Category: news

‘[M]y aim this morning is to try to offer a practical framework for your ongoing work as expert witnesses. I shall begin by discussing the recommendations of The Civil Justice Council in its report published last week on the “Use of AI for Preparing Court Documents”. The Civil Justice Council, as many of you will know, is an advisory public body that reviews civil justice and makes recommendations designed to improve the system. I was co-chair of the working group that produced that report. I shall then identify sensible uses of AI within the expert process, highlight briefly some significant risks, and conclude with some suggested practical safeguards that experts may wish to adopt.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 6th November 2026

Source: www.judiciary.uk

‘In September 2026, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued new judicial guidance on disputes involving artificial intelligence. Among the issues addressed is a fundamental question for product liability: when should AI itself be treated as a product? China has drawn a relatively clear boundary, keeping product liability connected to AI embodied in physical products rather than standalone AI services. The development is particularly timely for the UK, where the Law Commission is reviewing the UK product liability regime under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA), including its treatment of digital products and emerging technologies. The EU has already taken a different route by expressly bringing software within its revised product liability regime. These contrasting approaches provide a useful lens through which to consider the choices now facing the UK Law Commission.’

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City Law Forum, 7th November 2026

Source: blogs.city.ac.uk

‘Graeme Bentley examines a recent decision on post-adoption contact, and what it tells us about the courts’ continuing approach to contact orders where prospective adopters remain opposed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has made remediation contribution orders (RCOs) totalling £46.5m against five companies involved in the construction of seven high-rise residential buildings that later required remediation works for unsafe materials.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A report by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) has warned that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the judiciary must strengthen the governance of AI use in courts, to ensure that both litigants and the system are protected. The report observes that the Government and court service are increasingly delegating digital and AI-mediated justice services to private providers, from digital legal information and dispute resolution tools to systems used within justice agencies.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A High Court judge has ruled that a 12-year-old child is not being deprived of his liberty, in a case where the purpose of the restrictive measures to which he is subject is to “enable and protect” him.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th November 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Excepted charities: registration […] Places of Worship Renewal Fund: Expressions of Interest […] “Church of England website transformed”… […] Parochial Fees 2027 […] Quick links’

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Law & Religion UK, 8th November 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘The UK Practice Toolkit on Climate, Disasters and Protection Claims is a practical, step-by-step guide for UK immigration and human rights practitioners. Edited by Yumna Kamel (Earth Refuge) and Olivia Clark (Refugee Legal Support), the Toolkit brings together contributions from lawyers, academics and policy experts across the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, the Refugee Law Initiative at the University of London, Qore Legal and Garden Court Chambers, as well as independent practitioners and consultants. It is designed to help lawyers identify where climate change and disasters are already relevant to the cases in front of them, and to weave those factors into existing asylum, protection and human rights arguments.’

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Refugee Legal Support, 13th October 2026

Source: refugeelegalsupport.org

‘Barrister Adam Pipe takes an in-depth look at the Government’s response to the consultation on A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, outlining the proposed Earned Settlement framework and its implications for migrants seeking Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR).’

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EIN Blog, 6th November 2026

Source: www.ein.org.uk

‘[2026] 3 FRJ 194. This article considers recent authorities which suggest that forcing a sale of the family company may increasingly be contemplated by the court.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 9th November 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘The government should not be able to extend the scope of legislation curbing jury trial without parliamentary scrutiny, a House of Lords committee has said. In a report on the Courts and Tribunals Bill, the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee condemned what it described as the bill’s inappropriate use of ‘Henry VIII’ powers.’

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Law Society Gazette, 6th November 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said that, while he is no longer a regular Mass-goer, he still professes the Catholic faith. His religious beliefs triggered the operation of s 18 of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, which makes it unlawful for any person professing the Roman Catholic religion ‘directly or indirectly to advise [His] Majesty … touching or concerning the appointment to or disposal of any office or preferment in the Church of England, or in the Church of Scotland’. Indeed, that section provides that any person who offends that prohibition can be ‘guilty of a high misdismeanour’ and be subject to the rather drastic penalty of being ‘disabled for ever from holding any office, civil or military, under the Crown’.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th November 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘The court of appeal has rejected claims by the Home Office that being kidnapped for ransom is not exploitation of trafficking victims.’

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The Guardian, 7th November 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A childminder who admitted leaving children she was caring for alone and unsupervised in her home has been jailed for two years.’

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BBC News, 6th November 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Russell Brand’s defence barrister has referred himself to the regulator after reports that he confronted a Sunday Times journalist who was involved in a media investigation into Brand in 2023.’

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BBC News, 6th November 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘This article explores the meaning and importance of character for modern legal professionals. It adds to a growing body of work in virtue jurisprudence by providing an empirical perspective from research among practising lawyers in five UK firms. Our study explored three questions: How do legal practitioners understand the meaning and importance of character in their profession? What opportunities are there for the cultivation of virtues in legal practice? How might attention to character development contribute to the application of ethical values that are prized in the legal profession? Interviews with 34 participants were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify prominent themes. There are main emphases: (1) lawyers’ desire to become virtuous, even if their understanding of the process is limited; (2) lawyers’ moral seriousness despite being ethically imperceptive at points; and (3) the influence of lawyers’ work environments on their character and ethicality. The article concludes by outlining potential strategies for the cultivation of character as a way to support ethical legal practice.’

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Legal Ethics, 21st October 2026

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘In this article we focus on a longstanding example of protective legislation, the criminalisation of landlords who illegally evict or harass their tenants. Illegal eviction was first criminalised in 1964 and then consolidated in the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 which, in an amended form, continues to provide the substance of protections from landlord criminal activity for rental occupiers. Using this example we argue first that the failures of comparative social welfare scholars to integrate protective legislation into their analysis has led to overly generalised characterisations of welfare systems and second that housing scholarship’s focus on security of tenure has largely ignored the radical character of these criminal offences to the detriment of precariously housed households. The article uses time-mapping as a tool to place the criminalisation of landlords within a broader social, economic and political terrain to help understand how it was possible that property owners could be criminalised in relation to their own property, and to illustrate the complexity of and fluidity changes in welfare provision.’

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Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 5th November 2026

Source: www.tandfonline.com

‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) (“the Tribunal”) has recently handed down its decision in Hughes Family Property Co Ltd & Anor v Marvin & Ors [2026] UKUT 310 (LC), granting an application to modify a restrictive covenant under section 84(1) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (“LPA 1925”).’

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Guildhall Chambers, 4th November 2026

Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk

‘The premises were a 1998 two-storey office building at Crossways Business Park, Dartford. The 2003 lease contained a covenant to keep the premises, expressly including the heating and air-conditioning apparatus, “in good and substantial repair and condition”. It expired on 8 July 2023.’ 

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Gatehouse Chambers, 26th October 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘Lauren Godfrey considers why costs risk in property disputes now turns on forum, procedure and conduct as much as merits.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 26th October 2026

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk