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NLJ this week: Fitness to practise panels & the relevance of proceedings

03 September 2021
Issue: 7946 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Disciplinary&grievance procedures
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Nick Hall, barrister at Red Lion Chambers, considers the relevance of inquest proceedings in fitness to practise proceedings in professional discipline law, in this week’s NLJ

His article focuses on a recent case, Towuaghantse v GMC [2021] involving a Medical Practitioners Tribunal’s decision to strike a doctor off the Medical Register, and the doctor’s appeal on several grounds.

There has been a longstanding principle that the conclusions of another body are not relevant to the panel’s findings when determining the fact stage in fitness to practise cases. Hall investigates whether the case suggests this is no longer true.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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