Like here in Aotearoa, the uncodified nature of the United Kingdom constitution offers great flexibility — but it relies heavily on the executive to respect its conventions. Perhaps some lessons for home.
Isleworth Crown Court will close five of its fourteen courtrooms from March because of the cap on the number of "sitting days" the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is prepared to fund, according to a note from the court’s resident judge in west London.
OK, this really must stop. But we couldn’t resist sharing this collection sent in by a dear reader. Last one — promise. Nothing on Mr T next issue. Nada. Nothing. Hugest nothing ever. We have no cards left to play.
Julie-Anne Kincade KC and Emma Priest are delighted to announce the launch of Augusta Chambers from 1 July 2023. Having outgrown the Blackstone Chambers space, the barristers of Blackstone are moving to a new space at 115 Queen Street.
You’d think that nothing else happened in the world today besides the arraignment of a former real-estate developer and casino boss from Queens. Yes, Donald Trump spent four long years as president, but today he’s just another American citizen, and he stands accused of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan. The state of New York must now make its case that Citizen Trump is guilty of the charges (he has pleaded not guilty on all 34). There’s a long way to go from here.
The lessons learned from Nordic and Baltic states, could represent a thoughtful roadmap for ensuring Ukraine’s democracy continues to stand strong while maintaining effective and transparent security institutions that credibly deter interstate aggression.
In the meantime the IAJ and JANZ continue to support Ukraine judges and their justice sector.
From the vantage point of the netball world, Heemi Taumaunu, if he’s acknowledged at all, is just Waimarama’s little brother. Not that, even in his own judgment, he’d expect much of a rating when it comes to sport.
But, just over 30 years ago when his dad persuaded him to give up his army career and turn to law, Heemi began taking steps that have been leading not just towards more fairness, especially in youth courts, but also to a growing feeling in a number of Māori communities that maybe they should abandon the belief that they shouldn’t ever count on justice in our courts.
OK, personal disclosure time. I don’t do “twitface” preferring, like the good nuns at our annual school ball, at least some degree of respectable social distancing...pauses for collective sigh of “Ok Boomer”. That said, there is such fun to be had in reading the mistypes of others as they breathlessly spew 280 characters onto a page and instantly tap ‘enter’ without pause for thought, context, or grammatical sensibility. It’s been an exhausting 12 months on Twitter. Will the site survive another year? Who cares.! Martin Hemming found these gems for The Sunday Times.
Words have such power, especially when eloquently spoken. Like science, eloquence can do great evil or be a force for good. Hitler’s ranting persuasions sent his audience pouring out of a stadium to conquer the world. Churchill’s answering quite literally pushed back the Reich.
In its Greco-Roman golden age, rhetoric was the key to civilised persuasion and therefore to society itself. Wrote Cicero: “I have thought long and often over of whether the power of speaking and the study of eloquence have bought more good or harm to the cities.” As Cicero knew it depends. Eloquence implies premeditation in an age that has made a virtue of spontaneity and gossip preferably scribbled on ‘twitface’, where personality far too often outweighs issues.
One who knows the power of the word is the President of the Ukraine. President Zelenski. During his inaugural address in 2019 he told lawmakers: “I do not want my picture in your offices: the president is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids’ photos instead and look at them each time you are making a decision.”
His speeches have been compared to Winston Churchill’s. Now his messages – of hope, defiance, bravery, anger – have been collected into a remarkable book. Here. Volodymyr Zelensky handpicks a selection.
