Justice Matters

Almost three years after the Bribery Act 2010 came into force, a new weapon for UK prosecutors, enshrined in the Crime and Courts Act 2013, came into effect on 24 February 2014, whereby the Serious Fraud Office and the Director of Public Prosecutions picked up the carrot of Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA) to add to the stick of the Bribery Act.   

DPAs in the US federal system have been used by the Department of Justice in criminal prosecutions and the Securities and Exchange Commission in securities enforcement actions for over 20 years, and this inherently US approach has proved, to a large extent, successful. 

Not without some controversy surrounding it, the Global Law Summit took place in February. Counsel reports back.  

In the autumn of 2013, the General Management Committee of the Bar Council, which includes all the leaders of the publicly funded Bar, endorsed the Bar’s involvement with the February 2015 Global Law Summit (GLS). 

As the consultation on Draft CPS Guidance on Speaking to Witnesses at Court takes place, the DPP, Alison Saunders, explains the reasoning behind the guidance and Tony Cross QC gives the Criminal Bar Association’s view.  

Last month I announced new proposals to better assist victims and witnesses called to court to give evidence in criminal trials. 

Charlotte Proudman on prostitution, sex buyer laws and the “End Demand” campaign.  

End Demand, a new campaign to change laws relating to prostitution, was launched on 22 October 2014. 

Colin Yeo examines the legal issues thrown up by the arrival on these shores of the fictitious immigrant from darkest Peru.  

Law is pretty abstract. Unlike the role of a doctor or a builder, that of a lawyer is difficult to explain to a young mind. 

HH Gordon Risius explains how hearing loss – never a good career move for a judge – didn’t have to mean the sudden end of his time on the Bench.  

Last June’s issue of Counsel contained a helpful article by Sukhveer Kandola and Narita Bahra about court users with hearing difficulties, in which they drew attention to facilities which can help access justice (June 2014, p30). 

Too many cases, too few resources and no room for complacency – John Curtis reports on the Criminal Cases Review Commission state of play.  

21 November 2014 marked the 40th anniversary of the Birmingham Pub Bombings: a chain of events that led to the deaths of 21 people, 182 serious woundings, the incarceration of the Birmingham Six, their release from prison some 19 years later and the recognition that miscarriages of justice were a reality of Britain’s justice system. 

The Human Rights Act should not be viewed as a burden, but promoted as an instrument of social cohesion and public purpose, argues Keir Starmer QC.  

The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) is a very simple statute. 

With commemorations of the First World War under way it seems fitting to remember a remarkable pacifist, barrister and feminist, Chrystal Macmillan.   

Celia Pilkington and Harini Iyengar explain. 

In February 2015 the Global Law Summit to celebrate 800 years since Magna Carta takes place in London.   

Chairman-Elect of the Bar Council Alistair MacDonald QC explains.