23 June 2014


www.lawgazette.co.uk


MPs call for youth court law training


By Catherine Baksi » Mandatory specialist training for criminal lawyers


working with children should be intro- duced ‘without delay’, urges a damning report from MPs and peers on the fail- ings of the youth justice system. The report highlights a lack of spe-


cialist professionals, with many practi- tioners, including lawyers and judges, insufficiently trained to recognise young offenders’ needs, and lacking knowledge specific to young defend- ants and youth court law. The youth court, it says, is often used


as a place for junior legal practitioners to ‘cut their teeth’, with youth court law


mistakenly perceived as less complex and important than adult court law. This results in poor representation, needs not being identified and inap- propriate sentences being advocated. The report calls on the three main


regulators to introduce ‘without delay’ a requirement for all practitioners rep- resenting children at the police station and practising in youth proceedings to be accredited to do so. For new entrants into youth proceedings, this would take the form of an initial spell of at least 10 hours of continuing professional development-accredited youth train- ing and an annual two-hour refresher.


The report follows an inquiry chaired by Lord Carlile Training should cover youth court


law, the needs of child defendants (including mental health issues, speech, language and communication needs, welfare issues and child develop- ment), training to enable defendants to participate fully and fairly in court- room proceedings, and jurisdiction and practice directions. It should also cover the impact of


interventions, including visits to youth custodial institutions and community services at least twice a year. The report follows an inquiry chaired by barrister and Liberal Dem- ocrat peer Lord Carlile which was launched amid concerns that criminal and youth courts do not prevent youth reoffending and have inadequate regard to the welfare of the child.


NEWS 3


BME ‘DANGER’


» Four consultations proposing regulatory reforms represent a threat to the viability of ethnic minority firms, a lawyers’ group has claimed. Asian Lawyers GB criticised the six weeks allowed to comment on plans to change rules governing accounts, insurance, multidisciplinary practices and the compensation fund. The group said: ‘We believe each and every one of these four consultations represents a clear and present danger to the continuing existence and viability of BME firms representing the needs of BME communities.’


â See p4


Cases on hold pending post-Mitchell guidance » A criminal barrister fined £500 for contempt has


‘Rude’ challenge


By John Hyde » The Master of the Rolls is expected to issue fresh guid-


ance on relief from sanctions after hearing three post-Mitchell cases in the Court of Appeal. Lord Dyson heard the cases over the course of two days last week with a view to enhanc- ing the guidance he laid out last November with the Mitchell ruling. The Gazette understands cases


across the country have been put on hold pending the outcome of the three appeals, each of which relates to application for relief from sanctions imposed for non-compliance with case management rules. Lord Justice Jackson, who designed


the rules as part of his reform of civil justice, sat alongside Dyson at the hearing. Conceding that his attempt to provide guidance in Mitchell had been unsuccessful, Dyson sought to temper expectations, saying: ‘We can’t write a lexicon with a solution for all


the different problems that can arise.’ One of the cases, Denton & Ors v TH


White, is an appeal against a judge’s decision to allow six witness state- ments that were served late. Andrew McLaughlin, representing the appel- lant contesting the relief, said the original judge’s approach was ‘like a tail-end batsman who took a swipe at it in an unorthodox way with disas- trous consequences’. The Law Society and Bar Council


were invited to make interventions. David Holland QC, for the Society, said the judgment’s strict applica- tion of case management rules has led to ‘a raft of satellite litigation’ that has clogged up the courts, and led to inconsistent lower court decisions and a much more adversarial, non-cooper- ative litigation culture with increased costs. Appearing for the Bar Council, Mark Friston said Mitchell had ‘taken the civility out of civil litigation’.


challenged the decision – claiming the judge was rude to him. The Court of Appeal heard that His Honour Judge Kelson, sitting at Durham Crown Court, told Ian West of Middlesbrough set Fountain Chambers to sit down six times. West, represent- ing a defendant charged with theft and pervert- ing the course of justice, failed to return to court as requested. At a subsequent hearing Kelson found West to have been in contempt of court and fined him ‘for conscious defiance’. Challenging the fine before Sir Brian Leveson, West countered that the judge had been rude to him and ‘terse and laconic’ throughout the hearing. Judgment was reserved.


IT competence test


» IT competence could become an essential test for joining corporate panels. Construction giant Carillion


is requiring firms to work with its matter manage- ment and other systems, raising the prospect of UK businesses following the example of Kia Motors in the US, which introduced a ‘base technology competency audit’ as part of its external counsel selection process. â See IT column, p8


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