Procedure & practice

The Chancellor has announced a time limit on unclaimed funds held by the Court Funds Office.

The High Court has handed down detailed guidance for the first time on the correct approach in law to the Financial Ombudsman’s powers to reopen complaints.

The Magistrates Association has expressed ‘incredible disappointment’ at plans to cut their sentencing powers back from 12 months to six.

The Law Society has stated that HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is reforming how users apply for probate. 

The Magistrates Association has published a media statement in response to the announcement of the Sentencing Act 2020 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, SI 2023/298. 

The latest version of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (REULRR Bill) was published on 9 March 2023. 

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published a response paper to the 2022 consultation on changes to the Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS) regime in personal injury cases.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has come in for criticism over its decision to drop charges against three former G4S executives following a ten-year investigation.

The Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, has approved amendments to Practice Direction 27B, the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents (the RTA Protocol), the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims (the EL/PL Protocol) and the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (the RTA Small Claims Protocol). 

There seems to have been a spate of judgment embargo breaches since Sir Geoffrey Vos’s warning to forgetful, clumsy or errant lawyers last year that those who breach ought to expect contempt proceedings to follow.