Commentary
News, analysis, comment and updates from ICLR's case law and UK legislation platform
For all practical purposes, the free legal database run by the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) is an official source of judgments from senior courts that any member of the public or any journalist can use. But while anyone can read individual judgments and quote bits of them elsewhere, what are the rules about downloading and re-using the content in bulk? Is it public open data or are there restrictions on its re-use? There seems to be some confusion about this, which this article (reposted from the Transparency Project blog) aims to unpick.… Continue reading
Louise Hopson, assistant editor of the Business Law Reports, highlights a recent Court of Appeal judgment warning practitioners against superfluous citation of unreported cases.… Continue reading
David Burrows explains the current state of the common law on release of court material after a family case hearing… Continue reading
David Burrows considers what a recent Supreme Court decision says for open justice and common law proceedings generally, and family proceedings in particular. … Continue reading
As we celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Legal Aid Act 1949, David Burrows looks at the origins and current state of public funding for legal advice and litigation… Continue reading
Jurisdiction to make and enforce an order Two very different aspects of the reporting restrictions order (RRO) can be seen in case law over the past couple of weeks. In AB (Application for Reporting Restrictions: Inquest) [2019] EWHC 1668 (QB) (27 June 2019) the question of service of an application in civil proceedings and the… Continue reading
In a recent case the Court of Appeal has reminded practitioners of the need to cite The Law Reports in accordance with the relevant Practice Direction … Continue reading
Earlier this month the National Archives, who manage the official online publication of all UK legislation, announced the launch of two new services in connection with EU legislation and Brexit. … Continue reading
David Burrows explains how parliamentary privilege was designed to stop the courts interfering with Parliament, not to allow parliamentarians to interfere with the work of the courts. He considers Lord Hain’s use of the privilege to trump a court injunction in the light of a recent speech on the matter by the Lord Chief Justice. … Continue reading
David Burrows considers the massive gulf in the approaches to human rights of two jurisdictions – the United States and the United Kingdom – that share a common law legacy. … Continue reading
