Thu, 30 May 2019
On 28 May 2019 Philip Rule, No5 Barristers’ Chambers, spoke at the Faculty of Law building at the University of Oxford to a selection of students drawn from across the globe – as far as Colombia – who are studying on the Masters degree course at the university.
The seminar was concerned with protection of fair trial rights in the parole system in the wake of the infamous Worboys case. Philip built upon an article he published in the Criminal Law & Justice Weekly magazine in 2018, and particularly focused upon subsequent legal and practical developments concerning:
- the Executive interference with the independence of the Parole Board or its members;
- the amendment made to rule 25 of the Parole Board Rules 2016 to provide for a summary of reasons to be given for a decision;
- the proposed reconsideration of decisions mechanism envisaged by the MOJ’s published (first) review; and
- the revised approach being taken to unproven matters by Parole Board panel decisions and the directions being issued, and practical problems arising from the new attempt to look in ordinary cases at matters not subject to previous trial and conviction, or in many instances to any fact-finding mechanism at all.
Philip was invited to attend to present a seminar in this series run by Professor of Criminology, Carolyn Hoyle, for students of the MSc in Criminology & Criminal Justice. Professor Hoyle is a published academic, who recently concluded research into applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission concerning alleged miscarriages of justice, and is working on studies of foreign nationals at risk of capital punishment in Malaysia.
Philip has previously chaired a discussion of the impact of Worboys (and consultation proposals for systemic changes to the parole system) at the Reform of the Parole Board: Open Justice and Rehabilitation seminar held by the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association in July 2018.
Philip has previously spoken at the miscarriage of justice conference held at the University of Manchester School of Law’s National Training Conference on Investigating Miscarriages of Justice 2018.
Philip is a specialist public, prison and criminal law barrister with particular experience in appeals and judicial review practice. He also conducts inquest, disciplinary and Court of Protection cases.
