Assume hearings are going to be remote, says judge – Litigation Futures

‘Parties should assume hearings will be held remotely at the moment and explain why it would not be just to do so if they want one in person, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 25th June 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Obligations in relation to electronic records and devices: fresh guidance from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) – Park Square Barristers

‘Two otherwise unrelated cases were listed together to provide the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), headed by the Vice – President Lord Justice Fulford, with an opportunity to consider various issues relating to the retention, inspection, copying, disclosure and deletion of the electronic records held by prosecution witnesses.’

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Park Square Barristers, 26th June 2020

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Police in England and Wales taking ‘excessive personal data’ from mobile phones – The Guardian

‘Police are extracting “excessive amounts of personal data” from the mobile phones of victims and witnesses during investigations and are in danger of discouraging the public from reporting crime, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has warned.’

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The Guardian, 18th June 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Vulnerable parties and witnesses in employment tribunal proceedings – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘The first Presidential Guidance on vulnerable parties and witnesses in employment tribunal proceedings was issued this April. Key parts of the guidance deal with (i) identifying when a participant is vulnerable, and (ii) case management: directions and orders.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 9th June 2020

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Giving evidence is not ‘work’ for furloughed employee – Litigation Futures

Posted June 11th, 2020 in adjournment, coronavirus, employment, news, witnesses by sally

‘Giving evidence at court is not “work” for an employee and so being on furlough is not a reason for their employer to seek to vacate a hearing, the designated civil judge in Nottingham has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 11th June 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Remote hearings “can deal with credibility issues” – Legal Futures

‘People should not presume that remote hearings cannot be used for cases where the credibility of witnesses is at stake, the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice has said.’

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Legal Futures, 4th June 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Guildford pub bombings inquest can access closed files – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2020 in disclosure, documents, explosives, inquests, news, terrorism, witnesses by sally

‘The resumed inquest into the Guildford pub bombs in 1974 will have access to more than 700 classified files, a pre-inquest review (PIR) has been told.’

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BBC News, 20th May 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

ABE 2016/19 has gone AWOL – Counsel

‘Shortcomings and legal anachronisms: how can we achieve best evidence if current guidance is dangerously out of date on the law on special measures? asks Laura Hoyano.’

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Counsel, May 2020

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Depp v Denton: Hollywood star pleads for relief from sanctions – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 19th, 2020 in defamation, news, sanctions, time limits, witnesses by sally

‘Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp came up against the nuances of civil procedure rules yesterday after he asked for permission to call extra witnesses to his libel trial.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th May 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Remote Hearings and Witness Evidence – Pump Court Chambers

Posted May 12th, 2020 in chambers articles, evidence, news, remote hearings, witnesses by sally

‘Remote hearings come with particular difficulties. One obvious difficulty is that the parties cannot see each other as well as they might in the courtroom. But how much of a problem is this?’

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Pump Court Chambers, 29th April 2020

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Warning over fall-out from witness statement crackdown – Litigation Futures

‘A judicial crackdown on overlong witness statements puts lawyers at risk of wasted costs orders and professional negligence claims, a barrister has warned.’

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Litigation Futures, 9th April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Witness Statements: Overlong and Over-lawyered? – Hailsham Chambers

Posted April 1st, 2020 in chambers articles, drafting, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

‘As many legal commentators including the author have noted recently: long, complex and detailed statements served particularly on behalf of lay witnesses, but written by their legal teams, can be more of a hindrance than of assistance. Straightforward cross-examinations of such witnesses will frequently prove effective in at the very least exciting the suspicion of a court as to the reliability of such lay evidence, or worse, in some cases causing questions to be asked as to their credibility when the inevitable rhetorical question is asked in closing as to whether such a person ever really could have had a reasonable belief in the veracity of what the statement contained.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 27th March 2020

Source: www.hailshamchambers.com

UK broke law over IS ‘Beatles’ by passing information to US – BBC News

‘The UK acted unlawfully by passing evidence to the US that could lead to the execution of two British members of an Islamic State murder squad.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Parties told to cut unnecessary content from witness statements – Litigation Futures

Posted March 25th, 2020 in evidence, limitations, news, witnesses by sally

‘A High Court judge who sat on the witness evidence working group has ordered witness statements in a case before him to be revised to remove inappropriate content.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Commercial Court ends “ready approval” of long witness statements – Litigation Futures

Posted March 16th, 2020 in Commercial Court, evidence, limitations, news, witnesses by sally

‘The current Commercial Court practice of readily granting applications seeking an extension of the 30-page limit for witness statements is to end, the judge in charge has said.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Commercial Court clamps down on lengthy witness statements – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 12th, 2020 in Commercial Court, documents, expert witnesses, news, witnesses by tracey

‘The Commercial Court is cracking down on excessively long witness statements, introducing a new set of rules for documents more than 30 pages long.’

Full notice

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th March 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Corporate witnesses in Grenfell Tower inquiry given immunity from prosecution – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2020 in fire, health & safety, immunity, inquiries, news, witnesses by tracey

‘Witnesses from firms called to the Grenfell inquiry have won their fight for immunity from prosecution for their evidence, despite a lawyer for the victims describing the idea as “abhorrent”.’

Attorney General’s undertaking

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The Independent, 26th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Civil Justice Council proposes rule changes to ensure consideration of vulnerability of people in civil proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Civil Justice Council has proposed rule changes that would further ensure that all civil judges, parties and advocates consider vulnerability of people involved in civil proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th February 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

CJC sets out rule changes to help vulnerable witnesses – Litigation Futures

‘The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has set out detailed changes it believes should be made to the Civil Procedure Rules to help vulnerable parties and witnesses, including an amended overriding objective.’

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Litigation Futures, 25th February 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Pitfalls in Clinical Negligence Claims: A Case Study – Hailsham Chambers

‘On 18 December 2019, Her Honour Judge Melissa Clarke, the Designated Civil Judge sitting at Oxford Combined Court, handed down judgment in Docherty v Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (Unreported, 25, 26 & 27 November 2019). This was a clinical negligence claim in which the Claimant made various allegations in respect of her immediate post-natal care which led to her sustaining a serious ankle injury when she fainted due to anaemia caused by blood lost during an instrumental delivery the previous morning.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 13th February 2020

Source: www.hailshamchambers.com