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17 July 2015
Issue: 7661 / Categories: Legal News , Human rights
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Back to the future: reforming human rights

European human rights law has created “an extra tier of litigation” and produced “problems, anomalies and even abuses”, a barrister has claimed.

Writing in NLJ this week, barrister and former reader at Southampton University Alec Samuels argues the case for reform. He suggests it is for the UK Parliament to determine the degree of infringement of personal liberty required to guarantee public safety in respect of control orders against suspected terrorist subjects, telephone tapping and other matters.

Samuels contends that that “unfair or unreasonable decisions in unmeritorious cases, particularly where criminals and illegal immigrants are concerned” has led members of the public to “become positively hostile, and this is a regrettable attitude to human rights.”

Issue: 7661 / Categories: Legal News , Human rights
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Clarke Willmott—Matthew Roach

Partner joins commercial property team in Taunton office

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Farrer & Co—Richard Lane

Londstanding London firm appoints new senior partner

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Bird & Bird—Sue McLean

Commercial team in London welcomes technology specialist as partner

NEWS
The legal profession’s claim to be a ‘guardian of fairness’ is under scrutiny after stark findings on gender imbalance and opaque progression. Writing in NLJ this week, Joshua Purser of No5 Barristers’ Chambers and Govindi Deerasinghe of Global 50/50 warn that leadership remains dominated by a narrow elite, with men holding 71% of top court roles
A legal challenge to police disclosure rules has failed, reinforcing a push for transparency in policing. In NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth examines a case where the Metropolitan Police required officers to declare membership of groups like the Freemasons
Bereavement leave is undergoing a quiet but profound transformation. Writing in NLJ this week, Robert Hargreaves of York St John University explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a day-one right to leave for a wider range of losses, alongside new provisions for pregnancy loss and bereaved partners
Courts are beginning to grapple with whether AI-generated material is legally privileged—and the answers are mixed. In this week's issue of NLJ, Stacie Bourton, Tom Whittaker & Beata Kolodziej of Burges Salmon examine US rulings showing how easily privilege can be lost
New guidance seeks to bring order to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Minesh Tanna and David Bridge of Simmons & Simmons set out a framework stressing ‘transparency’, ‘explainability’ and ‘reliability’
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