In Court

The question of whether Michaela Community School, a secular secondary free school in Wembley, west London, run by headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh, could lawfully prohibit pupils from performing prayer rituals on its premises recently came before the High Court. In this week’s NLJ, writer Nicholas Dobson looks at the legal issues and principles involved

Small claims cases in the county courts are taking more than a year (54 weeks on average) to go to trial—an increase of 30 weeks since 2010