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18 November 2022 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8003 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Archive: Civil way: 18 November 2022

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Stephen Gold discovers how in 1954 the courts faced the trial backlog, hears a Hampshire burr, and comes across marmalade pudding at the Law Society

It is 1954 which sees the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. An opportunity for courts to close for two days, albeit that for this year only, shutters would be up for the Queen’s birthday. The Law Times—£3.18s.6d annual subscription for 52 copies and 7s 6d for a 30-word classified ad—got in on the act with a special commemorative edition. Said the editor to the regular ‘Conveyancer’ columnist: ‘We are running “The Crown in Popular Estimation”. “Heraldry of the Coronation”. A whole load of stuff like that. Can you do, say, restrictive covenants for the benefit of Buckingham Palace?’ ‘No.’ He did ‘Conveyancing in Five Reigns’.

Too much crime

The backlog of High Court civil cases awaiting trial in London and on the circuits was serious, and it was far too early to blame COVID-19. The year’s Hilary Term opened with 1,700 trials in the Queen’s Bench Division queue, which was

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
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
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
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’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
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
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
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
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
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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