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Straws in the wind

12 September 2014 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7621 / Categories: Opinion , Human rights
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Roger Smith looks to the future

Three stories at the cutting edge of legal developments this month: two about human rights, a subject likely to feature in the next election, and one illustrating new developments in a rapidly changing profession.

The President on the road & in the groove

Lord Neuberger clearly decided on a busman’s holiday. He gave seven speeches during August in Australia (four), New Zealand (two) and Hong Kong. Some of his subjects reflected his commercial background. Let us pass over “The remedial constructive trust—fact or fiction”. It is as erudite as you would expect but not for the general reader. The meat for us came in Victoria with a speech on “the role of the judiciary in human rights jurisprudence”.

Lord Neuberger makes a nice point on the hierarchy of power: “In a parliamentary democracy without a constitution…there is a pecking order. First, there is the legislature who can always overrule court decisions; second come the judiciary, who have to give effect to statutes and respect to parliament,

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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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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