Latest news – Page 761
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News
New guidelines bring in tougher sentences for burglars
Burglars will face tougher sentences with the impact on their victims at the heart of the process under proposals published today by the Sentencing Council. The draft guidelines, which cover the offences of domestic burglary, non-domestic burglary and aggravated burglary, introduce a single framework for Crown ...
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Supreme Court rules on miscarriages of justice
A Supreme Court ruling that widens the definition of a miscarriage of justice has been hailed as a step in the right direction by campaigners. Judges ruled this week that victims of a miscarriage of justice did not have to prove their innocence to receive compensation. ...
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LSB recommends new powers for solicitors’ regulator ahead of ABSs
The Solicitor’s Regulation Authority will be given new powers to operate a single compensation fund for alternative business structures and non-ABSs, if parliament follows a recommendation made by the Legal Services Board yesterday. The LSB also recommends that the SRA should be able to charge non-ABS ...
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European Union is subject to Aarhus Convention, UN rules
Europe’s courts must stop barring citizens and non-governmental organisations (NGO) from challenging European Union decisions that affect the environment, a United Nations committee ruled last week.
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Law Society warns health select committee over CFA reforms
The Law Society today told MPs that the government’s reforms to litigation funding will cause ‘rejoicing in the boardrooms of insurance companies’. Chief executive Desmond Hudson appeared before the Health Select Committee to tell MPs that coalition government proposals go too far. ...
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Conveyancers council will authorise ABSs
The Legal Services Board has approved an application for the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) to become a licensing authority for alternative business structures. With this approval, the CLC becomes the first ABS licensing authority. Its scope is limited to probate, ...
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Landmark ruling on miscarriages of justice expected
Hundreds of people wrongly convicted of a serious crime will hear this week if they can make a fresh bid for compensation. Nine senior judges from the Supreme Court will decide the exact definition of a ‘miscarriage of justice’ in a landmark ruling expected tomorrow. ...
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Lawyers unaware of pro bono costs orders, charity warns
Legal charities are missing out on funding because the majority of lawyers are unaware of the existence of ‘pro bono costs’ orders, research has suggested. Where a civil case is won by a lawyer providing free legal representation, under Section 194 of the Legal Services Act ...
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Charging powers passed from CPS to police
The power to decide charges for those suspected of crimes will be passed from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police under plans announced by the home secretary today, in what she called a ‘radical leap forward for policing’. Theresa May said the Home Office will ...
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Two new insurers set to enter solicitors’ PII market
Two new, A-rated insurers are poised to enter the professional indemnity insurance market, adding much-needed volume to a market that is again expected to be tough this year. Leading broker Richard Brown told the Sole Practitioners Conference in Harrogate yesterday that he is ‘90% of the ...
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Barnardo’s issues warning over asbo repeal
A leading children’s charity this week warned of the dangers of government plans to repeal the anti-social behaviour order (asbo). The Home Office is currently consulting on its ‘More Effective Responses to Anti-Social Behaviour’ policy, which aims to give the police, courts and the community extra ...
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Correction
Our News Focus of 7 April contained the statement: ‘Unlike Jackson, Kenneth Clarke does use figures.’ We are happy to make clear that Lord Justice Jackson’s report included extensive figures in support of its recommendations. We apologise if this sentence ...
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Stop the slaughter
Like many others, I am concerned about the government’s proposals on civil litigation costs. But I felt your call to arms, Join clients in the fight – Slaughter to be a step too far. Perhaps we should try negotiating first? ...
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A law unto itself
I fully endorse the comments of Michael Freeman, regarding the county court system failure in London. Under the Civil Procedure Rules, trial dates are supposed to be sacrosanct, yet my day-long case scheduled for the end of April was cancelled, causing additional expense and anxiety for ...
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Absolute truth
I read with interest Andrea Minichiello Williams’s article on the victimising of Christians. With the exception of the Johns case, which was appallingly reported by the BBC, I agree entirely with everything she says. It may not seem important to many that Christians in this country ...
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Moral high ground?
In 2011, it is frankly crazy for Andrea Minichiello Williams to be making statements such as ‘without Christianity, there can be no morality’ and ‘law cannot be divorced from Christianity’. Furthermore, it is offensive to suggest that secularism is a variant of fascism, as Ms ...
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Domestic violence courts to close
More than one in six specialist domestic violence courts are set to close as part of the government’s nationwide court closures plan, it has emerged. Shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has tabled a series of parliamentary questions to justice secretary Kenneth Clarke on the impact of ...
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Barristers' chambers will be 'attractive alternative' for litigation
Barristers’ chambers will become an ‘attractive alternative’ to law firms for litigation work, a leading industry commentator suggested this week, after the bar’s regulator decided to remove its ban on barristers conducting litigation. The move will permit barristers to offer a ‘one-stop shop’ service, including both ...
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Insurers 'discriminate' against black and ethnic law firms
Black and minority ethnic (BME) law firms are over-represented in the assigned risks pool – but almost twice as likely as their white counterparts to secure market insurance and leave the ARP, according to research by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The ARP is the insurer ...
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Persecution claims are undermined by religious privileges
I’ve known for a while that my BBC licence fee is used for religious proselytising in the shape of ‘Thought for the day’, and now I fear my practising certificate fee awaits a similar fate (Andrea Minichiello Williams, ‘Equality law is victimising Christians’). Ms Williams believes ...