Stop Press

Joining Lord Sumption will also be Lord Reed to replace Lord Rodger and Lord Carnwarth to replace Lord Brown....it has been announced today...both of whom I tipped for appointment here...http://ofinteresttolwayers.blogspot.com/2011/08/have-been-busyin-supreme-court.html

Tuesday 20 December 2011

    

New Justices of the Supreme Court

The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Lord Reed as a Justice of the Supreme Court following the death of the Rt Hon Lord Rodger of Earlsferry with effect from a date to be agreed with the President of the Court.

The Queen has also been pleased to approve the appointment of The Rt Hon Lord Justice Carnwath CVO, Senior President of Tribunals as a Justice of the Supreme Court upon the retirement of The Rt Hon the Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood in April 2012 with effect from a date to be agreed with the President of the Court.
Note for Editors

Biographical Notes

Lord Reed has been a senior judge in Scotland for 13 years being a Senator of the College of Justice since 1998.  He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in July 1983 where he did a wide range of civil work.  He was appointed to the Bench in 1998.  He was promoted to the Inner House in January 2008.  During 1999 he sat as an ad hoc judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and has sat in both the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and, more recently, as an Acting Judge of the Supreme Court. 

Lord Justice Carnwath has, since 2007 been the Senior President of Tribunals and has led the planning an implementation of the reforms of the tribunal system following the Leggatt report.  He has sat as a Lord Justice in the Court of Appeal (Civil) since 2002, was a judge of the Chancery Division from 1994 to 2002 during which time (1998 to 2002) he was Chairman of the Law Commission. 

Lord Sumption

Have been busy with a Supreme Court case again and therefore not blogging....  Speaking of which, their latest member to be, Lord to be Sumption has been giving us an early insight into his views in a lecture he gave recently in the Inns of Court - seems he wants to judges to be honest about when they are being political, indeed seems to suggest that they should not be political at all.  Wants to get back to good old fashioned black letter law......looks like his judicial career is going to be interesting...lecture here.

Merry Christmas!

CHIEF CORONER REPRIEVED...

Of all the results of the bonfire of the quangos, the strangest abolition was to be that of the office of Chief Coroner, which  had been created by statute, but had not been filled.  The Royal British Legion has managed to persuade the Lord Chancellor to perform a partial volte face by restoring the office as a leader and standard setter for Coroners, but Mr Clarke will not bring into force the proposed role as court of appeal against decisions made by Coroners (judicial review and AG's fiat will remain the appeal route).  Having appeared in front of a constellation of different Coroners, I can personally testify to the urgent need to introduce measures to standardise service and standards.  At the moment it is a ridiculous post code lottery, with some Coroners investigating particular types of death, whilst others ignore whole swathes of deaths which need an inquest.  Well done RBL!

A Riot of Sentencing Approved by CACD...

The Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal (LCJ, Thomas P and Leveson LJ) has handed down a composite judgment on appeals from sentences handed down during the August Riots.  In my view the LCJ has got this spot on.  Law does not exist in a vacuum - it must respond to events as they unfold and guidelines and principles must be adapted to the needs of society - many find this notion unpalatable and say that it is rule by unelected judges who should sentence according to set formulae established by Parliament -but in a democracy these hard judgments in individual cases are vested in the independent judiciary -they are there to sentence on behalf of society and they have the hard task of working out what society requires by way of protection and deterrent in each individual case- it is not perfect but it is our tried and tested system and I have yet to hear of a viable alternative.  This an excellent judgment which will stand the test of time:

"... The level of lawlessness was utterly shocking and wholly inexcusable...... the imposition of severe sentences, intended to provide both punishment and deterrence, must follow. It is very simple. Those who deliberately participate in disturbances of this magnitude, causing injury and damage and fear to even the most stout‐hearted of citizens, and who individually commit further crimes during the course of the riots are committing aggravated crimes. They must be punished accordingly, and the sentences should be designed to deter others from similar criminal activity....... the context hugely aggravates the seriousness of each individual offence. None of these crimes was committed in isolation. Eight of them were intrinsic to or arose from the widespread lawlessness and two more were intended to contribute to or aggravate it at a time when the disorders were at their most disruptive and alarming.... The reality is that the offenders were deriving support and comfort and encouragement from being together with other offenders, and offering comfort support and encouragement to the offenders around them. Perhaps, too, the sheer numbers involved may have led some of the offenders to believe that they were untouchable and would escape detection. That leads us to address the suggestion that perhaps this level of public disorder should be treated as "mindless" activity. It was undoubtedly stupid and irresponsible and dangerous. However none of these appeals involves children or young offenders (where different sentencing considerations arise) nor indeed offenders with significant mental health problems. None of the offenders before us was "mindless". The actions were deliberate, and each knew exactly what he (and in one case, she) was doing." 

Did the Earth move?

So apparently from today Waitrose can invest in my mean lean Barrister legal machine.  Save that I am quite happy in independent practice offering my low overhead relatively cheap service to the public.....so actually I don't care.  Alternative Business Structures (ABS) have arrived.  I am looking forward to my first instructions from M&S or perhaps if I am lucky, even Fortnam and Masons, I suspect my Chief Clerk would not allow Tesco inside the building.  ASDA and Lidl would not get inside the Temple Bar.  Sainsburys might just be allowed to sit on the second best chairs in the waiting room. What we will certainly not being doing is shacking up with solicitors....over the collective dead bodies of the bewigged sister/brotherhood....bring on Ocado Law.....let the good times roll.....

Eviction grounds to be widened?

Further to my post on obtaining possession of properties occupied by social tenants convicted of rioting offences - it would seem that the Government do not think the power wide or draconian enough (see extract from Lords Hansard below) - it appears the current ground which requires the conviction to relate to an offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling-house - might be widened to include offences committed anywhere? This would seem far to wide and possibly contrary to article 8???

Public Disorder: Eviction from Social Housing

Question

11.16 am

Asked By Lord Dubs

To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with local authorities about the eviction from social housing of families with members involved in rioting or looting.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): My Lords, during and since the riots, a number of discussions have taken place between Ministers and local authorities, and eviction was one of many issues discussed. The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently consulting on proposals to extend the existing discretionary ground for possession for anti-social behaviour to include tenants or family members who have been convicted of the sort of criminality witnessed during the recent riots, wherever that criminality took place.

Pulling no punches

Sir William Gage has pulled no punches re Baha Mousa - nor should he:

My judgment is that they constituted an appalling episode of serious, gratuitous violence on civilians, which resulted in the death of one man and injuries to others. They represented a very serious breach of  discipline by a number of members of 1 QLR.