This week’s roundup of legal news includes the rule of law at home and abroad, open justice and transparency in the family courts, compensation in the post office inquiry; plus recent case law and commentary. — The Constitution Defending the rule of law The Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers must have the character, authority, intellect and independence to defend the rule of law, says a report published last week by the House of Lords Committee on the Constitution. Its report on The roles of the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers (HL…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes reviews of the old year and predictions for the new, employment law, gender devolution, open justice and lots of recent case law and commentary. — Employment law Striking arguments We are living through what is sometimes nostalgically referred to as a Winter of Discontent, although the period of industrial unrest recalled by that phrase, the winter of 1978–9, was much worse. Nor is there yet a General Strike. More of a general sense of chaos. …

In this last roundup of the legal year we wish all our readers a Festive Yuletide and Prosperous New Year for 2023. We include news of immigration law, war crimes, and media regulation, none of it very cheerful unfortunately; plus the latest case law and commentary. — Immigration Rwanda scheme lawful The government has defeated a claim for judicial review of its policy of removing asylum claimants from the UK to Rwanda for determination of their asylum applications in accordance with Rwandan law. The policy is based on a £120m asylum partnership agreement with the Rwandan government which was concluded by…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes human rights, constitutional reform, the Post Office IT scandal, and more. Plus recent case law and commentary. — Human Rights World Human Rights Day 2022 On 10 December the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) commemorated the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The UDHR is the foundation stone for the universal respect for, and guarantee of, human rights as inalienable rights for all of humanity.

This week’s roundup of legal news includes open justice, legal professions, judiciary, and intellectual property. Plus recent case law and commentary. — Open justice Family courts transparency pilot scheme Following on from his Transparency Review report, Confidence and Confidentiality: Transparency in the Family Court (Oct 2021), and the subsequent deliberations of the Transparency Implementation Group (TIG) set up to implement its recommendations, the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane has now announced the commencement, early next year…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes constitutional law, the judiciary, and crime, as well as recent case law and commentary. — Constitution Scotland exit ref reserved The UK Supreme Court ruled this week that the Scottish Parliament did not have the power to legislate for a referendum on the question, “Should Scotland be an independent country?” That remains a “reserved matter” for the UK government to provide for, as it did in 2013, and has declined…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes fraud, public order, open justice, and the Post Office IT inquiry, as well as recent case law and commentary. — Crime Fraud failure The National Audit Office (NAO) has reported on the government’s Progress combatting fraud, finding in general that there hasn’t been much. The report focuses primarily on the Home Office. The NAO previously reported in 2017 urging the government to do more, after finding that “fraud had been overlooked by government…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes politics, social media, and inquiries; a literary judge; and some recent case law and commentary. — Politics Climate of chaos Having initially said he wouldn’t, the Prime Minister decided after all to join all the other heads of state parading their green credentials at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. What changed his mind? Having said he had too much to do already, fixing all the UK’s…

This week’s roundup of legal news includes draft legislation and open justice, plus recent cases and commentary. — Legislation BORB redux? The reappointment by last week’s brand new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, of Dominic Raab as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (bis) must presumably suggest a strong likelihood of a revival of Raab’s legislative hobby horse, the Bill of Rights Bill (BORB), which was abandoned following the collapse…