This report examines the influence of the media on the judiciary and politics, and features insights from Lance Price, former Government Director of Communications, on the unhealthy relationship between politics and the media exposed by the phone hacking scandal.

Other issues addressed include media ownership and control, and comparative studies from the US and Italy.

This report presents the views of a number of leading medical and legal experts on the complex evidential issues arising at inquests into sudden adult deaths. Participants include Michael Burgess OBE (HM Coroner of the Royal Household and Legal Secretary of the Coroners’ Society of England & Wales) and Professor Hugh Watkins (an expert in molecular genetics and molecular biology of heart muscle disease).

The rise of populism in Eastern Europe has had a significant effect on the rule of law, and the reaction of the judiciary to the changing political environment has been particularly revealing.

Situations of emergency and crisis pose significant challenges to all branches of government, none more so than the courts. Courts in democratic states face unique tribulations, though there is increasing recognition that even in authoritarian contexts courts can continue to play an important part in challenging and channelling a state’s recourse to crisis powers.