Justice Matters

Paul Jarvis commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Law Commission, with a particular eye on its efforts to codify the criminal law  

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Law Commission.  

Aaron Wood considers whether the emergence of trade mark and patent litigators and advocates will help or hinder the IP Bar  

The Bar is well accustomed to the challenge of solicitor advocates.  

Sheryn Omeri on the recent decision in Hounga v Allen.  

In the recent Supreme Court decision in Hounga v Allen, the claimant, Miss Hounga, had arrived in the UK on a fraudulent passport which she had used to secure a 6-month visitor’s visa. 

A “Get out of jail free” card? Gerard McMeel explains contractual estoppel.  

As an advocate it is rarely pleasurable to enter the courtroom with one hand tied behind your back. 

Almost three years after the Bribery Act 2010 came into force, a new weapon for UK prosecutors, enshrined in the Crime and Courts Act 2013, came into effect on 24 February 2014, whereby the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions picked up the carrot of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA) to add to the stick of the Bribery Act.   

DPAs in the US federal system have been used by the Department of Justice in criminal prosecutions and the Securities and Exchange Commission in securities enforcement actions for over 20 years, and this inherently US approach has proved, to a large extent, successful. 

Not without some controversy surrounding it, the Global Law Summit took place in February. Counsel reports back.  

In the autumn of 2013, the General Management Committee of the Bar Council, which includes all the leaders of the publicly funded Bar, endorsed the Bar’s involvement with the February 2015 Global Law Summit (GLS). 

As the consultation on Draft CPS Guidance on Speaking to Witnesses at Court takes place, the DPP, Alison Saunders, explains the reasoning behind the guidance and Tony Cross QC gives the Criminal Bar Association’s view.  

Last month I announced new proposals to better assist victims and witnesses called to court to give evidence in criminal trials. 

Charlotte Proudman on prostitution, sex buyer laws and the “End Demand” campaign.  

End Demand, a new campaign to change laws relating to prostitution, was launched on 22 October 2014. 

Colin Yeo examines the legal issues thrown up by the arrival on these shores of the fictitious immigrant from darkest Peru.  

Law is pretty abstract. Unlike the role of a doctor or a builder, that of a lawyer is difficult to explain to a young mind. 

HH Gordon Risius explains how hearing loss – never a good career move for a judge – didn’t have to mean the sudden end of his time on the Bench.  

Last June’s issue of Counsel contained a helpful article by Sukhveer Kandola and Narita Bahra about court users with hearing difficulties, in which they drew attention to facilities which can help access justice (June 2014, p30).