Those with long memories will remember previous arguments for a unified civil court (see [2004] Gazette, 1 July, 1).


In particular, this sensible idea was the subject of a remarkably well-argued consultation paper issued by the Civil Justice Review in the late 1980s. The idea was scuppered by the bar and the then judiciary because it carried the regrettable implication of unified audience rights for solicitors and barristers.


Now that two of our current senior judges have taken up the idea, let us hope that it will - at last - be implemented.



Roger Smith, Director, Justice, London