Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what basis UK courts have had jurisdiction to hear cases started in Russian Courts between Russian companies and individuals since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The question of whether courts in England and Wales have jurisdiction to hear claims brought by parties from other countries are determined by the courts in accordance with common law principles and international conventions.
In English and Welsh law, the determination of the appropriate forum (where no international convention applies) to hear a dispute is the one in which the case may most suitably be tried in the interests of all the parties and the ends of justice. Matters which a court will take into account in deciding this would include whether there are any factors connecting the dispute to a particular jurisdiction.
It is open to the opposing party to challenge a claim on the basis that it should have been brought in another jurisdiction.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government why Russian state-owned companies are being allowed access to UK courts to pursue litigation concerning penalties imposed by Russian courts.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The question of whether courts in England and Wales have jurisdiction to hear claims brought by parties from other countries are determined by the courts in accordance with common law principles and international conventions.
In English and Welsh law, the determination of the appropriate forum (where no international convention applies) to hear a dispute is the one in which the case may most suitably be tried in the interests of all the parties and the ends of justice. Matters which a court will take into account in deciding this would include whether there are any factors connecting the dispute to a particular jurisdiction.
It is open to the opposing party to challenge a claim on the basis that it should have been brought in another jurisdiction.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays in funerals being caused by (1) the existing system for registering a death, (2) the number of available pathologists, (3) delays in completion of Medical Certificate Cause of Death forms and access to local GPs, (4) the availability of mortuary storage at local hospitals and public mortuaries, and (5) any delays by medical examiners.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Whilst the Government does not have operational responsibility for the provision of funeral services, we are aware of funeral delays in some areas and acknowledge that these are often exacerbated by pressures from within the wider death management system.
Government departments are taking a collaborative approach to reforming the death registration system as part of the roll out of the statutory medical examiner scheme which will come into force in April 2024. The doctor who attended the deceased during their last illness has a legal responsibility to complete a Medical Certificate Cause of Death (MCCD) as soon as possible to enable the registration of the death to take place. Guidance for doctors on completing an MCCD, available on Gov.uk, emphasises this point. As part of the work on the statutory medical examiner scheme, the Department of Health and Social Care is looking at expanding the pool of doctors who can sign the MCCD forms. When the demand on civil registration services is high, death registration appointments will always take priority over other registration appointments.
The Government continues to look at wider improvements to the death management system’s capacity and resilience, including mortuary capacity. The shortage of pathologists is a long-standing and cross-cutting issue. The Government is determined to make progress as soon as practicable. To that end, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State is engaging with Ministerial colleagues to implement effective solutions through a cross-government action plan.