Smaller parties could be priced out of the justice process if government plans to raise court fees for a second time go ahead, the Bar Council has warned. It said a further hike would give the rich and big businesses an unfair advantage in any settlement negotiations, and small suppliers chasing big businesses for payment would be particularly vulnerable. Bar Council chair Alistair MacDonald said such an unfair advantage went against “every principle of justice”. The Bar Council was responding to a Ministry of Justice consultation on fees.
17 September 2015
Court fee rise will disadvantage smaller parties
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Clyde & Co—Suriya Ashok
Clyde Co strengthens energy transition and construction offering with hire of Suriya Ashok
Jurit—Nicole Gallop Mildon
Jurit appoints rare dual-qualified lawyer to expand Anglo-French private wealth expertise
Twenty Essex—Thomas Hibbs, Jack Hollingworth & Sam Pearce
Three new tenants join Twenty Essex
NEWS
The Supreme Court has settled a long-running dispute over part-time workers: unfavourable treatment need be a significant or effective cause, not the sole cause
Arbitration may be private, but its confidentiality is no impenetrable shield. Writing in NLJ this week, James Glaysher of Kingsley Napley examines when courts will permit arbitral material to surface in open litigation
The Financial Reporting Council’s revised Audit Enforcement Procedure will alter the balance of power in corporate investigations
A telecoms operator may be able to hold over under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, yet still be unable to secure a renewal: an outcome described as a legal ‘paradox’
Safety fears do not automatically justify shutting an interested person out of a statutory will application
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