All articles by Jonathan Goldsmith – Page 40
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Europe and the law – an embarrassment at election time
I have read that UK citizens are already bored by the general election. Before you have glazed over entirely, let me offer some insights into the corner that concerns me: the junction of law and Europe.
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All you need to know about victims of crime in the EU
Since we are entering a general election period, it is timely to speak of a group that will be a focus for pledges and one-upmanship all round: victims of crime. Crime victims are high on the European Commission’s agenda, too. This
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D-I-V-O-R-C-E, EU style
The new justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, took to the stage this week as the country-and-western singer, Tammy Wynette. With big blonde wig and microphone, she belted out her hit from the 1960s, D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Although the member states in the audience had dressed in their Stetsons, string ties, and snakeskin boots, ...
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Lawyers and torture: should we see the memos?
One of the characteristics of the US is that they take good things to excess - witness their presidential election process, or the 37 different varieties of salad dressing offered in a deli. At present, they are taking another good thing to excess: arguing over the role of lawyers in ...
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Gunfight at the EU Corral?
We had a glimpse of the future this week. There was a shoot-out at the EU Corral involving the new justice commissioner and the member states. The weapon used was the Lisbon Treaty, and the quarrel broke out, beyond the tumbleweed and swinging saloon doors, over the need for minimum ...
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Lord Ashcroft isn’t the only one with tax problems
This is a good week in which to speak about another group of people – apart from non-domiciled peers of the realm – who are currently having problems with taxes in different parts of Europe. Lawyers have their tax problems, too.
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A new judicial architecture for Europe
The reference to judicial architecture in the title is not to the buildings in which judges sit and decide cases – although if that is your interest, there is a European group for people who share your hobby. There is a European group to cater for nearly every taste.
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Is our fear of identity cards harming us?
Here is a topic to raise the blood pressure of every patriotic UK citizen. Whereas on the continent, benign democratic societies flourish with a population which carries ID cards, somehow it is thought that darkness will descend on the UK if ID cards are ever introduced.
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Where is Gao Zhisheng?
A year ago, the Chinese human rights lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, disappeared. Efforts to find out what has happened to him have been brushed off by the Chinese authorities: ‘Honestly speaking, I don’t know where he is. China has 1.3 billion people and I can’t know all of their whereabouts.’
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What can lawyers do about climate change?
I don't want to start an argument about climate change. I am not competent to answer points about whether it is man-made or indeed whether it is happening at all. But there are nevertheless challenges and opportunities for lawyers in developing a greener environment.
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Lawyers and Iraq – living with the consequences
There has been no bigger topic during the last week than the consequences of the Iraq war on the image of the legal profession. We have witnessed a succession of lawyers giving evidence to the Chilcot inquiry, and we have been presented with different models, as follows:
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Should we fear a European contract law?
The phrase ‘European contract law’ often sets alarm bells ringing in common law circles. Those bells will have begun shrieking in the relevant brains after the hearing before the parliament of the new EU commissioner for justice, Viviane Reding.
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Echoing Lord Justice Jackson on alternative dispute resolution
Here is one of the big issues facing the EU: how do you successfully communicate laws and policies to more than 500 million citizens in 23 official languages?
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New ways of doing business in 2010 – US style
I am still in prophetic mode for the New Year and new decade. Two big drivers in the coming year, and for some time to come, will be the recession and new technology. Here are some developments touching on one or the other or both, as reported in various outlets ...
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What is in store for Europe’s lawyers in 2010?
It is that time of the year when newspapers and magazines run retrospectives on the year that has passed – in 2009, even on the decade that has passed – and give prophecies for the future.
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How others see us: ‘Anglo-Saxon’ values
I attended a round-table discussion this week, put on by one of the Belgian bars, on the topic: ‘What do we expect from a lawyer today?’ The participants came from the media, academia and various parts of the legal profession.
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The ‘first’ justice commissioner – a three-minute guide
Who? Viviane Reding has just been appointed as the commissioner for justice, fundamental rights and citizenship in José Manuel Barroso’s new European Commission. As such, she will be responsible for the lawyers’ portfolio, along with the many justice issues that the commission now deals with. She is the first to ...
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Was the LSCP better and cheaper than the LSB will be?
So, farewell then LSCP. Another set of initials is about to bite the dust, namely those of the Legal Services Consultative Panel. To continue in initials mode, the LSCP followed on from ACLEC (the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct) and will be succeeded by the ...
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The Legal Services Board must properly research what it is about to do
In a week in which the Legal Services Board has issued another consultation on alternative business structures, I want to speak about the importance of good quality research before important policy proposals are made which may radically affect the legal services market.
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The EU and criminal law: less or more?
How far, and to what extent, should the EU involve itself in criminal law developments? The answer to this will depend on your attitude to the EU itself. We have heard the arguments raging in the media over the last week or two. For those who answer ‘less, less!’...