Judge asks for help finding missing children abducted by mother – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in child abduction, news, residence orders, setting aside by sally

“A nationwide search has been launched for four missing children after a high court judge said that they had been abducted by their mother.”

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The Guardian, 16th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Gary McKinnon: a case of double standards? – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in autism, computer crime, extradition, jurisdiction, news, treaties by sally

“The home secretary’s decision not to extradite the Crouch End Asperger’s sufferer has caused others to raise questions.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Dignity, Death and Deprivation of Liberty: Human Rights in the Court of Protection – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in assisted suicide, Court of Protection, euthanasia, human rights, news by sally

“Wednesday’s debate on current key topics in the Court of Protection was a hard-hitting discussion on matters which elicit strong views, such as voluntary euthanasia, assisted suicide, the role of ‘dignity’ and ‘sanctity of life’, and whether the latter two principles can ever be reconciled.”

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The Guardian, 12th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hate-crime cases failing in court, says CPS – The Independent

Posted October 18th, 2012 in crime, harassment, hate crime, news, prosecutions, reports, statistics, victims by sally

“Increasing numbers of hate-crime prosecutions are collapsing because victims are backing out or their stories unravel in court, a new report from the Crown Prosecution Service reveals today.”

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The Independent, 18th October 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK wildlife crime laws a ‘mess’, MPs say – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in animals, environmental protection, legislation, news, reports by sally

“Conservation legislation is undermined as laws are ‘scattered across statutes’, badly in need of consolidation, says report.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Criminals could avoid surveillance of their communications even under expanded regime, says Information Commissioner – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 18th, 2012 in bills, electronic mail, intelligence services, news, telecommunications by sally

“Serious criminals will be able to avoid details of their communications being monitored under an expanded intelligence gathering regime proposed by the Government, the UK’s data protection watchdog has warned.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Jimmy Savile: government appoints barrister to oversee four investigations – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in barristers, child abuse, inquiries, news by sally

“The government has appointed a barrister to oversee four separate investigations into Jimmy Savile’s behaviour at the hospitals where he worked as a volunteer, while continuing to resist calls for a full independent inquiry into the scandal.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Extraordinary rendition, forced labour, and evidence obtained by torture – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 18th, 2012 in evidence, forced labour, human rights, news, rendition, torture by sally

“There are three cases, among the many decided by the Court in the past few weeks, which I would like to highlight. They deal with testimony potentially obtained through torture, forced labour and extraordinary rendition respectively.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Helena Kennedy: ‘Women’s struggles are not over’ – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in barristers, domestic violence, legal profession, news, women by sally

“Baroness Helena Kennedy QC on the huge changes she has seen in the way the law treats women, and the ongoing battle to force the police to take domestic abuse seriously.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jimmy Savile – the final cost – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 18th, 2012 in child abuse, evidence, limitations, news by sally

“The Metropolitan police, which is coordinating a nationwide investigation into allegations of abuse against Jimmy Savile, has said that the claims against Savile date back to 1959 and could include more than 60 victims. In my view, this is likely to be a considerable underestimate, based upon the length of time Savile was active (roughly half a century) and the sheer number of children’s homes, hospitals, TV shows and other organisations connected with Savile, where he had access to children on an almost daily basis.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 16th October 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Housing Ombudsman consultation – NearlyLegal

Posted October 18th, 2012 in complaints, consultations, housing, news, ombudsmen by sally

“One of the less well-remarked upon changes in the Localism Act 2010 was a set of radical changes to the role of the Housing Ombudsman (the current incumbent being the lovely Mike Biles). In short, the HO takes over jurisdiction for local authority housing complaints; there is a filter mechanism before the HO can accept a complaint (it has to be referred by a Designated person: MP, Councillor, Tenants Panel). The former is to be welcomed – on one view, the HO now offers a far better, more modern, proactive service than the Local Government Ombudsman in our entrepreneurialised housing system; the latter is to be absolutely deprecated as being not just against the spirit of administrative justice but also as a mechanism for cost-saving in the face of proper redress of grievance/s. Whatever you think about ombudspersons – and a range of views are expressed – there is no doubt that they have consistently exposed various maladministrations across the housing sphere, and they don’t hold back; in addition, their purpose (unlike courts) is to make things better for future ‘customers’ so that there may well be an impact on service delivery from a single instance of maladministration (and not just in that organisation).”

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NearlyLegal, 17th October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Demolition and construction of sports pavilion does not require EIA screening opinion, says High Court judge – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 18th, 2012 in environmental health, news, planning by sally

“The demolition of an existing sports pavilion and the construction of a new one is not an urban development project and does not require a screening opinion to determine if an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is needed, a High Court judge has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Jury fail to reach verdict in trial of man in Mark Duggan gun case – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in evidence, firearms, news, police by sally

“A jury in the trial of the man accused of supplying a gun to Mark Duggan minutes before he was shot dead by police has been discharged after failing to reach a verdict.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

One year after eviction, the saga of Dale Farm is far from over – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in local government, news, repossession, travellers by sally

“Around 80 Traveller families were removed from site 12 months ago after a decade long battle, but many are still close by.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Shannon Matthews’ father bids to block case report – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2012 in confidentiality, news, reports by sally

“The father of Shannon Matthews has asked the High Court to block the release of a report he believes will ‘seriously compromise’ her.”

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BBC News, 17th October 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Do lawyers scare you? – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2012 in complaints, legal ombudsman, news by sally

“Research shows that clients are reluctant to complain to lawyers when things go wrong and that the Legal Ombudsman needs to be clearer in its message.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk