PRACTITIONER REVIEWS
By Phillip Taylor
INDEX
1. Archbold Magistrates' Courts Criminal Practice 2008
2.WILKINSON’S ROAD TRAFFIC REFERENCER
3.CORRUPTION AND MISUSE OF PUBLIC OFFICE
4.BENJAMIN’S SALE OF GOODS
5.JOHN STUART MILL: Victorian Firebrand
6.INTERNET LAW AND REGULATION – 4th Edition
7.SUCCESSFUL USE OF EXPERT WITNESSES IN CIVIL DISPUTES
8.ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN LAW (2nd edition)
9.PHIPSON ON EVIDENCE (16th edition)
10.
11.
12.
ARCHBOLD MAGISTRATES’ COURTS
CRIMINAL PRACTICE 2008
General Editor: Barbara Barnes
ISBN: 978 1 847 30245 4
Price: £185
Thomson Sweet & Maxwell
www.sweetandmaxwell.thomson.com
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THE MAGISTRATES’ ARCHBOLD: Definitive and detailed guidance for work in the Magistrates’ Courts
Oh! No! Not another Archbold!
Yes, but Barbara Baines and her team have produced an excellent new edition of Archbold for the Magistrates’ Courts for 2008.
It has undergone useful change this time to reflect the law and procedure for taking a case to the magistrates’ court, and recent enhancements ensure that the ‘Archbold’ name will always mean authority, trust and reassurance for both old and new practitioners.
As with all serious legal works today, ‘the Magistrates’ Archbold’ has a coveted author team comprising barristers, judges, solicitors and clerks who know best and have the hands on experience so needed by the busy practitioner.
The one volume structure of the book is the bonus for me after struggling for years carrying different procedure volumes for the various courts I have appeared in. The 2008 edition has everything you need for the workload in the magistrates’ court and is presented in a particular order which is to be welcomed by the Bar. The layout follows the progress of a case and includes detail on the complex procedures for the youth court and the recent, substantial legislative changes.
The Archbold title remains the definitive guide for the work of the criminal justice process including the magistrates’ courts even though there are splendid alternative versions from other publishers depending on which circuit you practise on.
This Thomson title covers all criminal matters relevant to the magistrates’ court as well as the youth court and procedure prior to trial in the Crown Court for which we use its older, long established brother. As is to be expected, the Magistrates’ Archbold states the law clearly and explains how it is applied whilst giving authoritative guidance and the required full citations from both statute and case law.
THE ONE SHOP STOP PRACTITIONER’S DREAM
The best point is where the book explains how the law should be interpreted in clearly laid out segments, then being applied carefully with practical guidance on the substantive law issues dealing logically with offences on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Of much use to more junior staff will be the coverage of pre-trial issues, summary trial itself, sentencing, costs and the current state of legal aid. Full guidance is provided on the complex procedures we now have for youth court work and for those cases involving mentally disordered offenders.
SENTENCING
Up-to-date sentencing tariffs and guidance on sentencing, including discussion on aggravating or mitigating factors are also contained in the Magistrates’ Archbold with coverage in the following areas:
• The amended PACE Codes of Practice
• Criminal Procedure Rules and Practice Directions
• Information of the Sentencing Guidelines on Domestic Violence
• Guidance on Sentencing, including up-to-date tariffs
• New legislation covering the Fraud Act 2006, Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006, Identity Cards Act 2006, Animal Welfare Act 2006 and the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
The new Archbold comes up to the highest expectations and surpasses them for me for the quick and efficient preparation and handling of a criminal matter from start to finish in the magistrates’ court. You are badly advised if you don’t have this new edition.
WILKINSON’S ROAD TRAFFIC REFERENCER
Consultant Editor: Peter Wallis
Editor: Katharine Marshall
THOMSON SWEET AND MAXWELL
www.sweetandmaxwell.thomson.com
ISBN: 978 1 847 03115 0
Price £55
2007
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT WILKINSON?
At last! A reasonably priced brand new title which is what we all need for road traffic law and have always been searching for!
This new A-Z format will be the firm friend of the busy professional and it will clearly be useful for all criminal justice practitioners. This is a brand new publication which provides all the up-to-date information on road traffic law which practitioners need at their fingertips.
As with most of the Thomson publications now available, this version of “Wilkinson’s” offers an at-a-glance summary of the principles and procedures which are used for road traffic offences and will enable the practitioner to find the information you need very quickly without wading through the established work. Wilkinson’s Referencer is the very latest model of modern road traffic law.
THE CONTENTS- INVALUABE SUPPORT IN COURT
The Referencer deals with 46 road traffic topics and every major aspect is covered. The easy A to Z format allows for quick navigation through the legal maze so you can always find the information you are looking for in the shortest possible time. It also includes a summary of each offence, enabling you to identify the law which applies to the individual set of circumstances you are dealing with concerning your client. Of special assistance, the Referencer reviews many aspects of procedure and practice which will provide invaluable support in court.
For the offences which clients will generally come to see you, the book lays out the following:
• the basic definition and key elements of the offence, with reference to the case law;
• the mode of trial
• sentencing information and guidance which is probably what most clients will be concerned about.
THE AUTHORS
The consultant editor is District Judge Peter Wallis who also edits the main work ‘Wilkinson’s Road Traffic Offences’. He is ably assisted by District Judge Katharine Marshall who is a member of the Family Procedure Rule Committee. Both have substantial experience of the magistrates’ courts and are also Recorders who have expert guidance to give practitioners both old and new.
The main ‘Wilkinson’ will always be the definitive work for practitioners but I see the Referencer as that useful aide-memoire which has those elusive facts one always needs at one’s fingertips during a particularly awkward conference so I hope chambers and law offices will not be without this new publication. The Referencer would be particularly useful in public reference libraries as well if local authorities have enough in their budgets for this important check-list work on road traffic offences.
CORRUPTION AND MISUSE OF PUBLIC OFFICE
Edited by Colin Nicholls QC, Tim Daniel, Martin Polaine and John Hatchard
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
ISBN: 9780199274581
Price: £125
A GLOBAL BATTLE AGAINST CORRUPTION
This is a highly topical book at a time when ‘cash for honours’ is top of the domestic political agenda in the United Kingdom. Actually, the book is about a great deal more than possible wrong-doing at 10 Downing Street. In keeping with many legal books published in the last year or so, the authors start off with a classical reference to the many-headed Hydra – cut off one head and two appear in its place - just like corruption! The four authors are realistic enough to recognise that their taxing Labours (unlike those of Hercules) will be important considerations for the future as international society continues to burn out the roots of corruption...if it can.
Global Concerns
But Colin Nicholls and his three colleagues have produced a most worthwhile book with an excellent foreword by the Lord Chief Justice. By far the most important theme is the global problem. Events during 2006 and 2007 have shown serious difficulties in what should be considered ‘corrupt’ because some countries have very different views from others as the UN and EU acknowledge. Lord Phillips rightly describes the book as filling a large gap in our understanding of this area of law. He succinctly describes the work as a valuable tool for those bent on attacking an evil which, if left unchecked, can infect the life of a nation. Lord Phillips might add to this view the problem of lasting damage and the undermining of standards which are playing such an important concern for all in modern political life at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
One Source
The greatest attribute of the book is to bring together, in one source, a wide range of primary and secondary legislation together with international treaties and agreements. I met Mr Nicholls and his co-writer, Tim Daniels, last year, and I was greatly impressed by their clear and detailed knowledge and experience of what is a very confusing area of law both to the British and for many overseas businessmen and politicians.
The authors have succeeded in their aim of coverage of not just UK and ECHR law, but also the large amount of international comment and numerous publications as well. They explain that corruption has little regard for national borders and Lord Phillips states the facts baldly introducing the issue when he says “The World Bank estimates that 6% of the world’s economy was paid in bribes in 2004”. Not comfortable reading but indicative of a problem which, like the internet, has no boundaries as such and is a problem all countries must face together.
As the only dedicated work in this subject, four aims are achieved:
• stating the law relating to corruption and misuse of public office in a clear and accessible manner;
• examining the legal and practical issues relating to the investigation and prosecution of corruption by providing practitioners with a full guide to the handling of a corruption case;
• analysing the regulatory mechanisms for dealing with standards in public life; and
• the production of extensive coverage of the international efforts which are being made to combat corruption, giving practitioners the ability to use the information published with confidence where they are handling cases which involve foreign officials.
Statutes
Legislation in this area has continued to develop in recent years with anti-terrorism measures, the Crime and Security Act 2001 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to name but a few. Parliament’s aim has been to extend the UK’s jurisdiction to corruption offences committed abroad by UK nationals and incorporated bodies, and to strengthen the mechanisms to recover assets and wealth obtained as a result of unlawful activity.
The authors have extensive experience in handling criminal and civil aspects of corruption cases and the current law on corruption and misuse of public office is clearly stated. Of particular relevance are the examinations of legal and practical issues relating to the investigation and prosecution of corruption cases with the inclusion of information on whistle-blowing and the recovery and repatriation of assets.
The global connection is never far away, and this book gives practitioners the ability to handle any aspect of a corruption case by the use of a detailed analysis of the international efforts to combat corruption, and the legal developments which are now taking place globally in areas of interest to the United Nations, the European Union, OECD and the Commonwealth. UK Government agencies will find this book particularly helpful.
Contents
There are eleven main chapters covering the following: the meaning and scope of corruption; offences of bribery and corruption; misconduct in a public office; the investigation and prosecution of corruption; the movement for reform; civil remedies and recoveries; the regulation of conduct in public life; international and regional initiatives; the bribery of foreign public officials; and the corruption laws of other jurisdictions.
There are 34 excellent reference appendices which many readers may feel probably only touches the surface of some of the hidden problems within certain countries which we know little about because of cover ups. The work of the EU and UN are published in some detail which will be highly relevant to academics and the final two appendices consider the detail of a draft corruption bill.
The Future
When Tony Blair came to office in 1997, many words were spoken about the then “problems”, not just concerning ‘brown envelopes’ but also standards in public life generally. I would like to have reported that improvements to standards have been made but it would appear that the Hydra is still alive and kicking with many aspects of public life still under scrutiny, and still subject to massive debate for some of the things which have been happening in government in the ten years since John Major left office. Blair leaves No 10 having tried to sort out some issues but become embroiled in other, more far-reaching problems which have infected our national life. The Lord Chief Justice writes that this book fills a gap. Yes, it does, but only partially. I felt the two authors I met realised only too well that their work is not yet finished and that it has probably barely begun as initiatives to fight corruption remain somewhat neutered by certain world powers. There will need to be a further edition as shifts in morality continue- this worthwhile and valuable contemporary book will clearly become something more when changes in Downing Street take place during 2007 and a new government grasps the entire nettle system when it had promised to burn the root out of what seems now like so many years ago. The trouble is – it is still there. 
BENJAMIN’S SALE OF GOODS (7th edition) – The Common Law Library
General Editor: Professor A G Guest QC
Editors: Professor Len Sealey, Professor Francis Reynolds QC, Professor C J Miller, Professor D R Harris QC, Sir Guenter Treitel QC, Professor E P Ellinger, Professor C G J Morse and Professor Eva Lomnicka
THOMSON SWEET & MAXWELL
ISBN: 0 421 88830 X
Price: £375
BENJAMIN MAKES ANOTHER GOOD SALE
Just the list of names of the above editors alone sums up this book – It is a brilliantly conceived piece of work and the ultimate statement of the law of sale of goods.
It is not long ago that the first, newly formatted edition appeared (1974). This seventh edition remains the key authority in its field today. To find out a little more about its original author, Judah Philip Benjamin, the Common Law Library has produced some interesting biographical information about the man who was born in 1811 in the West Indies. Mr Benjamin’s life makes fascinating reading and is a welcome addition as a human touch to the heavier prose of the volume.
Benjamin’s family moved to Charleston and he attended Yale College as it then was. Without completing his degree, he was called to the Bar in America, entering the legal profession at New Orleans in December 1832. Then he began writing. Ten years later he served in the State legislature, and a decade later was elected to the Senate and re-elected in 1857. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong side during the civil war and was Jefferson Davis’s Attorney General, being known as the ‘brains of the confederacy’ – Benjamin that is, not Davis!
When Lee surrendered, and with his life in danger, Benjamin escaped, arriving in England virtually penniless. A Lincoln’s Inn man, he published the “Contract of Sale” in 1868 and other works, the most well known becoming “Benjamin on Sale”. He became a silk in 1872, and a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn in 1875 but retired eight years later, living in Paris where he died on 6th May 1884.
I mention this history of a remarkable man because we have, with the seventh edition, an array of eight current experts, guided by Professor Guest as the General Editor. The team have produced the final word about selling goods in England and Wales and overseas for the lawyer. It is to the credit of Thomson Sweet and Maxwell that they maintain the highest standards of their publishing house with the contributions of such an excellent team of leading academics in the field. Indeed, we have the foremost thinkers of the early twenty-first century reflecting on an original work which Benjamin would, I am sure, being extremely delighted to see flourishing as the UK deals with the avalanche of changes which have taken place since the book was reconstructed in 1974.
KEY RECENT CHANGES TO “BENJAMIN”
So what’s in this book it for us at the Independent Bar? Quite a few things, actually, with a thorough and updated text which supports the most relevant law for the sale of goods.
Some of the benefits include:
• a comprehensive explanation of the law of sale of goods, including terms and conditions, rights and obligations;
• establishing the formation and nature of the contract of sale;
• examining the implications of E-Commerce, including electronic contracts and payments, European Directives protecting the consumer, Letters of Credit and the eUCP 500;
• discussing the unfair contract terms in commercial and consumer sales;
• identifying the remedies available when disputes arise;
• stating a contemporary view of the latest developments in legislation and case law and their implications for all aspects of sale of goods;
• incorporation of the new Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002, and recent European Union Directives protecting the consumer;
• an expert commentary on the overseas sales of Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999;
• an outline of the implications of the Consumer Credit Act, in force from March 2006; and
• an examination of new case law updates to provide a better understanding of their implications from the author team which conveys the highest level of insight and advice for practitioners.
The text offers comprehensive, high level analysis of case law and legislation regarding domestic and overseas sale of goods. No other country in the world produces anything like the Common Law Library and Benjamin is in the top three library contenders with Chitty on Contracts, and Clerk and Lindsell on Tort. The depth of analysis in the new Benjamin which is provided by recent case law shows the practitioner just how the principles have been applied and gives guidance on how to tackle any issues that might arise. Judah Philip Benjamin would be delighted to see that the finest and highest traditions of English jurisprudence are being maintained well into the twentieth first century.
JOHN STUART MILL: Victorian Firebrand
By
Richard Reeves
Atlantic Books
(Grove Atlantic Ltd, Ormond House, 26-27 Boswell Street, London WC1N 3JZ) www.groveatlantic.co.uk
ISBN: 978 1 84354 643 6
Price: £30 pp616
J S MILL – “The most open-minded man in England”
Although he was a Liberal, don’t get confused by his ‘open-mindedness’ when leading Victorian Liberal William Gladstone labelled the great John Stuart Mill. I suspect all students will have tremendous affection for Mill even though they may now care for liberals.
In this short review, I will concentrate on the value of the book for the jurisprudence undergraduate because Richard Reeves has produced the first proper and worthwhile study of Mill for 50 years which will be of great benefit to scholars aiming for a ‘First’.
The Content of the Book
The first thing to do is look at the index at the back because the fifteen chapters, plus the prologue and epilogue, give you the essence of the man as a human being whilst some careful cross-referencing with the likes of Bentham and Co. will give you your legal learning and quotes.
Look specifically at chapters 11(‘On Liberty’) and 12 (‘To Hell I Will Go’) because Reeves offers some useful twenty-first century quotable insights into our “Victorian Firebrand” and some of his overt political failings such as his opposition to the introduction of the secret ballot! Frankly, I have never thought of Mill as a firebrand as the world he left us with was unquestionably better for his efforts as Reeves acknowledges... and, as he concludes, it still is.
UTILITARIANISM
This masterly work gives Mill his proper place in jurisprudence and the wider field for his utilitarianism, described by Reeves as “a word with a divided personality, meaning one thing in common use and the opposite in formal philosophy”. What I found particularly inspiring with this biography is the political and historic context in which Mill has been placed because, to understand the value of philosophy and the importance of jurisprudence either as a tutor or learner, is clearly to understand also the historical period in which the thoughts first prevailed, and I am not talking Plato here.
Mr Reeves manages to succeed with his task magnificently throughout the 487 pages and the massive details contained in the notes afterwards. Of particular delight, as a break from the prose, are the splendid series of illustrations and the photographs which firmly place this book at the forefront of both legal and political biography. It is a work which I felt at home with from the outset, written in readable English with the detail needed (and without the footnotes). I am sure that great American, Benjamin Franklin, whom Mill so clearly admired, would agree entirely.
As some commentators have acknowledged, this work is long overdue but it does give us the complexities and contradictions of the man together with his ideals which many of us would like to have if we had our feet firmly taken out of the cemented ground. Will Hutton feels the book comes at a timely moment ‘when both socialism and liberalism have lost their way’! Hmm! I would not really equate today’s Liberal Democrats or New Labour (if it still is under Gordon Brown) in any way, shape or form with John Stuart Mill- Mill was a man of his time just as my forebears were liberals and radicals, whilst I am a radical Tory in the modern David Cameron tradition as contemporary politics continues to be turned on its head ideologically.
THE BABY
I will end where Reeves begins...which is a defining moment for Mill in the 1823 St James’s Park walk and discovery of the newly killed baby which led to the sort of behaviour which singles Mill out as the highest-ranking philosopher of his century and someone we need a great many more of today: being a human being, an activist and a thinker.
This authoritative work illustrates that the problems faced by Mill in the nineteenth century have such similar relations today when one reads of his passion for reforms of alcohol, gambling, prostitution (and their lordships), and whose life was spent in the pursuit of truth and liberty, and the promotion of happiness for all. It is a remarkable story and Richard Reeves gives us a new insight into this radical reformer who’s shaping of Victorian England has so many messages left still unread now: it is a great read as well as being a great book about a great man - I am a fan, and you will be, too, when you read the book.
INTERNET LAW AND REGULATION – 4th Edition www.internetlawbook.com
By
Graham Smith
Partner, Bird & Bird
THOMSON SWEET & MAXWELL (www.thomson.com)
ISBN: 978-0-421-90990-8
Price: £195
A GROUNDBREAKING CONNECTION TO INTERNET LAW
The new edition of Graham Smith’s work is to be welcomed for its clear and authoritative explanation of the law governing the internet both here in the United Kingdom and increasingly to the global markets and international law perspectives.
Graham Smith reflects on the multi-border nature of the internet problem and he tries his best to handle the comparative approach to the knotty problem of multiple jurisdiction disputes and legal niceties.
I met up with him at the London offices of Bird and Bird and began asking him why he had written the book. With disarming charm he said that the book had started as a short work of several hundred pages some ten years ago but has grown to become a key element in the collaboration between his firm of Bird and Bird, and Sweet and Maxwell who originally commissioned it on the off chance that it would be a popular title for busy legal professionals.
This is now essentially a book on electronic law where Graham Smith’s sheer breadth of expertise has placed him at the forefront of a work which is clearly needed today. It was not always so as Smith declared when he recited an anecdote from a client in Wales who queried what relevance this book had for their business.
In brutal Welsh, the client said the answer was ‘none’...that was until the client then had a problem involving the new technology! This is why Sweet and Maxwell realised the need for the book in the 1990s and its latest edition, in 2007, which covers such a wide range of what I would call ‘new issue’ cases. I always feel it is a good job the ancient Statute of “In Consimili Casu” (in a like case) is no longer active and binding otherwise the law really would be in a pickle if new types of action could not be heard before the courts. Much of this work looks at emerging issues and jurisdiction problems created by a global communicating device of such complexity and scope as the internet now is.
WHAT THE BOOK COVERS
I found the most relevant areas for both lawyers and laymen would be issues of cross-border liability, trade marks, domain names and protocol IP precedents.
But it is the first chapter I found intriguing where Smith explains what the internet is and how it relates to legal matters and the matters which affect our clients and everyone else. With an excellent, yet simple technical glossary, and chapters on contract and defamation which are directly applicable to a common law practice like mine, the book retains the ‘hands-on’ approach of the first edition. Smith gives a comparative approach to themes that have arisen in multiple jurisdictions, as well as the necessary detail of English law. That is its charm and relevance for all as we are dealing with what is to become a global legal system as far as the internet is concerned in the near future as new systems come online across the planet.
Smith’s jargon-free style identifies practical legal questions which are likely to arise today and he provides sage guidance on how to deal with them effectively.
THE CONTENTS
“Internet Law and Regulation” in its fourth edition covers the following important areas:
• Details of key areas of contention such as copyright, trade marks and domain names, cross-border liability, internet payments, online contracts, advertising, defamation and data protection in an international context;
• Updates on emerging areas of importance such as encryption, obscenity, freedom of speech, tax and competition law;
• Key international issues such as jurisdictional questions, applicable law and EU internal market questions;
• Expert contributions from the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Hong King, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland and the USA; and
• New jurisdictions including China, Italy and Spain.
“WHAT’S THE GOING RATE FOR A CITATION?”
The aim of this book is to give all the crucial cases and decisions featured recently by offering an insight into the reaction of the courts to the uncertainties created by the new technology. So, as Smith himself said, ‘what’s the going rate for a citation?’ Well, it will be one which he and his team of contributors at Bird and Bird and elsewhere feel we need- and he is the man to do it. Particularly relevant is the coverage of key areas such as contracts between ISPs, content owners and others; communications and broadcasting regulation; data protection; content liability and protection; electronic contracts and transactions; payment mechanisms for internet commerce; prohibited and regulated activities; and tax, competition law and the internet.
This is an evolving area of law which cannot be ignored. Described as the definitive English law textbook on e-commerce when it first appeared, Graham Smith has enhanced his original, modest work into the ultimate and essential guide for the internet lawyer, ensuring that lawyers, clients and laymen are all aware of new legislation and decisions which will affect not just their businesses but their lives in the emerging global marketplace and socially interactive club that is the modern internet.
SUCCESSFUL USE OF EXPERT WITNESSES IN CIVIL DISPUTES
By
Suzanne Burn
ISBN 978 0 7219 1450 3
368 pages
£29.50
Publisher: Shaw & Sons Limited
www.shaws.co.uk
October 2007
EXPERT WITNESSES IN CIVIL MATTERS: you can be sure with Shaws!
For over 250 years, Shaw and Sons have been supplying the legal profession and local government with specialist books specifically for our market. Each year, they produce the excellent “Shaw’s Directory of Courts” which is a more detailed and comprehensive version of the various ‘Courts Guides’ which a number of publishers market, and they have now produced a most useful work by a judge on civil evidence and the expert witness which is highly relevant to both the student and the practitioner.
District Judge Suzanne Burn has produced an invaluable guide for what she terms the successful use of expert witnesses in civil disputes, written in association with Bond Solon Training. This is a practical book with 15 chapters and 5 excellent appendices. I looked at the appendices as almost the first thing to do when I saw the structure of the book, and I realised how useful the information is: especially in Appendix 3 (letter of instruction to an expert), Appendix 4 (standard directions on expert evidence) and Appendix 5 (Code of Practice for Experts).
Dyson LJ rightly says in his foreword that the book is timely, intensely practical and invaluable. He is spot on as the text is for any lawyer who needs to instruct an expert witness in a civil case and needs help doing so.
Let us be clear – there are ‘experts’, and there are expert witnesses. The problem we have today is the lack of confidence by the public at large in some expert witnesses because they appear as ‘experts’ but are merely offering ‘opinions’. DJ Burn cuts to the quick with some excellent guidance for the local solicitor about to instruct an expert.
Ms Burn offers comprehensive guidance to practitioners for the successful use of expert witnesses in civil proceedings and she refers frequently to our CPR requirements and case law. The book has that most refreshing of aspects, a ‘questions’ page which will beat you to the formation of the sorts of questions you may be thinking about when a particularly knotty problems is posed by your client in conference.
You Don’t Need to Question the Questions!
These are just some of the questions which Suzanne Burn covers:
• what is expert evidence and when is it necessary?
• What are the skills, qualities and qualifications required of an expert?
• When should an expert witness be instructed?
• How do you find an appropriate expert?
• What should the instructions include?
• How much, and crucially by whom, should the expert be paid?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of early expert evidence?
• When will the court give permission for expert evidence?
• When might the court restrict expert evidence?
• What is the expert’s duty to the court; and
• How should practitioners deal with inexperienced expert witnesses?
The Structure of the Book
Unlike our standard common law library texts which are great, but heavy, time-consuming and often require incredible concentration, Burn on Civil Expert Witnesses provides a breath of fresh air with her chapter structure which has a clear introduction, some useful questions and tips to consider as the meat of the text, and a sensible conclusion for the topic under discussion. It is a great extra read for the student trying to achieve a ‘First’.
The References at the back are clear although I would like to see an extension of the IT content, and the index is very manageable. Altogether, this is a book for the twenty-first century solicitor about to instruct an expert in a matter where, quite often, new territory will be explored forensically, and Burn is more than a match for any questioner. As I said at the beginner, we have a Shaw winner here!
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN LAW (2nd edition)
By Stephen Mason
ISBN: 978 1 84766 051
Price: £130
TOTTEL PUBLISHING
www.tottelpublishing.com
May 2007
CHEQUE TIME IS UP: The rise of the electronic signature
Stephen Mason, in the second edition of his work ‘Electronic Signatures in Law’, sums up the balance between his work and the long established and companion of renowned, ‘Byles on Bills of Exchange and Cheques’ (twenty-eighth edition), when he writes that a colleague once referred to electronic signatures as the ‘burning branch of obscurity.
Mason’s friend was “indicating, indirectly, that although electronic signatures in their many forms are used daily by millions of people millions of times”, the understanding surrounding the topic (like bills of exchange) was negligible! This work by Mason is a particular relevance to those who study the formation of contracts in an electronic age where the old rules tend to be changing by reason of modern necessity.
Mason succeeds here with his aim to bring the topic of electronic signatures into focus with students, lawyers and non lawyers in an age where the common law notion that it ‘never had much truck with technological objections’ could not be more unfortunate as the global market place dominates.
Mason’s book, itself, is an excellent exposition of practices across the world with 16 detailed chapters, five appendices and a glossary.
He provides an in-depth analysis of:
• what constitutes an electronic signature;
• the form an electronic signature can take;
• issues relating to evidence, formation of contract and negligence; and
• guest authors writing chapters to cover Canada, Germany and the USA.
THE INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
As the global economy takes full control this century, ‘Mason on Electronic Signatures’ reviews these ‘electronic signature acts’ throughout the world and investigates how they have been amended by examining a number of important cases which have been reported in the following jurisdictions which may be of interest to your firm: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, England & Wales, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United States of America.
This second edition is very timely giving a practical and whilst comprehensive guide to the understanding of what an electronic signature is. The book starts with a clear overview of the concept and history of all forms of signature and provides a fantastic insight into the way the world now views this method of asset exchange since Victorian times and is very much a book for the twenty-first century.
PHIPSON ON EVIDENCE (16th edition)
First Supplement now out General Editor: Hodge Malek QC
Contributors: Jonathan Auburn, Roderick Bagshaw, Douglas Day QC, Katherine Grevling, Daniel Hochberg, Charles Hollander QC, Peter Mirfield, Anthony Oakley, Stephen Whale and Rosemary Pattenden
£270 £69 per supplement THOMSON/SWEET & MAXWELL
www.sweetandmaxwell.thomson.com
ISBN: 0421 874708 First Supplement 2008
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SERIOUSLY GOOD ADVOCACY OF THE LAW OF EVIDENCE
Sidney Phipson’s work first appeared in 1892 around the time that Mrs Carlill was having trouble with her smoke ball. The new, 15th edition, maintains the very highest standards of the Sweet and Maxwell Common Law Library: the simple truth is that Phipson on Evidence is the best book available for both practitioners and academics. Lawyers know that the ‘problem’ with evidence is the changing nature of the subjects with its massive case law and continual attempts at full codification by successive governments.
So, what changes have taken place in five years since the fifteenth edition? Uncomfortably, for many people, rather too much as the pace of reform has finally quickened to a trot with the arrival of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) in 1999, and their criminal partners, the Criminal Procedure Rules 2005 (covered in an elegant and readable fashion by ‘Blackstone’s Guide to The Criminal Procedure Rules 2005’ by Duncan Atkinson and Tim Moloney: OUP – ISBN 0-19-928904-2).
Hodge Malek says, in ‘Phipson’, that these new rules ‘open with overriding objectives which colour the interpretation of the procedural rules generally’. I found Blackstone’s Guide very helpful to the everyday practitioner but if you want more, then go to the fount of all evidentiary knowledge which is “Phipson” and use them in tandem.
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003
Readers of ‘The Barrister’ do not escape lightly this time because I must refer to the provisions of the CJA 2003 and the great changes we have seen with the implementation of the statute. Malek writes that ‘by and large the changes … are intended to strengthen the hand of the prosecution’ but that really cements what both Labour and the previous Tory governments have been doing for many years which has been to meddle with criminal justice when what we really need is full codification which so many ‘Criminal Law Review’ readers have been expecting for the last twenty years.
Well, we are now on this great adventure with the arrival of the new rules and some twenty-first century common sense to be found in the Phipson explanations of hearsay and character. Life would not be quite right unless we had a mention of the Human Rights Act, and Phipson adds this extra layer of argument well.
Proof enough that, on the evidence, Phipson has no near contender for sheer depth and breadth of its task can be seen with what the book now contains. The new edition has been completely re-written although the structure remains largely the same: it is the content which is fundamentally different, new and improved.
There are 44 chapters, each chapter being written by an expert in his or her field. I believe it is an essential reference tool for both the practitioner and the academic and I use it frequently as a lecture source at the University of London. It covers the complex mixture of rules, principles and practice directions which is rightly pitched at both the practical and intellectual level and which no other one competitor reaches. It is right to say that Phipson helps you in every situation related to evidence.
THE BEST TEAM OF AUTHORS
Whenever I am asked by my constituents on the Council I serve ‘where can I find the law’ as though there is one book which contains everything, I think of Halsbury, naturally. Then, I think further and remember the individual gems which comprise “The Common Law Library”.
With other leading Library titles already reviewed by ‘The Barrister’, I have turned to one of my own personal favourites which is Phipson. I suspect most of us have our own ‘little favourites’ stemming from student days (‘Learning the Law’) to those dreary nights in November during the Bar course desperately trying to finish a practical training exercise on evidence and procedure. That is when I really found The Common Law Library although I had known of the existence of Chitty since ‘A’ levels in 1960s. To me, Phipson is an island on its own when it comes to the wealth of material on evidence. It is always a pity that it appears every five years or so, but Hodge Malek and his excellent team are to be congratulated on a serious piece of work which is of historic importance with the gratefully received civil and criminal rules and a CJA which seems to make some sense (even for Parliament).
Robert Walker rightly says that this is a ‘venerable work’ in his generous foreword but he then spoils it by reminding us that there were other highly regarded textbooks on evidence in the nineteenth century. The point is that Phipson has the lasting power and it does make it’s own contribution to the development of the law of evidence by bravely venturing into fields like equitable estoppel where no book has boldly gone before. To me, the modernisation of the well-discarded Criminal Evidence Act 1898 now reflect the changing notions of fairness with the new CJA – Walker writes so well when he says: “evidence has ancient roots which are today barely discernible under the ramifications of centuries of common law development and statutory reform, some of it of a drastic nature”. It is the drastic nature of this reform which I believe many would like to see develop so that in the not too distant future we have a workable system of codification of the law of evidence.
SHAW’S DIRECTORY OF COURTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 2007/2008
ISBN 978 0 7219 1634 7 464 pages £47.50
Publisher: Shaw & Sons Limited www.shaws.co.uk
October 2007
YOU CAN BE SURE WITH SHAWS
For over 250 years, Shaw and Sons have been supplying the legal profession and local government with specialist books specifically for that market. Each year, they produce the excellent “Shaw’s Directory of Courts” which is a more detailed and comprehensive version of the various ‘Courts Guides’ which a number of publishers market.
I like Shaw’s Directory (no, not that case!) because it has the information I need. The 2007/08 edition takes account of the reorganisation of Her Majesty’s Courts Service and this edition features the subsequent radical changes which were implemented in April 2007. Practitioners will be aware that substantial reform of the regional and area boundaries, transforming 46 areas into just 25 with 7 redefined regions, makes previous courts guides redundant as the information has completely changed.
WHAT DO YOU GET WITH SHAW’S?
Shaws have provided full details on the recent re-structuring exercise whilst retaining the traditional layout which many will be familiar with. The publishers have also taken the opportunity, whilst updating the information, to reflect the streamlining of HMCS and to introduce helpful new features.
For the first time, your clerks will find that all Crown, County and Magistrates’ Courts under each region’s administration have been indexed within the Regional listing, for ease of location of courts within the dedicated Parts. Also included are extensive listings of Probate Courts in England and Wales, including names, addresses and contact numbers for all registrars, as well as normal opening times.
Use of the Internet
As usual, my main concerns again rest with HMCS’s reluctance to expand their use and practices regarding the internet and to ignore much of it as a student or academic toy. With further technological changes taking place again next year, I would like to see the Directory include more detailed IT sections. I suspect many practitioners who would like to use direct email and internet links with the courts but remain thoroughly mystified and dissatisfied with the attitude of some courts towards any form of IT change.
The Directory, however, is still the definitive source of information on Her Majesty’s Courts Service with its related offices. The Directory gives that extra, additional information which your admin staff often need and waste time trying to find- it provides accurate, up-to-date details of contact names, telephone and fax (yes, still fax!) numbers, addresses, document exchange numbers, court codes and the normal times and the sitting of our courts.
Comprehensive United Kingdom Coverage
Full information is supplied in one source book for the Supreme and Appellate Courts, the High Court, Crown and County Courts, Magistrates’ Courts, Courts of Summary Jurisdiction, Sheriff and District Courts in Scotland, Coroners, the Probate Courts, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service… and Penal Establishments - without having to look at a Prisons Guide. This is the most comprehensive reference work of its type and it has modernised to meet the current demands of the courts system, and for those who have dealings with them.
SHAREHOLDERS’ RIGHTS (Fourth Edition)
By Robin Hollington QC
£135
THOMSON SWEET & MAXWELL
ISBN 0-421-85940-7 (Hardback)
SHARING A GOOD READ
This new, fourth edition, of what is now entitled ‘Shareholders’ Rights’ by Robin Hollington QC arrives at just the right time for many would-be investors. It is presented to highlight the way in which the law on shareholders’ rights has developed and is clearly the leading work in its field today in its expanded form.
Hollington is just the man for the job as a high profile QC specialising in all aspects of company law, insolvency and financial services law. His task, with this new edition, has been to expand the original work which was entitled “Minority Shareholders’ Rights”. Specifically, there are new chapters on the duties of directors and foreign companies. In addition, many of the chapters have been re-written with more recent information and cases.
Of importance to many readers will be the detail of the “unfair prejudice” remedy which has also been expanded. The author covers and examines the implications of some of the new cases which have been decided since the last edition in 1999.
STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK
“Hollington on Shareholders’ Rights” contains thirteen chapters and has three appendices. It begins with an introduction and broad principles including the meaning of a separate legal personality, and he states the rule in Foss v Harbottle. The book then covers the following headings:
• the bargain between shareholders
• directors’ duties
• majority rule and equitable constraints
• the rule in Foss v Harbottle and the exception thereto: the derivative claim
• the unfair prejudice remedy: principles
• unfair prejudice 2: remedies
• unfair prejudice 3: practice and procedure
• winding-up on the just and equitable ground
• personal rights of shareholders
• foreign element
• miscellaneous rights
The main appendix (Appendix 3) contains litigation precedents which contain, amongst other things, drafts of derivative claims, a Wallersteiner costs indemnity order, and a draft Tomlin Order.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Some eminent members of the Judiciary have contributed to the various Forewords of this work. Lord Hoffmann kicked off the first edition with a generous summary saying ‘the emancipation of minority shareholders is a recent event’. Quite!
The work then moves rapidly forward with comments by Hart J in the Third Edition where the learned judge says that the prediction of when an English court will protect the rights of a minority shareholder presents ‘many interesting and difficult problems’.
In the 1999 edition, Hart J acknowledged that Hollington had increased the number of newly-reported cases and described the book as ‘the indispensable tool of the litigation lawyer’, recommending it as ‘an invaluable aid both for litigators and ADR practitioners’. It has gone from strength to strength since then.
For the current edition, the Right Honourable Lady Justice Arden DBE commends the book to all readers, writing that it is ‘not so much about how to run company meetings or appoint and remove directors or matters of that kind as about how to manage disputes’. This statement goes to the core of Hollington’s achievement because what most of us need to know is the provision of an open-textured remedy to resolve shareholder disputes (the “unfair prejudice” remedy).
THE FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON
By the time the next edition is prepared, it may well be that derivative actions are placed on a statutory footing. This will enable shareholders acting on behalf of their company to call directors to account when they have acted in breach of their duty. I was particularly amused to re-read the colourful comment made by Lord Hoffmann when describing the rule in Foss v Harbottle as “a fire-breathing and possibly multiple-headed dragon” which conjures up some rather startling imagery. I would agree with Arden LJ that the case will almost certainly be consigned to the history books to be replaced by a section number!
THE FUTURE OF SHAREHOLDERS’ RIGHTS
It is refreshing to read that Hollington does not necessarily agree with some of the comments which have made in the flurry of recent consultation papers and reports concerning the restrictive nature of the House of Lords decision in O’Neill v Phillips. Indeed, as the expert, Hollington describes the case as a decision on its own facts. He suggests that whilst O’Neill v Phillips emphasises the primacy of the role of the law of contract covering the relationship between individual shareholders which, by definition will be restrictive, it does leave open the door for the protection of minority shareholders where there has been a breach of a fiduciary duty by directors, or where, as he puts it ‘there is room for a creative application of traditional equitable principles derived from the law of partnership’.
FOREIGN JURISDICTION
Of particular significance to many readers is chapter 12 on what is termed the ‘Foreign Element’. This chapter will probably need to be expanded for the fifth edition because it is somewhat short at just six pages. The detailed citation of Konamaneni v Rolls-Royce (Industrial Power) India Ltd is a most useful discussion where a derivative action is permitted to pursue a cause of action for the benefit of a foreign company, in other words, a company which is not registered under the Companies Acts. It is quite possible that future editions will find this area of particular importance as companies become more global, both with their endeavours and their membership.
THE SEVENTEEN “BROAD PRINCIPLES”
Robin Hollington’s aim with the fourth edition has been to take the opportunity to reduce the subject matter he is dealing with down to what he terms seventeen broad principles. These ‘broad principles’ do give the book a firm structure, and are clearly of assistance to the busy practitioner who may well only want an overview of the field in which he or she is briefed.
‘Shareholders’ Rights’ succeeds in blending the seventeen broad principles of managing the shareholder’s position within a company with a precision and ease which will benefit all who read the book.
IDENTIFICATION
Investigation, trial and scientific evidence
By Paul Bogan
Legal Action Group
ISBN 1-903307-25-2
Price: £37
THE EYE SEES WHAT IT IS MEANT TO SEE:
LIVE ISSUES OF IDENTIFICATION
Every year the Court of Appeal hears a very large number of cases which rest on the issue of identification. “Bogan on Identification” is a gem of a book for practitioners because it brings together all the difficulties associated with adducing ID evidence on both sides. It is right to say that police practice and the criminal justice process itself are now highly developed areas where disputes over identity are concerned. The book addresses the many scientific advances concerning ID evidence which have been made in the last few years and will become an indispensable aid to criminal lawyers in future cases.
The continuing controversy on ID evidence
The problem, which Paul Bogan tackles in this detailed work, continues to generate both controversy and debate. What Mr Bogan achieves here is an analysis of the powers and duties of police officers in the collection of identification evidence. He offers a comprehensive guide to the various sources of ID evidence within the trial process itself which is of great forensic assistance. Probably this is the single most important reason for practising barristers at the Criminal Bar to buy this book.
Bogan also offers a thorough insight into the methodology and admissibility of scientific and other expert means of personal identification which remains one of the biggest areas of controversy. He is well suited to this task as he is a member of Doughty Street Chambers and a specialist in fraud, drug trafficking and offences of serious violence. He knows what he is talking about.
Structure of the Book
The book is split into three parts: investigation; trial and scientific evidence. There are 17 chapters and a useful introduction. Many practitioners will find the 7 detailed appendices of great help in their day-to-day practice. It is always a great help to have PACE Code of Practice D on the identification of persons by police officers to hand when considering ID evident – Code D is at Appendix A.
The other appendices cover the following areas:
* The History of Code D;
* The Pro forma Notice to Suspect and identification procedure records;
* Various relevant sections of PACE;
* Home Office Circular 57/2003;
* Judicial Studies Board Specimen Directions;
* A commentary on relevant provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003
I found the CJA appendix of particular importance because it introduces a very substantial number of changes to police powers, criminal procedure and evidence as they begin to come into force. I come away with the memory of the late Professor Sir John Smith who always maintained that England and Wales should have full codification of the rules of evidence. “Bogan on Identification” shows the path towards full codification of evidence as one that a future government could take. It remains a pity that the public have to face an annual CJA because Parliament will not get to grips with the issues that are, by and large, not that controversial.
Demand for knowledge on ID evidence
Many practitioners will probably recall from their student and pupillage days the problems connected with ID evidence and will remember some of the practical training exercises set by the examiners. Bogan’s book is a ‘must’ for any barrister involved in the criminal justice process because it is clearly a one-stop shop. All you ever need to know about ID evidence but were afraid to ask! Yes, this has everything for you.
The Story of Adolf Beck
Bogan starts the book with the cautionary tale of Adolf Beck, an innocent who bore a ‘slight resemblance’ to serial con man William Wyatt. I found, going through the book, that many questions I would think to ask over a particular case I might be instructed on were fully explored with useful observations on how Counsel might proceed. Great advice here when we are looking for forgotten themes of defence. As many will know, it is sometimes the most obvious points that can be put aside amid the wealth of evidence, which the Prosecution may present (including the obnoxious unused material which Judges so loathe).
The Contents
In Part 1, entitled “Investigation”, chapters 2 – 8 cover the following areas:
* Introduction to Code D
* Visual identification procedures and their application
* Identification officer, Notice to Suspect and procedure selection
* Conduct of visual identification procedures
* Body mark, photographs, fingerprints and samples
* Juvenile and other vulnerable suspects
* Voice identification procedure
Part II reviews “Trial”:
* Disclosure
* Evidence, admissibility and exclusion
* Submission of no case
* Jury directions
Part III deals with ‘Scientific Evidence” and is a leading 21st century statement on where we are in 2004/5:
* DNA profiling
* Fingerprint and other skin impression evidence
* Facial mapping
* Handwriting
* Voice
* Dog tracking
So you can see that all the main senses are catered for! This is, truly, a book for the twenty-first century - all the technological advances of recent years are incorporated here in a logical way that is of great assistance to the busy barrister and his even busier pupil.
Advising The Defendant
My strongest point is left for the end: this is a great book for the idle prisoner if he cannot get his hands on Archbold. That is what worries me about it. All the detail is here, but I doubt whether it will diminish the number of frivolous appeals in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). This book could well force the end to a disastrous court of appeal system which clearly needs to be replaced with an adequate judicial tribunal that can determine failures in the criminal justice system on historic roots of equity and not pure political expediency which has been the fate of criminal appeal courts for at least two centuries.
End note
The law is stated as at 28th June 2004. So, Bogan has succeeded in his aspiration that this book will assist all those who seek a better understanding of the law and practice relating to identification evidence. Well done, you have achieved your goal and we should thank the LAG for this.
JACKSON & POWELL ON PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY
The authority on professional liability
Sweet & Maxwell’s Common Law Library
General Editors: John Powell QC and Roger Stewart QC
Consultant Editor: Sir Rupert Jackson
14 Editors: Scott Allen, Mark Cannon, Graham Chapman, Anneliese Day, Ben Elkington, Hugh L Evans, David Halpern QC, Graeme McPherson, Sian Mirchandani, Leigh-Ann Mulcahy, Amanda Savage, Fiona Sinclair, Paul Sutherland and David Turner
THOMSON SWEET & MAXWELL
ISBN: 0 421 95510 4
Price: £275
SLIM VOLUMES ACQUIRE MIDDLE AGE SPREAD
A review by Phillip Taylor MBE
Book Review Editor, ‘The Barrister’
The leading professional liability set at 4 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, have produced the new sixth edition of ‘Jackson & Powell’ following the 2002 fifth edition with its old and loved title “Professional Negligence” which has become ‘all too anachronistic and constricting’ apparently. So, the 4 New Square team have effected their Great Escape from the original straightjacket by adopting the more fitting title of “Professional Liability”.
As the General Editors say, the new edition is ‘not a function of mission creep’ but recognises a long established reality in relation to the claims linked with “professional negligence” which has led them to expand the volume with the inclusion of two new chapters on ‘Professional Indemnity Insurance’ and ‘Actuaries’- both welcome additions.
The Change of Title
A re-written chapter one explains all when it comes to change as this slim volume takes on a little bit of middle age spread. Now, ‘The Barrister’ is not a journal to worry too much about expanding girth so, as the authors point out, it is inevitable that the limiting term “professional negligence” needs to be expanded to include elements of a contract which provide the framework for resolving claims against professionals. So, we have ‘professional liability’ to define a wider realm of causes of action which have been described as ‘of a more heinous nature’ for the more excitable reader. The editors are, of course, absolutely right to make these changes and the new edition is contemporary, to the point, and a much-needed fundamental guide to current professional liability.
The Contents
‘Jackson & Powell’ as it will remains known as to practitioners, contains a detailed explanation of the general principles of professional liability, including liability and contributory negligence as well as discussion of the litigation process, defences and remedies. The range of the work is masterly with in-depth coverage of the legal, financial, technology, medical and construction professions and the new chapters on actuaries, insurance professionals and financial service regulation. ‘Jackson & Powell’ clarifies the duties and obligations that apply in different situations and the work explains the issues surrounding damages for each profession from the specialist endeavours of the 4 New Square team who are to be congratulated on such a splendid product and the hard work which has gone into it.
A Great Collaboration
Many writers are always extremely wary of the “camel” effect when designing a work by committee with so many authors included in a one stop volume on professional liability. However, team have carried out their mission brilliantly with an analysis of the law and its application which cannot be bettered. No design worries here, then! I mention their names above because they are all a part of a fabulous collaborative work.
Specific Professions
Probably one of the greatest attributes of ‘Jackson & Powell’ is the detailed statement on specific professions. I noted that there had been a number of substantial changes which are to be welcomed as UK professions change to meet new demands here and in the EU. The book is now split into two categories of chapters: the first eight chapters deal with subjects of a general application, whilst the remaining chapters look at the professions in depth. It is the specific professions where the really hard work has taken place this time. Those new to the work will find the following covered after the new chapter eight on ‘professional indemnity insurance’:
Construction professionals; surveyors; solicitors; barristers; medical practitioners; regulation of financial services; financial practitioners; insurance brokers; accountants and auditors; actuaries; members’ and managing agents at Lloyd’s; information technology professionals; and patent agents and trade mark attorneys.
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CONFIDENTIALITY
CLIMBING AND ROLLING WITH SISYPHUS
By the same publishers, and to go with ‘Jackson & Powell’ is the second edition of "Confidentiality" by Toulson & Phipps (ISBN: 978 0 421 876 309). ‘Toulson & Phipps’ is another 4 New Square endeavour. It is much needed with a new edition ten years after it first appeared. The breach of confidence which led to Sisyphus’s punishment of having to roll a huge stone up a hill, only for it to roll down again as he was reaching the top is probably how both ‘Jackson & Powell’ and ‘Toulson & Phipps’ feel when they embarked upon new editions with all the climbing and rolling required. Both sets of authors need not have worried as the end product in both cases is excellent value for money and extremely erudite.
The collaboration of a leading Lincoln’s Inn civil set with these works is to be welcomed. From ‘Professional Liability’, the reader moves to ‘Confidentiality’ which explains how the law applies to particular professionals and their clients, so that practitioners can make sure that client rights and entitlements are properly understood. Under-pining ‘Confidentiality’ are references to professional codes of conduct which are beginning to appear in other leading law publications as regulation comes to the fore. Clearly ‘Toulson & Phipps on Confidentiality’ remains a unique guide to the law and practice of confidentiality stating the obligations and responsibilities involved.
Significant changes concerning confidentiality are highlighted including leading case law under the Human Rights Act with most useful observations in Douglas v Hello and Campbell v MGN. The CPR changes are also detailed and most useful additions include statements on the Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act for the uninitiated.
The 22 chapters of ‘Confidentiality’ give a realistic account of where the confused law actually is in 2007. Like many complimentary books in this area of law, ‘Toulson & Phipps’ and ‘Jackson & Powell’ attempt the possible…and succeed…although I fear that stone will always start running back down the hill- we have these excellent leading professionals and their teams to stop it. Let’s hope they can.