Law and the Justice System

Fraud barometer findings prompt warning that courts could face potential backlog of cases.

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/no-high-value-fraud-prosecutions-amid-pandemic?top

An independent evaluation of HMCTS video hearings service assessing the user experience of the video hearings process, has been published today.

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) detrimentally impacted not just public health, the NHS and other vital public services, but the economy as a whole.  The impact of the “lockdown” was that overnight a lot of businesses closed or experienced unparalleled revenue shrinkages. This placed jobs at risk. If employers could no longer generate revenue then they could no longer keep on employees.  The spectre of redundancy loomed.  In response, the government introduced The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the ‘Furlough Scheme’). Instead of mass redundancy, businesses could retain staff, as an alternative to redundancy.  By placing an employee on “furlough” they could retain them, paying their salary and in return receive a reimbursement from the government for 80% of the employee’s monthly salary, subject to a maximum cap of £2,500 per month.

A High Court judge has condemned a “cavalier approach” to an application to vary a freezing order, which would have allowed a man accused of defrauding a company of over £1m to sell assets to pay his lawyers.

Jury trials sit at the heart of the criminal justice system in England and Wales.  The opportunity to put your case before 12 of your peers is so fundamental to how we enact justice, many consider it to be a constitutional right. The Government’s recent proposal to suspend jury trials is a potential threat to the Rule of Law – i.e. a legal system that treats everyone equally and which you can access, no matter who you are.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/associate-news/suspension-of-jury-trials-a-threat-to-the-rule-of-law?utm_source=iContact%2BWeekly%2BNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=legal-futures&utm_content=

MPs have today launched an inquiry to investigate delays in the court system and what should be done to clear the backlog of cases.

A High Court judge caught making critical comments of a mother in a care case because her laptop had not been disconnected from Zoom should have recused herself, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

The City of London Police has seized over £2m of criminal funds following a two year investigation into suspected money laundering.

Middlesbrough Town Hall, the Knights’ Chamber within the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral, and the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) headquarters in London are among the venues of the first ‘Nightingale courts’, the government announced yesterday.

The House of Lords has completed its consideration of legislation introduced by the Government to give businesses whose survival is impacted upon by COVID-19 the essential breathing space they need to plot a path to sustainable futures.