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When sorrows come…….
Marc Beaumont considers how the Bar’s Complaints process might be made more tolerable
"When sorrows come - they come not single spies - but in battalions." Hamlet’s Uncle Claudius may have been a psychopathic killer, but he spoke the language of a wise and just monarch. When accusation is heaped on accusation, the world can be a lonely and frightening place. And it is no less so for Barristers.

Where there is no publicity there is no justice?
By Stephen Cobb QC, family law specialist
Jeremy Bentham, the Eighteenth Century jurist, philosopher and social reformer, believed that “…in the darkness of secrecy, sinister interest and evil in every shape have full swing. Only in proportion as publicity has place can any of the checks applicable to judicial injustice operate.

Dangerous Minds
By Thom Dyke, Barrister
The Court of Appeal in Ferguson v British Gas [2009] EWCA Civ 46 sent a strong message that it was not prepared to accept any attempt to escape liability for criminal and tortious acts by hiding behind what was termed by Sedley LJ as ‘the privilege of incorporation.

When the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) came into being in April 2006 I know not everybody was convinced about the need to set up an independent body to select judges
By Baroness Prashar, Chair, JAC
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge was kind enough to say this year that in his view the debate over whether there should be a Commission, and whether judges should be selected in open competition on merit is for the past not the future.

Enhancing the Participation of Children in Family Proceedings
By Nicholas Crichton, District Judge, sitting at the Inner London Family Proceedings Court
The issue of whether or not children should have the opportunity to play a greater part in proceedings where decisions will be made which will affect the rest of their lives is becoming the subject of increasing debate .

Review of the Public Access rules
Christopher Gibson QC, Bar Standards Board
The public access scheme allows lay people to instruct barristers directly, without the need for the involvement of a solicitor or other professional client. The scheme is limited in the areas that can be covered and the different sorts of work that must be done by both barrister and client. There are currently over 800 barristers offering public access services to a wide range of clients in different areas of practice

Witness Anonymity under the spotlight
By Tim Dutton QC,2008 Chairman, Bar Council

The right of every defendant to ‘know and see’ his accusers has been a pillar of our justice system because it prevents those with a grudge from falsely accusing defendants with impunity. This has become particularly prevalent in cases which have emerged from police campaigns which target gun crime and gang culture

When Memory is the Evidence: Key Points from the Science of Human Memory
By Professor Martin A. Conway, Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds
It is not unusual to encounter cases where the only evidence are accounts of what are claimed to be memories. This frequently occurs in cases of historic sexual abuse but can occur in many other types of case too
A new Framework for Plea Negotiation in Fraud Cases
By Stephen Hockman QC, Head of 6 Pump Court Chambers The management of long and complex fraud cases has for some years been a concern in our legal system. The Lord Chief Justice’s Protocol already requires the prosecution and defence to resolve issues and agree evidence where possible prior to the trial. Formal Criminal Procedure Rules encourage this and build opportunities for discussions into the court timetable. 

Call to ban magistrates from sending minor offenders to jail
By Carol Hedderman, Professor of Criminology at the University of Leicester
Anyone who questions whether we need to be sending quite so many people to prison risks being labelled soft on crime and being more concerned with the rights and needs of offenders than the rights and needs of victims.

The National DNA Database: crime solving tool or violation of civil liberties?
By Sir Bob Hepple QC, FBA, Emeritus Master of Clare College and Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Cambridge.
DNA profiling has had a dramatic impact on the detection and prosecution of crime. But this rapidly developing technology has also given rise to many concerns, for example the indefinite retention of DNA samples from those who are not charged or are acquitted;the irrevocability of consent given in fraught circumstances by victims and witnesses. 

A new era dawns: Are we awake?
Andrew Butler, Barrister at Tanfield Chambers, considers the arrival of the Legal Services Act and what this means for how barristers should market their expertise, and reviews his chambers’ experience so far in embracing the new era. The aim is clear: the Act seeks to encourage change in the legal marketplace, but how, as barristers, will this affect our profession? .
   
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