REUTERS | Tiksa Negeri
June 24, 2016

Re-launched Adjudication Scheme for Professional Negligence Claims: a good idea whose time has come?

What can the recently re-launched Adjudication Scheme for Professional Negligence Claims offer parties and practitioners in this area? Those, and don’t worry you’re not alone, oblivious to its original launch as a pilot scheme in February 2015 may be part of the reason for its re-launch 15 months later. The original scheme apparently saw only two adjudications (hardly a sample sufficient to judge the efficacy of the scheme). The re-launched scheme covers a wider range of professionals, the removal of any limit on the amount of the claim and an attempt to cap the fees of the appointed adjudicator within certain bands depending on the value of the claim. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jason Lee
June 21, 2016

Open justice and disclosure: lessons from Chodiev and others v Stein

The principle of open justice is fundamental to the common law. It means that the legal process should be conducted in public and accessible to the public. This includes access not only to what is said and read out in open court, but also to evidence referred to or read by the judge as part of the decision-making process. This principle is reflected in CPR 31.22, which provides that: “(2) A party to whom a document has been disclosed may use the document only for the purpose of the proceedings in which it is disclosed, except where (a) the document has been read to or by the court, or referred to, at a hearing which has been held in public (author’s emphasis).” Continue reading →