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18 March 2022 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7971 / Categories: Features , Criminal , Profession
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Joint enterprise: justice denied?

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Post-Jogee, the failure of the courts to get to grips with the iniquity of joint enterprise is shocking, says Jon Robins

It has been six years since the highest court in the land ruled that the controversial law of joint enterprise had taken ‘a wrong turn’ in 1984. That anniversary was marked earlier this year with a demonstration outside of the Supreme Court by the campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), dressed, as ever, in bright red. Families of those with loved ones convicted under the controversial common law doctrine hoped ‘justice’ would follow the 2016 ruling in the case of R v Jogee [2016] UKSC 8. By contrast, tabloid newspapers worked themselves up into a froth of righteous outrage, with the Daily Mail predicting that ‘more than 500 killers could seek to have their sentences quashed’.

Back in 2016, Lord Neuberger declared it ‘the responsibility of this court to put the law right’. That ruling was seen as a landmark judgment, with the Criminal Bar Association

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Foot Anstey—Jasmine Olomolaiye

Investigations and corporate crime expert joins as partner

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

Fieldfisher—Mark Shaw

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Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Taylor Wessing—Stephen Whitfield

Firm enhances competition practice with London partner hire

NEWS
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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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