Weekly Round Up 21.09.12
CBA Chairman’s Update: Michael Turner QC
Headlines:
- I bring to your attention a new procedure for lodging authorities in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).
- I let you into the secret of the cost of our Regulator and warn about the possible rising cost of your practicing certificate.
- I continue to encourage the use of the Forums on the Website and remind you of the Forums open.
- I continue to remind you of the need to appoint CBA chambers representatives.
- I encourage you to throw your hat in the ring in the forthcoming Elections.
- I remind you as always of upcoming events.
1) Lodging Authorities With the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
There is a new procedure for lodging authorities with the Court of Appeal make sure you are conversant with it HERE
2) The Cost of our Regulator
The Bar Council delegates its’ powers of regulation to the Bar Standards Board. It is required to do so under the Legal Services Act to ensure that the Regulator is independent. However, the Bar Standards Board takes 46% of the PCF (Practicing Certificate Fee), as well as the subvention from the Inns of Court (currently £1.5 m) and all additional income generated by fines etc. Last year they received a 20% increase. Any further increase in their budget will require a hike in the cost of the PCF. You may wish to express your views to the Bar Council as to how much further income any Regulator should be permitted to take from the Profession.
3) Forums on the Website
There are a number of Forums open on the Website as follows:-
These provide a vital link for you to express your views and provide the CBA with the necessary information to fight your battles. Please contribute to them.
4) CBA Chambers Representatives.
Since the call we have received appointed CBA representatives from 12 Chambers. This is a woefully poor return. We have a very hard year ahead of us and we need these representatives in place to ensure everyone’s voice is properly heard. Please help.
5) Forthcoming Elections
Nominations are now being accepted for the following:-
CBA Treasurer
Two QC posts on the CBA Executive
Two 7 years and under posts on the CBA executive
I have a very good and incredibly hard working group around me. We desperately need more of the same, please put yourself forward if you care about this profession.
Forthcoming CBA Events:
A Dinner in Honour of Hooper LJ and the Retiring Bailey Judges:
Friday 28th September 2012
Stationers Hall, London
Online booking HERE
Final Week to Secure Your Ticket
The Kalisher Lecture:
“Experience is by industry achieved”
Given by Martin Shaw, Kalisher trustee and Bencher of Gray’s Inn
Tuesday 16th October 2012
The Royal College of Surgeons
Booking details to follow
CBA Autumn Conference:
Experts
Saturday 3rd November 2012
IET Conference Centre, Savoy Place, London
Booking details to follow.
Old Bailey Lecture:
Work of the Sentencing Council
Tuesday 6th November 2012
The Old Bailey
To secure your place please email Aaron
Old Bailey Lecture:
Research on Juries
Tuesday 4th December 2012
The Old Bailey
To secure your place please email Aaron
CBA NEWS:
EGP Protocol:
The document for both Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire can be found HERE
EGP Protocol:
The document for Cardiff, Newport and Merthry Crown Courts can be found HERE
EGP Protocol:
The document for the Sussex area as sent by The List Officer at Chichester Crown Court can be found HERE
EGP Protocol:
The document for the Leeds, Bradford and York area as sent by The Resident Judges at Chichester Crown Court can be found HERE
Bar Council/SIAC seminar 28th September-call for applications for speaking slots:
We are looking for speakers for a joint Bar Council and Singapore International Arbitration Centre seminar that will focus on international arbitration, taking place on 28 September at 4pm.
More information on the seminar topics and speaker selection criteria is available HERE. Please note that the application deadline is 5pm on Wednesday 12 September.
Health Support and Advice for the Bar – Law Care:
LawCare provides an independent and confidential service which assists members of the Law Societies of England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland and the Isle of Man; the Institute of Legal Executives; the Bar Councils of England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland; the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland; the Department of Justice; the Institute of Barristers Clerks; and the National Association of Paralegals. This is a confidential advisory service to help lawyers, their immediate families and their support staff to deal with the health issues and related emotional difficulties that can result from a stressful career as a lawyer, or working with lawyers. LawCare is there to support and assist you, too.
LawCare offers you the opportunity to discuss problems that are interfering with, or have the potential to interfere with, your work performance and / or your family life and to seek to help in resolving these problems.
Through LawCare, help is available to those who are suffering from stress and/or depression, or who have alcohol, drug or other dependency concerns, or eating disorders.
There is a helpline which is open 365 days a year:-
9am – 7.30pm, Monday to Friday
10am – 4pm Saturday, Sunday and UK Bank Holidays
0800 018 4299
Further details can be found on the website here
Follow the chairman on twitter:
Other News:
Criminal Law Week – updates (issue 34)
CBA Bookclub Page:
The CBA book club page has just been updated, allowing CBA members to enjoy a 15% discount on the forthcoming editions of Blackstone’s Criminal Practice 2012 and the Blackstone’s Magistrates’ Court Handbook 2013, as well as many other Criminal Law books.
Your exclusive bookclub page can be found HERE
Rape specialist advocates – new guidance:
The CPS have recently issued guidance to their staff on the approach to be taken when instructing rape specialist advocates, particularly when the instructed advocate is not available and a stand-in has to attend an interim hearing. The guidance is not contentious and should be helpful to Chambers. The guidance was issued by Charlotte Triggs, CPS policy advisor on 28 August 2012.
The guidance states:
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Rape Specialist Prosecutors and paralegal officers/caseworkers responsible for briefing advocates in rape cases are asked to note an amendment to chapter 16 of the CPS Legal Guidance on Rape and Sexual Offences.
The new section headed ‘The Instructed Advocate’ emphasises that wherever possible the instructed advocate should conduct the hearing, including defence applications for bail and other interlocutory hearings. Where they are not available another accredited advocate from the same Chambers (or a CPS rape specialist in the case of an in-house HCA) should conduct the hearing having been briefed by the instructed advocate. Where no such alternative advocate is available, a non-accredited advocate (or non-rape specialist HCA) may be instructed but only where the instructed advocate is able to speak directly to their replacement and ensure they are fully briefed on the circumstances of the case.
The aim of this guidance is to ensure that rape cases are prosecuted to the highest possible standard and if not by the instructed advocate by an alternative advocate who is fully briefed by the instructed advocate on all relevant matters.
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Secretary of State for Justice:
Chris Grayling has today been announced as the Secretary of State for Justice following a Ministerial reshuffle. He was previously Minister of State for Employment at the Department of Work and Pensions.
Speaking about the appointment, Permanent Secretary Ursula Brennan said: “I’m delighted to welcome Chris Grayling to the Ministry of Justice, who joins us in the midst of a radical programme to reform the justice system. I’d also like to pay tribute to our previous Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, for the leadership he has given the department and the extent of the reform that he has delivered”.
International News & Events:
For the latest upcoming international Events and opportunities click here
What makes a good witness? Presenting evidence in the courtroom:
Visually-recorded evidence in chief is thought to produce the most comprehensive and accurate record of the interview process and be best evidence. But is this really the case? We are currently conducting a research project examining views from criminal justice professionals regarding the issue of the medium in which evidence in chief is presented. A topic that has driven interesting debate nationally. The research concerns three inter-related areas; (i) your views regarding your perceptions of witness testimony and certain terms that are often used when determining its credence, (ii) your views on the way the police gather information and how this impacts on witness evidence in chief, and (iii) your perceptions of the medium in which evidence in chief is presented in the courtroom. As part of the on-going research we would be grateful if you could take some of your valuable time to complete the questionnaire using the link provided below. It should take about 15 minutes to complete and participation is anonymous. If you would like to discuss this further or for any other information relating to the research and for related publications on these issues please contact either Jemma Hodgkins, [email protected] or Dr Rebecca Milne, Reader in Forensic Psychology, Director of the Centre of Forensic Interviewing, Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth. [email protected] or on (+44) 2392 843 927. Thank you for your assistance.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/witnessevidencequestionnaire
Other Events:
The Bar Council and Singapore International Arbitration Centre seminar that will focus on international arbitration:
28 September at 4pm at Gray’s Inn, London
The seminar is In follow up to a successful seminar run jointly with SIAC in Singapore in March this year. A panel of Singaporean and English Counsel will examine financial services disputes, fast track remedies and ethical debates in international arbitration. The International Committee Chairman, Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC will Chair the session and the Hon Justice Sundaresh Menon, judge of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Singapore, will give an opening address. The speaker panel members will be announced closer to the time.
The seminar will be followed by a drinks reception at 18.30.
The event is credited by the BSB with 1.5 CPD hours and is free to attend. If you are interested in attending, please register by email by 21 September.
The event is sponsored by COMBAR.
Further details found HERE
The Young Bar Conference:
The Young Bar Conference 2012 is being held on Saturday 6 October and registration forms are now being accepted. Please click HERE, for booking information and programme.
The European Institutions: OLAF, EUROJUST and EUROPOL:
What are they, what use are they and could we manage without them? And do we need another one – the European Public Prosecutor?
Thursday 18 October 2012
14.00 – 17.45
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
Further details and booking information can be found HERE
Annual Bar Conference 2012, 10 September 2012, London Hilton Metropole:
The Annual Bar Conference is the place to learn, debate and look to the future. It is a unique forum for sharing ideas as it is the principal and largest event in the Bar’s calendar.
The theme of this year’s Conference is “The Modern Bar: Accessible, Adaptable and Relevant.” This year we will be considering whether and how the Bar needs to change in order to keep up with a quickly evolving legal landscape. The market for legal services is changing rapidly: business structures are becoming more flexible, competition is ever-increasing, and sources of funding are under pressure as never before. The conference allows the Bar community to have its say and consider:
- How the Bar can continue to be fit for purpose
- How the Bar can anticipate and adapt to new opportunities
- How the Bar can ensure sustainable long term growth in a challenging environment.
The Criminal Bar session continues this theme with its title: “Cutting legal aid: Damaging democracy and killing open justice”.
Please click here to view the complete CBA session, speakers and the whole conference programme.
The early bird rate will be ending on Tuesday 25 September so to book your place at the discounted rate, please click here.
The Slynn Foundation are delighted that The RT Hon the Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers KG, who will retire as President of the UK Supreme Court in September, has agreed to deliver the 10th Slynn Foundation Lecture on Monday 12 November 2012. More details will follow but please note the date.
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