header-logo header-logo

03 February 2021
Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , In Court , Profession
printer mail-detail

LNB news: HM Courts and Tribunal Services monthly bulletin for February 2021

HM Courts and Tribunal Services (HMCTS) has published its monthly bulletin on news headlines and coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
Lexis®Library update: As of 2 February 2021, solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service will have the opportunity to join the PROFESSIONAL Users’ Access Scheme, will be able to register for the scheme which ‘enables faster access through security in courts and tribunals for registered holders’.

The following news headlines have been published:

• more courts join the Professional Users’ Access Scheme

• working together to keep justice going

• court safety for legal professionals webinar recording

• rapid flow testing pilot begins in Manchester

• keeping court custody suites safe

• extra £40m to help victims during pandemic and beyond

• defence solicitors and barristers need to register for Common Platform accounts

• £3.1m announced by the Ministry of Justice

• HMCTS on latest management information

• HMCTS strategy lead, writing for Apolitical, outlines how they implement changes to digital services to modernise the courts and tribunals system

The following coronavirus updates have been published:

• HMCTS updated processes for reporting COVID-19 incidents

• court escalation route to raising issues process

• application for a deferral or excusal when summoned for jury service guidance

• updated guidance for providing evidence as a witness during the outbreak

• the opening of three Nightingale Courts

This content was first published by LNB News / Lexis®Library, a LexisNexis® company, on 2 February 2021 and is published with permission. Further information can be found at: www.lexisnexis.com

Source: HMCTS Monthly Bulletin - February 2021

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Freeths—Rachel Crosier

Projects and rail practices strengthened by director hire in London

DWF—Stephen Hickling

DWF—Stephen Hickling

Real estate team in Birmingham welcomes back returning partner

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Ward Hadaway—44 appointments

Firm invests in national growth with 44 appointments across five offices

NEWS
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
back-to-top-scroll