‘The High Court has rejected a challenge to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) failure to extend qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) to discrimination claims in the county court.’
Litigation Futures, 20th February 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The Civil Procedure Rule Committee last week put off approving the rules for the new whiplash portal until next month, it is understood, making the April start-date all-but impossible.’
Legal Futures, 10th February 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The government is failing in its efforts to improve prison conditions, with record levels of safety breaches and “huge” backlogs in repairs, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. The National Audit Office said plans to “provide and maintain safe, secure and decent prisons” had not been carried out.’
The Guardian, 7th February 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Victims are no longer reporting some crimes to police because so many offenders are never brought to justice. A new report said the public are losing faith in the criminal justice system and have “rumbled” that police do not have the capacity to investigate.’
BBC News, 7th February 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Progress to improve diversity in the judiciary is too slow and there has been stagnation in the appointment of BAME judges, according to a damning report by an influential law reform group whose head warns that senior roles are still “dominated by white men”.’
The Guardian, 29th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The persistently high death toll in prisons is a “national scandal”, with too many deaths avoidable, according to a new report published on Wednesday.’
The Guardian, 22nd January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The proportion of prisoners developing a drug problem in custody has more than doubled in the past five years, research suggests.’
The Guardian, 20th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Victims of serious crime now wait almost a year-and-a-half for the suspects to go on trial while judges sit “idle” after the government cut their sitting days – despite Guardian analysis finding almost half of all crown courtrooms in England and Wales are empty each day.’
The Guardian, 13th January 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A Ministry of Justice consultation on proposed changes to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS) fails to address the fundamental issues of sustainability, the Law Society has claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th January 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A district judge is suing the Ministry of Justice and two supervising judges for unconscious bias, harassment, victimisation, micro-aggression and discrimination after a complaint was made against him by an appellant in one of his cases.’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The number of convicted criminals who are sent straight to jail is at its lowest level for a decade, despite crime rising steadily over the same period, the latest figures have revealed.’
Daily Telegraph, 14th November 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The Ministry of Justice is to be sued by the mother of a five-year-old boy who was murdered by her boyfriend after an inquest concluded that defects in the probation system contributed to his death.’
The Guardian, 9th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘More than 200 offenders under probation supervision have been convicted of murder since the system was overhauled in 2014 by the then Justice Secretary Chris Grayling.’
Daily Telegraph, 31st October 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is continuing to work towards April 2020 to implement the whiplash reforms despite the upcoming election, it has confirmed.’
Legal Futures, 1st November 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Vulnerable migrant children who have been separated from their parents will get quicker and simpler access to legal aid, after new government legislation came into force today (25 October 2019). The Legal Aid for Separated Children Order 2019 will bring non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into the scope of legal aid for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian or legal authority.’
Ministry of Justice, 25th October 2019
Source: www.gov.www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
‘Survivors of childhood sexual abuse are forced to come face-to-face with their tormentors in court buildings while waiting for cases to be heard, a report has revealed.
Such shocks are among a host of failings by authorities and advisers that are regularly leaving people “at risk of being traumatised all over again” and feeling “discarded” by the justice system.’
The Independent, 23rd October 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘On 17 October 2019, the Daily Mail carried the snappily-titled, but detailed headline Remains of Captain Matthew Flinders – the man credited with naming Australia – will be reburied in his home village after being found in London during HS2 dig. The story concerns the remains of Captain Flinders which were discovered during the excavation of St James’s burial ground for the new High Speed rail project; the article explains:
“Following a request by descendants of the Flinders family and the local community that he be returned to his home village of Donington, Lincolnshire, HS2 Ltd’s chief executive Mark Thurston has written to the family to say he can be buried there.”
Well, not quite, for although under secular legislation, as the “nominated undertaker” under the Act, HS2 has the authority for the exhumation of Flinders’ remains and their subsequent retention, re-interment in the Donington churchyard is governed by ecclesiastical law.’
Law & Religion UK, 19th October 2019
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
‘The government needs to be sure that allowing hybrid damages-based agreements (DBAs) will not encourage abuse by lawyers, such as speculative litigation, the civil servant in charge of civil litigation reform has warned.’
Litigation Futures, 18th October 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Many court closures in the past have not been based on the real travelling times it would take people to get to an alternative building, the chief executive of HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has admitted.’
Legal Futures, 17th October 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2020