Jump in judicial reviews against HMRC shows businesses more willing to challenge “unlawful” tax decisions, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 24th, 2014 in judicial review, news, statistics, taxation by sally

‘Businesses have become more willing to challenge tax decisions against them that appear to be unlawful, an expert has said, after a 31% increase in the number of judicial review applications made against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted January 24th, 2014 in parliamentary papers by sally

Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America for the Sharing of Visa, Immigration, and Nationality Information, Cm 8651 (PDF)

Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam to amend the Arrangement between the Government of Brunei and His Majesty’s Government for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income made in 1950, as amended by an arrangement in 1968 and a supplementary arrangement in 1973 with Protocol, Cm 8788 (PDF)

Vienna Agreement establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks, Cm 8789 (PDF)

Scotland analysis: Borders and citizenship, Cm 8726 (PDF)

Consumer Rights Bill: Statement on Policy Reform and Responses to Pre-Legislative Scrutiny, Cm 8796 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Surrogacy: A Guide to the Current Law (Part 1) – Family Law Week

Posted January 24th, 2014 in news, surrogacy by sally

‘In the first of two articles providing an introduction to surrogacy law, Bianca Jackson, a pupil barrister at Coram Chambers, considers the key statutes and regulations underpinning this growing area of family law practice.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 24th January 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How whole-life sentences might comply with human rights convention – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2014 in appeals, human rights, murder, news, parole, sentencing by sally

‘Strasbourg court found that whole-life terms breached human rights of prisoners as they did not provide any review mechanism.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Haxton v Philips Electronics UK Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted January 24th, 2014 in asbestos, damages, industrial injuries, law reports, negligence, personal injuries by sally

Haxton v Philips Electronics UK Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 4; [2014] WLR (D) 19

‘There was no reason of principle or policy why a claimant whose life expectancy had been reduced by the negligence of the defendant should not be able to recover damages compensating her for the consequent reduction in damages for loss of dependency which she was entitled to claim in a separate action against the same defendant under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 as a dependant of her late husband.’

WLR Daily, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted January 24th, 2014 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Taylor v Burton & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 21 (23 January 2014)

IM v LM & Ors [2014] EWCA Civ 37 (23 January 2014)

Reed Employment Ltd v Revenue And Customs [2014] EWCA Civ 32 (23 January 2014)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

C v North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust [2014] EWHC 61 (QB) (23 January 2014)

M (A Child) , Re [2014] EWHC 57 (QB) (23 January 2014)

The Northampton Regional Livestock Centre Co Ltd v Cowling & Anor [2014] EWHC 30 (QB) (23 January 2014)

Jones v Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust [2014] EWHC 42 (QB) (23 January 2014)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Boots Management Services Ltd, R (On the Application Of) v The Central Arbitration Committee [2014] EWHC 65 (Admin) (22 January 2014)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Wales And West Utilities Ltd v PPS Pipeline Systems GmbH [2014] EWHC 54 (TCC) (23 January 2014)

Source: www.bailii.org

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted January 24th, 2014 in legislation by sally

The Police Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2014

The Marriage of Same Sex Couples (Registration of Buildings and Appointment of Authorised Persons) Regulations 2014

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2014

The National Health Service Pension Scheme, Additional Voluntary Contributions, Compensation for Premature Retirement and Injury Benefits (Amendment) Regulations 2014

The Social Security (Graduated Retirement Benefit) (Married Same Sex Couples) Regulations 2014

The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

The Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Litigation privilege did not apply to correspondence before litigation was “reasonably anticipated”, judge says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 24th, 2014 in burden of proof, financial advice, news, privilege by sally

‘A brewing company was unable to prevent correspondence between itself and its bank and accountants from being disclosed during a dispute connected with the sale of its eastern European business, a High Court judge has ruled.

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

EVENT: The Death Penalty Project – Universal Abolition: only a decade away

Posted January 24th, 2014 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The Death Penalty Project would like to invite you to a lecture by William Schabas, Professor of International Law, Middlesex University London.’

Date: 28th January 2014, 6.00pm

Location: Main Hall, Inner Temple, London EC4Y 7HL

RSVP nicola.goldfinch-palmers@smab.co.uk

HB and Exempt accommodation: unreasonably high rent – NearlyLegal

Posted January 24th, 2014 in benefits, housing, landlord & tenant, news, rent, service charges by sally

‘I admit that SS v Birmingham CC [2013] UKUT 418 (AAC) has been on my to do list for a while and that, possibly, the main reason for finding the time to write it up is because I’m on a two hour strike (#fairpayinHE). But, it is a really quite important case about the application of the unreasonably high rent rule for “exempt accommodation” in Reg 13 and Sch 3 of the 2006 Housing Benefit regs. The principal question of law concerns the meaning of “suitable alternative accommodation” in those regs.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

We need to talk about Denning – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 24th, 2014 in advocacy, judges, judgments, news, precedent by sally

‘It’s a familiar scenario to any lawyer.

You’re reading a practitioner handbook and see a case referred to that seems just a little bit odd.

You read the summary in the footnotes and can’t believe it really says that and, before you know it, you’ve been side-tracked from your original research plan into actually getting a copy of the case.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Sean Turner: Inquest rules ‘lost opportunities’ in four-year-old’s care – The Independent

Posted January 24th, 2014 in children, hospitals, inquests, medical treatment, news by sally

‘A Bristol hospital has apologised over the treatment a four-year-old heart patient received on a ward after his parents condemned his care as “shambolic”.’

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The Independent, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Mark Elliot: Reflections on the HS2 case: a hierarchy of domestic constitutional norms and the qualified primacy of EU law – UK Constitutional Law Group

‘Earlier this week, the UK Supreme Court gave judgment in R (HS2 Action Alliance Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport [2014] UKSC 3. A good overview of the issues at stake in the case can be found in the Court’s press summary, as well as in a post by David Hart on the UK Human Rights Blog. This post is concerned only with one aspect of the decision, and with some very interesting dicta concerning not only the relationship between UK and EU law, but the nature of the UK’s constitutional order itself.’

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Group, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Guarantor was released from obligations when alterations to property were made without its consent, Appeal Court confirms – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 24th, 2014 in insolvency, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, surety by sally

‘The guarantor of an insolvent commercial tenant cannot be held liable for outstanding obligations if changes were made to the lease without its consent which had the “potential” to increase the burden on the guarantor, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Philpott deaths ‘not preventable’, according to serious case review – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2014 in children, domestic violence, homicide, news, reports, social services by sally

‘The deaths of the six Philpott children in a house fire started by their parents “could not have been predicted or prevented”, a serious case review has found.’

Full story

The Guardian, 24th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court rules will is valid despite admin error – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 24th, 2014 in appeals, mistake, news, rectification, Supreme Court, wills by sally

‘Alfred and Maureen Rawlings’ wills were contested after a clerical error saw them sign each other’s paperwork.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tommy Robinson, former EDL leader, jailed for fraud – BBC News

Posted January 24th, 2014 in fraud, mortgages, news, sentencing by sally

‘Former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has been jailed for 18 months for mortgage fraud.’

Full story

BBC News, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New Year, new tort of misuse of private information – UK Human Rights Blog

‘A group of UK Google users called ‘Safari Users Against Google’s Secret Tracking’ have claimed that the tracking and collation of information about of their internet usage by Google amounts to misuse of personal information, and a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The Judge confirmed that misuse of personal information was a distinct tort. He also held that the English courts had jurisdiction to try the claims.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The mysterious case of the falling criminal offences: burglary and murders down again, statistics show – The Independent

Posted January 24th, 2014 in crime, news, statistics by sally

‘The public does not believe it and ministers privately admit they do not fully understand the reasons for it – but crime is continuing to fall sharply.’

Full story

The Independent, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Woman guilty of acid attack on friend while disguised in niqab – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2014 in assault, grievous bodily harm, news by sally

‘A business student is facing jail after being found guilty of an acid attack that left a friend scarred for life.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk