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18 March 2022 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7971 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 18 March 2022

Divorce: now or next month? CPR treatment

FREEDOM FROM BLAME

If the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (see Civil way, NLJ 15 January 2021, p19, 4 February 2022, p19 and David Burrows, NLJ 4 March 2022, p13) has not been ‘commenced’ to come into force on 6 April 2022 by the time you end the next page, then I am a large bunch of deteriorating bananas. The primary legislation is now supported by the amended FPR (which will require a small drafting correction) and amended PDs and, in the pipeline, a PD covering the pilot digital system due for publication around 1 April 2022 and presidential costs guidance along with the possibility of presidential guidance on practice generally. The MoJ has produced an information pack obtainable from HMCTS.communications@justice.gov.uk and HMCTS’s service centre is opening later to deal with the knottiest divorce (and probate) queries customers can create on Tuesdays and Thursdays (8am to 8pm) and Saturdays (8am to 2pm) which runs the risk of a few relationship breakdowns for condemned

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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