Gavin Irwin and Helen Lavery review the demise of the SRA Handbook On 25th November 2019, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’) Standards and Regulations (‘StaRs’) came into force and replaced the current SRA Handbook. This marked only the fourth change to the Solicitors Code of Conduct in 12 years. The latest changes are designed to […]
Under section 42(7) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the court must discharge a restraint order (‘RO’) if, ‘within a reasonable time proceedings for the offence are not started’. In R v S, the investigation started in May 2016 and by August 2018 an RO was imposed against all the suspect’s assets (although a […]
In Thakrar v Crown Prosecution Service [2019] EWCA Civ 874, the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) ended any hopes of resurrecting a private prosecution for the alleged theft of industrial quantities of plastics and gave guidance as to the limits of appellate jurisdiction in the context of judicial review in private prosecutions. The case had […]
2019 has seen the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) taking an increasingly assertive approach towards the regulation of solicitors and the protection of consumers of legal services. A New Enforcement Strategy On 7 February 2019, the SRA announced a new Enforcement Strategy to ‘focus on serious issues’ and confirmed that action will be taken against solicitors […]
One of the factors that any private prosecutor should consider is the whereabouts of any prospective defendant. What happens if a defendant is not in England and Wales when a private prosecutor applies for a summons? What can a private prosecutor do to ensure the attendance at trial of a defendant who refuses to return […]
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