MagnaCartaGlobalSummit

Givemeyourtired,yourpoor,yourhuddledmassesyearningtobreathe
free.

MrGraylinghascottonedonquickly.Inonlythethirdyearofhis
legalcareerhehasworkedoutthatbusinesslawiswherethereal
moneyis.ThisistheworldofagrandanhourandtheLordHigh
Chancellorisverykeentopromoteit.Heisorganisingaglobal
summit,which,Iassume,isgoingtocelebratethelawasasource
ofinvisibleexports.Frankly,themoreRussiancrooksthatlitigate
inLondonthebetteritisforoureconomy.Thatisnottomention
the exotic divorcees who like to sit at the casino tables of our
FamilyDivision.Goodlucktothemall.
Perhaps,oneday,asaformerholderofHighJudicialOffice,Lord
Graylingwillbecomeanarbitratorinsomejurisdictioncoveredin
sand dunes. He should, of course, be encouraged to take a job
overseasassoonaspossible.Fromthewoolsack,heoutranksthe
retired Judges (except perhaps Lord Woolf) who chase these
lucrativejobs.
Ifyouhaveaspare1500foraticketyoumaybeinterestedinthe
followingSummitthemes:

DrivingeconomicgrowththroughtheRuleofLaw
Lawattheheartof21stcenturybusiness

Mr Grayling and Mr Cameron can easily justify their global

summitintermsofroublesanddollarsofonekindoranother.But
whattheymustnotdoisstrapontheMagnaCartalikeacodpiece
togaincredibility.OnFebruary23rdtheCartawillbe799,not800.
Its birthday does not fall until June. Cynics may say that the
summitisanattempttogainpreelectionbrowniepoints.Inthis,
theuncaringCameronGovernmentmustnotsucceed.Thetruth
needs to be told to the voters and the summit visitors. This
Governmenthasdonemoredamagetotheruleoflawthanany
sincethereignofKingJohnhimself.
Where does one start to summarise the damage done? In
appointingamanwithnorelevantqualificationsorexperience,Mr
Cameronraisedtwofingerstothelawandstuckouthistongueat
the same time. The agenda that followed demonstrated why an
unqualifiedmanwasnecessary.Noexperiencedlawyercouldbe
expected to stomach policies denying justice to the ordinary
citizen.Removinglegalaidfromcountlesscases,increasingthe
costofissuingproceedings,restrictingjudicialreview,denigrating
the lawyers who undertake publicly funded work and not

reimbursing the true costs of an acquitted defendant are prime

examples. Mr.Grayling hasmade it moredifficult forordinary
peopletogototheemploymenttribunalsortofamilycourts.It
will be increasingly difficult for the selfemployed and small
businessestorecoverdebtsintheCountyCourt.Neverhavethe
policeandotherauthoritiesbeensosafefromcivilactions.Always
atthebottomofthelistarevictimsofmiscarriageofjusticewho
servelongprisonsentencesbeforetheirinnocenceisdiscovered.
MrGraylinghasbyfartheworsteverrecordforcompensating
them. No one now is compensated for the years lost due to
wrongfulconviction.
EvencontractsforCrownCourtcateringhavebeenremovedin
many places. This means taking away the free cups of tea and
sandwiches that used to be provided to jurors deliberating over
lunch.SavingthesepenniesmeansthatinsomeCourtsthejury
doesnotdeliberateatlunchtime.Thusavaluablehourissacrificed.
Losinganhourcantakeshortcasesintoanadditionaldayorweek.
Soon most of Her Majestys Courts will be demoralised to
breakingpoint.
Perhaps Mr Grayling is right after all. Weshould celebrate the
wellpaidlawyerswhocanturnasimplecaseintoproperdough.
We should emulate rather than criticise. It does not require a

commercialcasetomakedecentmoney.Considerthefollowing
dispute.Whoareyoucallingafuckingpleb?Ididntcall
youaplebWelltheSunnewspaperseemstothinkyoudid.
Inourvenerablelegalsystem(basedasitisonMagnaCarta)itis
estimatedthatthelosingpartyinthiscaseofsticksandstones
mayhavetopay3millionincosts.Thecasehasalsogenerateda
remarkable interlocutory decision. Mr Mitchells solicitors fell
fouloftheproceduralrulesandtheywerepunished,ohhowthey
were punished. As a result of filing their costs budget the day
beforethehearing(andnot6dayspreviously)Mitchellcouldnot
recover his costs had he won. The Sun went to trial without
needingtoworryaboutMitchellscostsiftheylost.Thedecisionis
amajorheadacheforlitigators.Decidingclaimsontheirmeritsis
nolongerthepreeminentneed.Proceduralbreachestrumpthe
doingofjustice.Wecanonlyspeculateonthequestionwhether
thebaronsatRunnymedewouldhaveacceptedthis.TheMitchell
casedoesntfillmewiththeidealisticpridethatIusedtofeel
aboutBritishJusticebutIamsoyesterday.
ThestarturnatthesummitwillbeCherieBlair(neeBooth).Sheis
theverymodelofamodernbarrister.WhenIwasagainstherin
theeightiesshedidjudicialreviewinsocialservicescases,often
actingforLabourcontrolledcouncils.Nowsheisadvisortothe

GovernmentofKazakhstanonbilateralinvestmenttreaties(at
1100perhouraccordingtoherwebsite).Whilemostofusare
stuck with labels from past areas of practice, she proves that
celebrity is transcendent. She has her own pioneering
international law firm that provides strategic counsel to
governments,corporateandprivateclients.Asaformerchampion
oftheHumanRightsAct,itisremarkablethattheTorieshave
bookedher.Hatsoffplease.Wouldntitbewonderfulifshecould
be persuaded to sing beneath the circular colonnade at
Runnymede:Whatuseisstayingaloneinyourroom?Cometo
theCabaret.Wecouldlinetheriverbankswithlitigantsinperson
toprovideabitofatmosphere.PerhapsMrGraylingcouldgive
themasliceofcake.Beingadeadversatilescouser,IbetCherieis
upforit.

IanGlenQ.C.