header-logo header-logo

There may be trouble ahead

04 June 2015 / Geraldine Morris
Issue: 7655 / Categories: Features , Family
printer mail-detail
nlj_7655_morris

Geraldine Morris looks at the newly elected government’s plans & the potential impact on family law

So, the new government is the old one, but without their former coalition partners the Liberal Democrats. There were many policy aspects of the previous government that caused family lawyers concern, although of course there were some positive aspects too for others. The Conservative party’s second term provides them with an opportunity to follow through on policy developments started in their first term, as well as develop areas of reform they had alluded to previously such as human rights. The following is a summary of some areas of potential change.

Human rights

This is the big one. The government has said that it will seek to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) and replace it with a UK Bill of Rights. Tory heavyweight, Michael Gove, has been appointed as Lord Chancellor reportedly as a man on a mission to see this through. Human rights are the lifeblood of family law; a few examples are:

  • A
If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll