Democracy Defended: MPs can Breach Super-Injunctions In Parliament

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, Law to lust for

This evening the Telegraph has published an article in which they say that ministers will not be changing the rules on parliamentary privilege and that they will be publishing a review in which they recommend the rules remain as they have been since their inception in 1689.

There will also be a public consultation, which will run until the end of September, with a joint committee of peers and MPs who will also examine the issues in detail.

To our mind, this is good news for democracy, freedom of speech and the protection of society. It also means that injustices within the family justice system are less likely to be swept under the carpet. And whether John Hemming’s critics or the government like it or not, Mr Hemming has played a significant role in protecting the democratic principles that make Great Britain, great.

MOJ Finds Support for Greater Transparency In Its Information Pilot

12 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, Law to lust for, Notes

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The Ministry of Justice carried out what they have called an ‘Information Pilot’ which ran from November 2009 to December 2010, and which was designed to examine whether or not there was any merit in giving certain parties written judgments and making a selection of family law cases available to the public through the free resource, BAILII.

The findings themselves are not surprising, with most people who took part in the pilot supporting the view that greater transparency was essential and that there was a real need to demystify the process so that it could be better understood.

The MOJ’s report has some of the usual nuances to it (lawyers and court staff welcomed the pilot and embraced greater transparency but expressed concern in relation to family privacy; findings show that there was no negative impact on families; cost and logistics concerns over possible volume of future cases published; press showed little to no interest in the cases, yada, yada, yada) but it’s a very important read, for it marks the continued momentum towards change.

The Family Courts Information Pilot is around 50 pages from start to finish, but it you don’t have enough digestive biscuits, the Executive Summary is a good place to start and finish, at only five pages. There is also this excellent summary from Family Law Week.

Is a Bill of Rights…..right for us?

05 Friday Aug 2011

Posted by Natasha in Children, Family Law, Law to lust for

≈ 2 Comments

The Ministry of Justice are starting to work on the possibility of having a UK Bill of Rights, which would act to bolster our commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights and try to create a greater awareness of those obligations by doing things like making sure those Rights are enshrined in UK Law.

But do we really need more law to do this? At Researching Reform, we are for the moment undecided as to whether this is a much-needed building block or just another potential quagmire which may only serve to confuse the UNCHR and make things more rather than less complex. We’re just not sure. But that’s what this new consultation is about.

The Commission on a Bill of Rights, an independent Commission set up in March of this year, wants your views which it will then treat as part of its interim guidance to the government. Whether you are a member of the public (like us), judiciary and any other body interested in the law, you can offer feedback to make sure the government gets as wide a range of views as possible and therefore a more complete picture. And of course, the Bill will almost certainly affect Family Law and procedure, which increasingly continues to include Human Rights aspects in its work.

If you fancy mulling over the Bill during a Diet Coke break (our favourite) or a distinctly non-diet Digestives and PG tips break (another favourite), you can do that just by clicking on this magic link…..poof!

The document is 20 pages long, BUT there are only four, teeny-weeny questions (with potentially not so teeny-weeny answers), which we have added below, just in case you can’t wait to read them……

(1) do you think we need a UK Bill of Rights?
If so,

(2) what do you think a UK Bill of Rights should contain?
(3) how do you think it should apply to the UK as a whole, including its four component countries of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales?
(4) having regard to our terms of reference, are there any other views which you would like to put forward at this stage?

The deadline for sending in your views is the 11th November, 2011, so you could even ponder over porridge and egg nog…… And if you’d like to keep up to speed with what this Commission is doing, you can check them out by clicking on this magic link…. Boom!

Good luck and God Speed (or any other talisman of your choice)!

Media Reporting: A Useful Guide

04 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, Law to lust for

≈ 1 Comment

A guide, dated July 2011, has been issued by Sir Nicholas Wall (President of the Family Division), the Judicial College and the Society of Editors on media reporting and attempts to bring together all the current legislation and common law principles which affect the media’s right and scope to report on family matters in the family courts in one document.

The preface to the guide tells us that, “a group of lawyers and journalists, including representatives from both the print and broadcast media, have got together to talk to each other. As part of these discussions, they commissioned a paper which would set out a statement of the current state of the law in this most complex area.”

The guide itself was put together by Adam Wolanski and Kate Wilson, who are both barristers and at 36 pages it’s a solid read. Whilst it does not consider how the current climate may change in relation to this kind of reporting by looking at existing proposals (which may or may not be enacted) like those that can be found in the Children, School and Families Act, 2010, it is certainly as compact an analysis (for barristers 🙂 ) as one is likely to find, for now and most definitely worth a read.

You can have a browse-through of the Guide here.

Early Day Motion 1704: Challenge to the Family Justice Review

18 Monday Jul 2011

Posted by Natasha in Children, Family Law, Law to lust for

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Hat tip to Stuart Graham, who kindly posted Early Day Motion 1704 up on Researching Reform’s Facebook wall. It is an extraordinarily brave challenge to the Family Justice Review, which whilst being well-meaning, does not really look at nor investigate the fundamental flaws inside the family courts (like transparency, for example). It also calls on the government to instigate another review, this time with a balanced panel, made up of those who have experienced and used the system as well as those who work in it. What a brilliant idea.

The primary sponsor of this EDM is John Hemming MP, who also chairs Justice for Families and so far has received the support of five other Members of Parliament.

If you feel as strongly as we do about the need for earnest change rather than window dressing, please call upon your local MP and ask them to sign. Unfortunately we cannot invite Researching Reform’s local MP to do the same as he currently is not a back bencher, but all back bench MPs can sign – all it takes is an email. If you’d like to find your constituency’s MP/s all you need do is log on to Find Your MP and type in your postcode, area or the name of your local MP if you know who they are.

This is a petition worthy of our support – do you dare make a difference? 🙂

Law to Lust for: Gresham College Lectures on Family Law

26 Wednesday Jan 2011

Posted by Natasha in Family Law, Law to lust for

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Having discovered at the end of last year that Baroness Deech was lecturing at Gresham College, Researching Reform thought it would be fun to hop on over to the college’s website to see what goodies were on offer.

A quick search using the keywords ‘Family Law’ offers up thirteen entries, the most contemporary by Baroness Deech herself but there are other lectures and a quick search under Divorce or even Family reveals a host of lectures, although many not law related, certainly family and human condition-related.

There’s also a very neat audio service, which allows you to choose from a variety of listening options (subject also to what’s offered with each individual lecture); from streaming audio and video to download facilities, the site is digi-savvy and accessible to boot.

And whilst we may not agree with every lecturer’s point of view, there’s certainly plenty of food for thought for that dull Friday afternoon when the boss has gone out to get a sandwich (and doesn’t return for three hours) 🙂

Enjoy!

Law to Lust for: The Bundle

18 Tuesday Jan 2011

Posted by Natasha in Law to lust for

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Even for lawyers, reading about legislation and policy in the area they work in can be a bore, the cure for insomniacs everywhere and the sure-fire way to a one man dinner party.

But The Guardian’s “Bundle“, a weekly offering which comes right to your mailbox, filled with the latest news from every sector, is different. What makes it different is that it is concise; it’s a byte size taster of the top stories in law but there’s enough meat on the bone for the thinking lawyer to chew over with relish. It’s also nicely linked, so you can hook yourself up not just to the stories themselves but to the background of each news item which is arguably a hugely important addition when considering journalism’s seminal mantra (and arguably that of the lawyer’s), the dissemination of information with a view to informing, as accurately as possible.

There are other aspects to The Bundle too, which are fun. It reinforces the interactive nature of newspapers today by highlighting interesting public comment from the week’s news items and reaches out to blogs which is often where the heartbeat of up and coming issues can be found. And if the law still amuses you post law school, there is even a jobs section for the adventurous lawyer to peruse.

To date, it is Researching Reform’s favourite gadget for a quick look at legal news all over the world. And if all the above doesn’t convince you, then consider the name of the beast, if you will. Calling a news roundup “The Bundle”? If only all bundles were this complete. And this irreverent.

You can sign up for the Bundle, here