MPs slate Ministry of Justice over Crown Court backlog and judges – Legal Futures

‘MPs today slated the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) “meagre ambition” to reduce the Crown Court case backlog and warned that efforts to recruit judges will ignore the need to improve diversity.’

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Legal Futures, 9th March 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Justice system in England and Wales ‘risks causing fresh trauma to girls’ – The Guardian

‘The vast majority of vulnerable young women and girls in the criminal justice system in England and Wales have previously suffered abuse and violence and are in danger of being retraumatised by the experience, charities say.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Disabled people ‘given 12 days’ to respond to human rights consultation – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Disability and human rights groups have called for a consultation on controversial human rights reforms to be extended, telling the lord chancellor that disabled people have been given less than a fortnight to respond. The Ministry of Justice has apologised for the long wait for a ‘fully accessible’ document.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 2nd March 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

England and Wales to get extra 4,000 prison places in record expansion – The Guardian

Posted February 18th, 2022 in Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, statistics by sally

‘Dominic Raab has announced the creation of 4,000 new prison places in England and Wales, as the government plans for an increase of almost 25% that could take the prison population to an all-time high.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Nightingale court tells parents of victim of alleged rape there is no room for them at trial – The Giuardian

Posted February 14th, 2022 in children, courts, families, Ministry of Justice, news, police, rape, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘The parents of a schoolgirl who has accused a stranger of rape have been told by police that there is not enough space in a Nightingale court for them to attend the alleged attacker’s trial.’

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The Guardian, 13th February 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Women’s groups seek end to UK courts’ powers to jail people for own protection – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2022 in criminal justice, equality, imprisonment, Ministry of Justice, news, racism, women by tracey

‘A coalition of women’s rights organisations has called on the UK government to abolish a law that gives courts the power to send people to prison for their own protection, as part of a 10-point plan to tackle inequalities in the criminal justice system.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Calls for urgent action as deaths in prisons hit record levels – The Independent

Posted January 28th, 2022 in death in custody, mental health, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, statistics, suicide by tracey

‘The government has been urged to change its “harmful and dangerous” prison system after the number of deaths among inmates hit record levels.’

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The Independent, 28th January 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Criminal prosecution delays hit record 708 days – BBC News

‘Delays in prosecuting suspected criminals have hit a record 708 days for the average time it takes to go from offence to completion of a case.’

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BBC News, 20th January 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MoJ threatened with fine over huge data request backlog – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2022 in data protection, delay, fines, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has threatened to fine the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) if it fails to deal with thousands of outstanding subject access requests (SARs).’

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Legal Futures, 19th January 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Family mediation scheme to help thousands more parents – Ministry of Justice

‘Thousands more separating parents will avoid stressful courtroom battles as the Government boosts its landmark family mediation scheme with an additional £1.3 million.’

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Ministry of Justice, 16th January 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Government breached duty over solicitor-judge’s disability struggles – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government has been criticised by an employment tribunal for a “lack of coordination and pre-planning” that resulted in a solicitor-judge bringing a disability discrimination challenge against the justice secretary over her struggles to secure reasonable adjustments.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th January 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court dismisses JR over immigration detainees’ legal advice – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has dismissed a judicial review brought against the lord chancellor over immigration detainees’ access to justice.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th January 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Video-witnessed wills extended until 2024 – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Legislation introduced during the pandemic allowing wills to be witnessed over Zoom and Skype will be extended until January 2024, the government announced today.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Breastfeeding voyeurs targeted by new proposed offence in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Voyeurs who record images of breastfeeding women without permission and domestic abusers who escape jail because of time limits on prosecutions are being targeted by proposals put before parliament on Tuesday.’

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The Guardian, 4th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Information Commissioner’s Office challenged over Whitehall JR submissions – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Public law specialists have begun legal proceedings against the Information Commissioner’s Office over publication of Whitehall submissions on judicial review that have influenced controversial reforms.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 20th December 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court makes “first” compulsory ADR order in commercial case – Legal Futures

Posted December 15th, 2021 in company law, dispute resolution, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘A High Court master has made the first ever order for compulsory alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in commercial litigation, according to a City litigator.’

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Legal Futures, 15th December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Plan to reform Human Rights Act – Ministry of Justice

‘The Human Rights Act will be revised under plans unveiled by the Justice Secretary Dominic Raab today (14 December).’

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Ministry of Justice, 14th December 2021

Source: www.gov.uk

Rape ‘scorecards’ reveal CPS will miss prosecution targets – The Guardian

‘Rape “scorecards” published for the first time reveal that the Crown Prosecution Service will miss performance targets dictated by the government after a collapse in prosecutions for the crime.’

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The Guardian, 9th December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Remand inmates in England and Wales ‘facing second Christmas behind bars’ – The Guardian

‘Some defendants will be facing “a second Christmas behind bars without the opportunity to prove their innocence”, a legal charity has warned, as the number of remand prisoners in England and Wales detained longer than the legal custody limit continues to rise.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Raab eyes “drastic action” to keep family disputes out of court – Legal Futures

‘Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 1st December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk