‘The process of migrating the vast majority of civil court claims onto online dispute resolution platforms took another step this week with the release for consultation of draft procedure rules. The new “basic general rules” will be “far more simple and accessible” than the current Civil Procedure Rules, the master of the rolls, who chairs the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), said.’

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Law Society Gazette, 9th December 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘An Iraq veteran and retired former police chief is the new leader of the legal ombudsman service, it has been announced. Phil Cain will take over as chief ombudsman next February after joining from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, where he currently serves as executive director.’

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Law Society Gazette, 9th December 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Judges have dismissed an appeal by a witness seeking anonymity in a family court judgment, stating that a witness of fact will “generally have no legitimate ground of appeal in respect of adverse findings contained in a judgment”.’

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Law Society Gazette, 10th December 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Practice Guidance Update No. 6 of 2025 contains amendments to a range of existing FPR PDs, including a comprehensive re-writing of PD 27A, which started life as the “Bundles Direction”.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 9th December 2025

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

‘In January 2025, the Bar Council marked the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer by highlighting that some barristers in England and Wales have face threats, harassment, and intimidation at the hands of state and non-state actors because of their international legal work.’

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Counsel, 8th December 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘Police forces successfully lobbied to use a facial recognition system known to be biased against women, young people, and members of ethnic minority groups, after complaining that another version produced fewer potential suspects.’

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The Guardian, 10th December 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Human rights groups have warned UK ministers against weakening protections against torture or other mistreatment for asylum seekers before a crucial European summit this week on how to respond to migration.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘David Lammy has said the UK will go further to tackle abusive and spurious lawsuits aimed at silencing whistleblowers and journalists, raising the prospect of further legislation next year.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In preparing to write this article, I visited the website interface of a well-known artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot and asked, “Do you harvest the intellectual property of other people to answer questions?” To paraphrase the answer, I was assured that this chatbot does not actively access or harvest other people’s intellectual property (IP) and that it generates responses based on patterns learned from licensed, created and publicly available data. Interestingly, the chatbot concluded by saying, “My outputs may resemble existing works, but I’m designed to avoid reproducing copyrighted material verbatim.” Clearly, it is a question that has been asked before.’

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Counsel, 8th December 2025

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

‘The number of reports to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) of bullying and harassment has almost doubled in the last year, the regulator has revealed.’

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Legal Futures, 9th December 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘It is a case that has generated headlines and interest around the world because it has been seen as a battleground between opposing views on sex and gender.’

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BBC News, 8th December 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A property tycoon who lost nearly £1.5m on football wagers has failed in a bid to get his losses back after suing Betfair.’

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The Independent, 9th December 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘In May, Prince Harry lost a legal case to have his police protection reinstated when visiting the UK.’

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BBC News, 8th December 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Two teenage Afghan asylum seekers who abducted and raped a 15-year-old girl have been given custodial sentences.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found Barton had “crossed the line between free speech and a crime” with six posts he made on X (formerly Twitter) about broadcaster Jeremy Vine and TV football pundits Lucy Ward and Eni Aluko.’

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The Independent, 8th December 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘In a written judgment on Monday, the tribunal upheld Peggie’s harassment claim against the health board but dismissed other claims. It also dismissed the nurse’s claim against Upton, whose evidence was held to be “more reliable and materially more cohesive in nature”.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Is our society obsessed with youth? UN Human Rights’ Nena Georgantzi joins Equality Commissioner Alasdair Henderson to consider what stronger domestic and international legal frameworks could look like if society is serious about valuing people at a later stage of life.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 8th December 2025

Source: audioboom.com

‘This was quite a remarkable (and successful) judicial review of a decision of HHJ Gerald to refuse permission to appeal on four grounds from an inunction order made against Mr Batt by a District Judge. It also involves what can charitably be said to be an innovative approach to section 9A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – the fitness for human habitation obligation.’

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Nearly Legal, 7th December 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

‘Co-editor of the blog, Lewis Graham, has written on the Article 14 ECHR aspects of R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2025] UKSC 42. The Supreme Court concluded that the “contribution condition” for bereavement support payment in the Pensions Act 2014, section 31, did not breach Article 14 ECHR read with Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the ECHR (“A1P1”). This condition required an applicant’s deceased spouse or civil partner to have paid certain national insurance contributions during their working life. The Claimant’s case, which the Supreme Court rejected, was that this condition gave rise to unjustified discrimination. The Supreme Court stated this “may seem a harsh decision” ([160]), but the result was not unexpected: this is the clear direction of travel since the Supreme Court’s judgment in R (SC, CB and 8 children) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 26, [2022] A.C. 223.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 6th December 2025

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com