Issue 366  5th October 2024

Lord chancellor Shabana Mahmood has told judges that the 'very least' they can expect from her is to protect the judiciary and not to comment on judgments. She was addressing members of the judiciary and guests at the Opening of the Legal Year breakfast which follows a service at Westminster Abbey. The abbey service, attended by judges and representatives of legal professional bodies, dates back to 1897, while the breakfast follows a tradition originating in the Middle Ages.

During the breakfast, Mahmood thanked the assembled judges for ‘everything you do to both uphold and enforce the rule of law’. She added: ‘During the disorder this summer the vital importance of your work was thrown into stark relief as you handed down swift justice to those responsible. I have no doubt that you played a critical role in bringing the disgraceful unrest to a timely end. Demonstrating the same fortitude which has been so important to the justice system during the difficulties of the last few years. Referring to the Daily Mail’s 2016 ‘Enemies of the People’ headline naming Court of Appeal judges, she said: ‘As your lord chancellor, I will always uphold my solemn oath to respect the rule of law and to defend your independence. On my watch, the government will never stay quiet if newspapers describe the judiciary as “enemies of the people” and equally, my colleagues and I will not be commentators on the judgments you hand down.'

Banks will be given new powers to delay and investigate payments that are suspected of being fraudulent, helping to protect consumers against scammers. New laws proposed by the Government today will extend the time that payments can be delayed by 72 hours where there are reasonable grounds to suspect a payment is fraudulent and more time is needed for the bank to investigate. This will give banks more time to break the spell woven by fraudsters over their victims and tackle the estimated £460 million lost to fraud last year alone...

Fraud accounts for over a third of all crime perpetrated in England and Wales, making it the most prevalent form of crime commitment in the country. This has been driven by a growing number of purchase scams and the emergence of so-called ‘romance scams’, where victims target vulnerable people and trick them into transferring large amounts of money by pretending to be interested in a romantic relationship. The new rules will help protect people against these types of scams by allowing banks up to an additional 72 hours to investigate suspicious payments. Currently banks must either process or refuse a payment by the end of the next business day...

High standards of working and intellectual rigour have led some barristers and judges to believe they are always right and cut others down to the point of humiliation, the Criminal Bar Association has told a probe into bullying in the profession. An independent review was commissioned by the Bar Council following a rise in the number of people who said they had experienced or witnessed bullying, harassment or discrimination. In its submission the CBA says that too often inappropriate conduct is wrongly justified by ‘higher’ objectives, such as a barrister trying to win a case or a judge trying to get through a crowded list. Problems are often most noticed by those who have joined the bar from other sectors...

The CBA recommends mandatory training for all practising barristers on issues of bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment, as well as equality, diversity and inclusion. To address a lack of confidence in the bar’s complaints procedures, chambers should be required to offer independent mechanisms to resolve complaints. An independent ombudsman should be appointed to oversee complaints-handling by chambers. On a lack of confidence in the Judicial Conduct Investigation Office’s complaints procedures, the association says the three-month time limit for complaints should be relaxed and evidence on the course of conduct should be admitted. To support those facing complaints, chambers should be made aware of their duty to recognise potential vulnerabilities and ensure appropriate support is provided.

Serious consideration should be given to restructuring the courts to tackle the backlog of outstanding cases - leaving the Crown court to deal with only the most serious cases, the most recent Conservative lord chancellor has suggested. Alex Chalk told a fringe event at the party conference on access to justice yesterday that it was 'time to look again at the Auld review'...

Lord Justice Auld's 2001 blueprint for criminal law proposed unifying the magistrates and Crown courts into a single structure consisting of three divisions: the Crown division; the magistrates' division; and a new intermediate district division constituted by a professional judge and two lay magistrates. Chalk said: 'Is it right that someone accused of possession of Class C drugs has an automatic right to elect a Crown court trial? I think it's time to look at the Auld review.'