Carr hits out over civil digitisation and criminal court sitting days – Legal Futures

‘The Lady Chief Justice yesterday complained to MPs about the government’s decisions to reduce the digitisation of civil justice and limit sitting days in the criminal courts.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judiciary risks ‘debasement’ without more solicitors, warns lady chief justice – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 26th, 2024 in judiciary, news, recruitment, solicitors by tracey

‘City solicitors spend hours on pro bono work yet still do not believe they can find the time to get on to the judicial ladder. So claims the lady chief justice, who has warned that the bench risks become ‘debased’ without more solicitors stepping up.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th November 2024

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Assisted Dying: What Role for the Judge? – Transparency Project

‘The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill had its first, purely formal, reading in the House of Commons on 16 October 2024, when it was presented by Kim Leadbeater MP. The important second reading is fixed for 29 November 2024.’

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Transparency Project, 30th October 2024

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

Elizabeth Adams: The Judicial Approach to the Judicial Discretion under s.4 HRA in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer [2024] UKSC 12 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 28th, 2024 in declarations of incompatibility, human rights, judiciary, news, Supreme Court by tracey

‘In Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer [2024] UKSC 12 (Mercer), the Supreme Court was confronted with whether and how to exercise its powers under sections 3 and 4 of the HRA 1998. This blog post will focus on assessing how the Supreme Court approached the judicial discretion to grant a declaration of incompatibility under section 4 HRA (s.4). Section 4 states that if the court is satisfied that the provision is incompatible with a Convention right, it may make a declaration of that incompatibility – “may” demonstrates the judicial discretion at the core of the mechanism.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th October 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Family court judges use victim-blaming language in domestic abuse cases, finds AI project – The Guardian

‘Judges in the family courts are using victim-blaming and gender-biased language towards domestic abuse survivors, AI analysis of judgments and appeals in England and Wales reveals.’

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The Guardian, 8th October 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Andrii Koshman: Judicial Accountability in the Digital Justice System of Tomorrow – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In 2018, Sir Ernest Ryder warned that the future shift to online dispute resolution for most, and in some areas all disputes, risks eroding judicial accountability and fostering a democratic deficit. The pandemic, the £1.3 billion court modernisation program and six years later, the future of resolving the majority of disputes online appears to be much closer. The implementation of a truly holistic Digital Justice System – an integrated system of online advice services, online public and private out-of-court dispute resolution services (mediation and arbitration portals, ombuds services) and online courts – can make this future a reality. In fact, it is expressly intended that the majority of civil, family, and tribunal disputes will be settled or resolved online through the Digital Justice System, in accordance with rules specifically developed by the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) to cover the online pre-action and action space. It is also notable that such a system of various online private and public portals will have a common data architecture based on the open digital standards developed by OPRC. It is not yet known when this system will become operational, but as we approach such a reality, the potential loss of accountability and democratic deficit needs to be addressed as an extremely urgent threat.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Andrii Koshman: Judicial Accountability in the Digital Justice System of Tomorrow – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In 2018, Sir Ernest Ryder warned that the future shift to online dispute resolution for most, and in some areas all disputes, risks eroding judicial accountability and fostering a democratic deficit. The pandemic, the £1.3 billion court modernisation program and six years later, the future of resolving the majority of disputes online appears to be much closer. The implementation of a truly holistic Digital Justice System – an integrated system of online advice services, online public and private out-of-court dispute resolution services (mediation and arbitration portals, ombuds services) and online courts – can make this future a reality.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Barrister “ineligible for judicial posts” fails in JAC discrimination claim – Legal Futures

‘An employment tribunal has struck out a discrimination claim brought by a disabled barrister over his failed applications for judicial appointment because he was not eligible for the posts he sought.’

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Legal Futures, 9th September 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘It’s not like you were beaten’: The horrifying misogyny vulnerable women face from the judge’s bench – The Independent

‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being ‘retraumatised’ by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’

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The Independent, 17th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘It’s not like you were beaten’: The horrifying misogyny vulnerable women face from the judge’s bench – The Independent

‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being “retraumatised” by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’

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The Independent, 16th August 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Review body warns on quality of judges as it calls for 6% pay rise – Legal Futures

Posted July 31st, 2024 in judges, judicial appointments commission, judiciary, news, remuneration by sally

‘The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) has expressed its “unease” at a “long-term decline” in quality ratings for new district and circuit judges as it recommended a 6% pay rise across the bench.’

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Legal Futures, 31st July 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Being a solicitor or ethnic minority halves odds of becoming a judge – Legal Futures

‘Being a solicitor or from an ethnic minority more than halves the odds of successfully applying for the bench compared to white barristers, the latest figures on judicial diversity have revealed.’

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Legal Futures, 12th July 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Costs lawyers call for guidelines rates and judiciary recognition – Legal Futures

Posted July 9th, 2024 in costs, judiciary, legal profession, news, recruitment, remuneration by sally

‘Costs lawyers have become a fundamental part of litigation teams and this needs to be recognised in the guideline hourly rates and with the ability to apply for judicial appointment, it has been argued.’

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Legal Futures, 9th July 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Looking Beyond the Traditional: A Multi-dimensional Account of the Modern Judicial Role – Judicial Review

Posted June 27th, 2024 in constitutional history, constitutional law, judiciary, news by sally

‘This article makes quite a simple claim: that it is appropriate to conceptualise the role of judges in today’s constitution as one which is multi-dimensional. This article considers how we understand “the judicial role” within the constitution historically before mapping out notable moments in that history to document the evolution of the role from “old” to “new”. Next, the article asks us to think about who our judges are by offering a brief reflection on the state of the modern judiciary and its composition.’

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Judicial Review, 29th May 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Challenge to JAC ‘secret soundings’ to go ahead – Legal Futures

‘A district judge who argues that applicants for judicial appointment should be told of negative comments about them in confidential references will get to put her case to the High Court.’

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Legal Futures, 17th June 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Stephen Tierney: The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024: Necessary remedy or unwarranted interference with judicial independence? – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘For the first time, by way of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act (“the Act”), Parliament has legislated to quash criminal convictions. In this post I will argue that, no matter how understandable, indeed laudable, the intention behind this legislation, in its haste to offer a speedy and comprehensive correction to mass injustice, Parliament has crossed a constitutional line and ventured into territory that is properly the preserve of the courts.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association , 3rd June 2024

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Carr urges KCs to give juniors oral advocacy opportunities – Legal Futures

Posted June 10th, 2024 in advocacy, barristers, diversity, judges, judiciary, news, professional conduct by tracey

‘The Lady Chief Justice has urged senior barristers to give their junior counsel chances to speak in court, both for their own development and the future diversity of the judiciary.’

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Legal Futures, 10th June 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Letterbox contact can no longer be seen as appropriate regime for most cases, and should “certainly not be the norm”: Family President – Local Government Lawyer

‘The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has outlined the need for a “new approach” to post-adoption contact, noting that letterbox contact can “no longer be seen as the appropriate regime for most cases”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd May 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Applying Laws Across Time: Disentangling the ‘Always Speaking’ Principles – Oxford Journal of Legal Studies

Posted May 17th, 2024 in judges, judiciary, legislative drafting, news, statutory interpretation by sally

‘Common-law judges frequently claim to apply the “always speaking” principle. But they recognise that they are not clear on what it means, with Lord Leggatt recently calling the metaphor “enigmatic”. In this article, I seek to clarify this by showing that the “always speaking” metaphor is associated with at least four different types of principle, each of which responds to a distinct issue (although there is a common theme: change over time). I explore the origins of the “always speaking” metaphor, distinguish the four issues and explain how they relate. I argue that it is important to disentangle the four types of “always speaking” principle, with a focus on distinguishing principles of dynamic (versus originalist) interpretation from principles that empower judges to strain or “recast” legislation to deal with new developments sensibly. In doing so, I analyse and critique the judgments in the recent UK Supreme Court case of News Corp.’

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Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 10th May 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Barristers turning away from government legal work over frozen fees – Legal Futures

Posted May 17th, 2024 in barristers, fees, government departments, judiciary, news, remuneration by sally

The failure to increase the rates of pay for barristers handling government work since 1997 has created a “very high level of dissatisfaction and exasperation”.

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Legal Futures, 17th May 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk