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21 January 2026
Issue: 8146 / Categories: Legal News , Tribunals , Immigration & asylum , Harassment
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Lord Justice Dingemans voices concerns on backlogs & abuse

Tackling the backlogs of cases in the tribunals will be a priority this year, Lord Justice Dingemans, senior president of tribunals, has said

In his annual report, published last week, Dingemans LJ expressed concern about ‘rising caseloads’ in a number of chambers, with the Employment Rights Act 2025 and Renters’ Rights Act 2025 ‘likely to increase the workloads’.

Immigration and asylum judges, for example, have faced a ‘substantial increase in workload following a surge of decision-making by the Home Office’ while being subject to ‘unwarranted media commentary’ and ‘abusive language and explicit discriminatory abuse’ in comments below articles.

Home Office plans for a body of assessors to take decisions on asylum appeals, announced in August and scheduled to be in place for some appeals in 2027, have not materialised. Dingemans LJ said: ‘Legislation will be required to effect any changes but there are, as yet, no drafts of any legislative provisions.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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