Divorce Survivor

Reaction to Review

2009-10-01T23:30:00.005+01:00

Not much I can write about Lord Gill's Civil Law Review Report yesterday that has not be written elsewhere but I was relieved to see that the recommendations to introduce McKenzie Friends include a provision that, unlike England & Wales, the McKenzie Friends are not to be entitled to remuneration.

THE most far-reaching reform of Scotland's civil justice system in nearly two centuries has been proposed as part of a landmark review of the country's court system.

Full Article Source The Scotsman

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: "A strong and independent legal profession is part of the institutional framework of a modern democracy.

"The legal profession contributes an estimated £1bn in turnover to the Scottish economy annually. This new legislation will help it grow and compete in the UK and internationally."

The new business structures have been branded "Tesco law" in England but Mr MacAskill denies this will be the case in Scotland.

Mike Dailly, principal solicitor at the Govan Law Centre, said: "This Bill seeks to commodify access to justice in Scotland, and in so doing strikes at the heart of justice, the rule of law and the principles of a fair and democratic society."

Full Article Source The Herald

Ian Smart, President of the Law Society, said: “The Society has been active in driving the debate on alternative business structures (ABSs) and I am very pleased that the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill has been introduced into Parliament.

“The Society believes that Scotland’s legal profession should be able to adapt to best meet the needs of modern society and a global economy. Scots lawyers are well respected around the world and we want to ensure that our members have access to the opportunities that ABSs could present to adopt new practices, to deliver the services their clients expect and develop their businesses in Scotland, as well as elsewhere in the UK and overseas.

"However it will be vitally important that the Bill ensures the independence of the legal profession, promotes access to justice and maintains robust consumer protections and high standards among those delivering legal services. Effective regulation will be key to any plans for change.”

News Release Source Law Society of Scotland

Scotland’s foremost consumer organisation has welcomed the publication of the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill today, Thursday 1 October, as a step forward in widening choice for users of legal services.

Sarah O’Neill, Head of Policy and Solicitor at Consumer Focus Scotland, said: “We have long campaigned for a more open market in legal services in Scotland and the creation of new ways of delivering them. The Legal Services Bill paves the way to open up competition in the market and widen choice for users of legal services.”

Press Release Source Consumer Focus

FORTY YEARS after McKenzie Friends were first introduced in England & Wales, the long awaited Civil Courts Review, undertaken by the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Gill, has finally ended the decades long discrimination against Scottish court users, by recommending the introduction of McKenzie Friends to Scotland as well as a whole range of much needed improvements for Scots access to justice, including the introduction of simplified court procedures, more advice on legal rights, increased use of mediation, and finally and end to the infamous exclusion of Class Action litigation in Scotland’s antiquated civil courts system.

Full Post Source A Diary of Injustice

See also Jonathan Mitchell QC and The Journal

Civil Courts Review

2009-09-30T14:10:00.008+01:00

The Report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review was launched this morning. The review began its work on 2 April 2007 to report on the provision of civil justice by the courts in Scotland, including their structure, jurisdiction, procedures and working methods, having particular regard to;

• the cost of litigation to parties and to the public purse

• the role of mediation and other methods of dispute resolution in relation to court process

• the development of modern methods of communication and case management; and

• the issue of specialisation of courts or procedures, including the relationship between the civil and criminal courts

Picking up on some points from the synopsis that may have some impact on family law;

Key Themes

• The need for a greater degree of judicial specialisation.  Practitioners and
court users were strongly in favour of a greater degree of specialisation in the sheriff court,principally in family law, commercial law, personal injury, consumer and housing cases.  The current system makes specialisation and judicial continuity difficult to achieve.

• Party litigants and a new forum or method for dealing with lower value
cases.  For litigants who do not have legal representation, even those court
procedures designed with them in mind may be inaccessible.  Respondents
also noted that party litigants may cause unnecessary expense and delay
through unfamiliarity with procedures or disruptive behaviour and that
firmer measures are sometimes required to deal with those who pursue
claims without merit or behave unreasonably.

• Problems relating to the cost and funding of litigation.  Respondents drew
attention to the cost of litigation and observed that only those with
considerable wealth or who are eligible for legal aid can afford to litigate.
There were concerns about the shortfall between what clients have to pay
their legal advisers and what they can recover in expenses from the other
party, and also about the taxation of judicial accounts.

Recommendations

Structure of civil court system
• A system should be introduced whereby a number of sheriffs in each sheriffdom should be are designated as specialists in particular areas of practice, including solmen crime, general civil, personal injury, family and commercial.

A new case management model
• [New] District judges new will have jurisdiction to hear housing actions, actions for payment of £5,000 or less, and referrals and appeals from children’s hearings, and concurrent jurisdiction with sheriffs in family actions.

•In the sheriff court actions will be transferred to a court in which a sheriff with the relevant specialism is resident. Procedural business will be conducted by email, telephone, video conferencing or in writing.

Mediation and other forms of dispute resolution
• The Report recognises the value of Alternative Dispute Resolution ....

Access to justice for party litigants
•There are recommendations for the promotion of public legal education , improved online provision of information for members of the
public the development of in‐court advice services nd the rights of lay representatives (or ‘McKenzie friends’) of party litigants

Civil Courts Review Source Scottish Courts

See also Scottish Parliament Information Centre research briefing.

Book & Blawg

2009-08-24T23:23:00.010+01:00

For anyone representing themselves in England & Wales the book Do Your Own Divorce by John Bolch of Family Lore is now in print. As part of the Insite Law Magazine free online resources project, the first chapter An Introduction to Family Law has now gone up.

Meanwhile as Scottish Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill, is facing a little bother with the Americans over his decision to free the Lockerbie bomber Lucy Reed of Pink Tape is hosting transatlantic Blawg Review #226.

McKenzie Friend Petition: Recent Submissions

2009-08-24T23:09:00.004+01:00

The Scottish Parliament's Petition Committee has recently received submissions for Petition 1247 from Consumer Focus Scotland, the Civil Justice Committee of the Law Society of Scotland, the Faculty of Advocates and Ian Hanger QC (the original McKenzie Friend) for Petition 1247. Petition 1247, coincidentally by Stewart Mackenzie, calls for the introduction of a McKenzie Friend facility in the Scottish Courts. A McKenzie Friend being someone in England & Wales (and some other jurisdictions) who provides a litigant in person with support, covering tasks such as taking notes, providing moral support and giving them advice as to how to pursue the case. This can include giving advice in court, for example in terms of questions to ask or procedures to be followed.

The Civil Justice Committee of the Law Society of Scotland said it does not see a 'strong driving requirement' for the introduction of a Mackenzie friend facility in the Scottish courts as the current system allows a judge to consider whether or not it is appropriate for a litigant to have the assistance of a lay representative on a case by case basis.

Ian Hanger QC, writes the Australian experience has been that it has worked successfully and urges the Scottish Parliament to permit the appearance of the McKenzie Friend. He also states that McKenzie Friends should not be entitled to charge any fee for services and to do so, in Australia, would be breaching the Legal Services Acts. This certainly is not the case in England & Wales where some McKenzie Friends do charge a fee.

Holidays & Fairs

2009-08-24T20:16:00.006+01:00

Due to holidays, weddings, BBQs, Festivals etc and a get fit campaign I have neglected my blog and emails for the last 6 weeks or so. Sorry, it's a bit late now for this year but Nick Woodall of the Centre For Separated Families sent me a link to a mailing offering separated parents tips on coping with the summer holidays. It's worth a read and bearing in mind for the next school holiday.

Also Suzy Miller of the Starting Over Show has left a comment on this post and the next Starting Over Show which focuses on starting over and rebuilding healthy lives after divorce will be in London on 7 March and Brighton 28 March 2010. This will provide an opportunity to get free legal, financial and life coaching advice.

Brandon Muir: Government Press Release

2009-08-20T21:32:00.003+01:00

Following on from the previous post Scottish Children's Minister Adam Ingram has requested that copies of the reviews on the death of Brandon Muir are circulated to all of Scotland’s child protection committees to ensure that the recommendations and lessons were shared with all child protection agencies and staff. Calls for the Scottish Government to legislate to ensure that more children are taken into care, and sooner, to prevent them being put at risk were rejected by Mr Ingram. Legislating for every eventuality would be an impossible task he said.

Scottish Government Ministers also announced that:

* All national recommendations from today's reports will be taken forward as part of the national review of child protection guidance which is already underway and which will be published next year

* A new national child protection co-ordinator is to be appointed to work with the country's 30 child protection committees to drive up standards of care and support for vulnerable children. The expert will be tasked with working with local authorities to implement and embed best practice on child protection, building stronger local professional networks and improving joint working between areas

* The UK's first hub of child protection expertise - the Multi-Agency Resource Service (MARS) - has now begun its work at the University of Stirling, helping Scottish local authorities and their partners work through complex child protection cases and provide enhanced support for professionals in this field to better safeguard the needs of children at risk

* The Scottish Government is in the process of establishing a new national Modernising Community Nursing Board to support NHS Boards in improving the quality of community nursing services. This will help address the national recommendation relating to community nursing

Full Press Release Source Scottish Government 19 August 2009

Brandon Muir: Independent Review

2009-08-20T20:45:00.007+01:00

An independent review into the death of Dundee toddler Brandon Muir released yesterday has identified weaknesses in the way the authorities attempted to safeguard him from harm. The two-part review consisted of an independent inquiry into the events leading up to Brandon’s death, conducted by former Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary Peter Wilson, and a significant case review undertaken by independent social work consultant Jimmy Hawthorn.

Key points in the final days of Brandon;

• Brandon Muir and his sibling had been living with their mother at the home of her parents in Charleston for almost four months up until the point when Heather Boyd established a relationship with Robert Cunningham and moved back with him to her flat in Douglas. She removed Brandon from her parents’ home to live with her and Cunningham on 26 February and his sibling on 1 March 2008.

• The grandparents immediately raised their concerns with Social Work.

• Social Workers who had a previous knowledge of Heather and her children through her office appointment in November 2007 and her attendance at the Family Support Centre, became concerned about her change of attitude, and convened an urgent meeting of child protection partners. (28th February 2008)

• The meeting concluded that an urgent case conference should be convened (set for 18th March 2008), but that there were no immediate grounds for removing the children at that time. There were a number of contacts and visits to the family by social work and health professionals in the intervening period, and Brandon was voluntarily brought by his mother to have his gait checked by the family GP. No significant medical concerns were identified or recorded.

• Brandon Muir died on 16th March 2008 following a violent assault by Robert Cunningham.

• The Review concludes that the assault on Brandon Muir by Robert Cunningham which proved to be fatal, could not have been predicted, and that in the short period when Brandon was living with his mother and Robert Cunningham there was little opportunity for the authorities to prevent the fatal assault on Brandon.

• Although it later became known that H had been taking drugs and had been involved in prostitution, this had never come to the attention of any of the agencies she was involved with.

The Review found that professionals involved had quickly responded to the emerging risk to the family as it was known, and had initiated appropriate steps to consider their needs. However, it was revealed that there were a number of factors affecting the leadership, resourcing, and practice of child protection in Dundee at that time. Some of these matters were identified and addressed as a result of early internal review work, others have been identified and addressed in consequence of the Joint Inspection of Child Protection in Dundee. A number of recommendations and observations were made aimed at further strengthening the child protection arrangements.

Full Review (pdf) Source Dundee Children and Young Persons Protection Committee 19 August 2009

Views and Experiences of Civil Sheriff Court Users

2009-07-31T22:33:00.006+01:00

A small scale study commissioned by Consumer Focus Scotland and the Scottish Legal Aid Board shows court users can find themselves believing what’s to come is going to be far worse than it turns out to be. The research was limited by difficulties involved in identifying and accessing court users, with the researchers warning the eventual sample of litigants cannot be said to be typical of the population of unrepresented litigants currently pursuing cases through the courts.

The interviews undertaken by Ipsos MORI with litigants covered:

* Accessing civil justice
* Appearing in court
* Fairness of process
* Self-representation
* Information provision
* Court staff
* In-court advice services
* Cost of litigation
* Timescales

The study points to an urgent need for better information for the public, and wider access to support services in all courts. Whilst the scope of the research was limited it highlights where knowledge gaps exist and where there are
possibilities for further research. None of those interviewed had experienced ordinary cause procedure, and considering that these cases are likely to be more complicated, with no standard forms available to help unrepresented litigants, there is good reason for ensuring this group is included in future studies.

The findings of the study are being submitted to the Civil Courts review being led by Lord Gill, and to the Scottish Government. Consumer Focus Scotland is also submitting its written evidence to the Public Petitions committee of the Scottish Parliament on the introduction of McKenzie Friends to assist unrepresented litigants

Press Release Source Consumer Focus Scotland 30 July 2009

Mothers Want to Work Less

2009-07-31T22:32:00.003+01:00

The Department for Children, Schools and Families have commissioned another study by the National Centre for Social Research providing detailed information about mothers' experiences of, and attitudes towards working.

64% of mothers are in employment with more than a quarter working full-time but according The Scotsman most women want to work less or quit their job to look after children. 65 % say they have to work because they need the money.

Somewhere else it was reported that the research found women with partners work more than single mothers. That doesn't surprise me if they are doing the majority of child care on their own.

Getting Married in Style

2009-07-23T22:48:00.004+01:00

With a nod to my friend, Simon.

Money Box 2

2009-07-22T18:37:00.003+01:00

There was another set of interesting questions about divorce and separation on BBC Radio 4's Money Box today. This time the topics covered included pensions, 'aliment', parents' financial responsibility towards over 18s in education and jurisdiction. I couldn't help feeling sorry for one caller from Milton Keynes who had cohabited for 17 years, raised her partner's children and had no financial interest in any assets. In Scotland she would have been able to make a claim based on the disadvantage suffered from giving up employment to care for the children but of course in England cohabitants still have no rights.

The panel of experts were Liz Welsh, Chair, Scottish Family Law Association, Janet Tresman, Consultant, Piper Smith Watton and Simon Piggot, Partner, Levison, Meltzer, Piggot and the podcast is available here. There is also a list of useful internet links and helplines here.

Couples Who Cohabit Before Engagement Are More Likely to Divorce

2009-07-16T22:07:00.003+01:00

Research from Denver University appearing in the Journal of Family Psychology has found that couples who live together before they are married have a higher chance of getting divorced than those who wait until they are married to live together, or at least wait until they are engaged. In addition, couples who lived together before engagement and then married, reported a lower satisfaction in their marriages.

Participants in the study were aged 18 to 34 and had been married ten years or less.

Of those who cohabited before getting engaged, around 20 per cent had since suggested divorce, compared with 12 per cent who moved in after getting engaged and 10 per cent who did not cohabit before marriage.

About 40 per cent reported they did not live together before marriage; 43 per cent did before engagement; and about 16 per cent cohabited only after getting engaged.

Article Source The Scotsman 16 July 2009

Royal Assent for Sexual Offences Bill

2009-07-16T22:00:00.003+01:00

The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Bill yesterday received Royal Assent. The Bill replaces a complex mix of common law and statute with a clear legal framework that supports wider work to improve the justice system's response to sex crime.

The new legislation will:

* Provide for the first time a statutory definition of consent, as "free agreement", enshrined in the law

* Replace the common-law offence of rape with a broader statutory offence (which includes male rape)

* Introduce new statutory crimes, including specific offences of sexual assault by penetration and of voyeurism, and others targeting coercive sexual conduct such as the sending of sexually offensive emails or texts, and sexual exposure

* Enable Scottish law enforcement agencies to pursue anyone from Scotland who commits a sex crime under Scots law against someone under-18 abroad (including child pornography and child prostitution offences) regardless of the law in that country

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said ".. this Bill is simply one part of a wider package of measures that Government is taking forward to improve public safety and help victims - steps such as taking forward the recommendations from the Crown Office review of the investigation and prosecution of rape and sexual assault, and our support for Rape Crisis Scotland's campaign work."

Press Release Source The Scottish Government 15 July 2009

Court Closures: No Decision

2009-07-16T21:14:00.002+01:00

Apparently the Scottish Government has said there are no plans to close any sheriff's courts and the leaked Scottish Court Service Strategic Board document proposing cuts of up to a third of Scottish courts in this post yesterday was the worse case scenario. Alan McCreadie, Secretary of the Law Society of Scotland’s Criminal Law Committee was quoted in The Journal today saying he Law Society would expect to be consulted on changes to the court system and access to local courts must be maintained.

Article Source The Journal 16 July 2009

One Third of Scottish Courts Could Close

2009-07-15T20:39:00.004+01:00

As if it doesn't take long enough to divorce a report prepared for the Scottish Court Service Strategic Board and leaked to The Herald contains radical proposals to close 19 of Scotland's 53 court buildings requiring 3400 sitting days to be accommodated in the remaining courts. This would be achieved partly through increasing the use of larger courts and partly through the introduction of "mobile facilities" covering the southwest and northeast of Scotland. The proposals would mean that waiting times between first calling and trial would increase in the range of 13 to 31 weeks and the non-replacement of some judges and sheriffs when they reach the mandatory retiring age. The measures are being considered following the Government's instruction to all its departments to illustrate a 5% reduction in their budgets.

A Scottish Government spokesman said he would not comment on the specifics of a leaded document. However, as a result of the £500 million cuts to Scotland's budget announced by the Chancellor as part of the UK Government's Budget, all public sector agencies were looking at what savings can be made and examining possible options, he said.

Article Source The Herald 15 July 2009

SLCC Research

2009-07-14T14:59:00.003+01:00

Further to my post in May yesterday the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission published research into the Law Society of Scotland's client negligence and compensation schemes, known as Master Policy and Guarantee Fund. The researchers say the study must be seen as preliminary given the short timescale and resources available. It had not been possible to find a representative sample of claimants with experience of the Master Policy as interviews were restricted to 11 claimants who approached the researchers. However, representatives of consumer bodies in addition to solicitors and representatives of the profession were interviewed.

Solicitors see the Master Policy as simply a professional negligence insurance designed to protect individual members of the profession. Claimants on the other hand think its primary purpose should be to protect the public against incompetent members of the legal profession and were very much of the opinion that it was difficult to establish liability of a solicitor for professional negligence. The report found the Law Society of Scotland of Scotland raises the expectations of potential claimants by emphasising the Master Policy’s public protection role but in practice the Master Policy is more inclined towards protection of the legal profession.

Data which would have allowed researchers to look at the record of the Master Policy in terms of claims and compensation paid was requested from the Law Society of Scotland but was only made available the day before the Report was due to be submitted. Furthermore the Law Society of Scotland and the broker, Marsh, put conditions on the use of the data in this study which were unacceptable to the researchers and to the Chief Executive of SLCC. The limited data researchers saw on the Guarantee Fund suggests that there is a considerable difference between the value of claims and the sums paid out by the Fund.

The report recommends that the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission undertake a longer term research project which will allow researchers to examine the experiences of a representative sample of claimants and solicitors as well as analyse data on claims provided by the Master Policy’s broker under reasonable conditions of use.

Full Report Source Scottish Legal Complaints Commission 13 July 2009

Proposed Overhaul of Family Law

2009-07-13T21:36:00.008+01:00

Today a major new report "Every Family Matters" was published by the Centre for Social Justice, the think-tank set up by the former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, which has had a major bearing on David Cameron’s social policy-making. The report claims the recommendations are a "far-reaching overhaul of the law [in England & Wales] aimed at putting marriage at the heart of family life." Key points include;

Divorce
▪ Discussing no-fault divorce is a low priority in contrast to other family law reforms.

▪ Creation of a three month period of reflection and consideration at the outset of the divorce process, which would now be commenced only by a short written notice without any allegations.

▪ Parties should be able to petition jointly under existing law Decree absolute of divorce should be capable of being applied for after four weeks from the decree nisi, instead of the present time periods.

Cohabitation
▪ For the different reasons, we do not consider that it is appropriate to make any proposals for cohabitation law reform at this time.

▪ We oppose the present Private Members’ Bill on the basis that it provides very similar rights to marriage.

Information Provision
▪ There should be information provision before the commencement of family law proceedings.

Alternative Dispute Resolution
▪ Binding family law arbitration should be introduced.

▪ There should be mandatory attempts at resolution of children disputes before the issue of proceedings.

Legal Aid
▪ Government should clearly place on record that access to justice, like education, health care and other front-line services, is an essential facet of any civilised society.

▪ The legal aid system must attract and retain specialist practitioners in all areas of family law.

Contact
▪ An amendment to the Children Act 1989 to include explicit principles of contact and residence, incorporating equal status of those with parental responsibility and the benefit to the children of both parents having a significant involvement in their lives, with the welfare of the child remaining the paramount consideration.

Relocation
▪ A change in the law regarding relocation such that an amendment to the Children Act would apply in such cases, to take better account of the changed patterns of parenting, the considerable impact on the child of relocation away from home and other home environment features and wider family members, yet taking account of the increased movement of families.

Grandparents
▪ Grandparents should be placed in a distinctive legal position.

Ancillary Relief
▪ Marital assets are all assets acquired by the parties solely or jointly during the marriage and any pre-marital cohabitation whether through passive growth or active acquisition.

▪ In conducting its fairness exercise on distribution of marital assets and non-marital assets, the court shall follow as binding any marital agreement of the parties.

▪ The marital assets, including illiquid assets, shall be divided equally between the spouses unless there is a good reason not to do so.

▪ The family courts shall have power to make child maintenance orders where both parties are not in receipt of or claiming welfare benefits and the court is making other orders between them concerning income or capital and in any event where are arrears of more than 6 months.

▪ Spousal maintenance shall continue to end automatically on remarriage but should be reduced to a nominal maintenance order after periods of six months’ cohabitation.

Full Report Source Centre for Social Justice 14 July 2009

Greenock Solicitors Suspended

2009-07-08T23:17:00.007+01:00

Earlier the Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal reprimanded Duncan Hugh Drummond and David Richard Blair Lyons, partners of Messrs Lyons Laing & Co, Solicitors, Greenock and fined them the sum of £10,000 each. The Tribunal found both solicitors guilty of professional misconduct in respect of breaches of the Law Society's accounts rules, their failure to "timeously stamp and record" See this article in the Law Society's Journal.

According to the Greenock Telegraph (thanks to Absolvitor for the lead) after further inspection a judicial factor was appointed and now the firm’s two partners have been suspended. Clients of Lyons Laing with concerns are told they should contact the judicial factor’s staff on 0141 353 1422 or the Law Society of Scotland on 0131 266 7411.

Risk Adverse Parents Fail Their Children

2009-07-06T13:59:00.002+01:00

The head teacher of an independent school in Scotland is quoted in The Scotsman today as saying parents have become risk adverse. "Childhood has never been risk-free. But if we succumb to our fears, our children may end up ill-equipped to live successfully in adulthood." Rod Grant, of Clifton Hall independent school says.

I think this particularly applies to children of separated families when parents engage in battles damaging the child's view of relationships with the opposite sex. How many times do we hear of anxieties about the standard of care the children receive from the other parent when it was never questioned before the family breakdown? Sometimes it might be alcoholism or the misuse of drugs, other times there are concerns that a parent is inexperienced or it is unsuitable to introduce a new partner. There may be an element of truth in these allegations but in all but the most exceptional cases the potential for damaging children from parental conflict is far greater.

Postcode Lottery Leaves Carers in Poverty

2009-07-06T13:56:00.001+01:00

Thousands of grandparents who become family carers are the victims of a postcode lottery in the allowances they receive.

A special report by The Herald reveals that in some local authorities "kinship carers" are receiving little or no money to help them, while those in other council areas receive £200 a week.

These carers are usually grandparents or other relatives who step in to look after children whose parents are unable to cope because of addiction or other health problems. They remove children from the care system, saving the taxpayer millions.

Full article Source The Herald July 2009

Divorce and Dementia

2009-07-02T21:05:00.004+01:00

Middle-aged people who are widowed or divorced are three times more likely to develop dementia in later life than those who are married or cohabiting, according to a new study.

It found that people aged around 50 who live alone have twice the risk of going on to be diagnosed with dementia by the time they are between the ages of 65 and 79.

The risk for those who are widowed or divorced is particularly high and the researchers said that "supportive intervention for individuals who have lost a partner might be a promising strategy in preventive health care".

Alzheimer Scotland said the findings, from a study carried out by researchers in Finland and Sweden, highlighted the importance of staying "socially connected" to help reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Full article Source The Herald 2 July 2009

And Now For Something Completely Different

2009-07-01T22:32:00.021+01:00

Today Scotland is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the official opening of the Scottish Parliament and to mark the occasion I have compiled a list of significant historical events that took place on 1st July.

Birthdays
1646 – Gottfried Leibniz, German mathematician (d. 1716)
1899 – Charles Laughton, English actor (d. 1962)
1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941)
1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)

Deaths
2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor (b. 1924)
2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer (b. 1931)

Events
1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins
1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme
1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein
1963 – Kim Philby confirmed as "the third man"
1967 – The European Community is formally created
1997 - Hong Kong handed over to Chinese control...

2009 - Glasgow City Council lift the 30 year ban on the film Life of Brian

Sources Wikipedia and The Herald

Bloggers Guide

2009-06-30T23:08:00.005+01:00

Many people do not seem to realise they have a duty to use information given in court proceedings for the purposes of the proceedings only and there are restrictions on disclosing information. When the rules don't allow it disclosing information contravenes Article 6, Human Rights Act 1998, the right to a fair hearing, and if children are involved their rights to privacy and anonymity.

Lucy Reed of Pink Tape has now compiled a useful list of ten things bloggers should know when writing about family proceedings.

Lawyers: Fixed Fees

2009-06-29T11:36:00.002+01:00

In his blog post this morning Andrew Woolley of Family-Lawfirm argues in favour of divorce lawyers charging fixed fees and the Law Society in England & Wales banning hourly charging. The problem is it is not always possible for solicitors to gauge how long a case will last and the amount of time they will need to put in so Andrew suggests taking an average or setting a limit.

I do not know how feasible setting a limit is, but surely taking the average means clients whose divorce is straightforward pay for the work done on more complicated cases.

Sharia Rulings 'Inappropriate'

2009-06-29T10:37:00.003+01:00

Sharia courts should not be recognised under Britain's 1996 Arbitration Act, according to a new report from independent think-tank Civitas.

According to Denis MacEoin, author of Sharia Law or 'One Law For All'?, sharia courts operating in Britain may be handing down rulings that are inappropriate to this country because they are linked to elements in Islamic law that are seriously out of step with trends in Western legislation that derive from the values of the Enlightenment and are inherent in modern codes of human rights. Sharia rulings contain great potential for controversy and may involve acts contrary to UK legal norms and human rights legislation.

Full press release Source Civitas 29 June 2009