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13 June 2014 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7610 / Categories: Opinion , Human rights
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Signs of hope

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It’s not all doom & gloom for legal aid & human rights lawyers, says Roger Smith

Legal aid and human rights lawyers are having a pretty torrid time at the present. Thank heaven for three reasons to celebrate a bit of relief.

Steady as she goes

Labour proceeds with caution these days. Given that the Conservative Party sought to demonise Tony Blair as a swivel-eyed lefty, we can probably anticipate little let up as the election approaches in critique of Labour’s current leadership as much the same. This seems rather at odds with much of what senior Labour figures actually say. Certainly the shadow Lord Chancellor, Sadiq Khan, must be rather grateful for the rightwing press painting him as a radical firebrand, given what he actually says.

Khan used The Telegraph to announce a pretty mild Labour approach to the Human Rights Act, albeit that it was heralded with the momentous “Labour will shift power back to the courts”. His argument was that Labour was unhappy with any notion that the UK Supreme Court might feel bound slavishly to follow decisions of the

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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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