Court’s permission needed to extend time for service of witness statements – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2014 in agreements, civil procedure rules, courts, news, service, time limits, witnesses by sally

‘In almost every litigated case the parties usually find themselves needing to vary the dates of some directions. This can be done by way of written agreement between the parties and is allowed by CPR 2.11.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

DLA Piper UK LLP v BDO LLP – WLR Daily

Posted January 14th, 2014 in costs, criminal procedure, law reports, third parties, witnesses by tracey

DLA Piper UK LLP v BDO LLP [2013] EWHC 3970 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 515

‘Where a person had attended court and successfully resisted being made subject to a witness summons under section 2 of the Criminal Procedure (Attendance of Witnesses) Act 1965 the only basis for the Crown Court ordering costs against the solicitor of the party seeking the summons would be that for which statute provided, namely, a wasted costs order under section 19A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985.’

WLR Daily, 13th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

MacLennan v Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure) plc – WLR Daily

Posted January 9th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, evidence, law reports, news, witnesses by sally

MacLennan v Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure) plc [2013] EWHC 4044 (QB); [2013] WLR (D) 509

‘The power to prohibit the calling of witnesses under CPR r 32.2(3) sat towards the more extreme end of the court’s powers and was a power to be considered after less intrusive measures had been considered and rejected.’

WLR Daily, 17th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nigella Lawson: not a victim of the criminal justice system – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 7th, 2014 in bad character, cross-examination, fraud, news, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Nigella Lawson is a victim of domestic violence, but she is not a victim of the criminal justice system.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th January 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

High Court refuses relief after bid to serve late witness statement but issues “note of caution” – Litigation Futures

Posted December 19th, 2013 in civil procedure rules, news, time limits, witnesses by tracey

‘The High Court has issued guidance on how to serve late witness statements in certain circumstances without falling foul of the Mitchell ruling, after refusing relief from sanction when a party tried to do just that on the first day of trial.’

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Litigtation Futures, 19th December 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court of Appeal cites Mitchell to refuse relief – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 19th, 2013 in appeals, case management, costs, news, police, time limits, witnesses by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal has cited the landmark Mitchell costs case for the first time to reject a defendant’s plea for relief from sanctions.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 18th December 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Man wrongly convicted of sexual assault is freed after 17 years in jail – The Guardian

‘A man who spent 17 years behind bars after being wrongly convicted of a sexual assault has been freed by the court of appeal after DNA evidence pointed to another man as the perpetrator.’

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The Guardian, 13th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Reform court process for children and sex attack victims’, says former senior judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 22nd, 2013 in children, courts, evidence, news, sexual offences, victims, witnesses by tracey

‘Radical reforms to the way children and adult sex abuse victims give evidence in court have been floated by the former Lord Chief Justice.
Lord Judge, who stepped down as England and Wales’ most senior judge at the end of September, said there could be a “powerful case” to end the way in which rape and other sex crimes victims currently give evidence.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Restrictive covenants in employment contracts – A generous decision from the Court of Appeal? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2013 in appeals, contract of employment, news, restrictive covenants, witnesses by sally

“The Court of Appeal’s decision (11 October 2013) in Coppage v Safety Net Security to uphold as reasonable and enforceable a 6 month non-solicitation restrictive covenant is surprising because of the fact that the covenant covered all customers during the period of Mr Coppage’s employment. In modern times the general advice had been that such covenants should be restricted to those who had been customers in a fixed period prior to termination (‘look back’ requirement) and to be confined to those with whom the employee had had personal dealings.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 21st October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Trial of doctor accused of kidnapping photojournalists in Syria collapses – The Guardian

Posted November 11th, 2013 in evidence, kidnapping, news, prosecutions, victims, witnesses by michael

“The trial of an NHS doctor accused of kidnapping a British photographer in Syria has collapsed after the prosecution was unable to hear evidence from two alleged victims.”

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The Guardian, 11th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Niqabs in the witness box: yes or no? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 8th, 2013 in criminal justice, freedom of expression, juries, news, witnesses, women by tracey

“Niqab-wearing defendants should be obliged to remove their veils before giving evidence say 90% of my colleagues in a poll conducted by the Bar Council for The Times (although personally I’d like to see what the participation rate was for that). Former justice secretary, Ken Clarke, agrees, likening wearing a full-face veil in the witness box to giving evidence ‘in a bag’. The Lord Chief Justice says that trial judges should be able to decide whether a defendant may give evidence wearing a face-veil or not, but promises to provide guidance.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Lord Chief Justice: public should decide if Islamic veil should be allowed in court – Daily Telegraph

“The most senior judge in England and Wales says a public consultation will open on the ‘divisive’ subject soon.”

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Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ban court witnesses from giving evidence in veil, says Ken Clarke – The Guardian

Posted November 4th, 2013 in court dress, evidence, Islam, news, witnesses by sally

“The former justice secretary Ken Clarke has rekindled the debate about wearing veils in court by claiming that a proper trial is impossible if a defendant is ‘in a kind of bag’.”

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The Guardian, 3rd November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prosecute professionals who stay silent on child abuse claims – Keir Starmer – The Guardian

Posted November 4th, 2013 in child abuse, news, prosecutions, small claims, social services, teachers, witnesses by sally

“Teachers and health workers should be prosecuted for failing to alert the police to allegations of child abuse, according to the former director of public prosecutions, who is calling for an overhaul of the law to prevent more victims from slipping through the net.”

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The Guardian, 4th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

I swear that the current procedure for taking oaths in court needs reform – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 4th, 2013 in Christianity, criminal procedure, Islam, magistrates, news, oaths, trials, witnesses by sally

“Do you object to swearing an oath on the Bible? Sorry, I hope that question didn’t put you off your stride when settling down to read this article. It’s the same question witnesses are asked when they’re about to give evidence in criminal trials.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 1st November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update – Family Law Week

Posted October 29th, 2013 in adoption, appeals, care orders, children, expert witnesses, interpreters, media, news, witnesses by sally

“John Tughan, barrister, of 4 Paper Buildings reviews important recent cases of which all public law practitioners ought to be aware.”

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Family Law Week, 25th October 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Magistrates throw out plan to ditch Bible oath – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 21st, 2013 in Christianity, courts, evidence, magistrates, news, oaths, witnesses by sally

“Swearing on the Bible will continue to be a crucial part of giving evidence in court after magistrates threw out proposals to introduce a modernised oath.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

High Court orders disclosure of closed judgment in Afghanistan interrogation case – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 17th, 2013 in closed material, disclosure, judgments, news, witnesses by sally

“In ‘Evans (No. 1)’, a 2010 case concerning the transfer of suspected insurgents for questioning in certain military centres in Afghanistan, the High Court had ruled, partly in an open judgment, partly in closed proceedings, that UK transfers to NDS Kandahar and NDS Lashkar Gah could proceed without risk of ill treatment (which is contrary to UK policy), but that it would be a breach of the policy and therefore unlawful for transfers to be made to NDS Kabul. It was subsequently discovered that there had not been jurisdiction to follow a closed procedure in that case, but what was done could not be undone, so the confidentiality agreements and the closed judgment remained in force.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Leveson lawyer: Too many potential witness were scared off by threat of ‘monstering’ from certain newspapers – The Independent

Posted October 17th, 2013 in inquiries, media, news, witnesses by sally

“Potential witnesses holding relevant evidence that should have been heard by Lord Justice Leveson’s press probe were scared off by the perceived threat of being ‘monstered’ by certain newspapers, according to the QC who lead questioning at the inquiry.”

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The Independent, 16th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The House That Jackson Built – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 15th, 2013 in budgets, civil procedure rules, disclosure, housing, news, witnesses by sally

“It is now almost 6 months since the Brave New World of Jackson. This article considers the impact (if any) the reforms and stated ‘culture change’ have had, and are likely to have, upon those practising housing law.”

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Zenith Chambers, 15th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk