We should have anonymity for people who have been arrested but not charged, says Theresa May – The Independent

“Criminal suspects who have been arrested should not normally be named until they are charged, the Home Secretary has said.”

Full story

The Independent, 16th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Comments Off

Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another (Coram Children’s Legal Centre and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Regina (HC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and another (Coram Children’s Legal Centre and another intervening): [2013] EWHC 982 (Admin);   [2013] WLR (D)  157

“It was contrary to article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and consequently unlawful, for the Secretary of State for the Home Department to direct, as she had done through Code C of the Code of Practice under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (‘PACE Code C’), that 17-year-olds might be treated as adults when in police detention.”

WLR Daily, 25th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Comments Off

Legal battle over who owns the fish in the sea – BBC News

Posted May 2nd, 2013 in fisheries, ministers' powers and duties, news, quotas by sally

“The High Court is being asked to make a judgement over the question of who owns the fish in the sea.”

Full story

BBC News, 1st May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Comments Off

Revealed: Grayling’s plan to drive a wedge between bar and solicitors – Law Society’s Gazette

“Justice secretary Chris Grayling has sought to drive a wedge between solicitors and barristers over the drastic plans to cut criminal legal aid and restructure the market, the Gazette has learned.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 25th April 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Comments Off

Mike Gordon: Ministerial Responsibility After Huhne – UK Constitutional Law Group

“Does the Chris Huhne affair have constitutional implications? In one sense, the answer to this question might be a rather obvious one. From a constitutional perspective – although certainly not from a political perspective – the case seems relatively uncontroversial.”

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Group, 25th March 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Comments Off

Jack Straw – Dilemmas of a Foreign Secretary – UCL Constitution Unit

Posted March 21st, 2013 in ministers' powers and duties, news, speeches by sally

“Jack Straw served continuously on the Labour front-bench for 30 years- from November 1980 until October 2010.

He was a senior member of the Labour Cabinet for the whole period of the 1997-2000 Labour Government. He served successively as Home Secretary (1997-2001), Foreign Secretary (2001-2006), Leader of the Commons (2006-7), and then Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary (2007-2010).”

Video

UCL Constitution Unit, 7th March 2013

Source: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit

Comments Off

Should the Decision of the Foreign Secretary be Justiciable? – Louise Christian

Should the Decision of the Foreign Secretary be Justiciable?

Louise Christian, Senior Consultant and Head of Public Law, Christian Khan Solicitors

Inner Temple Reader’s Lecture Series, 18th February 2013

Source: www.innertemple.org.uk

Comments Off

A human rights reality check for the Home Secretary – UK Human Rights Blog

“The Home Secretary, Theresa May, is no stranger to ill-founded outbursts concerning the evils of human rights. Against that background, her recent article in the Mail on Sunday (to which Adam Wager has already drawn attention) does not disappoint. May’s ire is drawn by certain recent judicial decisions in which the deportation of foreign criminals has been ruled unlawful on the ground that it would breach their right to respect for private and family life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Some of these judgments, May contends, flout instructions issued to judges by Parliament about how such cases should be decided.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Comments Off

Lord chief justice: changes to judiciary ‘eroding something important’ – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in constitutional reform, judges, judiciary, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“Constitutional reforms that have taken effect over the past seven years ‘may be eroding something rather important’, the lord chief justice of England and Wales told peers on Wednesday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Comments Off

M v Scottish Ministers – WLR Daily

M v Scottish Ministers [2012] UKSC 58; [2012] WLR (D) 365

“It had been unlawful for the Scottish Ministers to fail to make the necessary regulations defining a who was a ‘qualifying patient’ detained at a ‘qualifying hospital’ and thus entitled to apply for a declaration from the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland that he was a person detained under conditions of excessive security pursuant to section 268 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 which came into force on 1 May 2006 pursuant to section 333(2) of that Act.”

WLR Daily, 28th November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Comments Off

Extradition cases: Should politicians or courts decide? – BBC News

Posted November 6th, 2012 in courts, extradition, human rights, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“Who should decide whether a suspect should be extradited to stand trial abroad? Is extradition purely a legal matter, to be decided by the courts? Or should ministers have the discretion to block extradition in appropriate cases?”

Full story

BBC News, 6th November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ken Clarke hits back over secret courts – The Guardian

“Clarke insists that under the justice and security bill nothing currently heard in open court would be moved to closed court.”

Full story

The Guardian, 26th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Comments Off

Damian Green’s speech to the Police Superintendents’ Association conference – Home Office

Posted September 13th, 2012 in ministers' powers and duties, police, speeches by tracey

“Speech given by the Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice to the Police Superintendents’ Association conference on 12 September.”

Full speech

Home Office, 12th September 2012

Soruce: www.homeoffice,gov.uk

Comments Off

Keyu and others v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Secretary of State for Defence – WLR Daily

Posted September 7th, 2012 in human rights, inquiries, law reports, ministers' powers and duties by tracey

Keyu and others v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Secretary of State for Defence: [2012] EWHC 2445(Admin) ;   [2012] WLR (D)  261

“There was no duty under article 2 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on the Secretary of State to conduct an inquiry into deaths occurring before the Convention was adopted and the United Kingdom acceded to the Convention. Likewise because there was no common law right to an inquiry no duty arose under customary international humanitarian law.”

WLR Daily, 4th September 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Comments Off

Cameron reshuffle brings critic of legal aid cuts into ministry of justice – The Guardian

Posted September 6th, 2012 in legal aid, ministers' powers and duties, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

“One of the new ministerial appointees to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has previously been highly critical of the government’s key policy decision to axe £350m from the civil legal aid budget.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th September 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Comments Off

KA (Afghanistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

KA (Afghanistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 1014; [2012] WLR (D) 230

“The Secretary of State’s duty to endeavour to trace the family members of an unaccompanied minor seeking asylum was not discharged by merely informing the child of the facilities of the Red Cross. A failure to discharge the duty might be relevant to judicial consideration of an asylum or humanitarian protection claim. Such failure might also be relevant to a consideration of the duty under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009.”

WLR Daily, 25th July 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Comments Off

David Cameron criticised for attacks on Freedom of Information Act – The Guardian

“The information commissioner has accused David Cameron and other members of the political establishment of launching a damaging attack on the Freedom of Information Act which he says is encouraging civil servants to obscure the government from proper scrutiny.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th July 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Comments Off

Copyright exception law could be changed without full Parliamentary scrutiny – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 12th, 2012 in bills, copyright, ministers' powers and duties, news, regulations by sally

“The Business Secretary will have the power to add or remove exceptions to copyright and add or remove exceptions to rights in performances through new laws that would not be subject to the full scrutiny of Parliament, under Government plans.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 12th July 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Comments Off

Ministers not judges will decide secret hearings, experts warn – Daily Telegraph

“Ministers will still be able to dictate whether court cases are heard in secret despite assurances that judges would have the final say, a group of expert lawyers have warned.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th June 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Comments Off

#WithoutPrejudice 26: Spectator contempt – Hunt / Warsi and The Ministerial Code – The Case for ‘Code’ – Charon QC

“On the panel tonight – Kim Evans, commissioning editor of The Justice Gap and ex government lawyer Carl Gardner, author of the Head of Legal blog.

Tonight’s topics are varied and raise important issues for the law.

The Spectator contempt case, Hunt, Warsi, the ministerial code and the meaning of quasi-judicial, Richard Moorhead’s ‘Case for code’.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 8th June 2012

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

Comments Off