High Court rejects legal challenge against reforms to remote gambling regime – OUT-LAW.com

‘A legal challenge against UK government plans to reform remote gambling regulation and licensing in Great Britain has failed.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted October 13th, 2014 in legislation by sally

The Offender Management Act 2007 (Dissolution of Probation Trusts) Order 2014

The Mobile Roaming (European Communities) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

The Agricultural Holdings (Units of Production) (England) Order 2014

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted October 13th, 2014 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

YM (Uganda) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWCA Civ 1292 (10 October 2014)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

N v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 3304 (QB) (10 October 2014)

Burrows v Northumbrian Water Ltd [2014] EWHC 3305 (QB) (10 October 2014)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Crestsign Ltd v National Westminster Bank Plc & Anor [2014] EWHC 3043 (Ch) (26 September 2014)

High Court (Family Division)

King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v T & Ors [2014] EWHC 3315 (Fam) (30 September 2014)

CH v The London Borough of Merton [2014] EWHC 3311 (Fam) (09 October 2014)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Bizunowicz & Anor v District Court In Koszalin (Poland) & Anor [2014] EWHC 3238 (Admin) (10 October 2014)

Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association Ltd v The Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport & Ors [2014] EWHC 3236 (Admin) (10 October 2014)

DK, R (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2014] EWHC 3257 (Admin) (10 October 2014)

Mundy v Crown Prosecution Service [2014] EWHC 819 (Admin) (10 October 2014)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Peterborough City Council v Enterprise Managed Services Ltd [2014] EWHC 3193 (TCC) (10 October 2014)

Weatherford Global Products Ltd v Hydropath Holdings Ltd & Ors [2014] EWHC 3243 (TCC) (10 October 2014)

Willmott Dixon Partnership Ltd V London Borough of Hammersmith and Defendant Fulham [2014] EWHC 3191 (TCC) (09 October 2014)

High Court (Commercial Court)

U&M Mining Zambia Ltd v Konkola Copper Mines Plc [2014] EWHC 3250 (Comm) (10 October 2014)

Sabbagh v Khoury & Ors [2014] EWHC 3233 (Comm) (10 October 2014)

Standard Bank Plc & Anor v Just Group LLC & Ors [2014] EWHC 2687 (Comm) (10 October 2014)

Source: www.bailii.org

The Supreme Court and the Rule of Law – Speech by Lord Neuberger

The Supreme Court and the Rule of Law (PDF)

Lord Neuberger

The Conkerton Lecture 2014, Liverpool Law Society, 9th October 2014

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Call for evidence: review of standard contractual terms and cab rank rule – Bar Standards Board

Posted October 13th, 2014 in barristers, codes of practice, contracts, news by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today [10 October] issued a call for evidence as part of a new review of the standard contractual terms and the cab rank rule. This is to establish the contractual basis on which barristers are being instructed, and to gather evidence about the frequency with which the cab rank rule is being invoked.’

Full story

Bar Standards Board, 10th October 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Drunken hovercraft pilot Richard Pease jailed – BBC News

Posted October 13th, 2014 in drunk in charge, guilty pleas, news, sentencing by sally

‘A hovercraft pilot who transported passengers across the Solent while nearly three times the legal alcohol limit has been jailed for eight months.’

Full story

BBC News, 10th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

No murder trial for mother who suffocated disabled children – The Guardian

‘A mother who admitted suffocating her three disabled children before trying to kill herself will not face trial for murder, a court has heard.’

Full story

The Guardian, 13th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Geoffrey Robertson QC criticises arrests over alleged sex crimes – BBC News

Posted October 13th, 2014 in bail, Crown Prosecution Service, inquiries, news, police, sexual offences by sally

‘Police are arresting suspects of alleged historical sex crimes without sufficient evidence and keeping them on bail too long, a barrister has said.’

Full story

BBC News, 11th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Consultation process not unfair after all, says Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 13th, 2014 in appeals, consultations, news, statutory duty by sally

‘Deciding whether a given consultation process conducted prior to some administrative decision was or was not sufficiently unfair to warrant challenge is not an easy task. Three connected problems commonly arise:

(1) did the public body provide adequate information to enable properly informed consultation

(2) was the consultation at a formative stage of the decision-making process, so it was a real rather than sham process?

(3) did the consultation encompass sufficient alternatives?’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 12th October 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Challenge on inquests legal aid – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 13th, 2014 in inquests, judicial review, legal aid, legal representation, news by sally

‘The High Court has given permission for a judicial review of the government’s policy on legal aid funding for inquests. Mrs Justice Andrews (pictured) last week allowed the challenge against the lord chancellor’s guidance on inquest funding.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 13th October 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The need to reform whistleblowing laws – OUP Blog

‘“Why didn’t anyone in the know say something about it?” That’s the natural reaction of the public when some shocking new scandal – financial wrongdoing, patient neglect, child abuse – comes to light. The question highlights the role of the whistleblower. He or she can play a vital role in ensuring that something is done about activity which is illegal or dangerous. But the price which the whistleblower pays may be high – ostracism by colleagues, victimisation by the employer, dismissal, informal blacklisting by other employers who fear taking on a “troublemaker”.’

Full story

OUP Blog, 11th October 2014

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Connor Gibson jailed for killing toddler Kacey Hambleton – BBC News

‘A man has been jailed for nine years for killing his partner’s two-year-old daughter.’

Full story

BBC News, 10th October 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Revenge porn to be criminal offence with threat of two years in jail – The Guardian

Posted October 13th, 2014 in bills, blackmail, consent, internet, news, obscenity, pornography, privacy, prosecutions by sally

‘Revenge pornography – sharing sexually explicit images of former partners without their consent – is to become a criminal offence punishable by up to two years in prison.’

Full story

The Guardian, 12th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Adjudication ordered in £1.3m dispute between council and solar energy business – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 13th, 2014 in contracts, damages, dispute resolution, energy, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has ordered that a local authority’s bid to recoup £1.3m from a solar energy installation company be determined by adjudication, rather than by litigation as desired by the council.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 13th October 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Commission criticised for withholding information on UK internet surveillance – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 13th, 2014 in disclosure, documents, EC law, intelligence services, internet, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The European Commission must publish documents containing information about the UK’s communications surveillance operations or “properly justify” its reasons not to do so, an EU watchdog has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Adoption and access to family history – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 13th, 2014 in adoption, confidentiality, disclosure, families, local government, news by sally

‘Life is a mysterious journey, often attended with hazards matching those in The Lord of the Rings. However, as TV programmes such as Who Do You Think You Are? illustrate, we all have a deep need to understand our place in the world and how we came to inhabit our own ‘mortal coil’. This can be particularly poignant for adopted people and their successors.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 13th October 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Fathers 4 Justice couple lose injunction claim – The Independent

Posted October 13th, 2014 in appeals, costs, evidence, harassment, injunctions, news by sally

‘The couple behind the pressure group Fathers4Justice who claimed a former lobbyist was harassing them have had an application for an injunction against him dismissed due to “a total absence of evidence”.’

Full story

The Independent, 10th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ripa: Curbs on police hacking journalist phones to find story sources – Daily Telegraph

‘Police will be banned from accessing reporter phone logs under the powers of Ripa unless they can show it is for serious crime.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 12th October 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lord Neuberger on the Supreme Court: Five key cases from its first five years – The Independent

‘From euthanasia to high-speed rail, the highest in the land has an almost limitless remit.’

Full story

The Independent, 12th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Patchy dementia care puts patients at risk of unnecessary suffering, says CQC – The Guardian

Posted October 13th, 2014 in care homes, elderly, health, hospitals, mental health, news, quality assurance, standards by sally

‘Nine out of 10 care homes and hospitals in England have aspects of care for people with dementia that are variable or poor, making those with the condition likely to receive substandard treatment at some point, according to an important review by the NHS regulator.’

Full story

The Guardian, 13th October 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk