Law Pod UK

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 lifted. 

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 you of the ability of bearing your own children.

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 Articles 2 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as Article 11. How are we as a society, and the government, going to regard the question of “judicial activism” in this unprecedented situation in a post-pandemic UK?

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 created by persons they commission to perform certain tasks?

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.