Society calls for delay to legal aid bill – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 18th, 2011 in bills, legal aid, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“The Law Society today called on the government to delay passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, after Jonathan Djanogly was stripped of responsibility for regulating claims management companies.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 18th October 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

UK extradition review: Key cases – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2011 in extradition, news by sally

“The coalition government pledged to review extradition. The review, led by Sir Scott Baker, a former Court of Appeal judge, looked at extradition arrangements to the US and the European Union, which are covered by two separate pieces of law.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Examiners will not automatically rule computerisations of mental acts unpatentable, IPO says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 18th, 2011 in inventions, news, patents by sally

“The UK’s Intellectual Property Office has changed its guidance on how its reviewers will consider the ‘mental act’ exemption to patentability when assessing patent applications for computer-implemented inventions.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th October 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Lord Hanningfield seeks damages over ‘unlawful arrest’ – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2011 in damages, detention, expenses, news, trespass, warrants by sally

“Lord Hanningfield has threatened legal action over his ‘unlawful arrest’ over money claimed when he was leader of Essex County Council.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Morrissey’s NME libel case: judge to decide on jury trial – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2011 in defamation, media, news, racism by sally

“Britain’s most senior libel judge is considering whether to grant Morrissey a high court trial before a jury over an NME magazine interview he claims portrayed him as a ‘racist and a blatant hypocrite’.”

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The Guardian, 18th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted October 18th, 2011 in legislation by sally

The Syria (Asset-Freezing) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

The Cluster Munitions (Prohibitions) Act 2010 (Isle of Man) Order 2011

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (London Remembrance Events) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Sculthorpe Airfield) (Revocation) Regulations 2011

The Immigration (Guernsey) Order 2011

The Bus Service Operators Grant (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

In re Nortel GmbH and related companies; In re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) and related companies – WLR Daily

Posted October 18th, 2011 in appeals, expenses, insolvency, law reports by sally

In re Nortel GmbH and related companies; In re Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (in administration) and related companies [2011] EWCA Civ 1124; [2011] WLR (D) 293

“Neither the obligation to comply with a financial support direction issued by the Pensions Regulator under section 43 of the Pensions Act 2004 nor the obligation to pay the trustees of the relevant occupational pension scheme the sum specified in a contribution notice issued under section 47 of the 2004 Act, following non-compliance with the direction, constituted a provable debt in an administration or liquidation within the meaning of rule 13.12 of the Insolvency Rules 1986 where the direction was issued after the commencement of the insolvency process; such obligations ranked instead as an expense of the administration or liquidation.”

WLR Daily, 14th October 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Qualified Assurance Scheme for Advocates (Crime) Revision – Bar Standards Board

Posted October 18th, 2011 in advocacy, news, quality assurance by sally

“The Joint Advocacy Group (JAG) has agreed a programme of further work so that the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates in criminal cases (QASA) can be implemented in stages from April 2012.”

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Bar Standards Board, 17th October 2011

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Crown Court Sentencing Survey – first results published – Sentencing Council

Posted October 18th, 2011 in Crown Court, news, reports, sentencing, statistics by sally

“The Sentencing Council has published a report with results from the Crown Court Sentencing Survey, an ongoing data collection exercise of sentencing decisions made in the Crown Court that is required for the Council to comply with the terms of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

The report presents the findings of the first six months of the survey. It can be accessed here.”

Sentencing Council, 18th October 2011

Source: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk

“The Bar is Open to All”, Chairman-Elect Tells London Students – The Bar Council

Posted October 18th, 2011 in barristers, diversity, legal education, news by sally

“The Chairman-Elect of the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, will today urge students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career at the Bar, at an event co-hosted by the Bar Council, the Law Society and ILEX.”

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The Bar Council, 17th October 2011

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

England riots: Court rejects seven of 10 sentence appeals – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2011 in appeals, handling stolen goods, incitement, news, sentencing, violent disorder by sally

“The Court of Appeal has rejected seven of 10 sentence appeals by people jailed over August’s rioting in England.”

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BBC News, 18th October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Independent schools can decide charitable status, says Tribunal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 18th, 2011 in charities, Charity Commission, education, judgments, news by sally

” It is not for the Charity Commission or the courts to impose on trustees of a school their own idea of what is for the ‘public benefit’ so as to qualify for charitable status, the Upper Tribunal has ruled. In a detailed assessment of the law on charitable status both before and after the Charities Act, the Tribunal has indicated that the Act has not introduced any legal requirement to act in a way prescribed by the Charity Commission or anyone else. Provided they run their charity to ensure that the poor are able to benefit in a way that is more than minimal or tokenistic, they should be free to make their own considered assessment of what is for the ‘public benefit’ in the circumstances pertaining to their own institution.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th October 2011

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

IPCC says police failed murdered young mother – The Independent

Posted October 18th, 2011 in complaints, domestic violence, murder, news, police, reports by sally

“A young mother was beaten to death by her violent ex-partner after police failed to intervene 11 times, investigators said today.”

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The Independent, 18th October 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Morrissey takes ‘racism’ battle to court – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2011 in defamation, delay, media, news, racism by sally

“He once claimed to bear more grudges than lonely high court judges. Now Morrissey wants his date in the high court to rebut years of allegations that he is a racist and a hypocrite.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ex-teacher jailed for sex with boy at Lincolnshire school – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2011 in news, sentencing, sexual grooming, sexual offences, teachers by sally

“A former teacher at a school in North East Lincolnshire has been jailed after admitting having sex with a pupil.”

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BBC News, 17th October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supremely misreported – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2011 in news, Supreme Court by sally

“One of the reasons for creating the supreme court was to make justice at the highest level more transparent and understandable, and to clarify the role of the UK’s top court and judges. Certainly, the new supreme court is easy to find and visit: in August 2011 an average of 398 people came to look around each day (a total of 8646 during the month), despite the airport-style security at the entrance. It now speaks clearly and accessibly. Judgments are released with succinct press summaries. Since May 2011 it has been possible to watch proceedings live online. The court announces decisions with a brief summary explaining the facts of the case and the court’s decision. These judicial soundbites fit easily into TV coverage. Where cases attract significant media interest, the court organises a budget-style ‘lock-in’ arrangement for broadcast journalists allowing them to go on air as the case is announced.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Carter-Ruck’s take on the Trafigura story: who guards the Guardian? – Legal Week

“In the last three years The Guardian has published over 200 articles relating to Trafigura, the vast majority of which have referred to the ‘super-injunction’ which the company obtained against the newspaper and to Carter-Ruck’s apparent attempts to gag the reporting of Parliament. Despite this saturation coverage, some questions remain unanswered.”

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Legal Week, 17th October 2011

Source: www.legalweek.com

Senior judge blames press sentencing criticism for full prisons – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 18th, 2011 in judges, media, news, prisons, select committees, sentencing by sally

“A senior judge yesterday blamed a ‘relentless’ press campaign on soft sentencing for prisons now being full.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th October 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Justice minister stripped of powers – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2011 in conflict of interest, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“The justice minister, Jonathan Djanogly, has been stripped of his responsibility to regulate firms that ‘ambulance chase’ the public following a Guardian investigation that revealed how he and his family could profit from controversial changes to legal aid he was piloting in parliament.”

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The Guardian, 17th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Levi Bellfield case: Contempt of court move – BBC News

Posted October 18th, 2011 in attorney general, contempt of court, juries, media, news by sally

“The attorney general has begun contempt of court proceedings against the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror over coverage of the conviction of Levi Bellfield.

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BBC News, 17th October 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk