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09 May 2025 / Joanna Ludlam
Issue: 8115 / Categories: Features , Public , Governance , Company
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Accountability matters

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Public inquiries & parliamentary hearings are a risk companies cannot ignore: Joanna Ludlam sets out how best to prepare for the spotlight
  • Public inquiries and parliamentary hearings have become essential mechanisms for examining corporate conduct and holding companies accountable for their actions.
  • Good corporate governance should include preparations for potential questioning, involving legal advisers and communication professionals to manage responses effectively.

We are living through a period of history marked by a number of global crises. Climate change, threats to human rights, and economic instability are examples of these ever-present challenges, and such challenges have placed companies under increasing scrutiny where their operations can be linked or consequential to these issues. This is a risk companies must proactively manage.

The spotlight is often pointed at the role of corporate actors, and the demands for accountability have been growing louder. With this, public inquiries and parliamentary committee hearings have become prominent ways in which conduct is examined. They allow for light to be shed on past failures and can inform future standards. Companies must therefore be prepared for this potential questioning

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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