‘The Pathfinder was developed after the Harm Report (2020) recommended a more investigative approach to private law disputes. The aims of the Pathfinder were to improve the experiences of families in child arrangements proceedings, reduce the re-traumatisation of victim-survivors of domestic abuse, reduce the amount of time families spent in court, and improve coordination between agencies. It began in North Wales and Dorset in February 2022 and expanded to South east Wales and Birmingham in spring 2024. We wrote a blog post about its operation in Cardiff here. The President has been vocal about his hopes that the Pathfinder will eventually becomes the default model in private law.’

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Transparency Project, 8th April 2025

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘Angela Sharma explores asylum processing delays, and argues that the UK’s asylum system is in need of urgent reform to ensure that it is fair, robust, and credible.’

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Church Court Chambers, 2nd April 2025

Source: churchcourtchambers.co.uk

‘At least 250 people who were detained at Manston asylum centre during a period when it was dangerously overcrowded and grappling with outbreaks of infectious diseases are suing the government for unlawful detention and other breaches of their rights.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Highlights this month include:

– In the Health, Welfare and Deprivation of Liberty Report: a masterclass in determining a particularly complex set of capacity questions;
– In the Property and Affairs Report: statutory will applications and publicity; OPG guidance on family care payments, and the bond provider saga continues;
– In the Practice and Procedure Report: a helpful reminder of elephant traps for the unwary as regards when time runs for purposes of appealing decisions;
– In the Mental Health Matters Report: the Mental Health Bill progresses, and the CQC reports on the MHA 1983 in 2023-24;
– In the Children’s Capacity Report: a new BMA toolkit to help with capacity and other issues in relation to those aged 16 and 17, and back to the vexed question of parental consent to confinement;
– In the Wider Context Report: the inherent jurisdiction rebuffed in a personal injury case, recent research of relevance, and strong views from the CRPD Committee on medical assistance in dying and the 2000 Hague Convention.
– In the Scotland Report: what is appealable in the AWI context, and the complexities of the position of those aged 16 and 17 in Scotland.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 1st April 2025

Source: www.39essex.com

‘CILEx Regulation (CRL) has launched plans for chartered legal executives to obtain standalone rights to conduct litigation without having to seek rights of audience at the same time.’

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Legal Futures, 8th April 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Multiple failings led to a patient with Crohn’s disease having a hysterectomy without giving informed consent, an ombudsman has found.’

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BBC News, 8th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A surgeon has been convicted of the attempted murder of a fellow doctor, after he broke into his house, doused the ground floor in petrol and stabbed his victim, whom he wanted “out of the way”.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘As winter fades and spring is upon us the Employment Appeal Tribunal has handed down no less than 4 recent decisions on strike out. To save you some time, I have summarised the key aspects of these 4 authorities so that you can spend more time in the evening sunlight and less time under your office striplight.’

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3PB, 29th March 2025

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

‘The judgment in R(MV) showcases the judiciary taking care to distil the essential case of an unrepresented party and consider that case at its highest, but nonetheless ensuring that the boundaries of the powers and duties of a local authority are precisely identified before determining whether that case is made out.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 31st March 2025

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

‘In Gourley C was employed by R from 2008 to 2015 when he was dismissed. C succeeded with complaints of victimisation, failure to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal.’

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3PB, 27th March 2025

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

‘Investigative interviews are crucial for gathering evidence within the criminal justice system, yet they are also socially and cognitively demanding encounters for autistic interviewees. In this exploratory study, we used a novel qualitative methodology to examine factors that potentially impact police suspect interviews with autistic people, as well as how adaptations could be made to current practice. Autistic participants (n = 5) were interviewed as a mock-suspect (implicated in a mock-crime) in a real-life active police custody suite by a police officer (n = 5), whilst accompanied by an appropriate adult (n = 5). Autistic adults, police officers and appropriate adults were interviewed about this experience and their broader perspectives on police interviewing practice. Using thematic analysis, three main themes and eleven sub-themes were produced: (1) Challenges for effective participation during interview; (2) Questions of suspect credibility; and (3) Assisting communication and understanding during interview. Findings were synthesised with broader literature to present a working model – the Individual Interpersonal Environmental (IIE) Vulnerability Model – which outlines how a series of interconnected individual, interpersonal and environmental factors may impact police suspect interviews with autistic people.’

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Psychology, Crime & Law. 2nd April 2025

Source: doi.org

‘C was employed by Impact Recruitment Services (“Impact”), an agency, which supplied her services to Howden Joinery Limited (“Howdens”). C was placed with Howdens as a warehouse operative. Following the national lockdown in March 2020, the majority of agency staff were told that Howdens would be shutting down. C was ‘laid off’ by Howdens. This caused confusion in C’s mind as to her employment status.’

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3PB, 30th March 2025

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

‘Following concerns about the police response to stalking, the government has announced changes to stalking protection orders.’

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House of Commons Library, 4th April 2025

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

‘Over the course of four days in November 2024 the High Court heard the application brought by Diane Culligan, a significant figure in women’s football, against her ex-husband Anthony Culligan to determine how their substantial financial assets should be divided between them following their divorce.’

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5SAH, 2nd April 2025

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

‘Efforts by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ensure it allocates work more equitably between the sexes are slowly bearing fruit, a new analysis has shown.

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Legal Futures, 7th April 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Consumers will now see more transparent pricing, as businesses are required to incorporate administration and booking fees into the upfront cost of goods and services. However, the law stops short of including optional extras, such as airline seat selection or baggage upgrades, in the initial price display.’

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The Independent, 6th April 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The BBC recently published an article about the experiences of a young woman who had spent time in a range of placements including children’s homes and what sound like unregulated placements. The article suggests that it was the use of a Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) order which meant that these frequent moves took place, causing trauma to the young woman: it says for example that the DoL order ‘caused ‘more trauma and more damage’ and saw her moved to seven children’s homes, a secure adult hospital and an activity centre as a child’, and that as a result of the increasing use of DoL orders, child are losing their freedom.’

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Transparency Project, 6th April 2025

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘Whilst historically, climate-related litigation has been focused on governments, a report published last year by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment showcased how, in recent years, climate litigation is being initiated more frequently against corporations for alleged Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) failings.’

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Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog, 4th April 2025

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

‘In Re Exhumation Of A Baby [2024] ECC Exe 1 the mother, ‘M’, of a baby girl, ‘X’, who died at or shortly after her birth in 2022, sought a faculty to exhume and reinter the remains of her baby, who was survived by a twin sister.’

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Law & Religion UK, 7th April 2025

Source: lawandreligionuk.com