Huge efforts have been made to continue the work of the courts during the pandemic but, as the global crisis prolongs its hold on life and the economy, the impact on human rights and access to justice has been severe.
The government recently announced that it is introducing legislation to allow people to use video-conferencing technology for the witnessing of wills being made during the Covid 19 pandemic and has issued guidance to help them do so. We explain the purpose and process of the new proposals.
Radical changes to the way lawyers are currently regulated have been proposed in a report, which recommends a single regulator for all legal services, regardless of who provides them. This would include will writers, mediators, law tech providers, and ‘paid’ McKenzie Friends.
There has been concern over the privacy implications of contact-tracing apps, which are designed to alert users to the risk of having been exposed to the coronavirus, based on notification that someone they were recently near to has been diagnosed with it. NHSX is currently developing and testing such an app in the UK. Paul Magrath outlines the main technical options and potential data protection issues.
Moving to remote hearings was the only way to keep the justice system alive in the face of a global pandemic. But without the trappings of a physical court, how do we ensure that such hearings deliver all the essentials of justice according to the law? And how will this experience inform the future of justice?
The risks to legal services posed by the spread of Covid 19 were highlighted last week when international law firm Baker McKenzie closed its London office after a staff member was thought to have been at risk of contracting the new coronavirus. Many office-based lawyers have been able to work from home, but how will an impending pandemic affect the conduct of litigation?
The news that the Serious Fraud Office had won the court’s approval for a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) worth nearly €1bn with global aerospace company Airbus SE will give its investigations into bribery and corruption a massive boost. But what is a DPA and is it just a way for companies to “buy themselves out of trouble”? Paul Magrath of ICLR explains.
Social media platforms are a source of danger from the professional conduct point of view, which may be why the BSB keeps revising and reissuing social media guidance.
Earlier this week Extinction Rebellion parked a blue boat outside the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand and occupied the busy London street with a sit-down protest, causing traffic jams and commuter chaos. It came at the start of a week of protest events around the country. This is not the first time the […]
In a recent case the claimant, Gemma Brushett, was awarded damages of £4,161 plus costs for injuries suffered by her as a pedestrian in a collision with the defendant cyclist, Robert Hazeldean, despite the fact that at the time of the collision the claimant was not paying attention to the road but was apparently looking […]
A series of recent cases illustrate the consequences of making exaggerated or untruthful claims for damages for personal injury, as Paul Magrath explains.
For decades the family courts were accused of administering ‘secret justice’, as most hearings involving children were conducted in private. A rule change in 2009 allowed accredited journalists to attend, subject to stringent reporting restrictions. Now that privilege has been extended to legally qualified bloggers, in a bid to further boost transparency, as Paul Magrath explains.