Church fears lawsuits over gay rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 7th, 2007 in news, sexual orientation discrimination by sally

“Church leaders expressed fears last night that Christians could be sued under proposed new laws to protect gays from harassment.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 7th September 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tax guide printed in small print – BBC News

Posted September 7th, 2007 in news, publishing, taxation by sally

“An authoritative guide to UK tax law has been published in smaller print to try to keep its growth under control.”

Full story

BBC News, 6th September 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

LSC appeals LawSoc’s High Court legal aid win – Legal Week

Posted September 7th, 2007 in Law Society, legal aid, news by sally

“The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is to appeal against the Law Society’s High Court victory on legal aid, the body announced last night (5 September).”

Full story

Legal Week, 6th September 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

City litigators want right to judge the judges – Legal Week

Posted September 7th, 2007 in judges, news by sally

“Calls for judges to be assessed by court users have received strong backing from senior litigators, who have identified the quality of the judiciary as a major factor behind the length and expense of trials.”

Full story

Legal Week, 6th September 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

UK and US offices team up to accelerate patent prosecution process – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 7th, 2007 in news, patents by sally

“The US and UK patent offices have agreed to share and recognise each other’s patent examination reports under a new deal. The offices hope that the deal could save significant application time for would-be patent holders.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 6th September 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

A crime is committed online every 10 seconds in UK, say criminologists – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 7th, 2007 in computer crime, news by sally

“More than three million online crimes were carried out last year, according to estimates published today. These included more than 200,000 cases of financial fraud, twice the official number of real-world robberies carried out during the same period.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 6th September 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Fresh hope in Range Rover murders – BBC News

Posted September 7th, 2007 in Criminal Cases Review Commission, murder, news by sally

“The Criminal Cases Review Commission has agreed to look again at the conviction of a man jailed for a triple murder in Essex 12 years ago.”

Full story

BBC News, 7th September 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk  

Mandatory gun crime sentences ‘not being imposed’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 7th, 2007 in firearms, news, sentencing by sally

“Judges are not imposing enough mandatory five-year jail terms on criminals convicted of gun possession, a Government minister said yesterday.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 7th September 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Internet controls or citizen service, rival leaders tackle child protection – The Guardian

Posted September 7th, 2007 in children, internet, news by sally

“New controls may be needed to prevent the internet and video games from exposing children to harmful or inappropriate material, ministers indicated yesterday, as they appointed a TV psychologist to head an official inquiry.”

Full story

The Guardian, 7th September 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pathologist who could have cleared mother wins appeal – The Guardian

Posted September 7th, 2007 in evidence, expert witnesses, news, pathologists by sally

“The pathologist who failed to disclose test results on one of Sally Clark’s babies which could have pointed to a death from natural causes has won the right to stay on the register of Home Office-accredited pathologists.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th September 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Are barristers’ standards slipping? – The Times

Posted September 6th, 2007 in barristers, complaints, professional conduct, special report by sally

“An increase in complaints and several high-profile cases raise questions about barristers’ conduct” – Frances Gibb, The Times Legal Editor

Full story

The Times, 6th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

JAC makes first two High Court appointments – Legal Week

Posted September 6th, 2007 in judges, judicial appointments commission, news by sally

“The first High Court judges to be appointed under the new Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) selection process were announced today (6 September) by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.”

Full story

Legal Week, 6th September 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted September 6th, 2007 in legislation by sally

The Local Government (Best Value Authorities) (Power to Trade) (England) (Amendment No.2) Order 2007

The National Park Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England) Regulations 2007

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) (England) Order 2007

The Independent Living Fund (2006) Order 2007

The Insolvency (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2007

 Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

The debt claim process: helping people in debt to engage with the problem – Ministry of Justice

Posted September 6th, 2007 in consultations, debts by sally

“This consultation paper seeks views on options for encouraging debtor engagement and consequential possible streamlining of procedures for dealing with non-defended debt claims. It will help to inform any proposed changes on handling debt problems in England and Wales.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 5th September 2007

Source: www.justice.gov.uk 

Regina v Montgomery – Times Law Report

Posted September 6th, 2007 in escape from custody, law reports, prisons by sally

Prisoner failing to return is not an escaper

Regina v Montgomery

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“Where a prisoner who was on temporary release from prison failed to return to prison at the expiry of his release period, he could not be said to have escaped from custody and could not therefore be guilty of the common-law offence of escape from custody.”

The Times, 6th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk 

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication. 

Regina v Ukpabio – Times Law Reports

Posted September 6th, 2007 in law reports, live link evidence by sally

Court has common-law power to let accused appear by video link

Regina v Ukpabio

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“The court had no power outside the statutory provisions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to direct that an accused could give evidence at his trial by live video link; however, in exceptional circumstances where it was appropriate for the defendant not to be present in court, it did have power to direct that he could participate in his trial by other means such as live video link.”

The Times, 6th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication. 

UK firms poised to reap rewards of class action litigation upswing – Legal Week

Posted September 6th, 2007 in class actions, consumer protection, news by sally

“The UK legal community is united in the belief that US-style class action litigation is set to take off throughout Europe, with product liability cited as a key growth sector. Claire Ruckin reports on the results of the latest Big Question survey.”

Full story

Legal Week, 6th September 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com

HR professionals criticise equality law overhaul – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 6th, 2007 in equality, news by sally

“Proposed equality legislation is not clear enough for UK employers to follow and will not result in a more diverse workplace, according to the human resources professional body. The new laws will result in ‘box ticking’, the body said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 5th September 2007
Source: www.out-law.com

HSBC back in court over £5m gay claim – The Times

Posted September 6th, 2007 in news, sexual orientation discrimination by sally

“HSBC is due back in court tomorrow to face the latest round in a £5 million discrimination claim brought by a gay former high-flyer.”

Full story

The Times, 5th September 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Cohabitation laws too expensive, says Haworth & Nutall – The Lawyer

Posted September 6th, 2007 in cohabitation, news by sally

“Blackburn-based firm Haworth & Nuttall has claimed that changes to cohabitation laws will ‘fall at the first hurdle’ due to extra costs.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 5th September 2007

Source: www.thelawyer.com