Posts
How to observe remote hearings in the Court of Protection
This is a guest post by Celia Kitzinger, co-director of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre and Honorary Professor, Cardiff University School of Law and Politics. She tweets as @KitzingerCelia and can be contacted at:...
Civil Justice Council report on the impact of COVID-19 on civil courts
“The rapid expansion of the use of remote hearings has been central to facilitating the continued operation of the justice system”, notes Dr Natalie Byrom in the introduction to her report, for the Civil Justice Council, examining the impact of the changes mandated by...
Attending the Court of Appeal – remotely
Today I attended a Court of Appeal hearing as a member of the public. The Court of Appeal sits in public so if you're nearby in London, you can go in to see what's going on. Today's hearing was however held remotely because of the corona virus restrictions. We'd heard...
Thank you for your nominations – TP wins a thousand!
We are super pleased to be able to tell you that we have won a £1,000 Movement for Good award, thanks to nominations from you guys! If you will excuse the pun, this is grand news! The project is one of 500 winners in specialist insurer Ecclesiastical's Movement for...
Open letter from NGOs and academics on open justice in the Covid-19 emergency
In recent weeks, the House of Commons select committee on justice has been assured by members of the government, judiciary and court service that open justice continues, despite changes to the nature of physical hearings, and increased use of technology for many types...
Illusory Open Justice: A Kafkan Attempt to Observe Magistrates Courts in the Time of COVID-19
This is a guest post by Tara Casey, a caseworker in the Women’s Justice Initiative of the charity law practice APPEAL, an organisation dedicated to correcting miscarriages of justice through strategic litigation and campaigning. COVID-19 has taken a hammer to the...
Nominate us! Quick Quick!
We know that everyone is a bit skint, or a bit worried about being skint right now. That is why we aren't going to be banging a drum for individual donations from you - we know everyone has other priorities. BUT, there is one way you can help us to raise a bit of cash...
Journalists persuade Judge to change his mind and name criticised local authority
We wrote about this case last week. We said 'watch this space' : http://www.transparencyproject.org.uk/to-name-or-not-to-name-that-is-the-question/ Now, we bring you part two... The judge has changed his mind after the intervention of two journalists : our own Louise...
Transparency and risk assessments : A Covid-Catch 22
It is encouraging that HMCTS (Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service has published their organisational risk assessment, dealing with the broad approach to the assessment of risk around the attendance of public and professionals at court hearings during the...
Civil Justice Council Rapid Consultation: The impact of COVID-19 measures on the civil justice system
Following the rapid consultation on the use of remote hearings in the family justice system, undertaken by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory at the request of the President of the Family Division, the Civil Justice Council have now embarked on a similar...