Justice Matters

What’s your view on social mobility and its vital signs at the Bar? Michael Todd QC, Leslie Thomas QC, Alice de Coverley, Daisy Mortimer, Dr Tunde Okewale MBE, Sharon Laurence and James Keeley assess its state of health  

Unmonied and painfully shy, 14-year-old northener Louise Brandon caught the Bar bug and proved naysayers wrong. She looks back on her own experience to assess how far the Bar has come in terms of tapping into the ‘talent elite’  

David Josse QC discusses Slobodan Praljak’s dramatic death  

With events such as the Paradise Papers increasing pressure on government to deal with tax evasion, and bodies corporate on the cusp of prosecution, Anthony Eskander explains what’s in force, what’s coming next and the relevance to barristers  

Peter Susman QC updates his December 2017 article by trying to answer two further questions he has been asked by a number of readers  

In the aftermath of recent disclosure failures, John Warboys release and the case of Poppi Worthington, being able to talk openly is absolutely critical if we are to repair confidence in the justice system, argues Lucy Reed  

Avoid the pitfalls of probabilistic reasoning and examine expert evidence with more confidence: Colin McCaul QC introduces new guidance from the Inns of Court College of Advocacy and the Royal Statistical Society  

‘No practising lawyer should underestimate the difficulty involved in preparing and mounting an effective challenge to a well-prepared expert’s evidence by cross-examination, even when assisted by his or her client’s own expert. 

Gemma Lindfield and Amelia Nice look behind the headlines at Spain’s extradition request of the ex-Catalan Leader and its subsequent withdrawal. Does the concept of ‘political offence’ have broader import?  

On 3 November 2017, Spain issued a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for the deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and four former regional ministers.  

Democracy is undermined if we silence whistleblowing sources in the public sector, argues Lucie Wibberley, who reports on the key issues arising from the trial of prison officer Robert Norman  

Robert Norman, a journalistic source and prison officer, was jailed in 2015 for providing truthful accounts of the difficulties and dangers at HMP Belmarsh to journalist Stephen Moyes, in return for payment by the Daily Mirror and News of the World. 

Angus McCullough QC considers the role of judicial review as the EU Withdrawal Bill is enacted, and after Brexit day has dawned  

A flash-back to 1980: the first series of the TV sitcom, Yes Minister  and a discussion between a Permanent Secretary (Sir Humphrey Appleby) and his Minister (the Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP):