Tag Archives: supreme court

Ministry of Truth

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When I used to travel on business particularly in the countries of Latin America I used to enjoy the very real differences in the way lawyers worked and the institutions in which they operated.

There are, of course, obvious differences between the way of life I was used to in the UK and in Continental Europe and what lies below the Panama Canal. In particular I remember the disparity between what you leave behind at Miami airport and the reality of life in the outskirts of Caracas as you drive up the canyon from the airport to the city centre.

However, this is not meant to be a social commentary, you will be relieved to know. No, my point is a simple one. My purpose is to highlight certain developments during my practicing life which I strongly suspect have not been for the best.

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Bloody Sunday and IT

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When I was in private practice, I acted for the Bloody Sunday Tribunal. The inquiry is chaired by Lord Saville of Newdigate (originally a Law Lord and now one of the Supreme Court Justices) and is likely to report next year, some 12 years after it was set up.

Much has been written about the inquiry, and doubtless considerably more is to come when the report is published in 2010, but I was interested to see that Lord Saville’s experience in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry helped to inform the design of the IT systems which have been developed for the Supreme Court.

According to a recent article by Richard Susskind  (‘How Bloody Sunday helped to future-proof the Supreme Court’s IT‘, The Times, 1st October 2009) Lord Saville chaired a committee including Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Master of the Rolls, Jenny Rowe, Chief Executive of the Supreme Court and various legal technologists, systems specialists and ministry officials.

Susskind says “Introducing IT to the Supreme Court was made easier because a high-tech court was envisaged from the outset. The Ministry of Justice and various IT suppliers developed the systems and an IT user group oversaw the project”.

I had no involvement in the selection of the IT systems used by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry but there was a considerable amount of material to be handled and I will always be grateful to Kelvin McGregor Alcorn (then of Oyez Legal Technologies, now of Deloitte) for introducing me to the delights of electronic document management during the course of the almost 6 years I worked with the inquiry.

Happy memories!

The Last Straw

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I remember a time when law firms were at pains to make it clear that they did not accept service of proceedings by fax unless specific arrangements had been made in advance. Doubtless many firms still carry the necessary words as part of their email signature and/or on their notepaper.

Now, suddenly, there is a new problem!!

On 1st October 2009, the High Court jumped into the “Tweetosphere” (is there such a word, after Blogosphere?) by agreeing to allow a claimant to serve an injunction via Twitter.

Mr Justice Lewison agreed with Matthew Richardson instructed by Griffin Law that Twitter was the best way to reach the person behind www.twitter.com/blaneysblarney whose anonymous writer was said to be impersonating Donal Blaney. Richardson said that the ruling had widespread implications for identity theft on the internet. A spokesman from Strathclyde University called it a landmark decision.

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Blog Supreme

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I have to thank Jon Robins of the newspaper City A.M. for the reference in his article on 30th September entitled ‘Pop Art and poetry in the Supreme Court‘ for alerting me to the existence of a newish blog about the Supreme Court which opens its doors for business today, 1st October.

The blog (www.ukscblog.com)  edited by Hugh Tomlinson QC and colleagues from Matrix Chambers and Olswang has set out since May 2009 to comment on the new court and its workings. As is well known, the new court replaces the Law Lords who, according to the blog’s strap line, have sat within Parliament for over 600 years since 1399.

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Neuberger sweeps clean

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Lord Neuberger is to be the 95th Master of the Rolls since the 13th Century. At 60, he is the youngest of the Law Lords and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top job.

“I am fully aware of the many challenges of my new office which will include the implementation of the review being conducted by Lord Justice Jackson into the costs of litigation…”, he said when his appointment was announced. 

A fresh approach (he takes office in October when the present incumbent moves to the new Supreme Court) and talk of implementation of the Jackson recommendations, encourages me to believe that the reforms introduced by Lord Woolf in 1999 will be brought up to date with new rules relating to the sensible use of technology in litigation where such use can bring about savings in time and costs.

Doubtless this will be a relief to the paying client!

From the supreme to the ridiculous

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UK Supreme CourtI noticed a report in The Lawyer on 31st July relating to the swansong of the House of Lords Judicial Committee.

The Committee is being replaced by the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October.

Apparently, the staff have a sense of humour. On their last day callers to 020-7219-3111 heard Frank Sinatra singing “I did it my way” accompanying an answerphone message listing the last appeals heard in Chambers. On the day I called, Ol’ Blue Eyes had been replaced by a rather dull message…

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