News & Advice

In 2016, HMCTS launched an ambitious portfolio of reforms later brought together to form the courts and tribunals reform programme. It aims to modernise the justice system by reducing complexity and providing new ways for people to engage. HMCTS intends to achieve this by introducing new technology and working practices, moving activity out of the… Continue reading Courts Reform – Progress Report

In 2022 the Law Commission was asked to clarify the current legal status of remote driving and consider possible reforms. The request came from the UK Government’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and the International Vehicle Standards team at the Department for Transport. This work built on the Law Commission’s work in the… Continue reading Driverless Cars and Legal Reforms – One Step Closer?

The current Justice Secretary has long been on record as no fan of the Parole Board. A string of high-profile interventions, primarily unsuccessful, has led to new changes being announced, intending to make it more difficult for many offenders to secure release. In his latest move, Dominic Raab proposes increasing the number of Parole Board… Continue reading Parole Board Reforms – Stacking the odds?

The Court of Appeal has issued guidance on whether it is ever appropriate to disqualify someone from driving a motor vehicle for the rest of their life. The Court was considering a case where a Judge made the following remarks when imposing such a ban: “… you are an absolute menace to other road users.… Continue reading Driving Disqualifications – Lifetime Ban?

IPP sentences were introduced to prevent serious offenders being released when still a danger to the public. They were scrapped in 2012, but nearly 3000 people remain in prison under the legislation, with almost half of these having been recalled to prison after earlier being released. The Justice Committee said in a report published in… Continue reading IPP Prisoners Refused Get Out of Jail Card

This will be a concise article because the answer to the question, at least for most of us, is that we don’t know much! What we know is that a complaint was made to the police that led to Greenwood being charged in October 2022 with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling… Continue reading The Mason Greenwood Case – What do we know?

Two reports, one published this week, lay bare the grim conditions that await some prisoners.  An investigation by the Prison Advice and Care Trust found: The majority of families witnessed a significant decline in their loved ones’ mental and physical health during their custodial sentence. They attributed this to numerous and inter-related systemic factors including:… Continue reading Grave Concerns Raised Over Prisoner Care

New laws, in force from 1 October 2023 will make a number of amendments to the regime governing regulated and reportable substances under the Poisons Act 1972.  The purpose of the amendments is to strengthen existing safeguards that are in place to prevent the illicit use of certain explosives, precursors and poisons to cause harm.… Continue reading Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons

On 28 June 2022, the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving was increased from 14 years imprisonment to life imprisonment. The Sentencing Council is currently considering a revision to its sentencing guideline to reflect this change. Until that work is complete, there is an understandable confusion as to what level of uplift is… Continue reading Death by Dangerous Driving – Sentencing under Review

The issue of modern slavery and legal defences that might be available to those suspected of crime has occupied a great deal of judicial time over the last five years.  The latest case to come before the court, AFU [2023] EWCA Crim 23, resulted in the conviction being quashed, despite guilty pleas having been entered… Continue reading Modern Slavery – A Legal Minefield