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National DNA Database: crime solving tool or violation of civil
liberties?
By Sir Bob Hepple QC, FBA, Emeritus
Master of Clare College and Emeritus Professor of Law, University
of Cambridge
DNA profiling has had a dramatic impact on the detection
and prosecution of crime. But this rapidly developing technology
has also given rise to many concerns, for example the indefinite
retention of DNA samples from those who are not charged or are acquitted...
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Pathways To The Profession
By Professor
Nigel Savage, Chief Executive of The College of Law
How many
excellent would-be barristers have fallen by the wayside? Can the
Bar Council, Barristers’ Chambers, Inns of Courts do much more than
they already do to help? |
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"Quashing convictions"
- an abuse?
By James Welch, Legal Director, Liberty Human
Rights
Before its amendment by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 section
2 provided that an appeal should be allowed if (a) the conviction
was unsafe or unsatisfactory, (b) a wrong decision had been made
on any question of law, or (c) there was a material irregularity
in the course of the trial, subject to the proviso that the Court
could dismiss an appeal if it was satisfied that no miscarriage
of justice had occurred. |
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‘Outsiders’
- Making an impact at the Bar?
By Anil Shah, Managing Director, LPA Legal
Recruitment
It is becoming increasingly common
for barristers to examine the way in which their sets are run. With
so much competition at the Bar, maintaining and enhancing the reputation
of chambers is vital. Whilst everybody can see the benefit
of having a defined marketing and business strategy, as well as
an effective administration, individual barristers are often too
busy with their own practices to devote the required time to defining
and implementing strategic goals of the set as a whole. |
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Mediation’s
new claim to fame
By Professor Karl Mackie, Chief Executive,
CEDR
In the last five years mediation has
grown in popularity in all areas of the law, hailing from the introduction
of and amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules, and case law that
urges consideration of the process, such as Dunnett v Railtrack
[2002], Halsey v Milton Keynes NHS Trust [2004] and Birchell v Bullard
[2005]. |
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"How to get away from Rumpole and Judge John Deed" Education for
legal literacy
By the Citizenship Foundation
“Legal rights and responsibilities
permeate and enhance all aspects of citizenship” yet there exists
great public uncertainty and ignorance about the nature and function
of the law and legal system in this country. Or rather, there is
both legal ignorance and legal misinformation to contend with, the
latter stemming perhaps from rumour, poor advice from family or
friends or even law related television programmes. Effective legal
education provides both the knowledge and the confidence to use
it. But how can this be delivered and is there a role for Barristers
to get involved and share their expertise? |
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Young
offenders: a new approach
By Rob Allen, Centre for Crime and Justice
Studies, Kings College
There are a number of ways in
which the sentencing framework could be amended better to meet the
particular needs of cases involving young offenders. For example,
a juvenile equivalent of the custody minus or other form of suspended
sentence should be available in the youth court. |
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Expert Witnesses in Rape Trials
By Sally O’Neill QC
One of the proposals in the recent
Consultation Paper produced by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform
was there should be the power to adduce general expert evidence
in rape trials. The background to the report is the continuing concern
over the low conviction rate for rape cases and it may be of some
significance that the title of the report is “Convicting Rapists
and Protecting Victims – Justice for Victims of Rape”. The aim of
the report is to “improve the outcome of rape cases by further strengthening
the existing legal framework and improving our care for victims
and witnesses.” |
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EU Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive – Devil in the Detail
By Gregory
J. Urbanchuk MSc
Historically, when it came to
the enforcement of Intellectual Property (“IP”) rights in the European
Union (“EU”), local rules applied. In the context of enforcement
rules, the remedies available for infringement were quantified by
reference to the rules of the jurisdiction in question, which often
differed amongst Member States. The primary purpose of the EU IP
Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC) was to create a level playing
field for the enforcement of IP rights across the Member States
by establishing a homogenised set of enforcement measures. |
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Running a business
By Bill Braithwaite QC, Head of Exchange Chambers
Barristers are under pressure at the moment, for a wide variety
of reasons. We complain vigorously about government interference
in the funding of litigation, and significant changes in the rules
governing our profession, but one of the major reasons for the pressure
might be just plain bad management.
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