Criminal

Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection

Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer & Oliver Kavanagh on why there is a mismatch between the protection promised by non-molestation orders & what is enforced as a breach

Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961

Does the law still reflect modern medical reality? Julie Gowland & Barny Croft on navigating the legal risks of assisted dying support

Bar campaigns will focus on protecting juries, legal aid and children’s rights in the year ahead with a working group already looking into the age of criminal responsibility, chair Kirsty Brimelow KC has said

Neil Parpworth crunches the 2024–25 numbers on police use of stop & search powers

After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights

The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains

In adverse inference directions, is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’? Andrew Smith examines the case law

What can be said when criminal proceedings are active? Lawrence McNamara & Lauren Schaefer set out the Law Commission’s recommendations on contempt of court