Law and the Justice System

The Law Society has once again urged the government to avoid extending court hours to reduce the justice backlog after four more Nightingale courts opened this week.

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/four-more-nightingale-courts-open/5105363.article#.Xz5IuZE9iLc.twitter

A judge has failed in his claim that he suffered discrimination, harassment and victimisation due to his race over how a complaint by a litigant was dealt with.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/judge-loses-race-discrimination-claim-over-litigants-complaint?utm_source=iContact%2BWeekly%2BNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=legal-futures&utm_content=

This consultation seeks views on the economic crime levy. The levy will fund new government action to tackle money laundering, and help deliver the reforms committed to in the 2019 Economic Crime Plan.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said it will not be paying refunds to those charged certain civil and family court fees above the level required for cost recovery.

Fraud barometer findings prompt warning that courts could face potential backlog of cases.

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/no-high-value-fraud-prosecutions-amid-pandemic?top

An independent evaluation of HMCTS video hearings service assessing the user experience of the video hearings process, has been published today.

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) detrimentally impacted not just public health, the NHS and other vital public services, but the economy as a whole.  The impact of the “lockdown” was that overnight a lot of businesses closed or experienced unparalleled revenue shrinkages. This placed jobs at risk. If employers could no longer generate revenue then they could no longer keep on employees.  The spectre of redundancy loomed.  In response, the government introduced The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the ‘Furlough Scheme’). Instead of mass redundancy, businesses could retain staff, as an alternative to redundancy.  By placing an employee on “furlough” they could retain them, paying their salary and in return receive a reimbursement from the government for 80% of the employee’s monthly salary, subject to a maximum cap of £2,500 per month.

A High Court judge has condemned a “cavalier approach” to an application to vary a freezing order, which would have allowed a man accused of defrauding a company of over £1m to sell assets to pay his lawyers.

Jury trials sit at the heart of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.  The opportunity to put your case before 12 of your peers is so fundamental to how we enact justice, many consider it to be a constitutional right. The Government’s recent proposal to suspend jury trials is a potential threat to the Rule of Law – i.e. a legal system that treats everyone equally and which you can access, no matter who you are.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/associate-news/suspension-of-jury-trials-a-threat-to-the-rule-of-law?utm_source=iContact%2BWeekly%2BNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=legal-futures&utm_content=

MPs have today launched an inquiry to investigate delays in the court system and what should be done to clear the backlog of cases.