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Decisions, decisions

20 May 2020 / John Gould
Issue: 7887 / Categories: Features , Covid-19 , Constitutional law
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John Gould holds the government to account on its (COVID-19) decision making

The virus has made us all decision takers; seldom can a decision to buy a bag of flour have involved the calculation of the risk of death.

The concern of public law is not so much what the decision is, but rather how it is made. When the stakes are high, as they are now, the scientific considerations esoteric, and the evidence uncertain, we need it to be obvious that the way government decisions are taken is at least of the minimum standard required by law. Lawful public decision making should be more like skilful chess than snakes and ladders.

A very senior judge once said to me that judging is a serious business, and so it is. In our present circumstances we need good judgement from our decision makers more than ever. Over the last decades the courts have established, through judicial review, the characteristics of a sound decision. The paradigm is of a rational and reasonable person

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Birketts—trainee cohort

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Keoghs—four appointments

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Brabners—Ben Lamb

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Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

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The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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