News

Directive 2008/99/EC, whereby criminal sanctions can be applied for breach of environmental measures (Official Journal L 328 of 06/12/08 ), entered into force on 26 December 2008, and must be implemented into Member States’ law by the end of 2010. 

A Volunteering Champion is to be appointed, giving a voice in government to people who volunteer in the criminal justice system, including magistrates, special constables, prison volunteers in prisons and Victim Support advisers. Justice Minister, Shahid Malik, said: “All too often they don’t get the recognition that they deserve.”

The Rome II regulation on applicable law in non-contractual obligations, definitively adopted in July 2007, entered into force on 11 January 2009. The Ministry of Justice has recently issued guidance on its application: 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/guidance-rome-ii-non-contractual.htm 

The Commission issued a new handbook at the end of January:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/studies_reports/sme_handbook.pdf 

SPEAKING in Vienna, where he is attending the European Bar Presidents Conference, the Chairman of the Bar, Desmond Browne QC, warned of the dangers of the ever increasing quantity of advocacy work being handled in-house by the Crown Prosecution Service. In drawing a distinction between the English adversarial and the continental inquisitorial systems of justice, he pointed out that in England there was nothing which corresponded to the District Attorney or the juge d’instruction. 

Desmond Browne QC said: 

“Until recently, it was rare in England to find the conduct of a prosecution in the hands of barristers dedicated to that type of work. Until now barristers have prosecuted one week, and defended the next. This dual role has ensured the admired independence of the English Bar with its dedication to the cabrank rule. 

On 10 February, the Grand Chamber of the ECJ delivered judgment on one of the cases discussed, above, the reference for a preliminary ruling by the House of Lords in Case 185/07 Allianz SpA, Generali Assicurazioni Generali SpA, v West Tankers Inc. See:
http://curia.europa.eu/jurisp/cgi-bin/form.pl?lang=en 

The responsible committee of the European Parliament is, as I write, debating its draft report on the Commission’s March 2008 Green paper aimed at identifying possible EU measures to improve the transparency of debtors' assets and the right of creditors to obtain information. The Bar is hoping it will support (research into) the possible introduction of EU provisional measures, in particular to deal with recalcitrant debtors. 

The CREST case management system for Crown courts, running on ageing computers and using an operating system which is no longer supported by the manufacturer, represents a “significant risk” for the Courts Service, warns a National Audit Office report on the Administration of the Crown Court. Court staff are having to re-enter data manually, which means up to 12 hours’ extra administrative work for a busy court per month.

ILBF is a legal charity which distributes second-hand law books to public access, justice and educational organisations in the developing world. To date ILBF has worked in seventeen different countries, ranging from Rwanda to Trinidad and Tobago, delivering thousands of books to recipients including universities, legal aid centres, prisons and public libraries. The ILBF would strongly welcome any volunteers who may be able to donate their time, whether simply for a day or on a more regular basis. Volunteers will be based in Canary Wharf and will help with book sorting, packing and sending shipments. 

If you are interested in finding out more please email us at info@ILBF.org.uk. Our website address is www.ilbf.org.uk 

THE Bar Council has welcomed the publication of the International Financial Services London’s (IFSL) Legal Services 2009 report. The report highlights the strength of London as an international centre of legal expertise which saw the legal sector grow in the 2007/8
financial year, despite the start of the economic downturn. While growth has turned negative for over two quarters, London’s reputation as a centre of legal excellence has meant that it has retained a solid base as we move into 2009. The key findings include: