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PROGRAMME INFO |
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The programme that tackles the big legal issues as well as the everyday ones without long words, small print or expensive fees. It is aimed at anyone who is interested in the way the law works - and sometimes doesn't work.
Send your comments to lawinaction@bbc.co.uk
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LISTEN AGAIN |
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PRESENTER |
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A lawyer turned journalist, he was a leader writer and legal correspondent for The Times before becoming freelance, since when he has written and broadcast on many different subjects for a wide range of newspapers, magazines, radio and television. He currently writes a weekly column on legal issues for The Guardian, and is lecturer on media law at the City University.
Past highlights have included devising and presenting the first television drama-documentary to feature real lawyers and judges doing their job (for London Weekend Television) and devising and editing the award-winning The Law Magazine.
He has written or co-written four books, including The Law Machine (with Clare Dyer, Penguin, 5th edition, 2000).
Apart from his output on legal themes, he is the crime fiction reviewer for The Times, used to set a weekly quiz for The Guardian and is a panelist on BBC Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz.
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| PROGRAMME DETAILS | | | |
|  | | Natallie Evans and Lorraine Hadley outside the High Court this week
On Wednesday the High Court ruled in the case of two women who want to use frozen embryos created with their ex-partners’ sperm, against the present wishes of the men. Mr Justice Wall decided that the law was clear and the men had a right to withdraw their consent. Marcel Berlins speaks to Emily Jackson of the London School of Economics about the decision
| |  | | Academics have suggested that Einstein showed signs of autism
The Disabilities Trust recently hosted a conference on the right approach to suspects and offenders with autistic spectrum disorders. Law in Action’s Innes Bowen went to the West Midlands to speak to a 30 year old man with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) about how he came to have a criminal conviction for indecent assault, and asks barrister Jeremy Dein QC whether autism can ever be a legal defence. Marcel then hears from Chief Inspector Perry Gwillam, a policeman who has an 8 year old son with autism and who is calling for greater awareness and understanding, and from James Graham, the principal of a training centre for 16-18 year olds with Asperger’s Syndrome, who explains why he does not want the police to adopt a softly-softly approach to his students.
| |  | | Carole Caplin must know a lot about the Blairs
When Alistair Campbell gave evidence to the Hutton Inquiry we were given a tantalising glimpse of the former spin doctor’s diaries. But will Alistair Campbell ever be allowed to publish them? And if Carole Caplin decides she wants to write about her relationship with the Blairs, could the courts stop her? Marcel looks at the phenomenon of “serve and tell” memoirs. He asks barrister David Sherborne to explain the law of confidentiality, and hears from Mary Archer’s former secretary Jane Williams about how she has lost everything after talking about her old boss.
| |  | | Moshin Khan conscientiously objected to the war in Iraq
This week the RAF Reservist Moshin Khan lost his first appeal against being disciplined for going AWOL during the Iraq war. Khan refused to fight in the war for religious reasons; he argued that as a Muslim he felt unable to join a conflict in which he might be required to kill fellow Muslims. His legal defence was framed as one of ‘conscientious objection’ and a matter of ‘freedom of religious expression’ under the Human Rights Act. The military judge decided that these arguments were no defence to the charge, but recognised that the case was likely to be appealed. Marcel speaks to Mr Khan’s solicitor Justin Hugheston-Roberts about the principles at stake.
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RELATED LINKS
Frozen Embryo Case
Human Fertilisation and Embryo Authority
Website of the statutory body that regulates IVF and other reproductive technologies.
BBCi - 'It's my only chance to have a baby'
Article from 2002 on why Natallie Evans sought the permission of the courts to continue her IVF treatment.
BBCi – Women lose embryo battle
Two women have lost their High Court battle to use their frozen embryos against the will of their former partners.
BBCi – IVF
Around 6,000 babies a year are born in the UK as a result of in vitro fertilisation.
Autism and Criminal Responsibility
National Autism Society
Homepage of the leading charity working for people with autism and their families.
* NAS Helpline Tel: 0870 600 85 85
Email: autismhelpline@nas.org.uk
Just Ask! - the website of the Community Legal Service
Government website with information about how to find legal help near you, and whether such help is available free.
* CLS Information Line - for details of lawyers and legal advice services in your area - Tel: 0845 6081122 / Minicom 0845 6096677
BBCi – Medical notes: Autism
Nobody really knows why there has been such a dramatic increase in diagnoses of autism or what causes it. BBC News Online examines the perplexing condition.
BBCi – Medical notes: Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's syndrome is one of a range of autism-like disorders which often manifests in "eccentric" behaviour rather than pronounced and obvious disability.
BBCi - 'Autism is like living on wrong planet'
Ian Stewart is autistic and he admits he finds the world a baffling place.
BBCi - Einstein and Newton 'had autism'
Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have suffered from a type of autism, according to experts.
Confidentiality and the Law
BBCi - Caplin 'will not reveal Blair secrets'
Blair's lifestyle guru Carole Caplin has denied reports that she is considering giving an insider's account of life inside Downing Street.
BBCi - Campbell diaries offer insight
If a lucky publisher does one day get his or her hands on the Campbell diaries, there is little doubt that they'll have a best-seller on their hands.
BBCi - Lady Archer wins privacy battle
Lady Archer has won her High Court privacy battle against her former personal assistant Jane Williams.
BBCi - Blair defends book injunction
Prime Minister Tony Blair has defended blocking a newspaper from publishing the memoirs of his children's former nanny.
Conscientious Objection and Human Rights
Human Rights Act 1998 - the Articles
Links to full text of the Human Rights Act - Article 9 defines the right to freedom of religious expression.
AT EASE - information on conscientious objection
AT EASE is a free, independent advice service for members of the UK Armed Forces
'BBCi - Why I would not kill in war'
On International Conscientious Objectors' Day, four men explain the very different reasons why they refused to fight in four very different conflicts.
Guardian Unlimited - Fighting not to fight
The Guardian Online's 'Factfile' on Conscientious Objection
BBCi - The Ethics of War
An educational site from the BBC including information on conscientious objection and 'holy war'
Peace Pledge Union - information for members of the armed forces
The PPU is an independent organisation of individuals from all walks of life who believe that war and violent conflict are neither necessary nor inevitable.
DISCLAIMER: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external links.
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Audio Help
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| | PREVIOUS PROGRAMMES
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| Last Series - Summer 2003
1 August 2003
Happy Birthday to the mollusc that changed the legal world
- When police "sting" operations become illegal entrapment.
- What to be aware of if you're not the marrying kind.
- "Reasonable force" and the householder - how far can you go?
- The snail-contaminated drink that launched a thousand suits.
25 July 2003
Torture - a truly international crime
- Why British courts can try a foreigner for torture committed abroad.
- Chaos at Heathrow - can angry customers claim damages from BA?
- Will the Government's new approach to medical mistakes make the difference?
- Restorative justice - time to give it a chance?
- End of the road for the University Visitor?
18 July 2003
Reforming the Law Lords- why is it needed, and will it work?
- A Supreme Court for the UK - the rationale.
- New ways of appointing judges - should 'merit' really be all?
- Zeta Jones vs Hello! - compensating for distress.
- Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation soon to be outlawed.
- Tackling the burgeoning crime of identity fraud.
11 July 2003
Military trial for Guantanamo suspects - will it be fair?
- Arguments for and against trying Guantanamo's 'unlawful combatants' in U.S. military tribunals.
- Human rights and the environment - the implications of the Government's 'night flight' victory in Strasbourg.
- A licence to entertain - will a new law stop the music?
- Recovering criminal assets under the new Act: 100 days on.
4 July 2003
Corporate manslaughter and Hatfield - how to make it stick.
- Charges due in the Hatfield rail crash case - the law on corporate manslaughter.
- IVF case- can embryos be used after one partner withdraws consent?
- When is trespass criminal?
- Community sentences - a good thing or not?
- Anti-smoking laws: do they work?
- All male juries in Gibraltar - are they legal?
27 June 2003
Aiming for diversity in university admissions – where does the law draw the line?
- Affirmative action law in the US and UK.
- Royal gatecrashing: what’s the crime?
- Human rights not violated by Scottish ban on hunting.
- Church repairs:'capricious' ancient law costs Aston Cantlow couple dear.
20 June 2003
Judging the judges - who should choose?
Special single-issue edition on judicial appointments.
13 June 2003
Suicide and the state - when it must let you die.
- The law in relation to suicide.
- Executed George Kelly's 1950 conviction quashed.
- Lawyers who do it for free.
- The end of the Irvine era: his legacy and the changes to come.
6 June 2003
Nothing to lose? - what you need to know about no win no fee.
- Conditional fee agreements.
- Looted artefacts: closing the legal loophole.
- UK Coroners system to be reformed.
- Travellers' rights and local authority injunctions : the balancing act.
30 May 2003
Stansted hijackers' convictions quashed - does the law on duress need to change?
- Hijacking and the defence of duress.
- Will the timeshare fraudster really get to keep his loot?
- Should you be 'registering' your village green?
- House of Lords gets to grips with privacy and the common law.
Link to factsheets from earlier series of Law in Action
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