History-making divorcee Julia McFarlane is awarded an extra £100,000 a year – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2009 in divorce, news by sally

“A divorcing wife who made legal history when the law lords awarded her a £250,000-a-year payout from her husband has won a 40 per cent increase in her maintenance payments.”

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The Times, 19th June 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Khyra mother ‘in privacy threat’ – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2009 in child cruelty, news, privacy, social services by sally

“A woman accused of starving her daughter to death threatened a social worker who looked through her letterbox with legal action, a court has heard.”

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BBC News, 19th June 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge condemns teenager’s sweet wrapper prosecution – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2009 in litter, news, prosecutions by sally

“A judge has condemned a ‘grotesque’ waste of taxpayers’ money spent on prosecuting teenager Larissa Wilkinson for allowing her 18 month-old niece to drop a sweet wrapper.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Falconer backs public Iraq probe – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2009 in inquiries, Iraq, news, war by sally

“Former cabinet minister Lord Falconer has joined calls for the Iraq inquiry to be held ‘largely’ in public.”

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BBC News, 19th June 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Miscarriage of justice: more compensation ordered by judges – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2009 in compensation, miscarriage of justice, news by sally

“Senior judges have ordered an increase in the amount of compensation paid to Stephen Miller, a victim of a miscarriage of justice, in a test case lawyers said would have a ‘profound effect’ on such awards.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Potters Bar and Grayrigg: public inquiry into train disasters ruled out – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2009 in accidents, inquiries, news, railways by sally

“A public inquiry into the 2002 Potters Bar rail crash which claimed seven lives, and the 2007 Grayrigg derailment in which an elderly passenger was killed, has been ruled out by the Government.”

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Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Families to sue for forces deaths – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2009 in armed forces, human rights, negligence, news by sally

“Four families of servicemen killed in Snatch Land Rovers in Iraq and Afghanistan are to sue the Ministry of Defence, the BBC has learned.”

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BBC News, 19th June 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted June 19th, 2009 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

London & Quadrant Housing Trust v Weaver, R. (On the application of) [2009] EWCA Civ 587 (18 June 2009)

Ryan v London Borough of Islington [2009] EWCA Civ 578 (19 June 2009)

Miller, R (on the application of) v The Independent Assessor [2009] EWCA Civ 609 (19 June 2009)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Dairy Farmers of Britain Ltd, Re [2009] EWHC 1389 (Ch) (18 June 2009)

HM Revenue & Customs v Banerjee [2009] EWHC 62 (Ch) (19 June 2009)

HM Revenue & Customs v Banerjee [2009] EWHC 1229 (Ch) (19 June 2009)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

AB & Ors v Ministry of Defence [2009] EWHC 1421 (QB) (19 June 2009)

High Court (Administrative Division)

JK, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Waltham Haringey [2009] EWHC 1393 (Admin) (18 June 2009)

Tariq (aka Tariq Mehmood), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 1390 (Admin) (19 June 2009)

Source: www.bailii.org

Neither regulators nor law protect net neutrality in Britain, investigation finds – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 19th, 2009 in internet, news by sally

“There is no legal barrier in the UK to internet service providers (ISPs) blocking content from website operators who do not pay them. Neither consumer law nor telecoms regulation protects ISP subscribers, technology law podcast OUT-LAW Radio has revealed.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th June 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted June 19th, 2009 in legislation by sally

The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment (Temporary Increase) Regulations 2009

The Burma/Myanmar (Financial Restrictions) Regulations 2009

The M3 and M25 (Thorpe Interchange) (Speed Limit) Regulations 2009

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Does the Coroners and Justice Bill go far enough – and is there enough money – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 19th, 2009 in coroners, inquests, news by sally

“The Coroners and Justice Bill is the government’s attempt to implement that long-awaited reform. Some practitioners and pressure groups are concerned that the bill doesn’t go far enough, and that there isn’t enough money behind it to make it work. There is a real risk, they say, that this bill will come to be seen as a missed opportunity.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 18th June 2009

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court fee changes mean taxpayers only shoulder costs for the poorest – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 19th, 2009 in costs, fees, news by sally

“Changes to fees in the civil courts are to be introduced in order to target taxpayers’ money more effectively while helping those in financial difficulty, Justice Minister Bridget Prentice announced today (18 June).”

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Ministry of Justice, 18th June 2009

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Ul-Haq and others v Shah – WLR Daily

Posted June 19th, 2009 in fraud, law reports, personal injuries, striking out by sally

Ul-Haq and others v Shah [2009] EWCA Civ 542; [2009] WLR (D) 197

“There was no general rule of law which permitted a court to strike out a genuine claim on the grounds that the claimant had been involved in a fraud upon the court in respect of an associated claim.”

WLR Daily, 18th June 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.

Octagon v Remblance and another – WLR Daily

Posted June 19th, 2009 in bankruptcy, debts, law reports, rent, statutory demands by sally

Octagon v Remblance and another [2009] EWCA Civ 581; [2009] WLR (D) 196

“In a case in which a corporate tenant and a guarantor were pursued for rent arrears, it was difficult to see how it could be just not to set aside a statutory demand obtained against the guarantor where the principal debtor satisfied one of the conditions in r 6.5(4)(a) of the Insolvency Rules 1986, merely because the guarantor could afford to pay the debt. Moreover, where the tenant’s and guarantor’s liability were co-extensive and there were no good reasons for distinguishing between the position of the guarantor and that which would obtain if the tenant applied under r 6.5(4)(a) to set aside a statutory demand, justice and r 6.5(4)(d) of the 1986 Rules demanded that a statutory demand obtained against the guarantor should be set aside.”

WLR Daily, 18th June 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.

Gray v Thames Trains Ltd – WLR Daily

Gray v Thames Trains Ltd [2009] UKHL 33; [2009] WLR (D) 195

“A person who, as a result of a railway accident, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder which led him to kill someone, could not, as part of his claim for damages in negligence against the train operators responsible for the accident, recover damages for loss of earnings following his detention after the killing in prison, and subsequently in hospital under ss 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983.”

WLR Daily, 18th June 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.

AS (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

Posted June 19th, 2009 in appeals, children, immigration, law reports by sally

AS (Somalia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] UKHL 32; [2009] WLR (D) 194

“The provisions of s 85(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which provided that an immigration judge hearing an appeal against a refusal of entry clearance could only have regard to the circumstances appertaining at the time the decision to refuse was made, were not in themselves incompatible with art 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, even though their effect could be to cause unreasonable delay in bringing a family together in the United Kingdom.”

WLR Daily, 18th June 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.

Atkinson v Supreme Court of Cyprus; Binnington v Supreme Court of Cyprus – WLR Daily

Posted June 19th, 2009 in Cyprus, law reports by sally

Atkinson v Supreme Court of Cyprus; Binnington v Supreme Court of Cyprus [2009] WLR (D) 193

“A trial was the legal process whereby guilt or innocence was to be decided and which resulted in a final determination. A fugitive’s state of mind was not material in deciding whether he ‘absented himself from his trial’ within the meaning of s 20(3) of the Extradition Act 2003. It was a matter of fact as to whether or not the fugitive had attended the trial. A fugitive’s state of mind was relevant in considering whether he ‘deliberately’ absented himself from his trial and he ‘deliberately’ absented himself where he made a conscious decision not to attend.”

WLR Daily, 18th June 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.

Gray v Thames Trains Ltd and Another – Times Law Reports

Gray v Thames Trains Ltd and Another

House of Lords

“A claimant who, as a result of a railway accident caused by the defendants’ negligence, suffered post-traumatic stress disorder which led him to kill someone, could not recover damages for loss of earnings following his detention, in prison and in mental hospital, after the killing.”

The Times, 19th June 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

The Big Question: Is the writing on the wall for the Government’s ID card scheme? – The Independent

Posted June 19th, 2009 in identity cards, news by sally

“Why are we asking this now?

The Government had been due to award a key contract as part of its grand biometric ID card scheme this autumn. Three companies – Thales, Fujitsu and IBM – were bidding for the right to develop the cards’ design and handle their production. But this week the Home Office admitted a decision might not be made until the second half of 2010. This is the second delay to have hit the Government’s ID card scheme. Under the original plans, the widespread roll-out of the cards would have taken place next year. Now it is not due until 2012.”

Full story

The Independent, 19th June 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Probation ‘told to under-spend’ – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2009 in news, probation by sally

“BBC News has seen an official letter which appears to cast doubt on claims by Justice Secretary Jack Straw that probation failings in the Dano Sonnex case were due to staff mismanaging their resources.”

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BBC News, 19th June 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk