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28 March 2025
Issue: 8110 / Categories: Legal News , Rule of law
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NLJ this week: The curious case of Lord Hermer & the missing speech

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What is the reason behind the cancellation of a speech this month by the attorney general, Lord Hermer? In this week’s column, Roger Smith, former director of JUSTICE, investigates a mysterious absence and delves into the grey area between politics and law.

He looks at Lord Hermer’s and Sir Keir Starmer’s recent utterings regarding the rule of law and human rights. He ponders whether government ought not to talk the talk about maintaining the rule of law as well as walking the walk. Otherwise, as with a tree that falls in a forest, who notices?

Smith writes: ‘If a state adheres to the rule of law, what value does it have if the state does not explain itself?’ 
Issue: 8110 / Categories: Legal News , Rule of law
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

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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