By Daniel Cloake, 10th June 2021 “It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.’” So reads the infamous line from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy to justify the assertion that the all-important plans hadContinue reading “‘No Entry’: A committal hearing at the RCJ”
Tag Archives: Transparency
Transparency, Privacy and the history of the Court of Protection
By Janet Weston, 27th April 2021 The Open Justice Court of Protection Project, which supports members of the public to observe hearings in the Court of Protection, is the clearest possible evidence that the Court of Protection can no longer be described (as it was in the press in 2015) as the most sinister andContinue reading “Transparency, Privacy and the history of the Court of Protection”
How not to do open justice in the Court of Appeal
“There’s clearly a case for saying that skeleton arguments should normally be automatically available to observers in a public hearing and provided to us by counsel in a suitable format. “
Mentoring undergraduates to observe a Court of Protection hearing
My experience of mentoring students and integrating a court hearing into the course I was teaching was time consuming but it was a rewarding teaching experience. Engaging with how this hearing unfolded in real time has helped my students to understand the complex interface between law, medicine and lived experience. This can only enhance their development as students, as future professionals, and as citizens and help to promote the principles of open justice.
How being watched changes how justice is done: ‘Insider’ Perspectives
It is a fundamental principle that justice should not only be done, but should be seen to be done. With nobody watching, ‘open justice’ is simply an abstract ideal. But how does being observed change how justice is done?
Does being watched change how justice is done? A researcher’s reflections
Now seems like an ideal time to reflect on what we have learned about the relationships between open justice and social justice and to discuss with those working across other courts and tribunals how our experiences intersect with theirs – what we might learn, and how we might maximise our impact.
Excluding the public from Court of Protection hearings: A case before Mr Justice Keehan
By Celia Kitzinger, 7th Jan 2020 Open justice. The words express a principle at the heart of our system of justice and vital to the rule of law. …. Open justice lets in the light and allows the public to scrutinise the workings of the law, for better or for worse. (Lord Justice Toulson R (Guardian News andContinue reading “Excluding the public from Court of Protection hearings: A case before Mr Justice Keehan”
When Expert Evidence Fails
A hearing before Mr Justice Poole (COP 13551368) listed for three days (26-28 October 2020) was adjourned, only part-heard, because of inadequate reports from the expert witness. The expert witness, Dr Q, a consultant psychiatrist, gave evidence that the person at the centre of the case (let’s call her Barbara) lacked mental capacity to make any of the decisions before the court. His evidence simply collapsed under cross-examination.
A COVID-Secure Attended Hearing
By Adam Tanner, 28th October 2020 Over the past seven years I have worked within the justice system and have been an observer as a law student and PhD researcher in several hundred in-person court hearings. Since the lockdown restrictions commencing in March 2020, there has been a new feel to the justice system inContinue reading “A COVID-Secure Attended Hearing”
A Decision about Capacity
Ruth was not in court. She was represented in court by a barrister appointed and instructed via the Official Solicitor. Her barrister reported that “Ruth is very clear in her own mind that she does not lack capacity to make these decisions”. But he did not argue on her behalf that the court should accept that she has capacity.
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 