All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 28
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News
Secret trials: ‘explore alternatives'
Government proposals to extend the use of secret hearings in cases where evidence might compromise national security are a radical departure from the UK’s ‘traditions of open justice and fairness’, MPs and peers said today. In a critical report on the Justice and Security Green Paper, ...
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US extradition treaty ‘one-sided’, MPs report
The extradition treaty between the UK and the US is failing to protect the rights of British citizens, MPs claim today. A report by the House of Commons’ home affairs select committee says that the 2003 treaty makes it easier to extradite a British citizen ...
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Report urges reform of human rights court
Ministers from 47 European states must agree plans to reform the human rights court in Strasbourg before pressure for the UK to withdraw from its jurisdiction becomes ‘irresistible’, a member of the government’s Commission on Human Rights has said. The UK’s chairmanship of the Council of ...
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SRA dubbed ‘institutionally racist’ by Society of Black Lawyers chair
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to face accusations of being ‘institutionally racist’ and of abusing its powers to the detriment of solicitors from ethnic minorities. In a hard-hitting report to the Legal Services Board, seen by the Gazette, the Society of Black Lawyers accuses the ...
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Not even £2.60 an hour (unless you’re a mum or dad)
Last week brought excellent news for job hunters in the legal sector – but only if you happen to be a school leaver or a high-achieving lawyer mum or dad.
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Set judicial diversity target unless significant improvement in five years, Lords say
The government should set diversity targets for judicial appointments unless in five years’ time there is a ‘significant increase’ in the numbers of women and black and Asian minority ethnic lawyers sitting on the bench, the House of Lords constitution committee urges today. The report ...
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ECHR withdrawal ‘gift to Putin’
Britain’s withdrawal from the European Convention on Human Rights in favour of a British bill of rights would be Vladimir Putin’s ‘best present ever’, an East European delegate at a Council of Europe event for lawyers told the Gazette last weekend.
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‘Primordial role’ no excuse for gender stereotyping, ECHR rules
Gender stereotyping can breach the rights of men and women alike, irrespective of prevailing social attitudes or perceptions of ‘man’s primordial role’, Europe’s human rights watchdog ruled today. It said that it would not be in the public interest to allow someone’s choice of employment to imply that he or ...
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HSE postpones cost recovery plan
The Health and Safety Executive has postponed the launch of its new cost recovery scheme for at least six months. The organisation planned to launch the Fee for Intervention scheme next month to recover costs from health and safety offenders. The money was to cover the ...
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Civil court group anger over Salford system
A body whose membership spends around £49m a year in the civil courts has questioned why the new centralised facility to handle money claims in civil cases was launched earlier this week without its long-awaited payment by account (PbA) electronic system. The vice chair of the ...
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News
Sole practitioners 'unthreatened' by ABSs
Alternative business structures are more of an opportunity than a threat to sole practitioners, whose numbers are back to pre-recession levels, leaders in the sector have told the Gazette. Latest figures from the Solicitors Regulation Authority show there were 3,568 sole practitioners in February - ...
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Alarm over Chinese allegiance oath
Chinese lawyers must promise to ‘fulfil the sacred mission of socialism’ or be denied a licence to practise, the country’s justice ministry ordered yesterday. Among other pledges, China’s lawyers must also now swear ‘loyalty to the motherland and its people’ and vow to ‘uphold the leadership ...
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News
Lukewarm reaction to Osborne's £20bn loan scheme
The legal sector has given a tepid welcome to the £20bn low-interest loan scheme announced by the chancellor in the runup to this week’s budget. William Arthur, consultant at professional services consultancy Kerma Partners, said: ‘There is no sense of a pent-up and unsatisfied demand ...
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News
Junior lawyers call for pause to minimum wage consultation
Scrapping the minimum wage for trainee solicitors without a thorough impact assessment goes against ‘common sense’ and could bar candidates from less affluent backgrounds from entering the profession, junior lawyers warn today. The Law Society Junior Lawyers Division says in a statement that the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Briton held under European warrant as charity calls for extradition reform
A British man has been arrested under the European arrest warrant (EAW) system for a crime of which he was cleared some 17 years ago, the charity Fair Trials International said today.
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Hungarian judicial reforms slammed as breach of rights
Legislation enacted in Hungary by Viktor Orban’s ruling Fidesz party threatens the independence of the judiciary and breaches European Convention rights to a fair trial, an independent legal body ruled this afternoon.
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News focus: no to ‘patronising’ quotas
Women lawyers overwhelmingly oppose the introduction of quotas as a tool to help more of them into senior positions in firms, it emerged at an international conference last week. As the proportion of women on boards of FTSE100 companies looks set to pass 25%, the ...
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Kettling no violation, ECHR rules
The ‘kettling’ of protesters and others by the Metropolitan Police in 2001 did not violate their human right to liberty and security, the European Court of Human Rights ruled today. The case was brought to the Strasbourg court by a demonstrator and three passers-by who had ...
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ECHR vindicates UK for second time in a week
The UK government has been cleared of human rights violations for the second time this week, following a ruling by the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights that by suspending a doctor from practice it had not violated his right to ‘peaceful enjoyment of possessions’.
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News
We’ll cope, says Salford claims centre chief
Managers at the new county court money claims centre in Salford are confident that it will be able to cope with going fully operational on Monday (19 March) despite a barrage of complaints about its service so far. Manager Jason Latham told the Gazette that ...