appeal Later’ – No. 5 Chambers

‘The Supreme Court has allowed appeals in R (Kiarie) and R (Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42 by persons whom the Home Secretary wished to deport even before they had had a chance to appeal to a tribunal on human rights grounds against the deportation decision. It has concluded that the very system of appealing from abroad in such cases simply does not provide an effective right of appeal.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 14th June 2017

Source: www.no5.com

Judge rejects bid to move case out of IPEC because of claimant’s need for costs protection – Litigation Futures

Posted June 29th, 2017 in costs, courts, intellectual property, news, small businesses, trials by sally

‘A defendant’s bid to transfer a case from the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) to the High Court has been dismissed because of the costs risk the SME claimant would then face.’

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Litigation Futures, 28th June 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

UK takes ‘final legislative step’ needed to ratify the Unified Patent Court reforms – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 28th, 2017 in courts, news, patents, privilege, regulations by sally

‘A piece of legislation that UK law makers must pass so that the country can ratify a new Unified Patent Court (UPC) system in Europe has been laid before parliament.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th June 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Queen’s speech confirms whiplash reform and court modernisation – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 22nd, 2017 in bills, courts, electronic filing, news, parliament, personal injuries by tracey

‘Fresh reforms to personal injury claims are back on the agenda following today’s Queen’s speech. The government’s slimmed-down wishlist of legislation includes a Civil Liability Bill to address the ‘compensation culture’ around motor insurance claims.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 21st June 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

In re Nortel Networks UK Ltd and related companies (No 2) – WLR Daily

Posted June 21st, 2017 in administrators, courts, expenses, insolvency, jurisdiction, law reports by sally

In re Nortel Networks UK Ltd and related companies (No 2) [2017] EWHC 1429 (Ch)

‘The applicants, the administrators of companies in the same group, were aware of a number of potential claims, which might if established, qualify as administration expenses (“expense claims”), and thereby rank for payment in priority to the claims of unsecured creditors. Neither the Insolvency Act 1986, nor the Insolvency Rules 1986, nor the Insolvency Rules 2016 provided any express mechanism under which an administrator could require expense claims to be asserted by a specific date, or enable him to refuse to deal with claims asserted after that date in the context of a distribution to unsecured creditors. In the absence of any applicable statutory scheme, the administrators applied to the High Court for directions under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the 1986 Act to implement a scheme informing potential claimants that any expense claims which had not yet been made had to be notified to the administrators on a prescribed form on or before a specified date.’

WLR Daily, 16th June 2017

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

The UK Jurisdictions After 2019 – Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court

The UK Jurisdictions After 2019 (PDF)

Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court

Lecture to the Faculty of Advocates, 20th June 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

English courts’ willingness to uphold parties’ choice of law provides certainty in Brexit world, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘A Court of Appeal decision upholding the parties’ choice to use English law under a swap agreement will provide some relief to financial firms despite the ongoing uncertainty around the UK’s decision to leave the EU, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st June 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Life support must continue for baby at centre of legal battle – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2017 in children, courts, human rights, medical treatment, news by sally

‘Doctors have been told to continue providing life-support treatment to a terminally ill baby at the centre of a high-profile legal battle for another three weeks – to give judges at the European court of human rights time to analyse the case.’

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The Guardian, 19th June 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Lord Slynn Memorial Lecture by Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls: The Civil Court of the Future – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted June 15th, 2017 in civil justice, courts, internet, judges, speeches by sally

The Lord Slynn Memorial Lecture by Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls: The Civil Court of the Future

Judiciary of England and Wales, 15th June 2017

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk