Justice Matters

With the start of Brexit negotiations drawing closer David Wolchover argues that the Prime Minister has not triggered Art 50 of the Treaty on European Union  

On 29 March Sir Tim Barrow delivered a letter from the UK Prime Minister Theresa May to European Council President Donald Tusk purporting to give notice under Art 50(2) of the Treaty on European Union of Britain’s decision to quit the EU. 

The law on limitation directions – a useful tool for junior litigators attempting to restore companies to the register – has finally been anchored down by the courts. Ben Harding reports on the practical effect  

A limitation direction restoring dissolved companies to the register is an oft-used tool for parties seeking relief after wrongful conduct comes to light.  

Will Brexit reduce London’s dominance as a litigation centre? Michael McParland QC examines the potential impact on use of English jurisdiction and choice of law agreements  

‘One of the attractions of English law as a legal system of choice in commercial matters is its stability and continuity…’ Wood v Sureterm Direct Ltd  [2017] UKSC 24, para [15] 

Google, Facebook, Twitter and other intermediaries increasingly face a broadly united front of protest. Is it time to regulate? asks Richard Spearman QC  

Under the headline ‘Facebook publishing child porn’, the Times of 13 April 2017 reported on its front page: ‘The social media company failed to take down dozens of images and videos that were “flagged” to its moderators, including one showing an Islamic State beheading, several violently paedophilic cartoons, a video of an apparent sexual assault on a child and propaganda posters glorifying recent terrorist attacks in London and Egypt.’ 

David Anderson QC examines the post-Brexit implications for national security and identifies potential fault lines for future security cooperation with the EU  

As jihadi fighters from Europe return from the battlefields of Syria, sometimes by complex overland routes, the advantages of a coordinated European response to terrorism seem obvious. 

The new principle introduced by the Supreme Court to govern civil claims (other than for restitution) affected by illegality is likely to result in fewer claims being barred, argues Nicholas Strauss QC in the second part of this two-part article  

This article examines how the Supreme Court has resolved the fundamental difference of view (apparent in several recent cases in the Supreme Court) between supporters of, respectively, the rule-based principle expressed by Lord Mansfield in Holman v Johnson  (1775) 1 Cowp 341, 343, and a more flexible rule based on an assessment of all the relevant factors in any given case and proportionality.  

Following the triggering of Art 50, Anneli Howard assesses the possible ramifications of the Supreme Court’s Miller ruling, other associated litigation and key next steps for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU  

The British are famous for their unwritten constitution, which has evolved over the last 800 years.  

Information from the Brexit Working Group 

Don’t be intimidated by e-working: the advantages are manifold and anyone can get up to speed with a few hours’ practice, writes Paul Hart in this how-to guide  

Oh, the irony, you may think, as we sit on the boundary between the old world and the new.  

With an encyclopaedic knowledge of criminal law, intellectual rigour and practitioner focus, Professor David Ormerod QC is driving ambitious law reform. David Wurtzel meets the universally respected Law Commissioner  

I met with Professor David Ormerod QC, one of the four Law Commissioners, in a tiny room in the Ministry of Justice building.