Law In Focus Podcast

In this next edition of the Faculty's series of videos entitled 'Law in Focus', Mrs Nicola Padfield explores some aspects of the important decision of the Supreme Court in Nicklinson (R (Nicklinson and another) v Ministry of Justice; R (AM) v The DPP [2014] UKSC 38) focusing on the minority judgement of Baroness Hale. Nicola Padfield is Reader in Criminal and Penal Justice at the University of Cam...

This item discusses C-131/12 Google Spain; Google v Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), Mario Costeja González (2014), the Court of Justice of the European Union's long awaited "right to be forgotten" case which examined the rights of individuals mentioned in public domain material indexed on Google search. This Court decision enunciated both the scope and breadth of data protection ob...

In eurosceptic circles it is widely stated that European criminal justice threatens to undermine the basic values of the common law, and this is put forward as a reason why the UK should 'withdraw from the Europe'. This argument was recently put forward by Nigel Farage, of the UK Independence Party, in an article he wrote for The Independent. In this presentation Professor John Spencer - one of th...

The case of Vinter v UK was recently decided by the European Court of Human Rights, and has raised a good deal of controversy regarding the right of the United Kingdom to sentence a prisoner to a life sentence (the Whole Life Tariff) without the chance of review. Mrs Nicola Padfield discusses the judgement of the European Court, and the corresponding reaction from members of the UK Government and...

Dr Findlay Stark examines the defence of marital coercion, which recently hit the headlines with the trials of Vicky Pryce and former Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne for perverting the course of justice over an attempt to transfer penalty points for a speeding offence. Findlay Stark is the Yates Glazebrook Fellow in Law at Jesus College, Cambridge. His interests lie in...

Dr Brian Sloan examines the case of Re J (Children) [2013] UKSC 9, in which the Supreme Court considered a child protection case involving a mother who had previously been suspected of causing significant harm to her child, and was now looking after different children in a new relationship. Brian discusses the implications of the case and analyses the Court's attempts to balance non-intervention i...

In the light of the discharge of the jury in the trial of Vicky Pryce, questions have been asked about the value of the jury system. Professor John Spencer discusses the pitfalls of the system over the years, and suggests ways in which the delivery of justice might be improved. Professor Spencer is Professor of Law, Co-Director of the Centre for European Legal Studies, and Honorary President of th...

Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights holding that the UK’s blanket ban on voting by convicted prisoners violates Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights have caused controversy in the UK. Professor David Feldman discusses the judgements of the European Court, and considers the principles behind allowing prisoners to vote. Professor Feldman is Rouse Ball Profes...

At the 2012 Conservative Party conference, new Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced plans to amend the criminal law to ensure that even householders who react in a way that may seem disproportionate in the cold light of day will be protected from prosecution. This reopened a long-running discussion about the balance of legal rights between the home owner and those trespassing onto the proper...

The House of Lords Reform Bill, which is currently before Parliament, is the latest of many attempts to reform the upper chamber of the UK Parliament. It is over a hundred years since the enactment of the Parliament Act 1911, which changed the balance of power between the Lords and the Commons, but which was intended only as a stopgap measure pending the transformation of the Lords into an elected...

The legal aid system was created in 1949 as part of the development of the post-war Welfare State, alongside the National Health Service. It provides funding both for legal advice and out-of-court representation by lawyers, for example in negotiating the settlement of disputes, and – should it come to this – legal representation in court. However, this is set to change in April 2013, when the cont...

There has recently been a great deal of controversy surrounding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in relation to the attempted deportation to Jordan of radical cleric Abu Qatada, and the decision to oblige the UK to give convicted prisoners the right to vote. Professor David Feldman discusses the judgements of the European Court, and the corresponding actions by UK courts and the UK...