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NLJ this week: Time to protect our rights & the rule of law

21 October 2022
Issue: 7999 / Categories: Legal News , Rule of law , Human rights
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98005
Recent incursions by the government into the rule of law and associated citizens’ freedoms have disturbing parallels in history, and should not be ignored, Geoffrey Bindman KC writes in this week’s NLJ.

He looks back to 1819, the Peterloo Massacre and the subsequent ‘Six Acts’ repressing public gatherings, public criticism of the government, newspapers and political activity among the working class. Under Boris Johnson’s government, we had ‘five Acts’ curbing public protest and limiting judicial review, as well as proposals to repeal the Human Rights Act, although current prime minister Liz Truss has ditched former justice secretary Dominic Raab’s proposed Bill of Rights.

Bindman writes: ‘Scrapping Raab’s Bill could be a turning point away from a period of isolationism in our history under a government bent on weakening democratic accountability and the rule of law while cynically claiming the opposite. The ‘five Acts’, having ‘nugatory justification’, also need scrapping.’

Also covering the subject of freedom of speech, Hill Dickinson partner David Locke writes in this week’s NLJ on the use of ‘demonetisation’ to silence debate. Locke refers to the decision by PayPal to close the accounts of the Free Speech Union (subsequently re-opened following criticism). The idea that ‘unelected, unaccountable corporations will be able to exercise control over political discourse’ is an ’alarming possibility’, he writes. He asks whether it is now time to include ‘political belief’ among the roster of protected characteristics.

See Geoffrey's article on the rule of law here, and David's on demonetisation and freedom of speech here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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