Research Briefing
Court and tribunal closures
This briefing paper analyses court and tribunal closures in England and Wales.
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Research Briefing
Litigants in person: the rise of the self-represented litigant in civil and family cases in England and Wales
The available evidence indicates that the proportion of litigants appearing before the civil and family courts in England and Wales without legal representation (litigants in person, also sometimes called self-represented litigants) has increased since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 took many civil and private law children and family cases out of scope for legal aid from 1 April 2013. What does this mean, both for the litigants and for the courts?
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Research Briefing
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The CCRC was created to prevent a repeat of the notorious miscarriages of justice of the 1970s and 1980s.This Commons briefing paper provides an overview of the commission's approach to applications, its history and of the debate as to whether it is fit for purpose.
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Debate Pack
Access to Justice in Wales
A Westminster Hall debate on access to justice in Wales has been scheduled for Tuesday 15 December 2015 at 1630hrs. The member in charge of the debate is Carolyn Harris.
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Research Briefing
Criminal Cases Review Commission (Information) Bill
This Commons Library Briefing gives an overview of the Criminal Cases Review Commission (Information) Bill which would provide for an extension of the Criminal Cases Review Commission’s powers to obtain information to aid its inquiries.
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Research Briefing
Confidentiality and openness in the family courts: current rules and history of their reform
This briefing paper considers transparency in the family courts, including communication of information and media attendance, and background on recent changes in this area.
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Research Briefing
Protocol No.15 to the European Convention on Human Rights: subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation
This note looks briefly at the Brighton reform conference in 2012 and reforms implemented before and since. It considers two of the reforms in Protocol 15 that the UK Government particularly wanted, in the light of the European Court of Human Rights judgments in Hirst and Abu Qatada, concerning subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation.
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Research Briefing
Criminal Justice and Courts Bill: Commons stages
The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2013-14 had its second reading on 24 February 2014 and was carried over to 2014-15 session. Library Research Paper 14/8 The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill provides background on the proposals in the Bill. There are four parts covering criminal justice, including offences relating to extreme pornographic images and release and recall of prisoners, young offenders, secure colleges and youth cautions, changes to courts and tribunals, including strict liability and jury misconduct, and judicial review changes, which attracted much written and oral evidence.
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Research Briefing
Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill would make a number of changes to the criminal justice system including sentencing; cautions; prisoners’ release and recall; and the detention of young offenders. It would also reform court proceedings and costs; establish a new system of strict liability in contempt proceedings; create new offences for juror misconduct; make changes to the conduct and funding of judicial review claims; and amend the law on extreme pornography.
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Research Briefing
The Military Justice System: an introduction
The Service Justice System provides a legal framework that ensures Service personnel are subject to a single disciplinary code that applies wherever they are serving.
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Research Briefing
Crime and Courts Bill [HL]: Committee Stage Report
The Crime and Courts Bill would, amongst other things, establish a new National Crime Agency, change the law on self defence for householders defending themselves from intruders, make changes to community sentences and immigration appeal rights and introduce a new drug driving offence. The Government made a number of substantive amendments in Committee, including on bailiffs, proceeds of crime and extradition.
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Research Briefing
Crime and Courts Bill [HL]
The Bill would establish a new National Crime Agency and make a number of changes to the administration of justice. It also deals with the law of self defence as it applies to householders defending themselves from intruders; makes changes to community sentences and to immigration appeal rights; and introduces a new drug driving offence.
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Research Briefing
Justice and Security Bill
This paper has been prepared for the Second Reading of the Justice and Security Bill in the House of Commons, which is due to take place on 18 December 2012. The Bill, which has proved contentious, was originally introduced in the House of Lords on 28 May 2012. It is aimed at modernising and strengthening the oversight of the intelligence and security services and would allow the civil courts to use closed material procedures to hear sensitive evidence in cases that raised national security concerns. It would also preclude the courts from ordering the disclosure of sensitive information in certain circumstances. The Bill was revised significantly in the Lords and was introduced in the House of Commons on 28 November 2012.
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Research Briefing
Mental Health (Discrimination) (No. 2) Bill: Committee Stage Report
This briefing has been prepared for the Report Stage of the Mental Health (Discrimination) (No 2) Bill on 30 November 2012. The Bill is sponsored by Gavin Barwell MP, who was fourth in the 2012-13 ballot for Private Members’ Bills.
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Research Briefing
The UK and Reform of the European Court of Human Rights
The UK holds the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe until mid-May 2012. The UK has Government supported proposals to reform the European Court of Human Rights contained in the Interlaken and Izmir Declarations and has proposed in the draft Brighton Declaration that more account be taken of the principles of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation.
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