The Law Society Gazette, 5 February 2004

Criminal solicitors stunned by shake-up

Criminal defence solicitors are reeling this week after they were hit with a barrage of policy decisions that will affect the way they run everything from the simplest road-traffic offence to the most complex fraud case.

Top of the list was an announcement from the Department for Constitutional Affairs that revealed plans to save up to £19m annually by abolishing both advocacy assistance for early hearings in the magistrates’ courts, and post-charge advice and assistance.

Gazette, 1 February 1984

Court short

The lack of cloakroom facilities in the Royal Courts of Justice is a decided embarrassment. According to a notice exhibited on the door of one room which was initially used as a cloakroom, this is due to shortage of staff. This is difficult to accept, bearing in mind the army of unemployed, but if it is so, then it can only be because inadequate remuneration is paid to attendants.

European Commission of Human Rights

Freedom of Association - closed shop

The Commission has requested written observations from the UK Government on the admissibility and merits of two applications concerning the operation of a closed shop.

The first case concerned a person who was expelled from membership of his union after disagreement concerning the management of the union. Consequently he was dismissed by his employers because of the closed shop agreement operating in the firm.

The second applicant stopped paying his union membership subscription. On his refusal to seek reinstatement in the union he was dismissed by his employer.

The applicants complained, inter alia, of breach of Art 11 of the Convention.

Gazette, February 1964

Police discipline: a problem in perspective

The last decade has seen a great deal of publicity about the police of this country. These developments did not result from increased wrongdoing by the police, but from increased publicity attaching to that wrongdoing. There have been instances of wrongdoing by police for as long as police forces have existed, but they were not brought into millions of homes by television and wireless and generally did not excite more than local interest.

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