Capacity: the court and the expert, and the ‘reasons burden – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘In one of what is likely to be one of her last decisions as a Tier 3 judge (having very recently been appointed a Court of Appeal judge), Lieven J considered a very complex situation in London Borough of Camden v BW & Anor (Capacity Decisions; Reasons) [2026] EWCOP 26 (T3). At its heart were two questions as to the capacity of the young woman, BW: (1) to make decisions about taking psychotropic medication;[1] and (2) about sharing information with her sister. Her case was, sadly, one which was not entirely untypical of cases now appearing before the court, i.e. a young woman identified as vulnerable to sexual exploitation and abuse, with a history of contacting men on the internet and then being exploited. BW had also been arrested a number of times for assault, but had been assessed as unfit to plead or stand trial on at least one occasion.’

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Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 15th June 2026

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

Conduct commissioner offers barristers route to raise bullying concerns – Legal Futures

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Barristers under a duty to report bullying, harassment or sexual harassment by others to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) can now satisfy it by reporting to the Bar Council’s new Commissioner for Conduct.’

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Legal Futures, 16th June 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Safe Harbour: Dismantling the Legal Fiction of the Transit Loophole – by Angeli Romero – UK Labour Law

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Over the last three decades, the UK fishing industry has faced a steady decline in full-time, domestic fishers – a trend largely attributed to the difficulty of attracting local workers to replace an ageing workforce (Seafish, 2025). This recruitment crisis stems from the demanding physical conditions of commercial fishing, a pervasive perception that the industry offers dangerous work with limited future prospects, and increased competition from alternative sectors in the domestic labour market (Sparks and Zhou, 2025).’

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UK Labour Law, 16th June 2026

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

CJC launches review of track limits and High Court boundary – Legal Futures

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘A “generational” review of court track limits and the boundary between the High Court and county court has been kicked off by the Civil Justice Council (CJC).’

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Legal Futures, 16th June 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Boys’ sentences for rape to be reviewed in July – BBC News

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The sentences of three teenage boys who were spared custody over the rape of two girls will be reviewed at the Court of Appeal in July.’

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BBC News, 12th June 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Arrested protesters devastated after appeal court rules ban on Palestine Action is lawful –

Posted June 16th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Protesters arrested for allegedly supporting Palestine Action have expressed anger at the court of appeal’s decision that the ban on the direct action group was lawful.’

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The Guardian, 15th June 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted June 15th, 2026 in law reports by michael

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Trustees of the Panico Panayi Accumulation and Maintenance Settlements Nos. 1 to 4 v Revenue and Customs [2026] EWCA Civ 744 (12 June 2026)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Mirza v Lewin & Ors [2026] EWHC 1423 (Ch) (15 June 2026)

Ponsford & Anor v Sali & Anor [2026] EWHC 1360 (Ch) (12 June 2026)

High Court (King’s Bench Division)

Vertical Aerospace Group Ltd v Ngoma [2026] EWHC 1449 (KB) (12 June 2026)

Source: www.bailii.org

Social media ban for under-16s would be unenforceable, charity warns – BBC News

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘A social media ban for under-16s would not be enforceable and the government should instead focus on restricting the features that make it addictive, the chief executive of an online safety charity has said.’

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BBC News, 13th June 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Deckers v Up & Running: objects or effects again? – Competition Bulletin

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘This blog considers the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal in Deckers UK Ltd v Up & Running (UK) Ltd [2026] EWCA Civ 553 in which Lord Justice Green sets out the test to be applied in determining the existence of an object infringement – in this case, in the context of a selective distribution agreement for Hoka running shoes.’

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Competition Bulletin, 15th June 2026

Source: competitionbulletin.com

British man jailed over US citizen’s death – BBC News

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘A British man who admitted encouraging a “vulnerable” 21-year-old US citizen to kill himself while on a video call has been jailed for six years and four months.’

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BBC News, 12th June 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Craig Wells: The Discipline of Reasons: Liberty, Vulnerability and Arbitrary Power in A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland [2026] UKSC 16 – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘It is seldom that the much-mythologised Magna Carta is actually engaged. Yet in A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland [2026] UKSC 16 (the Deprivation of Liberty Reference) the Supreme Court arguably permitted the violation of one of the oldest constitutional rights on our statute book: that no person shall be detained except by the law of the land. That guarantee first appeared as clause 39 of the 1215 charter, and survives today as chapter 29 of the Magna Carta confirmed in 1297, which remains in force. Eight hundred years later, the Supreme Court held that a person who appears content with their confinement is not, in law, detained at all, and so no legal authorisation of safeguarding is required. The right was not, exactly, violated. It was defined away through sleight of law, and for those least able to articulate objection.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th June 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Jurors, lawyers and social workers face ‘resilience test’ in inaccessible courts – BBC News

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The BBC has heard that inaccessible courts have led to a number of issues for disabled people, including jurors feeling vulnerable, and lawyers having to join cases remotely despite being metres from the courtroom.’

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BBC News, 15th June 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Groundbreaking test finds AI judges “too persuadable” – Legal Futures

Posted June 15th, 2026 in news by sally

‘A groundbreaking test of how persuadable an AI judge can be has raised serious concerns about access to justice and miscarriages of justice.’

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Legal Futures, 15th June 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted June 12th, 2026 in law reports by michael

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Ward & Ors v Donnellan & Ors [2026] EWCA Civ 729 (12 June 2026)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

THR, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 742 (12 June 2026)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Thomas Armstrong (Aggregates) Ltd v Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government & Ors [2026] EWHC 1345 (Admin) (12 June 2026)

North Somerset District Council v Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government & Anor [2026] EWHC 1430 (Admin) (12 June 2026)

Faraj, R (on the application of) v The Parole Board of England and Wales [2026] EWHC 1370 (Admin) (08 June 2026)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Poundstretcher Ltd, In the Matter Of [2026] EWHC 1438 (Ch) (12 June 2026)

High Court (Family Division)

Father v Mother [2026] EWHC 1410 (Fam) (22 May 2026)

High Court (Patents Court)

Merck Sharp and Dohme (UK) Ltd v Halozyme Inc [2026] EWHC 1287 (Pat) (21 May 2026)

High Court (King’s Bench Division)

Martins v London Borough of Brent & Anor [2026] EWHC 1408 (KB) (12 June 2026)

Richardson v William Beech Skip Hire Ltd [2026] EWHC 1341 (KB) (11 June 2026)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Clerkenwell Lifestyle (UK) Ltd v HG Construction Ltd [2026] EWHC 1406 (TCC) (12 June 2026)

Source: www.bailii.org

Reconstructing Raz’s Rule of Law – Oxford Journal of Legal Studies

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Joseph Raz’s early work on the rule of law has had an immense influence in both jurisprudence and public law. Raz’s has become the paradigm “formal” account of the rule of law. It is a model for many of those who seek, like Raz, to distinguish the rule of law from the other values that law and legal systems may embody, and the most prominent target for others who defend a thicker, or “substantive”, conception of the rule of law as a comprehensive ideal of legality.’

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Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 2nd June 2026

Source: doi.org

A Critical Analysis of the Judicial Approach to Intersectional Natural Hair Discrimination in the UK: G v St Gregory’s Catholic Science College – Industrial Law Journal

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Conventional anti-discrimination law in the UK, the Equality Act 2010, is governed by a single-axis framework which requires individuals to make a discrimination claim on the basis of a single category of discrimination. Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality reveals the existence of a distinct form of discrimination, intersectional discrimination, which is unable to be recognised by the single-dimension logic embedded within the conventional legislative approach. Due to the fundamental limitation of having discrete categories within which discrimination has to be placed, certain forms of intersectional discrimination are not included within the conventional criteria of anti-discrimination law. This article acknowledges hair discrimination as a form of intersectional discrimination, that is, ‘intersectional natural hair discrimination’, and critically examines the current judicial position, as exemplified in G v St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, through a detailed intersectional critique.’

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Industrial Law Journal, 10th June 2026

Source: doi.org

Zero-hours work in the Employment Rights Act 2025 – King’s Law Journal

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The term “zero hours” is generally used to describe a form of work in which the employer does not guarantee the worker any particular amount of work, or any work at all. This enables the employer to tailor the supply of labour very precisely to its needs. For example, if the workplace is getting busy, more workers can be called in, but if it is quiet, their shifts can be cancelled or terminated early. Sophisticated algorithms can be used to predict the need for workers, taking into account factors such as consumer demand or the weather. Workers in these arrangements often find that they are given very little notice of work opportunities or changes to their schedule. Platform work is a specific modern incarnation of zero-hours working: the employer offers work opportunities, which may be accepted by any worker who is signed up to the employer’s platform and logged in to the app at the time. There is no guarantee that any work will be offered, and workers may spend a lot of time waiting for work opportunities to become available at short notice, or competing with other workers to secure them.’

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King's Law Journal, 31st May 2026

Source: doi.org

Accommodating capacity-restoring interventions in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 – Medical Law Review

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘This article argues that the lack of an explicit and systematic role for the restoration of P’s decision-making capacity within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) framework is problematic, in particular in light of the significant developments being made in neurointerventions that have the potential to restore, or at least repair, the abilities required to demonstrate decision-making capacity under the MCA. The article first demonstrates where the challenge lies, through an examination of the current legal framework. It then explores three points in the MCA framework at which the consideration of whether capacity can and should be restored might be incorporated, including the “practicable steps” requirement, the best interests assessment, and a potential additional stage between the assessment of capacity and the best interests assessment. It is argued that there are significant challenges with all three of these possibilities, and some directions for the way forward are suggested.’

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Medical Law Review, 29th May 2026

Source: doi.org

SRA rewrites supervision guidance after Mazur ruling – Legal Futures

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued substantially revised guidance on effective supervision, setting out in detail how firms can delegate legal work to non-authorised staff following the landmark Court of Appeal ruling in Mazur.’

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Legal Futures, 12th June 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Two men convicted in UK of trying to send weapons to conflict zones – BBC News

Posted June 12th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Two men have been found guilty in a UK court of running an arms brokering operation that tried to send weapons – including fighter jets and surface-to-air missile systems – to conflict zones.’

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BBC News, 11th June 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk