We recognise that the guidance updates regularly and the situation is dynamic. With that in mind, our pupils and Junior tenants will summarise the latest position regarding Practice Directions, Protocols and Orders here, so that you have access to the most up to date information in one place.
Updated 13th June 2020.
Civil
Park Square Barristers Civil Team are conducting hearings, conferences and Joint Settlement Meetings using Skype for Business, Zoom and Microsoft Teams. For any clerking enquiries please contact Francine Kirk, Andy Reeves, Josh Duree or email clerkscivil@psqb.co.uk
At Park Square Barristers we pride ourselves on our progressive approach, which continues now more than ever. A recent article by Kate Wilson can be found here. All of our practitioners are working hard to write articles covering the impact on the legal landscape; visit the news section of our website here to keep up to date with the latest legal developments in your area of practice.
Guidance:
- Guidance for South Yorkshire (Sheffield, Doncaster, Barnsley) – click here
- Guidance for West and North Yorkshire (Leeds, Bradford, Skipton, Harrogate) – click here
- Guidance for Humber (Hull, Beverley and Grimsby) – click here
- Guidance for Northumbria and Durham (Newcastle, Teeside, Durham), Boxwork order and BT Meet Me order – click here
- Guidance for Manchester – click here
- Jonathan Holsgrove has prepared a helpful summary of the guidance across the North-Eastern Circuit here
- There have also been further temporary and permanent changes to the Civil Procedure Rules which are summarised here
- Updated Civil Listing priorities as of 14th May 2020 can be found here.
Park Square Barristers’ Remote Joint Settlement Meeting Protocol, drafted by Simon Anderson, can be found here.
Commercial & Insolvency
Guidance which applies to the Business and Property Courts in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle, by Mr Justice Snowden is available here.
Temporary Insolvency Practice Directions are now in force. James Wilson’s summary is here.
Business and Property Court Remote Hearing Guidance is here.
Manchester Business and Property Court Local Guidance is here.
Employment
The President of the Employment Tribunal’s Guidance can be found here, the Amendment issued on 23 March 2020 here and A series of FAQs here.
Chelsea Brook-Ward provides a summary of the guidance here.
Regulatory and Public Law including Healthcare Regulatory and Inquest
Our Regulatory and Public Law team are conducting hearings using a variety of online platforms including Skype for Business, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, BT MeetMe and BT Conferencing when appearing before the Coroner’s Courts, Crown Courts, Magistrates Courts, First Tier Tribunals and County Courts across the country.
Guidance:
- The Chief Coroner’s Guidance 26.3.20 here
- The Chief Coroner’s Guidance 27.3.20 here
- The Chief Coroner’s Guidance 30.3.20 here
- The Chief Coroner’s Guidance 28.4.20 here
- The Chief Coroner’s Guidance 11.6.20 here (Remote Participation)
- The North Eastern Circuit Crown Court Listing Protocol 25.3.20 here
- The additional North Eastern Circuit Listing Protocol 7.4.20 can be found here
- The CPS listing protocol can be found here
- The HM Courts & Tribunals Service Custody Time Limit Guidance here
- Court of Appeal Criminal Division Guidance from Lord Justice Fulford here
- The General Regulatory Chamber First-Tier Tribunal Remote User Guide can be found here.
- The General Regulatory Chamber First-Tier Tribunal Update on ways of working can be found here
- Listing Priorities for the Magistrates Court can be found here.
Members of our team are committed to providing up to the minute commentary on Covid-19 issues as they develop.
Holly Clegg provides a summary of The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 (No. 350) here
James Wilson provides a summary of employer’s Health and Safety responsibilities during Covid-19 here.
Kirsten Mercer summarises the latest Guidance from the Chief Coroner here.
For any enquiries, please contact Madeleine Gray or email clerksregulatory@psqb.co.uk.
Family
On 23 March 2020, Mr Justice Macdonald published guidance regarding Remote Access in the Family Court during the Covid-19 outbreak, including a Protocol for both live and remote hearings, this can be found here. A summary of the guidance by Shannon Woodley can be found here.
An example of how the family team is here to help during these difficult times click here.
Park Square Barristers Family Team is conducting hearings using Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams and Zoom. For any clerking enquiries please contact Claudine Cooper, Arnela Siranovic or clerksfamily@psqb.co.uk.
Housing
Guidance on the listing of housing cases for each court centre on the North-Eastern Circuit can be found here. An article written by Chris Rafferty covering the non-statutory guidance provided to landlords, tenants and local authorities can be found here.
Crime
Although jury trials have been suspended, Members of Park Square Barristers Criminal Team are conducting Mentions, Sentences, PTPHs, Bail Applications, as well as remote hearings in the Court of Appeal. Members are taking proactive reviews of cases presently listed, including conducting remote conferences where relevant in accordance with the Covid-19 protocols. Park Square Barristers is one of the four chambers on the North Eastern Circuit able to facilitate conferences with prisoner clients.
For enquiries, please contact the criminal clerking team or on criminalclerks@psqb.co.uk
- The NEC Listing Protocol 25.3.20 here
- The additional NEC Listing Protocol 7.4.20 can be found here
- The CPS listing protocol can be found here
- The CTL Guidance here
- Court of Appeal Criminal Division Guidance from Lord Justice Fulford here
- Listing Priorities for the Magistrates Court can be found here.
- Practice Note for the listing of PTPH and Committal for Sentence cases can be found here.
- The 12th May Listing Practice Note for PTPH Hearings is here.
- The 19th May Listing Protocol for Commitall for Sentences is here.
- The most recent Practice Note regarding Bail PTPHs from Grimsby Crown Court is here.
- The most recent Practice Note regarding s.28 hearings from Sheffield Crown Court is here.
- Guidance for Advocates for hearings in Newcastle as of 13th July 2020 can be found here.
- Guidance for Defendants attending court in Newcastle as of 13th July 2020 can be found here.
- The York Crown Court LVR Categorisation and Allocation Form can be found here.
- The York Crown Court Directions for LVR Hearings can be found here.
- The York Crown Court Practice Note for LVR Hearings can be found here.
- The York Crown Court LVR Trial Operating Procedure can be found here.
- The Robing Room update from Teesside Crown Court can be found here.
- The Trial Recovery Plan for Teesside Crown Court can be found here.
Future Trial Review Hearings
- The form for FTR Hearings in Bradford can be found here.
- The Protocol for FTR Hearings in Newcastle can be found here.
An extensive update provided and maintained by Nathan Davis and Matthew Stewart here is essential reading for any criminal practitioner.
CLOUD VIDEO PLATFORM
HMCTS is currently piloting the CVP in a number of Crown Courts including Leeds. This is an online video and audio platform that works in a similar fashion to applications such as Zoom.
The detailed North Eastern Circuit user guide for connecting to the court for a hearing is here.
In summary the platform is one that has been in development for some time and is being piloted now in response to the current pandemic. It is not being used in relation to jury trials which are still suspended until further notice.
Invitations to the court hearing are on the Digital Case System with a clickable hyperlink and the system also allows pdf documents to be viewed by all on the screen as part of submissions.
In addition, it provides a platform to have a pre-hearing conference over a link to a prison for those in custody. Prior to the hearing you will receive an email from the prison/booking service with a clickable hyperlink.
The guide for connecting to court for your hearing via CVP is here.
The guide for connecting to the prison for your conference via CVP is here.