The Law Show

The Post Office scandal is one of the UK's most widespread miscarriages of justice, with hundreds of people wrongfully convicted of theft or false accounting. In most of these cases, the Post Office was the investigator, prosecutor and the alleged victim.Did Post Office lawyers act unethically by failing to disclose evidence that might have helped the people they were prosecuting? Might they face criminal proceedings for attempting to pervert the course of justice?The Post Office no longer brings private prosecutions in cases such as this. But should we still be allowing anyone apart from a public prosecutor to bring criminal proceedings in the name of the state?Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producers: Arlene Gregorius and Diane Richardson Researcher: Marianna Brain Editor: Clare Fordham Production coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound engineer: Neil Churchill

Experts discuss jury rights in protest cases, challenges of regulating space debris, and legal implications of finding treasure in Scotland.

This podcast explores the legal implications of deepfakes and AI, including privacy and libel laws. It also delves into the challenges of voice recognition and the use of AI speech in police investigations. The role of expert witnesses in court proceedings and the importance of scientific knowledge for judges are also discussed.

The podcast discusses public perception versus reality regarding sentencing in England and Wales. It explores the impact of semi-automatic rifles in mass shootings and a civil claim against a gun manufacturer. The desires for change and conflicting views on gun control are also highlighted. The Remington lawsuit and the Scottish government's human rights bill are discussed, along with the impact of international treaties on rights in Scotland.

Following the events of the 7th October in which around 1400 people were killed in Israel and over 200 taken hostage, Israel has been striking back against Hamas in Gaza. What does international law say about self-defence and proportionate responses to attacks? Joshua Rozenberg asks expert Professor Guglielmo Verdirame KC of Kings College. The government is proposing to rent prison space abroad, due to a risk of prison overcrowding here. There is precedent: Norway sent prisoners to a Dutch prison, for example. How did that work out in practice? What lessons were being learnt? Prisons expert Professor Alison Liebling of Cambridge University has studied and evaluated the Norwegian-Dutch case. How safe are Joint Enterprise convictions for murder? As a result of legal action on behalf of JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association), the Crown Prosecution Service has started to gather, and publish, data about those charged with Joint Enterprise homicide or attempted homicide. The figures show that young black men are vastly overrepresented among those charged under the Joint Enterprise doctrine. The convictions are difficult to appeal, as the threshold is high. In 2016 the Supreme Court admitted the law had "taken a wrong turn" on Joint Enterprise for 30 years. What went wrong, and is it being put right? We hear from Professor Felicity Gerry KC, who led the defence in the 2016 Supreme Court case, and from someone who served a Joint Enterprise sentence for murder, even though he says he was not present at the killing and only found out about it afterwards. Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Diane Richardson Editor: Clare Fordham Sound engineers: Neil Churchill and Rod Farquhar Production coordinator: Maria Ogundele

The new Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk KC MP speaks to Joshua Rozenberg. How does he respond to criticisms levelled at the reforms of the Parole Board proposed in the Victims and Prisoners Bill? And how does he reconcile his wish to "provide individuals with the due process which is the hallmark of our legal system" with some aspects of the Home Office's Illegal Migration Bill, that aims to stop people crossing to the UK in small boats? Mr Chalk also speaks about new measures to protect investigative journalists from malicious libel actions, and confirms that the new Lord Chief Justice will be a woman, for the first time in a thousand years. Most of the senior judges in England and Wales are male, white, middle-aged and former barristers. The new head of the Judicial Appointments Commission, Helen Pitcher, in her first broadcast interview, tells Joshua that diversity is very important and admits its an issue in the judiciary. So how will she increase it? We hear about projects and research to help remove barriers and ensure senior judges reflect the society they serve. What is it like to do your job after a diagnosis of Parkinson's? The condition affects people differently, but many have a tremor, fatigue, reduced mobility in their arms, legs, or both, and some can have depression. Joshua meets a High Court judge, Sir Nicholas Mostyn, to find out how he has been able to carry on working despite the condition. What are employees' rights in this case? And what is it like for those in other lines of work? We also hear from a nurse with Parkinson's on how she does it. Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Bethan Ashmead Latham Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Editor: Clare Fordham

Is the Parole Board getting it right with prisoner releases? Last year, the then Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab thought not, and introduced reform proposals to, as he saw it, re-prioritise public protection and trust in justice. These proposals are in the Victims and Prisoners Bill that's now before parliament. But the Parole Board tell Joshua Rozenberg that public protection is their top priority anyway, and that only 0.5% of those they release go on to commit other serious offences. What can the law do when a husband takes his wife on a trip abroad, such as to his or her country of origin, and abandons her there, without the means to return? Typically in such cases, the man confiscates his wife's passport, documents and mobile phone, and then returns to the UK without her. If there are any children, the husband takes those with him, leaving the wife and children separated from each other. Often, the wife's right to live in or return to the UK is tied to her marital status. We hear from someone who became a victim of "transnational marriage abandonment" as it's called, when she was taken back to India.Artificial Intelligence or AI is changing how we live and work. Generative AI is able to produce written texts and many other types of content, including soon perhaps legal documents. Could such AI be used to deliver justice more quickly and cheaply than lawyers and judges? What safeguards should there be? And could it help clear huge backlogs in the courts? Joshua speaks with Professor Richard Susskind, one of the world's leading experts on AI and the law.Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Bethan Ashmead Latham Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Editor: Clare Fordham

The law is having to deal with new challenges due to climate change. Is it a human right to be protected from global warming? Do the 46 member states of the Council of Europe have to reduce carbon emissions faster to protect their citizens' right to life? The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has been asked to rule on these questions. We hear about the case of the Swiss 'Klimaseniorinnen', elderly women arguing that climate change-induced heatwaves threaten their lives. The little-known Energy Charter Treaty enables companies to sue governments for compensation for the loss of predicted profits, if signatory states reduce the value of contracts such as by banning new fossil fuel extraction projects. Could this deter countries from passing the carbon-reduction measures necessary to combat climate change? Or is the ECT a tool worth keeping, as it also protects renewable energy contracts that governments promised subsidies for?What are the ethical choices for climate-conscious lawyers when it comes to either representing fossil fuel companies, or prosecuting climate change protesters? Could, or even should, lawyers refuse to act for certain clients, or to prosecute certain defendants? What's more important: fighting global warming or ensuring access to justice for all and upholding the rule of the law as it stands? We discuss the dilemmas, and some new guidance for lawyers. Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Bethan Ashmead Latham Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Simon WattsPhoto of Swiss 'Klimaseniorinnen' activists at Strasbourg on 29.3.2023: © Greenpeace / Shervine Nafissi

Conviction rates for rape trials are lower than those for other criminal trials, and the court experience can be intrusive and harrowing for survivors. The Law Commission of England and Wales (the independent body that advises the government on law reform), has just published a new consultation paper for how to change this. Criminal law commissioner Prof Penney Lewis, and before her Independent Sexual Violence Adviser Annabelle Edwards of Rape Crisis, speak about the reforms they'd like to see. The Scottish government's Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) bill also aims to improve rape trials. If passed, it would abolish the "not proven" option for acquittal, create specialist rape courts, and controversially establish the option of judge-only, non-jury trials as a pilot scheme, as it's feared rape myths might influence some jurors. Fiona Leverick, professor of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Glasgow and Tony Lenehan KC, president of the Faculty of Advocates' Criminal Bar Association discuss the bill.The Hollywood stars and former married couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced each other during two separate libel trials that asked whether or not Mr Depp physically abused Ms Heard. Depp lost the first case, against the owners of the Sun newspaper. It was heard by a judge in the High Court in London. Depp won the second case, against his ex-wife, decided by a jury in the United States. Nick Wallis is the only journalist to have covered both trials. He contrasts them in his new book "Depp v Heard, the Unheard Story".Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Bethan Ashmead Latham Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Editor: Clare Fordham Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele

For a special edition recorded on location in Belfast, Joshua Rozenberg returns to Northern Ireland 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which he reported on at the time. Meeting old contacts and new, he finds out what it took to get the negotiations over the line and what legacy the ground-breaking peace deal has had. He also hears about the challenges involved in achieving justice for the murders that remain unsolved; what problems remain with paramilitaries; and the UK government's attempt to bring about reconciliation. Will its Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill help, or rub salt in old wounds? And on the legal differences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, Joshua meets a campaigner who had to travel to England to have an abortion. As a result of an intervention by the Westminster government, terminations have since become legal (up to a point in the pregnancy), but some women still have to leave Northern Ireland to have the procedure.Guests: Denis Murray, former BBC Ireland correspondent Peter Sheridan, former senior police officer, now CEO of Cooperation Ireland Louise Mallinder, professor of law at Queen's University Belfast Naomi Connor, co-convener of Alliance for Choice Presenter: Joshua Rozenberg Producer: Arlene Gregorius Researcher: Diane Richardson Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Studio Engineer: Graham Puddifoot Editor: Simon Watts