Today the Judiciary released their long awaited Consultation on McKenzie Friends. Most importantly, the consultation proposes a ban on fee-charging McKenzie friends in order to protect ‘vulnerable litigants’ from unregulated, uninsured and unqualified individuals. The article from the Law Gazette website outlines the Consultation in detail (and the online comments make interesting reading !!!). http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/practice/judiciary-proposes-ban-on-fee-charging-mckenzie-friends/5053851.article

Judiciary publishes guide for litigants in person Friday 11 January 2013 by Jonathan Rayner The judicial office has today published a self-help guide for litigants in person presenting cases to the interim applications court. The 16-page guide, penned by High Court judge Mr Justice Foskett, takes litigants through each stage of the process, from giving notice and presenting documents to how to behave in court, apply for costs and seek permission to appeal. The interim applications court deals with short applications of an interim nature within existing or (sometimes) proposed proceedings in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. It does not deal with family or matrimonial cases. The most commonly heard applications include applying for an injunction to prevent a former employee from abusing confidential information, setting up in competition or working for a rival employer; preventing travellers occupying a site in contravention of the planning laws; freezing orders to prevent the sale of property; and applying for the disclosure of specific documents. Queen’s Bench Division president Sir John Thomas says in his foreword to the guide that court procedures may present difficulties to people unfamiliar with them. He said: ‘Our hope is that (the guide) will help smooth the way for cases involving self-represented litigants in the interim application courts to be heard fairly and effectively by the judge in the allotted time. Jonathan Rayner Jonathan Rayner is a Gazette reporter covering employment, human rights, international, immigration, mental health, sole practitioners, money laundering, diversity and local government