The Barrister Magazine - Essential Reading for Barristers


	THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR LEGAL PROFESSIONALS	Issue # 23

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The Mythical Compensation Culture? By Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers, Liverpool The phrase “compensation culture” has come to mean dishonesty at worst, or undignified and inappropriate scrounging at best. It is obviously on the political and legal agenda. Unfortunately, it is not only the media and politicians who are banging this particular drum; the courts seem to be very keen on criticising any claimant, or his lawyers, whose claim fails.

Amnesty International’s concerns about Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 By Livio Zilli, UK Researcher, Amnesty International Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA) allows for detention of non-deportable foreign nationals certified by the UK Secretary of State as national security risks and “suspected international terrorists” without charge or trial, for an unspecified and potentially unlimited period of time, principally on the basis of secret evidence which the detainees have never heard nor seen, and which they have, therefore, been unable to effectively challenge. Prior to the enactment of this legislation, the UK authorities derogated from Article 5(1) of the (European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Judicial Diversity: End This Short Sighted Judgement By Edward Fennell The Lord Chancellor wants greater diversity amongst the judiciary. So has the time come to open the gates to Legal Executives?

Judicial Appointments- Where Now? By Professor Sir Colin Campbell, Her Majesty’s First Commissioner for Judicial Appointments and the Vice-Chancellor of Nottingham University These are exciting times for those interested in the Judicial and Queen’s Counsel appointments processes. We have recently seen proposals for a revised Silk system and the Constitutional Reform Bill – currently wending its way through Parliament - presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to transform public confidence in the judiciary and open up the system.

WHERE NOW CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM? By Austen Morgan who practises from 3 Temple Gardens You might think it will bring specialist knowledge, perhaps specialist skills, and in some cases gravitas or standing. These are all key parts of the good expert’s role, but you should also include clarity of explanation, greater experience in a particular field, and a fresh mind and outlook. While the first group of attributes should be provided by any reputable professional offering their services, the second set is not as widespread. You need someone with particular specialist skills.

Confiscation orders, is it moral and legal to defend them and are they worthwhile By Edward Ross-McNairn, Forensic Accounting Partner, Bishop Fleming The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, consolidating earlier legislation, and the establishment of the Assets Recovery Agency "ARA" have created a more structured environment for the raising of confiscation orders, the defence of which is an area I and my firm are actively involved in Defending (with some success) these orders has caused me to be asked the question as set out above, of which the first part is....

Investigating fraud needn’t be a game of chance By Paul Carratu FIPI CFE President, UK Chapter, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Managing Director, Carratu International Plc When it comes to fraud where do you turn? Fraud is potentially a catastrophic risk for businesses and we need to change the way we manage that risk and how we react to instance of fraud. The complex and international nature of modern frauds requires a whole new skill set from the investigator.

State support for equalities and human rights cases in the tribunal system is an essential prerequisite to the creation of a “human rights culture” in the UK? By Steve Hynes, Director of the Law Centre’s Federation (LCF) Despite opposition from the Commission for Racial Equality, the Queens speech in November 2004 confirmed that the Government is to press ahead with plans for the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). The new body, parliamentary time permitting, will come into existence by the end of 2006. Also, a draft bill on civil claims and the tribunal system was announced in the Queen’s speech.

The Power of Metadata By Simon Dawson, Head of Corporate Investigations, The Risk Advisory Group Limited This article examines the value in litigation of the hidden information (known as metadata) encoded into most electronic documents, illustrates this by a study based on a real case and finally discusses the circumstances in which an opposing party in litigation might be compelled to provide it.

How to restore public confidence in expert witnesses By Eric Glover, Director of Intrabank Expert Witness, former Secretary General of The Chartered Institute of Bankers and member of the Education Committee of the Expert Witness Institute The risk of losing one’s reputation is greater now than ever, as the attention of the media has become instant and merciless. The resulting lack of respect for any sort of authority should lead to greater scrutiny of expert opinions, and no doubt does in many cases. At the same time, however, there are pressures to keep down costs and to speed up procedures, so that prolonged examination of evidence is not always welcome.

Forensic Accounting Experts in Criminal Cases By Tim Vogel, committee member of the ICAEW Litigation support specialist interest group You might think it will bring specialist knowledge, perhaps specialist skills, and in some cases gravitas or standing. These are all key parts of the good expert’s role, but you should also include clarity of explanation, greater experience in a particular field, and a fresh mind and outlook. While the first group of attributes should be provided by any reputable professional offering their services, the second set is not as widespread. You need someone with particular specialist skills.