BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted February 11th, 2009 in law reports by sally

High Court (Commercial Court)

Kamal XXVI, The Owners of v Ariela, The Owners of [2009] EWHC 177 (Comm) (10 February 2009)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Mead General Building Ltd v Dartmoor Properties Ltd [2009] EWHC 200 (TCC) (04 February 2009)

Source: www.bailii.org

English court can’t stop Italian lawsuit despite arbitration agreement, ECJ says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 11th, 2009 in arbitration, conflict of laws, EC law, injunctions, news by sally

“An English court cannot order someone not to take action in an Italian court in a civil matter even though there was an agreement between the companies involved to settle disputes through arbitration in London, the ECJ has ruled.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 11th February 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

House of Lords Judgments: What’s New?

Posted February 11th, 2009 in law reports by sally

Sugar (Appellant) v British Broadcasting Corporation and another (Respondents) [2009] UKHL 9 (11 February 2009)

Source: www.parliament.uk

Fees in the United Kingdom Supreme Court – Ministry of Justice

Posted February 11th, 2009 in fees, news, Supreme Court by sally

“A consultation on the system of fees and concessions for civil and devolution cases in the Supreme Court, after it becomes operational in October 2009.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 10th February 2009

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Study of Sentencing and its Outcomes: Pilot report – Sentencing Guidelines Council

Posted February 11th, 2009 in news, sentencing by sally

“On Tuesday 10th February, the SGC and MOJ jointly published: ‘The Study of Sentencing and its Outcomes: a pilot report’. The pilot assessed the feasibility of sampling court records, collecting data from court records and managing data collection procedures. It shows that while data collection from court records can be managed, crucial information was not obtainable making it difficult to achieve the objectives of the main study. For this reason, the SGC and MOJ have decided not to continue with the study. A statement explaining this decision accompanies the pilot report.”

Pilot report (PDF)

Pilot statement (PDF)

Sentencing Guidelines Council, 10th February 2009

Source: www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk

Managa Properties Ltd v Brittain – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2009 in law reports, liquidators, winding up by sally

Managa Properties Ltd v Brittain [2009] EWHC 157 (Ch); [2009] WLR (D) 42

“Where an application was made under s 172(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 for an order directing the liquidator to call a creditors’ meeting for the purpose of seeking to replace the liquidator, the applicant had to show that it was in the best interests of the liquidation for such an order to be made.”

WLR Daily, 10th February 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

In re P [2009] – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2009 in Court of Protection, law reports, mental health, wills by sally

In re P [2009] EWHC 163 (Ch); [2009] WLR (D) 41

“When making decisions about the property and welfare of persons lacking capacity, the overarching principle pursuant to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was that any decision made on behalf of that person must be made in his best interests. The guidance given under the Mental Health Acts 1959 and 1983 about the making of settlements or wills could no longer be directly applied to a decision made under the 2005 Act.”

WLR Daily, 10th February 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Regina v Sherif; Regina v Ali (Siraj); Regina v Ali (Muhedin); Regina v Mohamed; Regina v Abdurahman; Regina v Abdullahi – Times Law Reports

Posted February 11th, 2009 in failure to disclose information, law reports, sentencing, terrorism by sally

Regina v Sherif; Regina v Ali (Siraj); Regina v Ali (Muhedin); Regina v Mohamed; Regina v Abdurahman; Regina v Abdullahi

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“The seriousness of terrorist activity about which a defendant failed to give information, rather than the extent of the information that could have been provided, was what determined the level of criminality which had to be reflected in the sentence.”

The Times, 11th February 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

NML Capital Ltd v Republic of Argentina – Times Law Reports

Posted February 11th, 2009 in law reports, service, service out of jurisdiction, state immunity by sally

NML Capital Ltd v Republic of Argentina

Queen’s Bench Division

“A foreign state was not entitled to claim sovereign immunity to avoid enforcement of a judgment validly obtained in another overseas jurisdiction.”

The Times, 11th February 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted February 11th, 2009 in legislation by sally

The Taxes (Interest Rate) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

The Non-Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Local Lists) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2009

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Levy Ceiling) Order 2009

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

City earners struggle to meet divorce payments – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2009 in divorce, news by sally

“City bankers hit hard by the credit crunch are desperately attempting to renegotiate costly divorce settlements they can no longer afford, according to top law firms.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lords to rule on release of BBC Middle East conflict report – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2009 in BBC, freedom of information, news by sally

“The law lords will rule today on whether the BBC should release an internal report on its coverage of the Middle East conflict.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Young mother jailed over “horrific” cruelty campaign against two-month-old son – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2009 in child abuse, child cruelty, news, sentencing by sally

“A young mother has been jailed for a ‘horrific’ campaign of cruelty against her helpless two-month-old son who died hours after her last attack, in a case that has echoes of ‘Baby P’.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 11th February 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Frozen overdraft claims revealed – BBC News

Posted February 11th, 2009 in banking, fees, news by sally

“It has been revealed that at least 65,000 people have had their claims for the return of overdraft charges frozen in the court system.”

Full story

BBC News, 11th February 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Inside Guantanamo: the diary of Binyam Mohamed – The Independent

Posted February 11th, 2009 in detention, news, terrorism, torture by sally

“The only remaining British resident held at the prison camp is at the centre of a row about allegations of torture. Revealed today, this is his account of the inhumane treatment he has received in the name of the war on terror.”

Full story

The Independent, 11th February 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Human rights committee calls Miliband and Smith for questioning over torture claims – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2009 in human rights, news by sally

“David Miliband has been asked to join Jacqui Smith in appearing before parliament’s human rights committee amid growing concern that the government may have breached international law by colluding in the alleged torture of British citizens in Pakistan.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

City bank ‘strip club’ culture excluded woman, tribunal told – The Times

Posted February 11th, 2009 in news, sex discrimination by sally

“A senior female executive at a City bank headed by the new Trade Minister was a victim of sexism in a department where meetings ended up in strip clubs, an employment tribunal was told yesterday.”

Full story

The Times, 11th February 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Woman firefighter makes new compensation claim over ‘bullying’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2009 in news, sex discrimination, unfair dismissal by sally

“A female firefighter who who worked only 13 shifts in two years claimed she suffered sexist bullying after she refused to join male colleagues on strike has begun a fresh claim for compensation against her employers.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 10th February 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lawyers fear West Tankers ruling could harm London – The Times

Posted February 11th, 2009 in arbitration, news by sally

“London’s position as a leading centre for high-value commercial disputes was dealt a blow today by one of Europe’s highest courts.”

Full story

The Times, 10th February 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Comment is Free: Cleaning up the press – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2009 in media, news by sally

“The powerful newspaper editor Paul Dacre recently railed against unelected judges for creating “a privacy law by stealth”. Though the UK has not, historically, had such a law, increased court intervention has led to the emergence of a makeshift precedent-based privacy law, which Dacre feels will undermine democracy and shackle an otherwise free press. However, it has developed at least partially because of the inadequacy of alternative processes for those that feel aggrieved.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th February 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk