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1/n I don't think enough attention is being paid to the inherent unfairness of EOH. It is a form of discrimination, and even if you do not care about the plight of an individual unable to service a particular court case because of their own commitments, you should care about
2/n the wider harm to society. Lady Hale painted a grim picture in her 2019 Denning Lecture (4 December 2019). She suggested that a female perspective was necessary, observing:
3/n ''The courts sometimes struggled to understand the depth of the insult to women’s dignity involved
in sex discrimination.'
She said the 'penny did' finally begin to drop, but why did it?
in sex discrimination.'
She said the 'penny did' finally begin to drop, but why did it?
4/n Lady Hale answered in this way: 'Can we put that down to the presence of increasing numbers of women in the law? I hope that we can.'
We can extend this to almost every other group. By way of personal example I have often struggled to identify the real issue in what we
We can extend this to almost every other group. By way of personal example I have often struggled to identify the real issue in what we
5/n might loosely describe as 'protest cases', but real issues there are, and fortunately others see those issues and have a passion for them. Much better they be briefed that me perhaps? Most certainly I think.
6/n If you were born as I was in a relatively small village, where there was only one non-white person during my entire period of schooling, what perspective do you have when it comes to considering the life of a kid in an area like london?
7/n We could go on and one. We all play our part in different ways, we collectively grow the law, we learn from each other, we make each other better advocates, which in the end results in better law, for everyone.
8/n So, sure, you can return the case to someone else, you can drive out an entire group of advocates, you can process a few more cases as a result. But the cost should be seen as quite unbearable.
9/n Lady Hale's speech is here: https://www.supremecourt.uk/docs/speech-191204.pdf
