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Zander’s reflections: 2 February 2024

02 February 2024 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 8057 / Categories: Features , Profession , Criminal
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Michael Zander KC on why the correction of miscarriages of justice is so slow…

Looking a few days ago among my papers, I happened upon something that echoes the story captured so powerfully by ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

In April 1992, as a member of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, I sent the chairman, Lord Runciman, an eight-page memo asking that it be circulated to fellow commission members. The memo was entitled ‘Re Miscarriages of Justice’. It raised half-a-dozen different issues, starting with ‘CPS HQ “sitting on” information relevant to a miscarriage of justice’ and ‘C3 of the Home Office are also prone to excessive delay’.

Home Office Guidance to Chief Officers on Police and Discipline Procedures stated that when an investigation brought to light material suggesting that a prosecution was unsafe or unfounded, ‘the chief officer should immediately draw the relevant material to the attention of the Crown Prosecution Service (Headquarters)’ (para 4.29).

If something has to be reported immediately to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

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NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
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