Human Rights

Article: Annual International Rule of Law Lecture: the progressive erosion of the Rule of Law in an independent Zimbabwe

THE third annual International Rule of Law Lecture was held on 9 December 2009 at Inner Temple. Judge Anthony Gubbay, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, will give an address entitled ‘The Progressive Erosion of the Rule of Law in a...

Article: Atkin lecture

Lord Neuberger delivered a powerful endorsement of the value of the rule of law in diffi - cult times, in this year’s Atkin lecture. Choosing the subject of the equity of human rights, Lord Neuberger recalled Lord Atkin’s dissenting judgment in...

Article: Awareness Toolkit training

Equality & DiversityIn response to a growing demand from the Bar for Equality and Diversity Awareness Training, and to the recommendation for such training in the Neuberger Report on Entry to the Bar, the Bar Council Equality and Diversity Committee...

Article: BAR COUNCIL DELEGATION VISITS CHINA

A delegation from the Bar Council and Law Society, led by Adrian Hughes QC and Neil Sampson, Co-chairs of the joint China Law Council undertook a successful visit to Chongqing, Tianjin and Beijing from 16-21 November 2008. The visit built on the...

Article: Bar Council launches booklet on Legal Aid

THE Bar Council has published a booklet marking the 60th anniversary of the Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949. The booklet, Legal Aid: 60 Years of Public Service by Barristers, was launched at the Chairman of the Bar’s Media Reception at Middle Temple, a...

Article: Bar Council voices concern over arrest of American lawyer in Kigali

THE Bar Council has voiced its deep concern over the arrest of Professor Peter Erlinder in Kigali, Rwanda.

Article: DNA decision

The Government’s DNA sample retention policy is being reviewed following S and Marper v UK, in which the European Court of Human Rights ruled that retaining samples from innocent people was incompatible with the right to a private life.

Article: Forced marriages condemned

Sir Mark Potter, the President of the Family Division, and Mr Justice Munby, have joined Muslim groups in condemning forced marriages as unacceptable.

Article: Hoffmann: European Court should resist “temptation”

 Lord Hoffmann has criticised the European Court of Human Rights for behaving like the US Supreme Court on human rights issues.

Article: Human Rights SOS

Human rightsAn influential cross-party group of lawyers and academics has mounted a staunch defence of the Human Rights Act.

Article: ID cards should be “abandoned”

Lord Steyn, a former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, has called for the identity card scheme to be abandoned.

Article: In defence of the Human Rights Act

Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court, has mounted a staunch defence of the Human Rights Act 1988.

Article: In memory

The Chairmen of the Bar Council of England and Wales and of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales have expressed their deep concern over the recent murders of Oscar Kamau Kingara, director of the Kenyan based Oscar Legal Aid Foundation,...

Article: INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW LECTURE

The Bar Council was delighted to welcome the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe, Judge Anthony Gubbay to the Inner Temple on 9th December to speak on, “the progressive erosion of the Rule of Law in Independent Zimbabwe”. Judge Gub...

Article: Iran unrest

David Hobart, Bar Council Chief Executive, Mark Muller QC, Bar Human Rights Committee Chair, and Robert Heslett, Law Society President, have expressed concern at reports of mass trials being held in Iran following the political unrest after the...

Article: Iran unrest

David Hobart, Bar Council Chief Executive, Mark Muller QC, Bar Human Rights Committee Chair, and Robert Heslett, Law Society President, have expressed concern at reports of mass trials being held in Iran following the political unrest after the...

Article: Is libel chilling?

A working group of media professionals and lawyers has been set up by the Ministry of Justice to consider whether libel laws are having a chilling effect on freedom of expression. It will examine all aspects of substantive libel law but will exclude...

Article: Justice takes centre stage

Just in time for the General Election season, the Bar Counci l—at a reception at the House of Commons on 3 December 2009—launched a “Manifesto of Justice” in conjunction with Liberty, ILEX, JUSTICE, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Law Centres Federat...

Article: Law Reform Lecture and Essay Competition 2009

The Law Reform Committee essay competition 2009 was won by Tom Cleaver with his essay “Modernising the Law of Markets and Fairs". Second place went to Liam Loughlin for his entry "Reforming the Law Concerning Physician Assisted Suicide". The winner of...

Article: Lawyers call for urgent action on juvenile detainees held in Guantanamo Bay

THE Bar Council, the Law Society, the Criminal Bar Association, the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association and the Bar Human Rights Committee have called on the Attorney General of the United States of America to take urgent action in cases where those...

Article: Lawyers without rights

SENIOR representatives of the Bar Council and the Law Society attended a reception in Temple Church which marks the opening of an exhibition commemorating the suffering endured by Jewish lawyers under the Third Reich. Mounted by the German Federal Bar...

Article: Lawyers without rights

“Six million is a big number”, Lord Justice Stanley Burnton told the group assembled in Temple Church on May 12 for the opening of “Lawyers without rights:  Jewish lawyers in Germany under the Third Reich”, but the impact of this exhibition is to help us...

Article: Legal and campaigning organisations call for justice to be put

MANIFESTO FOR JUSTICE PUBLISHED Issued on behalf of: AdviceUK, The General Council of the Bar, ILEX, JUSTICE, Law Centres Federation, Legal Action Group, Legal Aid Practitioners Group, Liberty A broad and influential coalition of eight leading legal...

Article: Limits on Scots Crime Rulings

Supreme courtThe Scottish Government has drafted proposals to restrict the Supreme Court’s powers to rule on human rights issues in criminal cases north of the border.

Article: Pre-election promises

Barristers gleaned a hint of what the future may hold, with the emergence of a rash of political manifestos launched in April. The three main parties outlined their promises for legal reform ahead of the general election, as politicians jockeyed for...

Article: Privacy law clarity

The judicial balancing act required in cases involving competing human rights has created a “fundamental shift” in the way courts “do things”, Mr Justice Eady has said. Opening City University’s new Centre for Law, Justice and Journalism in March, Eady...

Article: PROCEDURAL RIGHTS IN CRIMINAL MATTERS

The House of Lords EU sub-committee E has recently published a short updated report supporting renewed EU attempts to enshrine minimum defence rights, in order to balance existing measures such as the European Arrest Warrant. The report anticipates a...

Article: Qualities of a good judge

JudiciaryLady Justice Arden has highlighted the qualities required by judges, in a speech about the Magna Carta.Judges need to have both social awareness and knowledge of the case law of courts outside the UK, particularly of the European Court of...

Article: Relocation of children overseas

It is time for international agreement on a set of common principles governing the relocation of children overseas, Lord Justice Thorpe has said.

Article: Statement by the Chairman of the Bar of England & Wales and the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales

THE Chairmen of the Bar Council of England and Wales and of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales expressed their deep concern in a press release on 13 March 2009 at reports of the arrest and detention of magistrate Livingstone Chipadze...

Article: Statement by the Chief Executive of the General Council of the Bar, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales

The Chief Executive of the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales expressed their deep concern at reports of mass trials being...

Article: Statement by the Chief Executive of the General Council of the Bar, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales

THE Chief Executive of the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales expressed their deep concern at reports of mass trials being...

Article: The freedom of Supreme Courts

Freedom of expression is “an important card in the pack” but “not always the ace of trumps”, according to Lady Justice Arden. In a speech, Freedom of Expression and the Role of a Supreme Court—Some Issues from Around the World, at a judicial academic...

Article: The freedom of Supreme Courts

Freedom of expression is “an important card in the pack” but “not always the ace of trumps”,  according to Lady Justice Arden.In a speech, Freedom of Expression and the Role of a Supreme Court—Some Issues from Around the World, at a judicial academic...

Article: Union of International Lawyers Conference on International Criminal Courts in Biarritz, France

The Union of International Lawyers, of the International Criminal Bar Association is organising a seminar about the defence before the international criminal courts on 11th and 12th September 2009. This seminar will deal with the questions relating to...

Article: Zimbabwean judge

The Bar Council and the Bar Human Rights Committee have expressed concern at reports of the arrest and detention of magistrate Livingstone Chipadze in Mutare, Zimbabwe, as a “serious breach” of the principle of judicial independence. 

Article: “Substituting a British Bill of Rights and responsibilities for the Human Rights Act will displace adjudication to Strasbourg” says Chairman of the Bar

DESMOND Browne QC, Chairman of the Bar, has spoken on the theme of ‘Human rights under threat abroad and at home’ at a fringe meeting at Labour Party Conference on Sunday. The meeting, organised by the Society of Labour Lawyers and the Bar Council,...