‘Just over six years ago, a taxpayer funded independent study of a pilot “virtual court” concluded that: “A rollout based on the pilot’s performance and parameters is likely to cost more money than it saves. A break-even scenario may be achieved, but this is still likely to be a challenge.” ‘
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th March 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Government plans for virtual court hearings and online guilty pleas for criminal offences are poorly costed, based on weak evidence and have not been subjected to proper consultation, a national justice charity says today.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 15th March 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘From June of this year, the specialist civil courts are to be known as the “Business and Property Courts of England and Wales”.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th March 2017
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘Speech by the Lord Chief Justice: Grand Court of the Cayman Islands guest lecture 2017.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 7th march 2017
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘Courts in England and Wales have new powers to change the maximum cost liabilities that those challenging environmental decisions of public bodies’ through judicial review could be exposed to under new rules that are now in force.’
OUT-LAW.com, 3rd March 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The Ministry of Justice has confirmed a massive overhaul in probate charges, which will see some estates charged up to £20,000. From May this year, subject to parliamentary approval, the MoJ is planning to introduce a sliding scale of charges for probate fees to replace the current flat fees.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 27th February 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A man who filmed and live-streamed a court case in Cardiff has been jailed for 28 days.’
BBC News, 22nd February 2017
Source: www.bb.co.uk
‘Interested members of the public will be able to view ‘virtual’ court hearings from purpose-built booths in court buildings, the Prisons and Courts Bill states. The proposal is an attempt to counter threats to open justice by a courts system increasingly operating digitally. Court listings and case results will also be published online, a factsheet published by the Ministry of Justice says.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The small claims limit will rise to £5,000 for whiplash cases, but only £2,000 for other personal injury (PI) claims, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced today in a bid “to crack down on the compensation culture epidemic” – less than seven weeks after its consultation closed.’
Legal Futures, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Prison governors are to be held to account for getting offenders off drugs, into jobs and learning English and maths under new powers to be detailed in the justice secretary’s flagship legislation to tackle the prison crisis.’
The Guardian, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The first signs of an online court (OC) will be visible in tribunals by September, online processes will be extended to a wide range of civil court proceedings by May 2020, and the reforms will be incremental, according to one of the judges in charge.’
Legal Futures, 22nd February 2017
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has issued a new-style ‘short judgment’ in an immigration case, avoiding the lengthy documents normally issued by courts.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th February 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Court officials exceeded their powers when they barred supporters of the founder of the Fathers 4 Justice pressure group from entering Aldershot Magistrates Court.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th February 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘On 20 February 2015 Matthew O’Connor, the Claimant in this judicial review and the founder of the campaign group Fathers4Justice, was due to go on trial at Aldershot Magistrates’ Court for a public order offence. He arrived at court with around ten of his supporters, but when they tried to gain entry to the court building they were prevented from doing so by HMCTS staff. Only the Claimant and his Mackenzie Friend were allowed to enter.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 8th February 2017
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The Sentencing Council guideline on imposition is effective in all courts from today, 1 February 2017. This clarifies that suspended sentences should be imposed only when custody is actually intended and not as a more severe form of community order.’
Sentencing Council, 1st February 2017
‘The presiding judge at the UK’s Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has said the court still serves a purpose despite the growing availability of flexible trials elsewhere.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd February 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘EU diplomats have warned the Foreign Office that the UK will not be able to leave the jurisdiction of the European court of justice (ECJ) if there is to be a transition period while details of Brexit are negotiated.’
The Guardian, 3rd February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘More than nine out of 10 victims and witnesses are now satisfied with the support provided to them at court by the CPS, following the implementation of a ground-breaking initiative. Since April 2016, the CPS has been rolling out a new nationwide programme in which prosecution staff or advocates provide essential information to witnesses at court in order to assist them in giving their evidence. This rollout was completed across all courts last Autumn.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 2nd February 2017
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
‘Investigations into miscarriages of justice are being hampered by premature destruction of court records, according to a campaign aimed at improving transparency in the criminal justice system.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A bold and bright future awaits the UK’s world-leading legal services as we prepare to leave the EU, Lord Chancellor Elizabeth Truss declared today.’
Ministry of Justice, 19th January 2017
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
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