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22 July 2010 / Roger Smith
Issue: 7427 / Categories: Opinion , Constitutional law
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Coalition justice 2

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This is the second of three articles on the policies of the coalition government. The first dealt with its approach to civil liberties. This covers matters relating to the constitution. The third will cover cuts. The articles are arranged in order of praise.

Roger Smith continues to identify the good, the bad & the ugly in the coalition

This is the second of three articles on the policies of the coalition government. The first dealt with its approach to civil liberties. This covers matters relating to the constitution. The third will cover cuts. The articles are arranged in order of praise. The coalition is excellent on civil liberties (NLJ, 2 July 2010, p 917); potentially disastrous on cuts; and more balanced on the constitution.

Precedent

The coalition created welcome constitutional precedent by the very publishing of its Programme for Government. This is a form of extended manifesto in which the two parties set out their legislative programme for the Parliament. It was the result of the deal-making that followed the inconclusive election. This is

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

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NEWS
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NLJ this week: Old rules, fresh warnings in employment law
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
NLJ this week: The rise of the ‘ChatGPT client’ rattles the profession
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
NLJ this week: Surrogacy children caught in succession gap
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’
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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
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