Chair's Column

The importance of the circuits; Penn and Mead revisited; lobbying for amendments to RIPA; the compilation of Guidelines for international arbitrations; and signing off ...

Sir Frederic Pollock and Professor Maitland wrote, in The History of English Law before the Time of Edward 1, that “a full history of the circuits would be intricate and wearisome”. (See Vol. 1, Ch. VII, p. 180.) I do not agree. I believe that a proper history of any circuit would be both entertaining and informative. I enjoyed the late Graeme Williams QC’s book on the old Oxford Circuit. It left me wanting more.

Cross-examination remaining at the heart of the criminal justice system; the Bar’s great advocates; its international reputation for excellence; and the work of the ATC.

I had intended to begin this month with a reference to the Congress of Vienna, which began 200 years ago, and at which Prince Metternich, Viscount Castlereagh, Talleyrand et al. settled the future of European international relations for a century. However, I have just received the news that Yorkshire County Cricket Club have won the County Championship, and can talk of little else.

Remembering the start of the Great War; the recent progress made in preserving criminal advocacy; reviewing business models; LASPO and the LAA figures; and an inquiry into the role of the Lord Chancellor.

The Great War began, for this country, on 4 August 1914, which must rank as one of the saddest days in our history, given the levels of death and destruction which followed. Although described by some as the war to end all wars, it was followed, only 25 years later, by the Second World War, which the United Kingdom entered on 3 September 1939.

The findings of the Joint Committee on Human Rights on the implications for access to justice of the Government’s proposals to reform judicial review; the publication of the Jeffrey Review; and facing challenges with resilience and determination.

It is 700 years since Edward II’s army was defeated by Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, on 23-24 June 1314. At school, we were taught that Robert was inspired to overcome early setbacks in his career by a spider who refused to give up. The spider is now thought to have been an invention, probably by Sir Walter Scott, but his inspiration remains a valuable one for advocates, who often have to display persistence in the face of adversity if a case is to be properly presented. That is certainly true at present of the case for preserving access to justice in criminal, family and civil cases.