Continued membership after the transition period ends is necessary not just for our legal services but for all businesses and individuals across the UK and EU, Russell told senior legal professionals attending the event virtually this week. The audience included the Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland QC, and the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett.
The Lugano Convention governs jurisdiction in cross-border civil and commercial disputes and ensures judgments can be enforced overseas. A number of countries including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland have expressed support for the UK’s intent to accede to the Lugano Convention.
Russell told the audience: ‘Legal services are one of our most-requested exports, a service I champion when promoting the rule of law on my international visits.
‘They play a major role in the attractiveness in the UK as a place to do business. This is why the City of London is proud to support the judiciary and the entire legal sector. Especially right now, at a time when we must be doing everything possible to support our legal services―not to mention our entire economy.
‘It is why we greatly support the UK signing up to the Lugano Convention.’
Giving his speech, Lord Burnett praised judges and court staff for their hard work during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the delivery of criminal justice has been difficult and will be difficult ‘for the foreseeable future’. However, he said he had been had been heartened by the enthusiasm of lay magistrates to support additional hearings to enable the backlog to be cleared.
On jury trials, Lord Burnett said he did ‘not underestimate the difficulty in putting in place systems which will enable trials to be conducted in sufficient numbers not only to cope with the work flowing into the Crown Court but also to erode the accumulated backlog.
‘Policy makers and Parliament may yet have to consider radical but temporary measures to aid that process’.
However, he did not refer directly to ministers’ controversial proposals for late and weekend court sittings, which have been opposed by the Bar Council.
Read Lord Burnett’s full speech at: bit.ly/30c16Po.
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