The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has ruled that a secondary school could not be held liable for tortious acts committed by a former pupil undertaking a work experience placement (WEP) in the PE department, after an appeal was brought against a High Court decision to that effect. Claimant and
England
England's Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk and Attorney General Victoria Prentis have ordered an independent inquiry into the circumstances and handling of Andrew Malkinson’s case after his conviction for rape was quashed by the Court of Appeal last month. The inquiry will investigate the handling a
Almost half of the letters sent by England and Wales' Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to complainants are riddled with errors, according to an official report. The CPS watchdog has told the service to “act urgently to get a grip of this situation” as it revealed that letters are full of
The UK's Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), responsible for investigating possible miscarriages of justice, is set to review the case of Andrew Malkinson. Mr Malkinson wrongly served 17 years behind bars for a rape conviction.
Two former solicitor generals for England and Wales have supported the demands for a public investigation into the case of a man wrongly convicted of rape after a media report that the police had held crucial DNA evidence for 16 years before his exoneration. Edward Garnier KC labelled the misca
England and Wales' Bar Standards Board (BSB) has removed advice to barristers against misgendering trans men and women on social media. The BSB withdrew a case study from its guidance to the 17,000 practising barristers in England and Wales. The study detailed a hypothetical online exchange where a
Judges in England and Wales are being urged to reflect on the risk of perceived bias before agreeing to speak at barristers' chambers or law firms. The suggestion comes as part of the revised guidelines on judicial conduct issued this week.
Exorbitant costs are preventing individuals and community groups from bringing legal challenges to safeguard the environment in England and Wales, according to NGOs. A shared report by the RSPB, the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland sugg
A research project suggests that socio-cognitive biases might be a factor in the disproportionate number of misconduct complaints brought against English and Welsh solicitors from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. The first report of the study, commissioned by the Solicitors Regu
The Law Society of England and Wales has been granted permission by the High Court to bring a judicial review challenge against the UK government over legal aid. The application for permission was made after the government failed to increase criminal defence solicitors’ legal aid rates by the
Rape complainants in England and Wales will be given the opportunity to meet the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff involved in their case ahead of a trial in the latest move to guide them through the criminal justice system. The move aims to give them the chance to discuss what they can expect i
Dame Sue Carr is to take up the role of Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales in October, becoming the first woman to hold the top judicial post. Lord Burnett of Maldon, the Lord Chief Justice since 2017, is retiring at the end of September.
An English woman who took abortion pills beyond the 24-week statutory limit has been jailed for 14 months, sparking fresh calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in England and Wales. Carla Foster, a 44-year-old mother-of-three, pleaded guilty to the offence of administering poison with intent t
Black defendants are detained on remand for more than 70 per cent longer than white individuals in England and Wales, data highlighting racial disparities in the criminal justice system shows. Information acquired by The Guardian and Liberty Investigates under the Freedom of Information Act reveal t
Forced marriage "remains rife" in England and Wales in spite of legislation introduced more than 15 years ago in a bid to end the practice, new research shows. The research on Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs), a civil injunction designed to prevent forced marriages, uncovers the scale of th