‘The High Court has ruled that the fears of three witnesses about giving evidence in person during the UK’s winter Covid spike should not lead to a five-week complex commercial trial being adjourned.’
Legal Futures, 26th January 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘This week three judges in the Court of Appeal held a 3 day long appeal hearing all about domestic abuse cases. This series of posts provide a summary of what the hearing was about and how it went. The decision is expected in a few weeks’ time.’
Transparency Project, 23rd January 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Law Society has called for urgent action including a possible two-week pause of non-custodial Crown and magistrates’ court work “amid escalating safety concerns”.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th January 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The motion for the recent Kingsley Napley debate: “This House believes remote hearings are not remotely fair” was carried with a fairly balanced 56% in favour and 44% against. With an audience made up of over a hundred family lawyers and barristers, this result was no doubt influenced by their experience of remote court hearings heard either via video link or by telephone over the last six months, since the national lockdown in March.’
Family Law, 14th January 2021
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association (LCCSA) has advised its members that it is not safe to continue to attend Magistrates’ courts.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th January 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The president of the Family Division has told judges and lawyers to stop the increasing practice of holding virtual hearings outside of normal court hours, citing wellbeing concerns.’
Legal Futures, 8th January 2021
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A screen shot taken of a remote hearing must be deleted by anyone who has it, a master has ordered under a change introduced by last year’s Coronavirus Act.’
Litigation Futures, 6th January 2021
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Gabrielle Jan Posner, Barrister and Recorder, Trinity Chambers Chelmsford, offers a few hard earned pointers to improve the remote hearing experience.’
Family Law Week, 5th January 2021
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘The present pandemic has resulted in a significant increase in the time it takes matters, especially civil claims, to get to court for a final hearing and those delays are only going to get longer so there has never been a better time to consider mediation as a quick, cheap and effective alternative to litigation and the Civil Mediation Council’s Fixed Fee Mediation scheme allows parties to benefit from a very economic tariff for relatively low-value claims (i.e. up to £50,000) using CMC-accredited civil mediators.’
Becket Chambers, 13th November 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘Speech by the Chancellor of the High Court to Harvard Law School: Online courts – Perspectives from the Bench and the Bar.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 25th November 2020
Source: www.judiciary.uk
‘Hearings in the family courts of England and Wales are almost unrecognisable today to the hearings that took place prior to the outbreak of Covid-19. On 23 March 2020, it was announced that a nationwide lockdown was to begin the following day and last indefinitely. Between 23 March and 6 April, video hearings increased by 340% across courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Audio hearings increased by over 500%. Today, remote and hybrid (where some people attend in person and some via a telephone or video link) hearings have become commonplace. Even final hearings are now being conducted remotely. The transition to remote and hybrid hearings has helped to mitigate the delay before cases are heard. It helping to minimise an increasing backlog of cases. Telephone and video hearings have their benefits for parents, children and professionals alike, which might even see remote hearings continue in use in some cases beyond the pandemic. However, remote hearings come at a cost, as two consultations by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (NFJO) demonstrate.’
Transparency Project, 13th November 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Family Justice Council has published guidance titled “Safety from Domestic Abuse and Special Measures in Remote and Hybrid Hearings”. The guidance recommends that, in any proceedings where domestic abuse is an issue, careful consideration must be given to whether special measures are required and how hybrid/remote hearings should be facilitated to safeguard vulnerable parties. It suggests proactive advance planning of hearings, consideration of risks involved and practical support to promote physical and emotional safety of all participants and provides a checklist of those considerations.’
Family Law, 11th November 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Up to two-thirds of civil hearings will take place face-to-face over the coming months as the caseload increases, with longer operating hours an option for courts if needed.’
Litigation Futures, 10th November 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has published guidance on the need to protect victims of domestic abuse in remote and hybrid hearings.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th November 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘By way of introduction to this topic it is worth recalling that by the time the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (“IR 2016”) came into force in April 2017 the Practice Direction on Insolvency Proceedings (“IPD”) had still not been updated to take account of the reforms introduced by IR 2016. Nor had it been updated to take account of the Electronic Working Pilot Scheme in CPR Practice Direction 51O (“EWPS”). In fact, there followed a significant period during which the IPD and IR 2016 were not compatible. The delay was at least in part caused by the reforms to the court system in England and Wales that resulted in the creation of the Business and Property Courts (“B&PC”). A new Practice Direction to govern the procedure in the B&PC came into effect in October 2017 and although subsequently supplemented by other changes, it was not until 25 April 2020 that a revised IPD, compatible with IR 2016, was finally released and even this was quickly superseded by a more definitively revised IPD on 4 July 2018. However, there were some significant anomalies with regard to the intermeshing of these various procedural rules and practice directions, not least in the area of out-of-court appointments of administrators.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 7th October 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
“John Tughan QC of 4PB considers the latest judgments that Public law child lawyers need to know about.”
Family Law Week, 28th October 2020
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Four in ten parents who have been involved in a remote family hearing say they did not understand it, a major study has discovered.’
Legal Futures, 28th October 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal against a judge’s refusal to recuse herself after she was overheard making pejorative comments about a party during a break in a Zoom hearing, and brings the perils of a remote hearing into sharp focus. Tahmina Rahman, barrister at 1 GC Family Law, examines the issues.’
1 GC: Family Law, 21st October 2020
Source: 1gc.com
‘New mothers are having their babies taken into care during remote video and phone hearings from hospital, according to a report on justice during the coronavirus pandemic.’
The Guardian, 27th October 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
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