Month: March 2009
Thorner v Major and others – WLR Daily
Thorner v Major and others [2009] UKHL 18; [2009] WLR (D) 111
“Oblique assurances by a farmer of an intention to leave a farm to a cousin, who had worked full-time without any remuneration on the farm for 29 years, could constitute a sufficiently clear and unequivocal representation to establish a proprietary estoppel when the farmer ultimately died intestate.”
WLR Daily, 25th March 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
R (Binyam Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 5) – WLR Daily
“Consistent with the interests of open justice and the rule of law, an annex to an earlier judgment of the court, integral to that judgment but previously withheld so as not to prejudice confidential plea bargain negotiations in the United States involving the claimant, should be made public in accordance with the undertaking of the court at the time of that judgment.”
WLR Daily, 25th March 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
MH (Syria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; DS (Afghanistan) v Same – WLR Daily
“A careful approach was to be applied when one was considering an asylum application and the question whether an asylum-seeker was excluded from the provisions of the Refugee Convention by reason of art 1F(c) on the ground that he had been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.”
WLR Daily, 25th March 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
R (Mendes and another) v Southwark London Borough Council – WLR Daily
R (Mendes and another) v Southwark London Borough Council; [2009] WLR (D) 108
“A judge needed to give reasons for preferring one side’s arguments over the other on an application for costs made by written submissions following the case being settled.”
WLR Daily, 25th March 2009
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Thorner v Major and Others – Times Law Reports
House of Lords
“Oblique assurances could in the appropriate context constitute a sufficiently clear and unequivocal representation to establish a proprietary estoppel.”
The Times, 26th March 2009
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.
John Darwin: ‘Back-from-the-dead canoeist’ appeals his sentence – Daily Telegraph
“John Darwin, the ‘back-from-the-dead canoeist’ who was jailed for carrying out a ‘sophisticated’ £250,000 fraud, is challenging his six-year prison sentence in the Court of Appeal on Thursday.”
Daily Telegraph, 26th March 2009
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
The Acas view: our new code will have a positive impact – The Times
“New legislation is often welcomed with a whiff of trepidation, especially by businesses. Change – in particular legal change – usually prompts feelings of uncertainty and suspicion.”
The Times, 26th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Dreamspace artist to be sentenced – BBC News
“The creator of an inflatable artwork which blew away in a County Durham park killing two women will be sentenced later for health and safety breaches.”
BBC News, 26th March 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Seventy is far too early for a supreme court judge to retire . . . – The Times
“The Lord Chancellor will soon be announcing who will fill the vacancies on the new supreme court, which begins work in October when the law lords move across Parliament Square to Middlesex Guildhall. There is a very strong case for increasing the retirement age for supreme court justices from 70 to 75. In 1916 the Earl of Halsbury heard a case on the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords at 92. The Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 now provides that judges must retire at 70. There is an exception for those first appointed to a judicial office before March 31, 1995. They can continue working until 75.”
The Times, 26th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
New law sought to assist families of missing people – The Guardian
“… a private member’s bill being debated by MPs tomorrow would allow relatives to apply to the high court for a declaration that someone is missing and presumed dead before seven years has expired, making it easier to deal with issues like the dissolution of a marriage and the disposal of property and insurance claims.”
The Guardian, 25th March 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Extent of council spying revealed – BBC News
“Councils in England and Wales have used controversial spying laws 10,000 times in the past five years, figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show.”
Full story
BBC News, 26th March 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Jackson review triggers debate over costs in top-end litigation – Legal Week
“Concerns have been raised about whether Lord Justice Rupert Jackson’s review into the high cost of civil litigation should apply to large-scale commercial disputes.”
Legal Week, 26th March 2009
Source: www.legalweek.com
Family courts: the poor and most vulnerable are paying dearly – The Times
“Happily most people will never meet a family law barrister professionally. Those who do, however, will almost certainly be at a time of great crisis in their life. From an acrimonious breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership to the State intervening to remove children who medical or social work professionals believe (rightly or wrongly) to have been abused, any family from any background may find themselves litigating before the family courts. I remember one week when I represented both a prostitute and a peer of the realm (not, on this occasion, in the same case).”
The Times, 25th March 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
LSB reviews independence of law watchdogs – Legal Week
“The Legal Services Board (LSB) has launched a review of regulatory independence in the profession as the oversight body moves to flesh out the framework governing the business of law.”
Legal Week, 25th March 2009
Source: www.legalweek.com
Businesses are not always free to change lawyers, rules tribunal – OUT-LAW.com
“Companies may begin to use complex commercial services contracts when engaging law firms after a case underlined the rights of workers whose jobs are transferred to another firm.”
OUT-LAW.com, 25th March 2009
Source: www.out-law.com
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Burdett & Anor, R. v [2009] EWCA Crim 543 (12 February 2009)
Seddon, R. v [2009] EWCA Crim 483 (10 March 2009)
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Kellogg Brown & Root Holdings (UK) Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2009] EWHC 584 (Ch) (24 March 2009)
Crosstown Music Company 1, Llc v Rive Droite Music Ltd & Ors [2009] EWHC 600 (Ch) (25 March 2009)
High Court (Administrative Court)
Hughes v Borodex Ltd [2009] EWHC 565 (Admin) (25 March 2009)
Yuen v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 573 (Admin) (25 March 2009)
High Court (Commercial Court)
Lansat Shipping Co Ltd v Glencore Grain BV [2009] EWHC 551 (Comm) (25 March 2009)
High Court (Technology and Construction Court)
AMEC Group Ltd. v Universal Steels (Scotland) Ltd [2009] EWHC 560 (TCC) (25 March 2009)
Source: www.bailii.org
Judges group attack sentence plan – BBC News
“The body which represents 652 judges in England and Wales has attacked government proposals to introduce compulsory guidelines on sentences.”
BBC News, 25th March 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Peers call for independent inquiry into allegations of UK role in torture – The Guardian
“Thirteen peers today added their voices to the calls for an independent inquiry into allegations about Britain’s role in torture and extraordinary rendition.”
The Guardian, 25th March 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
