Features

Do we need a strong and stable government – or just a strong and stable Parliament? Professor Jeff King analyses the constitutional problems generated by the Prime Minister’s decision to go to the polls early  

As a result of the forthcoming general election, the new Parliament – and hence government – will remain in place until May 2022.  

The law on limitation directions – a useful tool for junior litigators attempting to restore companies to the register – has finally been anchored down by the courts. Ben Harding reports on the practical effect  

A limitation direction restoring dissolved companies to the register is an oft-used tool for parties seeking relief after wrongful conduct comes to light.  

Drivers, couriers and freelance plumbers: have the leaks in employment protection been repaired? Chris Milsom reports  

The inclusion in the spring Budget of a rise in tax rates and national insurance contributions for the self-employed furrowed many brows during its short lifetime.  

Luke Robins-Grace weighs up what justice should be worth at election time  

Justice is not a commodity but as the saying goes: you get what you pay for, and most people would agree that the price recent governments have been prepared to pay for our system of justice does not reflect its value to society.  

Inspired by Chaucer’s great poem and calling for an end to indefinite detention, this year’s Refugee Tales embarks from Runnymede. Join all or part of an uplifting journey, writes Josephine Henderson  

The Chairman’s Column on indefinite immigration detention in the March issue of Counsel  sparked huge interest, and readers may also be interested to know about a walk from Runnymede to Westminster from 1 to 5 July 2017.  

Why do defendants make false confessions? Simon Ralph looks at troubling trends in the interrogation of vulnerable individuals and what can be learned from the United States  

‘No good, crooked mother*******!’  

Google, Facebook, Twitter and other intermediaries increasingly face a broadly united front of protest. Is it time to regulate? asks Richard Spearman QC  

Under the headline ‘Facebook publishing child porn’, the Times of 13 April 2017 reported on its front page: ‘The social media company failed to take down dozens of images and videos that were “flagged” to its moderators, including one showing an Islamic State beheading, several violently paedophilic cartoons, a video of an apparent sexual assault on a child and propaganda posters glorifying recent terrorist attacks in London and Egypt.’ 

David Anderson QC examines the post-Brexit implications for national security and identifies potential fault lines for future security cooperation with the EU  

As jihadi fighters from Europe return from the battlefields of Syria, sometimes by complex overland routes, the advantages of a coordinated European response to terrorism seem obvious. 

When should clients feel satisfied with our services?  

‘You’ve got to keep reinventing. You’ll have new competitors. You’ll have new customers all around you’ – Ginni Rometty 

In a welter of longer treatises, the Bar’s Brexit Papers have been described as ‘gold dust’. Written in the public interest to inform and guide the negotiations ahead, Hugh Mercer QC highlights the value of the Bar’s topic-based and clear-sighted analyses  

One of the difficulties in predicting the impact of Brexit on different fields is that the government’s strategic priorities have been expressed in fairly general terms.