Law Pod UK

In Episode 116 Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Richard Scorer, Head of Abuse at Slater and Gordon, about progress of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and in particular the investigation into abuse within minority religions. The episode also examines the impact virtual hearings has had on evidence to date.

Rosalind English talks to senior policy advisor to the campaign group Compassion in World Farming about food security and the danger of pathogens in intensive livestock rearing. Does the Agriculture Bill address these issues or will new trade deals mean cheap imported meat over responsible farming?

In Episode 114, Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Jennifer MacLeod from Brick Court Chambers about two recent Divisional Court decisions concerning CPS rape prosecution policy.

With the new contact tracing app due to be rolled out in the rest of the UK after the Isle of Wight trial in May, Rosalind English discusses privacy concerns with Professor Lilian Edwards of Newcastle University, whose Bill seeks to address some of these concerns.

Robert Spano, who recently commenced his tenure as President of the European Court of Human Rights in the difficult circumstances of lockdown and remote working, discusses with Rosalind English the challenges we face with government’s reliance on automated decision making. This is a question rendered particularly sharp with the pandemic and the conditions under which the restrictions will be lifte...

In Episode 111 Emma-Louise Fenelon discusses with Peter Skelton QC the recent changes in legislation and guidance concerning the Coronial jurisdiction since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the ways in which Coroners and practitioners are rising to meet the challenges faced in lockdown.

Rosalind English discusses with William Edis QC a recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman could claim against the NHS damages that covered a commercial surrogacy arrangement that would be illegal in this country. The principle is now clear, and there is no parliamentary appetite to overturn it. You can get compensation to make a commercial surrogacy arrangements abroad, if negligence has deprived...

In Episode 109, Emma-Louise Fenelon speaks to Kiran Barhey about the most recent edition of the Quarterly Medical Law Review, a new resource for practitioners looking to stay up to date in medical law.

Rosalind English talks to two barristers who happen to have served in the armed forces before going to the law, so they know something about emergencies and personal protective equipment. Dominic Ruck Keene and Darragh Coffey consider the probable attitude of the judiciary to any challenges regarding the government’s responsibility for preparedness, lockdown, and their their obligations under Arti...

Energy expert Thomas Muinzer and David Hart QC discuss the Climate Change Act, the extent to which the UK has reached its own goals for carbon emission reduction, and two recent challenges in the courts to projects involving GHG emissions. This is even more topical, given the recent decision to go ahead HS2, despite the current lockdown.

Robert Kellar QC and Isabel McArdle of 1 Crown Office Row discuss with Rosalind English the latest Supreme Court rulings rejecting the liability of Barclays Bank for the wrongdoings of an independent contractor, on the one hand, and the liability of Morris’s Supermarket for the breach of data protection laws by one of its employees, on the other. Are enterprises to be shielded from the risks creat...

Rosalind English discusses with biolaw expert Niall Coghlan the implications for human rights law of government measures to contain or mitigate COVID-19, focussing on the European Convention on Human Rights.

In Episode 104, an esteemed panel of speakers discuss the complexities of EU law during the Brexit transition period and beyond, as part of an event hosted by the Constitutional and Administrative Bar Association. The panel features Lord Anderson of Ipswich, Professor Catherine Barnard, Professor of European Union law at Cambridge and Alison Pickup, Legal Director at the Public Law Project.

New UK law on oppressive behaviour in a relationship has been used successfully to persuade a recalcitrant Jewish husband to grant his wife a divorce recognisable in the religious courts: Rosalind English discusses this landmark case with Anthony Metzer QC"

In Episode 102 Emma-Louise Fenelon talks to Shaheen Rahman QC about Samira Ahmed’s decisive Employment Tribunal victory against the BBC

Medical negligence experts James Badenoch QC (now retired) and David Hart QC of 1 Crown Office Row discuss some of the solutions proposed to the vast expense to the NHS of damages claims in negligence and whether  any of these propositions - such as a tariff system run by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board - is feasible.

Emma-Louise Fenelon talks to Neil Sheldon QC about how to help your expert stay out of trouble in clinical negligence cases

Middle Temple’s exhibition celebrates the centenary of the admission of women to the legal profession. It consists of 25 portraits of women Middle Templars over the last 100 years, including Helen Normanton, the first woman to become a member of an Inn. It is accompanied by a digital exhibition of many more of our distinguished women members. The exhibition curated by Rosalind Wright CB QC, a Benc...

There should be a distinction between AI and algorithms being tools for lawyers as opposed to lawyers and laws being the tools for the use of AI. The huge emancipatory opportunities offered by technology could be lost if we don’t get on top of it and allow it to overtake us, as we subject ourselves to all its processes. Rosalind English talks to Emily Foges, CEO of Luminance, an Artificial Intelli...

Rosalind English talks to Kate O’Regan, who was appointed to the South African Constitutional Court at the dawn of the full franchise in 1994. Kate was one of the youngest appointees to a court with a profoundly important task, to apply the newly drafted Bill of Rights to a deeply divided society. Even with the demise of apartheid, conflicts persist: between African customary law and law imported...

The most senior family judge in England and Wales has ruled that a transgender man who gave birth with the help of fertility cannot be registered as his child's father.  This is first case of its kind, and Rosalind English discusses the decision with Charlotte Gilmartin, who points out that the ruling endorses a tension between legal parentage and social/psychological parentage in transgender case...

Emma-Louise Fenelon talks to Jo Moore and Jon Metzer from 1 Crown Office Row about the UK Supreme Court decision in R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry & Ors v Advocate General for Scotland.  

In this episode Catherine Barnard discusses the Supreme Court Judgment on the "unlawful" prorogation of Parliament. 

Emma-Louise Fenelon talks to Isabel McArdle about some of the ways in which taxation and human rights overlap. 

In this episode Catherine Barnard, looks at Boris Johnson’s government’s prospects of securing a new deal with the EU. Can they pull off a new deal with the EU or will his “do or die” mantra lead to a no-deal Brexit at the end of October 2019?