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Another batch of court closures. More bad news for lawyers.

What is to be done?

The closures go to the heart of the Rule of Law in the U.K. in 2018.

Why do we need courts at all?

Some possible justifications:

first, they enable decisions to be made in the searchlight of public scrutiny, to ensure that justice is seen to be done, not hidden behind a cloak of digitised anonymity;

secondly, they enable law to maintain its critical role at the heart of our democracy, since politicians must be held to account in a public arena, where their actions can be justified, and audited for legality;

thirdly, they enable, in the interests of justice, lawyers for both parties to litigation, to observe the subtle changes in body language, which can establish one way or another, the veracity of testimony being given in a public forum; and

fourthly, and perhaps most critically, they enable evidence to be tested. Video links for testimony should be limited.

If we look at China, with its oppressive regime, imprisonment of lawyers and suppression of individualism, reducing transparency in the way which is happening here, is the type of measure which would be wholly welcome in this less happier land.

There is also a strong economic argument, that the theatre of justice shows foreign investors, that the U.K., is a stable, corruption free environment in which to do business.

Saying in consultation exercises, that justice can viewed by portal, is not an adequate justification, for the diminution of justice which occurs, when many of its elements are reduced to the status of levels being reached in a computer game.

The Law Society Board, as the new spearhead of the profession, must meet these issues head on.


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