Category: Ministry of Justice

Lawyers divided on new white-collar crime offences – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 16th, 2017 in company law, consultations, enforcement, false accounting, fraud, Ministry of Justice, money laundering, news, Serious Fraud Office, vicarious liability by sally

‘US-style ‘vicarious liability’ and new ‘failure to prevent’ offences are under consideration in long-awaited government proposals to reform the law on corporate criminal liability published today. Initial reaction from corporate crime specialists was divided, with some lawyers seeing the proposals as a climb-down while others described them as a new burden on business.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 13th January 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Justice denied: the damning results of the latest report on the impact of legal aid cut – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 16th, 2017 in budgets, civil justice, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, reports, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘Secretary of State for Justice, Liz Truss, recently announced that the government would soon confirm the time-table for the post legislative review of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). There has been growing pressure on ministers for some time to announce this (see “Back to the drawing board”, 166 NLJ 7698 13 May 2016, p 6). The Legal Action Group (LAG) hopes that the review will be used as an opportunity by the still relatively new team at the top of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to look at funding the provision of early advice in civil legal cases.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 11th January 2017

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

MoJ plan to impose fixed-term contracts on judges “could be unlawful” – Legal Futures

Posted December 21st, 2016 in diversity, fees, fixed-term contracts, judges, judiciary, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘Plans by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to impose fixed-term contracts on fee- paid judges could be unlawful, the Bar Council has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 21st December 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Thousands left homeless by shortage of legal aid lawyers, say charities – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2016 in benefits, homelessness, housing, Law Society, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics by sally

‘Thousands of people are being made homeless every year because they cannot find lawyers to help them resist eviction, charities are warning.’

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The Guardian, 18th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Secure schools’ pilot scheme for young offenders – BBC News

Posted December 12th, 2016 in education, Ministry of Justice, news, pilot schemes, reports, young offenders by sally

‘Two “secure schools” are to be opened for teenage offenders in England and Wales in a bid to improve education within the youth justice system.’

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BBC News, 11th December 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MoJ says it sets no travel time target when closing courts – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 2nd, 2016 in budgets, courts, Ministry of Justice, news, transport by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice has denied ever promising a benchmark figure for an acceptable maximum public transport travel time for people attending court when it considers court closures. In a letter to House of Commons justice select committee chair Bob Neill MP, permanent secretary Richard Heaton said access to justice was “not just about” court proximity.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 30th November 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ unmoved by MPs’ damning verdict on court fee hikes – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 11th, 2016 in budgets, civil justice, fees, Ministry of Justice, select committees by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice shows no sign of backing down over court fee hikes, despite a damning verdict from an influential group of MPs. The Commons justice committee called in June for an overhaul of employment tribunal fees and the scrapping of this year’s increase in the divorce petition fee. The government initially stood firm on the necessity of the fees – and a full response to the committee now suggests that position has not changed.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 9th November 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

See you in court: judges prepare to sue lord chancellor – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 10th, 2016 in age discrimination, employment, judges, lord chancellor, Ministry of Justice, news, pensions, tribunals by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice has refused to comment ahead of a potentially embarrassing case in which serving judges will sue the lord chancellor over their pension arrangements.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th November 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ rules out homicide law review – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 4th, 2016 in homicide, Ministry of Justice, news, select committees by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice has dismissed calls to create US-style degrees of murder, ruling out a consultation due to an ‘already full programme’ of reform and legislation. In a letter to the chair of the House of Commons justice committee this week, justice minister Sir Oliver Heald said he did not share concerns that the law needed to be urgently reformed.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 2nd November 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Prison violence epidemic partly due to staff cuts, MoJ admits – The Guardian

Posted October 28th, 2016 in budgets, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, violence by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice has explicitly acknowledged that staff cuts are a factor in the rising tide of violence in prisons in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MoJ told to comply with jailed drug baron’s kosher food FoI demands – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 30th, 2016 in food, freedom of information, Judaism, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons by tracey

‘A man jailed for 25 years for his role in a drug-smuggling plot has scored a victory over the Ministry of Justice, which has been told it failed to carry out ‘reasonable research’ about imports of kosher food into prisons.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 28th September 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge suing Ministry of Justice says he has been denied a fair hearing – The Guardian

Posted June 7th, 2016 in disciplinary procedures, judges, legal representation, Ministry of Justice, news, racism, speeches, witnesses by tracey

‘A judge facing a disciplinary hearing has complained he is being denied a fair hearing because he has been told he cannot be legally represented or call witnesses.’

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The Guardian, 7th June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MoJ rules out review of legal aid repayment interest – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 12th, 2016 in interest, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, repayment by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice has ruled out reviewing the 8% rate of interest it charges when legal aid has to be repaid – even though the Bank of England continues to hold UK interest rates at 0.5%.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th May 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MoJ seeks to allay court closure concerns – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 6th, 2016 in budgets, courts, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice has given some insight into the reasons behind its decision to close a court that campaigners have bitterly fought to save.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 5th May 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Government plan for 500% increase in immigration and asylum fee sparks anger – The Independent

Posted April 22nd, 2016 in appeals, fees, immigration, Ministry of Justice, news by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice has revealed plans to increase the cost for immigrants to appeal against Home Office decisions by up to 500 per cent.’

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The Independent, 22nd April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lower-than-expected court fee income contributes to Ministry of Justice funding black hole – Legal Futures

Posted April 20th, 2016 in budgets, courts, fees, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘Lower-than-expected court fees from high-value cases and increased demand in the criminal justice system are behind the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) request for £427m extra funding over and above its designated department spending limit for 2015-16, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 20th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

MoJ plan for legal aid residence test thrown out by supreme court – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2016 in appeals, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Government attempts to introduce a discriminatory residence test for anyone claiming legal aid have been summarily thrown out in a unanimous supreme court ruling.’

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The Guardian, 18th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MoJ wins privilege battle over PowerPoint slides prepared by counsel for training session – Legal Futures

Posted April 7th, 2016 in disclosure, documents, freedom of information, Ministry of Justice, news, privilege, tribunals by sally

‘PowerPoint slides prepared by external counsel for training at the Ministry of Justice were subject to legal professional privilege and did not have to be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 7th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ministry of Justice officials ‘helped private firms win government contracts’ – The Guardian

Posted March 15th, 2016 in civil servants, contracts, inquiries, Ministry of Justice, news, professional conduct, public procurement by sally

‘Ministers have ordered an immediate inquiry into allegations that former senior civil servants from the Ministry of Justice have used their Whitehall knowledge and contacts to help private companies secure government contracts worth millions.’

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The Guardian, 14th March 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Michael Gove sets out new rules to safeguard independence of prison inspectors – The Independent

Posted March 1st, 2016 in Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, reports by sally

‘The independence of prison inspectors is to be guaranteed following complaints that the former Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, tried to water down their reports by removing criticisms of his approach to penal policy.’

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The Independent, 10th February 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk