header-logo header-logo

A constant revolution?

10 February 2011 / David Greene
Issue: 7452 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail

Two recent decisions in different tribunals could not have been timed any better to liven up the debate raised in Jackson LJ’s proposals for civil costs reform and the government’s green paper.

David Greene reflects on the Jacksonian effect

Two recent decisions in different tribunals could not have been timed any better to liven up the debate raised in Jackson LJ’s proposals for civil costs reform and the government’s green paper.

A case in point

The decision in MGN Ltd v UK (App no 39401/04),[2011] All ER (D) 143 (Jan) by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) explores the relationship between Art 6 (access to justice) and Art 10 (freedom of speech). This raises some fascinating issues about the effect, or “chilling effect” as the ECtHR repeatedly quotes, that the recovery of the success fee on conditional fee agreements has upon the defendant.

Whether it has wider implications outside the defamation/privacy field remains to be seen but certainly it provides the pro-Jackson lobby with a shot in the arm in its bid to

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—Andrew Savage

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan—Andrew Savage

Firm expands London disputes practice with senior partner hire

Druces—Lisa Cardy

Druces—Lisa Cardy

Senior associate promotion strengthens real estate offering

Charles Russell Speechlys—Robert Lundie Smith

Charles Russell Speechlys—Robert Lundie Smith

Leading patent litigator joins intellectual property team

NEWS
The government’s plan to introduce a Single Professional Services Supervisor could erode vital legal-sector expertise, warns Mark Evans, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, in NLJ this week
Writing in NLJ this week, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers argues that the ‘failure to prevent’ model of corporate criminal responsibility—covering bribery, tax evasion, and fraud—should be embraced, not resisted
Professor Graham Zellick KC argues in NLJ this week that, despite Buckingham Palace’s statement stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his styles, titles and honours, he remains legally a duke
Writing in NLJ this week, Sophie Ashcroft and Miranda Joseph of Stevens & Bolton dissect the Privy Council’s landmark ruling in Jardine Strategic Ltd v Oasis Investments II Master Fund Ltd (No 2), which abolishes the long-standing 'shareholder rule'
In NLJ this week, Sailesh Mehta and Theo Burges of Red Lion Chambers examine the government’s first-ever 'Afghan leak' super-injunction—used to block reporting of data exposing Afghans who aided UK forces and over 100 British officials. Unlike celebrity privacy cases, this injunction centred on national security. Its use, the authors argue, signals the rise of a vast new body of national security law spanning civil, criminal, and media domains
back-to-top-scroll