John Pope and John Cooper lose murder legal challenges – BBC News

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, murder, news by sally

“Two men who were legally challenging their convictions for separate murders in Cardiff and Pembrokeshire have had their appeals dismissed.”

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BBC News, 1st November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Divorce ruling branded ‘cheat’s charter’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, company law, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

“Lawyers have branded as a ‘cheat’s charter’ a Court of Appeal landmark ruling that an oil tycoon need not hand over to his wife £17.5m in assets held by his companies.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 1st November 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted November 1st, 2012 in parliamentary papers by sally

Post-legislative assessment of the Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007, Cm 8471 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Defence and another (JUSTICE intervening) – WLR Daily

Rahmatullah v Secretary of State for Defence and another (JUSTICE intervening) [2012] UKSC 48; [2012] WLR (D) 301

“Where, on an application for a writ of habeas corpus, the court was uncertain whether the respondents had sufficient control of the applicant to be able to produce him, it could properly issue the writ so that on the return that question could be determined with fuller knowledge.”

WLR Daily, 31st October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission v Gibbons; Same v Karoonian – WLR Daily

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, child support, detention, enforcement, law reports by sally

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission v Gibbons; Same v Karoonian [2012] EWCA Civ 1379; [2012] WLR (D) 300

“Where an application was made pursuant to section 39A(1) of the Child Support Act 1991 for the committal of a person to a term of imprisonment for wilful refusal or culpable neglect in not having complied with orders to pay child support maintenance, a strict construction was to be placed on the word ‘sought’ within section 39A(1)(a) of the 1991 Act as applying to a pre-condition governing the making of such a committal order.”

WLR Daily, 30th October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

The Procter & Gamble Co v Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA and another – WLR Daily

Posted November 1st, 2012 in costs, law reports, part 36 offers by sally

The Procter & Gamble Co v Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA and another [2012] EWHC 2839 (Ch); [2012] WLR (D) 299

“Although a monetary claim was the paradigm contemplated by CPR Pt 36, Part 36 was not confined to that. Rule 36.2(2)(c) did not mandate that the claimant had to seek costs and make payment of them a condition of his offer. The substance of the claim, and which of the parties was seeking to establish liability and which to oppose it, was one of the circumstances to be considered by the court in determining whether it would be unjust to make orders for indemnity costs and interest on costs for the purposes of rule 36.14(3).”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted November 1st, 2012 in legislation by sally

European Union (Approval of Treaty Amendment Decision) Act 2012

Infrastructure (Financial Assistance) Act 2012

Local Government Finance Act 2012

Mental Health (Approval Functions) Act 2012

The Value Added Tax (Refund of Tax to Museums and Galleries) (Amendment) Order 2012

The Social Security (Credits) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2012

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Prior Authority For ‘Unusually Large’ Amount Of Hours Requested By An Expert – Garden Court Family Law Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in expert witnesses, fees, legal services, news by sally

“Since 1st October 2012, the LSC has been refusing applications for prior authority for experts if their fees are set within the codified rate [ as per the Community Legal Service (Funding) (Ammendment No.2) Order 2011]. However there is an exception – that is if the hours requested by the expert are ‘unusually large’. So the question for practioners is what constitutes an ‘unusually large’ amount of hours ? The odds are that if, for instance, you are instructing a psychologist for a bog standard cognitive assessment of a parent, then the hours are likely to be very much the same across the board. But as soon as any form of complexity creeps in, then how long the assessment / report takes to complete begins to vary. And when you get to Independent Social Workers, what is the ‘norm’ for the LSC and the ‘norm’ for the Independent Social Worker seem continents apart.”

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Garden Court Family Law Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com

New approach to Community Payback begins in London – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 1st, 2012 in community service, London, news by sally

“A new approach to Community Payback that will see offenders completing tougher, more intensive punishments begins today [31 October] in London.”

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Ministry of Justice, 31st October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Keynote address – Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court

Posted November 1st, 2012 in barristers, disabled persons, equality, judges, news, speeches by sally

Keynote address (PDF)

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court

The Bar Council’s Disability Conference, 31st October 2012

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Family Division 1 – Chancery Division 2: A consideration of Petrodel v Prest – Family Law Week

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, company law, disclosure, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

“Alison Burge, barrister, of Pump Court Chambers analyses the Court of Appeal’s decision in the watershed case of Petrodel v Prest.”

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Family Law Week, 31st October 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Supreme Court upholds US detention of Yunus Rahmatullah – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, detention, habeas corpus, news, rendition, Supreme Court, terrorism, treaties by sally

“The Supreme Court has ruled that the law of habeas corpus should not be used to order the US to return a Pakistani national held in US custody to the UK.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted November 1st, 2012 in law reports by sally

Supreme Court

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Rahmatullah [2012] UKSC 48 (31 October 2012)

Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2012] UKSC 49 (31 October 2012)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Williams v R. [2012] EWCA Crim 2162 (18 October 2012)

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Cairns v Modi [2012] EWCA Civ 1382 (31 October 2012)

Totel Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v The First-Tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) & Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 1401 (31 October 2012)

G (A Child), Re [2012] EWCA Civ 1377 (31 October 2012)

Curati v Perdoni & Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 1381 (31 October 2012)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Ross River Ltd & Anor v Waverly Commercial Ltd & Anor [2012] EWHC 3006 (Ch) (09 October 2012)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Faniyi v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2012] EWHC 2965 (Admin) (26 October 2012)

J, R (on the application of) v The Chief Constable of Devon & Cornwall [2012] EWHC 2996 (Admin) (26 October 2012)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Ismail & Anor v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2012] EWHC 3056 (QB) (31 October 2012)

Ali v Bashir & Anor [2012] EWHC 3007 (QB) (30 October 2012)

Source: www.bailii.org

Secret courts plan may be incompatible with Human Rights Act says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 1st, 2012 in bills, civil justice, closed material, human rights, news, private hearings by sally

“The government’s plans for a new generation of secret courts faced a fresh setback on Wednesday when its own human rights watchdog warned the proposals could be incompatible with the law”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Asylum seekers continue to be stigmatised by the British press – The Guardian

Posted November 1st, 2012 in asylum, complaints, immigration, media, news by sally

“‘Soft-touch Britain: the asylum capital of Europe’; ‘Refugees made our lives hell too, say neighbours’; and “DNA test for bogus refugees scrapped as expensive flop”. All are headlines that have appeared recently in the UK press, despite it now being almost a decade since the Press Complaints Commission first heard from charities on why coverage like this should stop. And despite it now being almost a decade since the PCC issued guidance to address what it agreed was widespread inaccurate reporting.”

Full story

The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The 21st Century Coroner – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in coroners, inquests, judges, news by sally

“The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 has created the office of Chief Coroner, plucked at the very last minute from the Coalition’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’. On Friday, the first Chief Coroner, His Honour Judge Peter Thornton QC, delivered The Howard League for Penal Reform’s 2012 Parmoor Lecture.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Leniency for legal whistleblowers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in consultations, news, penalties, professional conduct, solicitors, whistleblowers by sally

“Whistleblowers involved in misconduct will face more lenient penalties under proposals being considered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 31st October 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Yunus Rahmatullah: the US and UK caught committing a crime together – The Guardian

“A UK supreme court ruling on the unlawful detention of Yunus Rahmatullah exposes the complicity of Britain with the US.”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Legal highs” mexxy and black mamba banned by government – BBC News

Posted November 1st, 2012 in crime, drug offences, health, news by sally

“Two substances which are said to give users dangerous ‘legal highs’ are to be made illegal class B drugs – with users facing up to five years in jail.”

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BBC News, 1st November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MPs call communications data bill ‘honeypot for hackers and criminals’ – The Guardian

“The home secretary, Theresa May, has been told by peers and MPs that her £1.8bn internet monitoring proposals will be a ‘honeypot for hackers and criminals around the world’ and that she must bring in prison sentences for those who hack databases.”

Full story

The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk