Judge dismisses case after Muslim swears oath on Bible – Daily Telegraph
‘Judge regrets stopping trial because Muslim man gave evidence having sworn on the Bible instead of the Koran.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Category: judges
No entitlement to human rights damages after ‘caste discrimination’ case collapse – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The High Court has ruled that when long-running employment tribunal hearing collapsed as the result of the judge’s recusal due to apparent bias the claimants in the action could not obtain damages for wasted costs under section 6 of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 (specifically Article 6, the right to a fair trial) or the EU Charter.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th February 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Top judge says claims Sun trial judges were switched to secure conviction are ‘absurd’ – Daily Telegraph
‘In a rare move, Mr Justice Sweeney weighs in at the Old Bailey to settle the legal row which erupted that week over the retrial of senior Sun executives.’
Daily Telegraph, 13th February 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Child abuse inquiry: Judge has ‘no establishment links’ – BBC News
‘The judge leading the inquiry into historical child sex abuse in England and Wales has said she has no links to any person or institution which it might scrutinise.’
BBC News, 11th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Two-thirds of judges feel their six-figure salary is too low – The Independent
‘Hundreds of judges have said they are considering taking early retirement because they are not paid enough and feel undervalued after a series of Government budget cuts to the legal system, according to a survey of attitudes within the judiciary.’
The Independent, 11th February 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Related link: UK Judicial Attitude Survey (PDF)
Child abuse inquiry: Infighting leads panel members to abandon roles – The Independent
‘Several former panel members on the Government’s child sex abuse inquiry are refusing to return to their roles, having become worn down by the growing infighting between rival groups of campaigners, The Independent can reveal.’
The Independent, 11th February 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The President, Mr Justice Holmes and the Life of the Law – Family Law Week
‘Following Sir James Munby’s judgment in B and G (Children) (No 2), David Bedingfield, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, considers the continuing relevance of the American jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes.’
Family Law Week, 30th January 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Lord Justice Lewison and the Return of English – NearlyLegal
‘I recently found myself reading and writing about the Court of Appeal judgement in Edwards v Kurasamy (our report here). Doing so made me think about the recent spate of judgements given by Lewison LJ that have touched on the private rental sector. I am thinking here of Spencer v Taylor (which we analysed here), Charalambous v Ng, and now Edwards v Kumarasamy. (our report). All of these are cases that touch primarily on the Private Rented Sector and all of them feature leading judgements by Lewison LJ. These are not of course the only big PRS cases to come from the CoA recently so I am not suggesting that Lewison LJ is the only CoA judge dealing with the PRS (see McDonald v McDonald for example) but he does seem to be getting a healthy majority right now.’
NearlyLegal, 9th February 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Gratuitously rude’ judge reprimanded in CoA ruling – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A family judge was reprimanded by Court of Appeal judges twice in two days and told he should be “embarrassed” by the way he handled a case, it has emerged.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 6th February 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Sun journalists retrial row after judge removed from case – The Guardian
‘A decision to remove a judge lined up for a retrial of four Sun journalists has led to a legal row at the Old Bailey involving some of the most senior judges in the country.’
The Guardian, 6th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
New Zealand high court judge named as new chair of child abuse inquiry – The Guardian
‘A New Zealand high court judge is to be the new head of the official inquiry into child abuse, the home secretary, Theresa May, has announced.’
The Guardian, 4th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Court of Appeal slams judge for “unprincipled” approach to final care orders – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has sharply criticised a county court judge for adopting a “ruthlessly truncated” and “fundamentally unprincipled” process when he made final care orders at what the parties expected to be a directions hearing.’
Local Government Lawyer, 2nd February 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Appointment to the bench is not a licence for judges to be gratuitously rude to those appearing before them – UK Human Rights Blog
‘HHJ Dodds is well known to readers of this blog. His style of case management was also analysed (and found wanting) by the Court of Appeal the following day in Re S-W (children) [2015] EWCA Civ 27 (30 January 2015). The judgments leave one to ponder whether these cases are a product of the stresses that have emerged from the greater expectations now put on the shoulders of judges to case manage litigation or whether, as previously discussed in this blog by David Hart QC here, it is a problem that arises with clever judges who find that they are, by temperament, not inclined to listen patiently to other people (generally considered to be a core part of the job description).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st February 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Lord Chief Justice calls for independent review of legal market – Legal Futures
‘There needs to be an independent review of the operation of the legal market to investigate whether the Legal Services Act 2007 is working and why fees have not fallen in the light of greater competition, the Lord Chief Justice said today [27 January].’
Legal Futures, 27th January 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Pornography online is driving ‘horrific’ crimes, says top judge – Daily Telegraph
‘Lord Chief Justice warns that extreme material on the internet appears to be intensifying the actions of some murderers.’
Daily Telegraph, 27th January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Magna Carta: The Medieval Context and the Part Played by William Marshal – Gresham College
‘Modern understanding of Magna Carta has begun to mythologize the creation and signing of the charter. Lord Igor Judge, Former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales places Magna Carta in its historical context as simply another Charter in an age when charters were “created like confetti”. As well as the byzantine politics and open warfare that led to the creation of Magna Carta, Lord Judge highlights the real hero of 1215, William Marshal, whose tireless campaigning and statecraft lead to the adoption of Magna Carta, ejected the French from British soil and secured the Plantagenet dynasty’s hold on the throne.’
Gresham College, 14th January 2015
Source: www.gresham.ac.uk
Judge orders father to take his children to church – Daily Telegraph
‘Child care proceedings challenged after judge tells father he has a legal requirement to take his sons to Catholic mass.’
Daily Telegraph, 19th January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Attorney general unable to review teacher-pupil sex sentence – The Guardian
‘A judge who gave a teacher a suspended sentence after suggesting he had been “groomed” by a pupil he was convicted of having sex with is to face an official investigation. Stuart Kerner, 44, was found guilty last month of two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. But on Wednesday, he was given a suspended 18-month sentence by Joanna Greenberg QC, who said it was clear that his 16-year-old victim was obsessed with him.’
The Guardian, 15th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Councils must be more proactive to prevent FGM, says top judge – The Guardian
‘Local authorities need to be “proactive and vigilant” in taking measures to prevent girls being subjected to the “great evil” of female genital mutilation, the most senior family court judge in England and Wales has said.’
The Guardian, 14th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Judge left anonymous in family court case is named – Daily Telegraph
‘Judicial Office names judge in Reading case as Eleanor Owens after identities of everyone involved kept secret in highly-unusual move.’
Daily Telegraph, 12th January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
