Radical thinking needed to secure civil justice for all. Our civil courts have come under increasing strain due to budget cuts and the rise of litigants in person. In April 2015, in ‘Delivering Justice in an Age of Austerity’, a Working Party of JUSTICE members recommended that radical reform was necessary to secure access to […]
JUSTICE response to the consultation on appeals to the Court of Appeals
June 27, 2016
The Court of Appeal is struggling to cope with its current workload. The result is a serious shortfall of judicial time, and a backlog of cases. To combat this problem, in May 2016 the Civil Procedure Rules Committee published a consultation on reforming the process of making an appeal to the Court of Appeal. The consultation document proposes […]
To Assist the Court: Third Party Interventions in the Public Interest
June 22, 2016
It is an old saying that there are at least two sides to every case. A question for the courts is what happens when there are more than two? Over the past four decades, in a range of legally and constitutionally significant matters – from the treatment of children in detention to the jurisdiction of […]
Launch of new guide on UK and European Third Party Interventions in the Public Interest
JUSTICE today publishes the second edition of To Assist the Court, our guide to the conduct of third party interventions in the public interest. We are grateful to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, who have acted as our corporate partner in this project. In this new Guide, JUSTICE and Freshfields explore what it means to be a […]
Call for nominations to JUSTICE working party: Diversity of the judiciary
May 25, 2016
As you know, JUSTICE has long been concerned about the composition and operation of our judiciary, with reports of our membership on the judiciary in 1972 and 1992. You may recall that our strategy for 2014-2016 includes an objective for JUSTICE to revisit this work on the judiciary. With ongoing fundraising efforts starting to bear […]
McKenzie Friends
May 23, 2016
In February 2016, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales published a consultation on reforming the courts’ approach to McKenzie Friends, and the possible reform and replacement of the current Practice Guidance with, for instance, rules of court or updated Practice Guidance. It also raises the issue of how any such rules or Guidance […]
What is a Court?
May 18, 2016
A JUSTICE Working Party proposes a radical new approach A JUSTICE Working Party tonight (17th May 2016) recommended a fresh, principled and research-driven approach to the configuration of the court and tribunal estate in England and Wales. Its report calls for a radical rethinking of what our court buildings should look like in order to […]
What is a Court?
In 2015, JUSTICE launched a Working Party of our membership looking at What is a Court?, challenging long-held notions of what is required of a court or tribunal, and intended to inform the HMCTS Reform Programme as it is designed and implemented. The Working Party was chaired by Alexandra Marks. The report of the Working […]
What is a Court?: A JUSTICE Working Party proposes a radical new approach
May 17, 2016
A JUSTICE Working Party tonight (17th May 2016) recommended a fresh, principled and research-driven approach to the configuration of the court and tribunal estate in England and Wales. Its report calls for a radical rethinking of what our court buildings should look like in order to respond to the demands of modern-day justice, with an emphasis […]
Are Human Rights Really Universal? Asks Helena Kennedy QC, Chair of JUSTICE Council on BBC Radio 4 tonight
April 18, 2016
You can now listen to the first instalment on the BBC Radio 4 website. Listen now. Tonight (Monday 18 April) at 8pm on BBC Radio 4, in the first instalment of a two-part series, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws QC, Chair of JUSTICE Council, will be exploring the question ‘Are Human Rights Really Universal?’ In […]