LONDON: Barristers in England are changing their speeches after the prosecution of a leading human rights lawyer for contempt of court has left many members of the Criminal Bar Association feeling “scared,” its chair has warned.
Rajiv Menon KC is accused of breaking a judge’s directions while acting for the defense in the trial of six members of the group Palestine Action for their part in a protest at an arms factory owned by a subsidiary of Israeli company Elbit Systems near Bristol in 2024.
Menon’s trial, which will start next week, has been criticized for being the first ever case of a barrister in England and Wales charged for remarks in a closing speech, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
Charges were brought after the judge in the trial of the Palestine Action members, Mr. Justice Johnson, referred the question of whether to prosecute Menon to another judge, Mr. Justice Nicklin. This came after an initial move to charge Menon was overturned on appeal.
Nicklin determined that Menon should face contempt proceedings for his closing speech on grounds that Johnson’s rulings and directions were breached “knowing that his (Menon’s) conduct would create, or was capable of creating, a real risk of impeding the administration of justice.”
