Category: In the news
8 September 2017 by Olivia Kaplan
There are a few places remaining for 1 Crown Office Row’s high-level seminar this Monday 11 September. The event is aimed at solicitors and people associated with NGOs. We also have a limited number of student places which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
Email events@1cor.com to reserve your place.
Details:
11th September 2017, 5 – 8pm
Programme:
5 – 5.50pm Panel Discussion chaired by Mrs Justice Whipple.
Speakers will include: Marina Wheeler QC, Jeremy Hyam QC, Shaheen Rahman QC, Martin Downs and Adam Wagner.
6 – 6.40pm Breakout sessions – Law and Practice
(i) Public Powers and Private Lives in the Information Age – Amelia Walker
(ii) Inquests and Article 2 – Rachel Marcus, Caroline Cross, Peter Skelton
(iii) Unlawful detention – Suzanne Lambert, Alasdair Henderson, David Manknell
6.45pm Concluding Session – Questions and Summing Up.
Chaired by Mrs Justice Whipple
7pm Drinks Reception
Hosted by the speakers and 1COR Members.
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1 September 2017 by Rosalind English
We have just posted a discussion here between 1 Crown Office Row recruit Thomas Beamont and Rosalind English on the reach of Artificial Intelligence into the legal world: click on Episode 10 of our podcast series.
Law Pod UK is freely available for download on iTunes
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21 August 2017 by Rosalind English
Richard Susskind, IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice, has spent many years looking into the future of the law. In a fascinating podcast paving the way for his new book The Future of the Professions and the updated Tomorrow’s Lawyers, he discusses with OUP’s George Miller the new world of technological advancements in the day to day management of dispute resolution. We have taken the liberty of summarising the podcast here and posting a link to the interview at the end of this post.
Susskind finds, in comparison with the rest of the English speaking world, that the legal institutions of the UK are in some sort of denial about the march of AI. He maintains that the legal world will change more in twenty years than it has in the past two centuries. If we want to improve access to justice in our society, the answer is in technology. But the law schools have not caught up with this idea.
How do we work out what to do in the face of irreversible and inevitable change in the law? Susskind acknowledges that most people want to pay less for legal services, for something that is less complicated, less combative. It’s not that there’s less legal work to do, there’s more legal work to do, but it’s under cost pressure.
The twenties will be the big decade of change. The age of denial ended in 2016; leaders in law are no longer saying the legal world is going to go back to what it was in 2004-6. But the period from 2016 – 2020 is the area of resourcing, put bluntly, finding cheaper people to do the work by outsourcing, as manufacturing did years ago. Once we’re into the twenties, we’ve arrived in an area Susskind calls the decade of disruption. The challenge to lawyers will be to provide not only one to one services in the traditional way, but to work on systems that one day will replace us. The trusted advisor concept is not fundamental to the legal service. That was limited to the print world. The future of the professions is to imagine other ways in which these problems must be sorted out. When a client has a problem, and they say they want a trusted advisor, what they really want is access to reliable expertise, and this is being worked on in the field of AI. Our technology is becoming more and more capable. Future clients will happily go for that even if they lose the surrounding aura or trappings of a traditional legal advisor.
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20 August 2017 by Thomas Beamont
The mother of a British soldier who was killed in a roadside bomb while on duty in Iraq has received an apology from Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon. Sue Smith’s son, Pte Phillip Hewett, died while travelling on patrol in a lightly armoured “snatch” Land Rover in July 2005.
Following a settlement of the case, Sir Michael has written to Ms Smith:
“I would like to express directly to you my deepest sympathies and apologise for the delay, resulting in decisions taken at the time in bringing into service alternative protected vehicles which could have saved lives.”
What did Ms Smith allege?
The circumstances around Pte Hewett’s death have been the subject of litigation for the last 6 years.
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18 August 2017 by Rosalind English
SB, R (on the application of NHS England) [2017] EWHC 2000 – read judgment
The High Court has quashed a decision by NHS England refusing to fund the drug Kuvan for a young boy who has a condition inhibiting his ability to digest protein.
This case involves a number of important issues, such as the allocation of resources under the NHS, the extent to which courts may interfere with healthcare choices, and the role of “rights” in these decisions, including the welfare of the child. David Hart QC discusses these issues in detail with Rosalind English in the latest podcast in our Law Pod UK series; here is a brief summary.
The seven-year-old child has severe autism and phenylketonuria (PKU), an inherited metabolic disorder. The mainstay of PKU treatment is a strict dietary regime which restricts the intake of high protein foods. But because of his autism, SB is unable to understand and therefore abide by these food restrictions. Consequently his doctors sought funding for the drug Kuvan (sapropterin dihydrochloride), which would allow him to get a proportion of vitamins and minerals from ordinary food. If he were to respond to the drug, the levels of protein in his blood would fall below the level at which he risked irreversible brain damage. However, his consultant acknowledged that his overall development outcome would mostly be affected by the severity of his autism rather than his PKU and that Kuvan would not be expected to significantly alter or improve his behaviour.
The funding panel accepted that SB fulfilled the conditions for exceptional need but the lack of long-term prospects for improvement meant that his application did not pass the “clinical effectiveness” test.
Andrews J found that this decision was flawed and remitted it for reconsideration, with the caveat that the funding panel may be entitled to continue to decline treatment on different grounds.
Listen to Episode 9 of Law Pod UK, available for download on iTunes
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9 August 2017 by Rosalind English
Just posted: Marina Wheeler QC in conversation with Rosalind English about efforts to preempt and limit the influence of extremist materials on children in the family courts. In this interview Marina also discusses the implementation of the government’s counterterrorism “Prevent” strategy against adults who are suspected of starting down a pathway towards terrorism but who have as yet committed no crime. The podcast is now available on iTunes as Episode 8 in our series.
To listen, click on the Law Pod UK banner on the top right hand of the home page. You can access this and other free episodes of Law Pod UK, including David Hart QC on the Brexit Bill and its implications for the environment. Read more about David Hart’s concerns about the potential loss of right to sue for breach of EU law under the rule in Francovich in The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/brexit-bill-will-remove-right-to-sue-government-750dhfjj3?shareToken=09ea60e3150edafe920c43e542df0351
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5 August 2017 by Marina Wheeler QC
R (Salman Butt) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 1930 – read judgment
In the wake of the London and Manchester attacks, the government’s counter-terrorism strategy is increasingly in the news and under scrutiny. Radicalisation is a difficult concept to map on to a system like ours, which separates the definition of criminal behaviour and punishment from civil sanctions. In this week’s podcast, Marina Wheeler discusses some of the ways the law is trying to cope (Law Pod UK Episode 8, available free on iTunes). She and others from 1 Crown Office Row will be discussing this and related issues at a seminar on Monday 11 September.
At the end of July 2017, Mr Justice Ouseley upheld one element of the government’s counter-terrorism strategy – the Prevent Duty Guidance to universities (and other further and higher education bodies) which aims at “stopping extremists from radicalising students on campuses”. He also rejected a complaint that the work of the Home Office’s Extremism Analysis Unit (EAU), breached the Article 8 privacy rights of the claimant, Dr Salman Butt.
We posted a summary of this ruling last week. 1 Crown Office Row’s Oliver Sanders and Amelia Walker represented the Secretary of State. Paul Bowen QC and Zahra Al-Rikabi represented Dr Butt.
In 2011 the Strategy was revised to cover the journey from extremism towards terrorist-related activity (including by the far-right). This attracted criticism, examples of which were collated and presented to support the claimant’s challenge to the lawfulness of the measures. But Ouseley J dismissed all heads of claim, observing that he was
not concerned with whether some oppose the CTSA, or regard the Prevent Duty as counter-productive or have made it so, deliberately or through misunderstanding it.
What was decisive in this case was the absence of evidence that the Prevent Duty Guidance had had a chilling effect on free speech or academic freedom, as claimed. The Prevent Duty Guidance, under section 26 of the CTSA, only came into force in 2015. As those who apply it gain experience and confidence, they will make better judgments. But there will always be some mistakes. One way to avoid these is to have constructive discussion about the process, informed by evidence, not drowned out by “clamorous” criticism.
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4 August 2017 by Rosalind English
Butt v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC (Admin) 26 July 2017 – read judgment
Oliver Sanders and Amelia Walker acted for the Home Secretary in this case. They have nothing to do with the writing of this post.
The High Court has thrown out a number of challenges to the government’s efforts to prevent extremism on university platforms.
In 2015 the Home Office released guidance regarding its initiative to tackle extremism in universities under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, CTSA. The press release referred to 70 events on campuses featuring “hate speakers”. The claimant Dr Butt was among six named as “expressing views contrary to British values”.
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3 August 2017 by Rosalind English
Marches are popular in Belfast, and now is the marching season. Since the decline of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland these displays of loyalty have ceased to attract the controversy they did. Until this week, at least, in the run up to the Belfast Pride march on Saturday 5 August. The Irish Times reports that uniformed gardaí from the Republic of Ireland are due to join their Police Service of Northern Ireland colleagues, also in uniform, at this year’s gay pride parade in Belfast on Saturday.
The PSNI already has confirmed that for the first time its members will be permitted to parade at the Belfast Pride event in uniform. Previously they could march in civilian clothing only.
Now the PSNI has invited the Gardai to accompany them at the parade, an invitation that has been accepted. PSNI vehicles with signs reading “Policing with Pride – Hate Crime is Unacceptable – To Stop It, Report It” will feature at Pride events in Belfast, Newry and Derry.
The local press is loud with criticism of this decision, which, it is said, privileges LGBT discrimination over other forms of hate crime. Critics have pointed out that the PSNI would be “unlikely” to allow uniformed officers to take part in a Christian march that expressed a view that homosexuality was a sin. The PSNI is governed by a code of neutrality, and they are prohibited from participating in political protests.
The PSNI are supposed to be neutral and are prohibited by their own code of ethics from participating in political activity. There is also a duty on the PSNI, under article 6.2 of their code of ethics, to treat all persons equally regardless of status. Loyalists have claimed that there is no community that has experienced more hate crime than the Orange community, with hundreds of arson and criminal damage attacks on their halls. “But no one is suggesting that the PSNI should show opposition to these crimes by participating in Orange parades,” Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice added. Other voices from the loyalist sector have asked whether the “liberal left” would be
so supportive of the PSNI marching alongside a loyalist flute band with a banner saying “End the hatred of Orange culture – report all attacks on Orange Halls”?
The parade, which campaigns, amongst other things, for the legalisation of gay marriage in Northern Ireland, is marked as sensitive on the Parades Commission website. For this reason questions have been raised about the practical consequences of police participation; how can the event be impartially policed when uniformed officers are amongst the marchers?
Northern Ireland is the only region of the UK where gay marriage remains outlawed.
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31 July 2017 by David Hart KC
Review of Fixed Recoverable Costs: Supplemental Report, 31 July 2017 – here
Jackson LJ is still toiling away at costs issues some 8 years after his main report. The original report changed the whole way in which the civil courts go about working how much, if anything, is due from one side to another at the end of a case – budgets being one key element. The main part of this new report concerns extending fixed costs further.
This post is about something different, judicial review. Rather different factors may come into play when you are challenging public authorities. You may have a direct financial or other interest in the outcome, or you may just think that the law needs properly enforcing against those authorities. It does not follow that the winner should recover costs on the same rules as elsewhere in the civil system. And Jackson LJ returns to the question of costs in this context in Chapter 10 of his report.
Since 2013, things have been different in the area of environmental judicial reviews. With substantial prods from the EU, things are now better off for claimants, though recent reforms have sought to put further obstacles in the way of claimants: see my post here.
So it is refreshing to read something from a very senior judge which recognises the true value of judicial review as a whole and why the costs rules need adjusting in this area for the benefit of claimants.
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27 July 2017 by Dominic Ruck Keene
In R(on the application of UNISON) v Lord Chancellor [2017] UKSC 51, the Supreme Court gave an important judgment regarding the importance of access of justice. The Supreme Court held that the fees imposed by the Lord Chancellor in employment tribunal and employment appeal tribunal cases were unlawful.
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25 July 2017 by Rosalind English
Great Ormond Street Hospital v Yates and Gard – [2017] EWHC 1909 (Fam) – read judgment
“A lot of things have been said, particularly in recent days, by those who know almost nothing about this case but who feel entitled to express opinions. Many opinions have been expressed based on feelings rather than facts.”
So said Francis J, when dealing with an unusual application by Great Ormond Street Hospital (Gosh) asking for an order, rather than a declaration, that Charlie Gard should be allowed to slip away quietly. The involvement of the White House, the Vatican, the Bambino Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome and Dr. Hirano and the associated medical centre in the USA in this story demonstrates the fact that a mere declaration carries too much ambiguity to allow the hospital staff to do what the courts have approved. The terms in which Gosh put its application were unambiguous indeed:
Therefore orders are sought to remove any ambiguity; orders are enforceable. Despite all of the hospitals best endeavours, this appears as potentially necessary. Not for the first time the parents through their solicitors raised the prospect of criminal proceedings against the hospital and its staff. The Hospital understands that no court order best interests proceedings can afford it or its staff from prosecution.
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25 July 2017 by Sarah Ewart
The Law Pod UK podcast for this roundup is available on iTunes – Episode 7
In the news…
The Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme
Disgraced surgeon Ian Paterson’s sentence has been referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme. Paterson was jailed for 15 years in May, having been found guilty of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three of unlawful wounding. The breast surgeon was accused of negligence in performing so-called ‘cleavage-sparing mastectomies’, an unapproved procedure leaving tissue behind for cosmetic reasons and for some women leading to the return of their cancer, and furthermore, of carrying out unnecessary operations where a simple biopsy would have sufficed.
The Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme was also in the news this week when the Ministry of Justice announced that 19 terror offences would be incorporated, including encouraging terrorism and sharing terrorist propaganda. The Scheme allows anyone to refer a sentence that they feel was lenient to the Attorney-General, who has the power to refer it to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration.
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20 July 2017 by David Hart KC
I posted recently on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill and its approach to rolling over EU-derived laws into our domestic law. But a law is only as good as its enforcement makes it, and so we all need to think how this is going to be done post-Brexit.
NB: there is nothing in the Bill which touches on enforcement; that is for later, if at all.
The issue arises particularly starkly in the environmental field, where there are not so many players with direct legal and commercial interests around (as in, say, equal pay or competition law) to seek consistent enforcement.
A task force within the UK Environmental Law Association (chaired by Professor Richard Macrory and Andrew Bryce, left and right in the pic) has been applying its mind to this enforcement problem, and on 18 July 2017 published a short and powerful report on the issue – Brexit and Environment Law. Its main messages are these.
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19 July 2017 by Poppy Rimington-Pounder
The European Court of Human Rights has upheld the Belgian ban on Islamic burqas and other full-face veils by ruling that it does not violate human rights.
In doing so the Court has held by its position in S.A.S v. France (2014), where it ruled that a similar ban in France was lawful. In these latest cases the Court was asked to rule on the lawfulness of such bans in Belgium, where the applicants argued it was in violation of Articles 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Belcacemi and Oussar v. Belgium
This case concerned the compatibility of a Belgian law introduced on 1st June 2011 which banned the wearing in public places of clothing which partially or totally covers the face. The applicants, Samia Belcacemi and Yamina Oussar both claimed that they had chosen to wear the niqab (a veil which totally covers the face except for the eyes) because of their religious beliefs, and that the restriction on doing so had violated their human rights. Ms Oussar in particular argued that since she has decided to stay at home and wear the veil there has been a restriction on her private and social life.
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