NO PUBLIC FUNDING FOR PARENTS WHEN THE LIFE OF THEIR CHILD IS BEING CONSIDERED BY THE COURT: A DECISION THAT HIGHLIGHTS A MAJOR ISSUE
There judgment in the heartbreaking case of The NHS Trust v The Parents & S [2021] EWHC 594 (Fam) raises many issues. Here I want to highlight one aspect of legal funding , (along with pointing to the magnificent steps…
“BUILD IT AND WHO CARES IF THEY COME”: THE REGISTER ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE COURT RULES AND LISTING ONLINE: THE ABSENCE OF “SCHOOL-GRADE WEB SKILLS”
An interesting explanation of why practitioners, and others, are having problems with access to rules of court and listing can be found in The Register – which provides news on technology for I T Professionals. The Register reports that the…
THE RULES ARE BACK IN TOWN: ASKING WHERE THEY COULD BE FOUND…
After some, shall we say “adverse”, comments on the way that the Civil Procedure Rules are presented on the government website the “old” site has has been given a reprieve. ON THE JUSTICE WEBSITE The Rules are still available…
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES GONE? (2): A LONG TIME MAY NOT BE PASSING (AND SOME – MAYBE NOT SO USEFUL – LINKS)
As an update on the decision to move the online version of the Civil Procedure Rules. David Wolfson QC, (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice) tweeted yesterday that the problem had been recognised “I’ve asked my officials to look at…
WHERE HAVE ALL THE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES GONE? WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN?
From the day this blog started there has always been a link to the Civil Procedure Rules. These were available, in an easily accessible form, on the Ministry of Justice website. They may still be there – but not for…
JUDGMENT ON EXTENT OF POWERS OF HIGH COURT ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: THE ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE SUMMARY
In Just Digital Marketplace Ltd (enforcement – controlled goods agreements – taking control of goods) [2021] EWHC 15 (QB) Master McCloud gave an important judgment about the extent of the powers of a High Court Enforcement Officer. However there is no…
LEGAL AID AVAILABLE FOR RESPONDENT TO APPLICATION TO COMMIT UNDER THE DEBTORS ACT 1869
In Haskell v Haskell [2020] EWFC 92 Mr Justice Mostyn held than application under the Debtors Act 1869 is broadly equivalent to an application for committal and legal aid should be awarded. THE CASE The applicant made an application under…
INSURER WAS ENTITLED TO AVOID EMPLOYER’S LIABILITY POLICY: A RESULT THAT IS “DEFECTIVE AND UNFAIR”
The judgment of Master Davison in Komives v Hick Lane Bedding Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3288 (QB) highlights an area of law which, as the Master stated, is “defective an unfair”- an insurer was entitled to avoid an employer’s…
THE “NIGHTINGALE COURTS”: WHERE ARE THEY?
Whilst dozens of courts have been closed and sold off (or left to rot) HMCTS has felt it necessary to “innovate” by opening “Nightingale Courts”, details are available here. So far as I can tell only one two of these…
LAW CENTRES AND LEGAL NEED DURING LOCKDOWN: GUEST POST FROM SUE JAMES
Sue James was an early member of the (not so) Lonely Litigator’s Club. Following comments made about law centres yesterday I invited Sue to write a guest post on the role of law centres, generally and during the pandemic. Sue…
COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS: LEGAL AID IS AVAILABLE WITHOUT ASSESSMENT OF MERITS OR MEANS: BUT WHERE DOES A RESPONDENT OBTAIN REPRESENTATION (LOOK HERE I HOPE)
The problems caused by civil committal proceedings have been a constant theme on this throughout the year (and for some time before). The problems may be reduced, to some extent, by the judgment of Mr Justice Chamberlain in The All…
CIVIL COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS (YET AGAIN…): COMMITTAL ORDER SET ASIDE BECAUSE DEFENDANT WAS NOT LEGALLY REPRESENTED
Yet another example of the difficulties arising in civil committal proceedings arises in the Court of Appeal decision today in O (Committal: Legal Representation) [2019] EWCA Civ 1721. Legal representation, if requested, is essential if committal proceedings are to be valid….
LEGAL AID MATTERS: SUCH A WONDERFUL LITTLE BOOK – A REVIEW OF 70 YEARS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEGAL AID TO OUR SOCIETY
This small, but important, book from the Justice Alliance is (I imagine) deliberately designed to resemble the campaigning pamphlets that used to be an essential part of public and political debate. It was printed by the Legal Action Group and…
THE ROLE OF THE SOLICITOR IN PERSONAL INJURY LITIGATION: IDEAS TAKEN FROM THE SECRET BARRISTER
There was a tweet yesterday from someone (a non-lawyer) asserting that personal injury lawyers did not need to know the law. His purpose, I suspect, was to lead on to an argument that the work could be done by someone…
“THE COURT REFORM PROGRAMME IS MARKED BY RECKLESSNESS AND LACK OF FORESIGHT”: VIEWS FROM THE FRONT LINE: MORE RESPONSES TO THE JUSTICE COMMITTEE
The responses to the Justice Committee review are a virtual gold mine of information for anyone interested in civil procedure and the practical impact of court reforms. The reforms have not meant improvements, far from it. This can be seen…
CLOSING COURTS: MORE MADNESS AND MAYHEM FROM HMCTS: CLOSING MORE COURTS & NO PROPER RESEARCH (BUT THEY’VE PAID £30 MILLION TO “CONSULTANTS” SO EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE
Anyone concerned with access to justice knows that this includes physical access. There have to be courts for people to go to.I want to encourage everyone to read and to respond to the HMCTS document “Fit for the future: transforming…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: IN POETRY
Barrister Rawdon Crozier has put the plight of Reading County Court life into a poem. It speaks for itself, as all good poetry should. The Ballad of Reading County Court Lift I never saw a lift which looked With…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: THIS IS A TRAGEDY NOT A COMEDY
The earlier post about the Twitter account of broken lift in Reading County Court has already led to a lot of responses. This is a battle being fought with humour, however its consequences are serious, profoundly serious. Many people have…
THE BALLAD OF READING COUNTY COURT LIFT: THE LIFT WITH ITS OWN TWITTER ACCOUNT – AN ESCALATING PROBLEM
Last week I went to Reading County Court. This was a new court to me and I asked the Legal Twitterati for directions (“out of the station turn left at Snappy Snaps”, for anyone who needs to know). What was…
“THE STATE HAS SIMPLY WASHED ITS HANDS OF THE PROBLEM, LEAVING THE SOLUTION… TO THE GOODWILL, AND CHARITY, OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION”
Every sensible citizen should read the judgment of Sir James Munby in M v P [2019] EWFC 14. It is a classic case of the government creating a problem and leaving the victims unsupported (whilst it employs a formidable legal team…