Louise Ellison – författare

Until quite recently it was commonplace to describe the witness as the 'forgotten man' in the criminal justice system. The last few years have seen a dramatic shift in thinking with an increasing recognition of the legitimate expectations and rights of witnesses within the criminal process. At the same time research has drawn attention to a host of factors that conspire to deny the courts access to the best evidence potentially available when so-called vulnerable and intimidated witnesses are called upon to testify in accordance with conventional adversarial trial procedures and methods.The official response so far embodies an approach best described as one of accommodation. Efforts have centred on improving the treatment of witnesses within the established trial framework while preserving an overall commitment to key tenets of adversarial theory. The latter include the principle of orality with its general insistence upon direct evidence and the use of cross-examination as a device for testing the credibility of witnesses.The central contribution of this book lies in its demonstration of the significant limitations of the prevailing approach, most recently manifest in the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. By providing a broader theoretical framework for understanding the treatment of vulnerable witnesses it signals the need to extend the search for solutions beyond the boundaries of the paradigmatic adversarial model. Drawing upon modern psychological, socio-linguistic, and victimological study across common law jurisdictions, the book provides a systematic critique of the special measures of the 1999 Act and of adversarial trial procedure more generally.As a point of contrast the book also explores the contended advantages inherent within inquisitorial style criminal proceedings for witnesses, drawing on the author's own experience of rape proceedings in the Netherlands. Throughout due account is taken of significant recent developments at national, European, and international levels which have ensured the place victims and witnesses, once excluded, in any discussion of criminal trial fairness.

Corporate property is routinely identified as the second biggest cost within a business organization after staff. Effective management of such a major asset requires a fundamental understanding of both the operation of the property markets and the operational requirements of the business occupier. This primer on strategic property management focuses on how property held as a corporate asset can be used to add value to the primary business activity of an organization. Rather than separate the needs of the business form the management of the business estate, the aim of Corporate Property Management is to enable the reader to directly support the primary business function through strategic management of corporate property, thereby adding value to the business as a whole.The book introduces a generic framework designed to assist in the analysis of any corporate property portfolio, working as a practical aid to decision making. The book is structured around this framework, providing a detailed review of its application and uses. This is then developed further through extensive use of five in-depth case studies that covers a wide variety of property types and property users – Borders bookshops; Cancer Research high street shops; The Youth Hostel Association; Clifford Chance’s move to Canary Wharf and the Ardtornish Rural Estate in Scotland.