Lord Chief Justice appears to back radical move in wake of court closures
Court proceedings could be coming to a boozer near you, according to England’s most senior judge.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd (pictured below) — signalling his support for the radical move — was giving evidence to MPs on the House of Commons’ justice committee who were looking into Government plans to sell off 86 courts.
Watch Lord Chief Justice discuss diversity and HMCTS reform with Commons Justice Committee https://t.co/001TceAPGZ pic.twitter.com/cUO8rsER57
— Judicial Office (@JudiciaryUK) February 23, 2016
Hotels and town halls are also being flagged up as alternative venues. When Lord Thomas was quizzed by Tory MP Victoria Prentis whether he was “keen” on court proceeding being held in “pubs”, he responded:
Yes. I looked yesterday at reports and pictures of a judge who was experimenting doing family and civil cases and he was sitting behind trestle tables in a public room and his account of it was that it went very well.
However, Lord Thomas did harbour concerns with regards access to IT and security.
But Legal Cheek believes these issues can be easily dealt with. It wouldn’t be too difficult to obtain the Dog & Duck’s WiFi code from the landlord, so that’s the IT problem solved, and the pub’s bouncers could easily provide security.
If given the go-ahead it will certainly make it much easier for law students to see law in action.
Anything that allows a couple of Jägerbombs and spot of civil litigation revision all under one roof certainly gets the Legal Cheek stamp of approval.