Charlotte Church settles NoW phone-hacking claim for £600,000 – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2012 in costs, damages, interception, news, privacy by tracey

“Charlotte Church and her parents have settled their phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the News of the World, News International, in an agreement worth £600,000 in damages and costs, the high court has heard.”

Full story

The Guardian, 27th February 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Private detectives given jail terms for ‘blagging’ – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in confidentiality, fraud, interception, news, privacy, sentencing by tracey

“Four private detectives have been given jail terms for conspiring to defraud people by ‘blagging’ personal information via persuasive phone calls.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted February 27th, 2012 in law reports by tracey

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions

Williams, R v [2012] EWCA Crim 264 (24 February 2012)

High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions

The Bampton Property Group Ltd & Ors v Crowe Corporate Capital Ltd & Ors [2012] EWHC 361 (Admin) (24 February 2012)

High Court (Family Division) Decisions

G v G [2012] EWHC 167 (Fam) (24 February 2012)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) Decisions

EL v The Children’s Society [2012] EWHC 365 (QB) (24 February 2012)

MacLennan v Hartford Europe Ltd [2012] EWHC 346 (QB) (24 February 2012)

Gold & Anor v Cox & Anor [2012] EWHC 367 (QB) (24 February 2012)

Spelman v Express Newspapers [2012] EWHC 392 (QB) (24 February 2012)

Spelman v Express Newspapers [2012] EWHC 355 (QB) (24 February 2012)

AM v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Ors [2012] EWHC 308 (QB) (23 February 2012)

Source: www.bailii.org

Neave and others v Court of Rome, Italy – WLR Daily

Posted February 27th, 2012 in extradition, interpretation, law reports, warrants by tracey

Neave and others v Court of Rome, Italy: [2012] EWHC 358 (Admin);  [2012] WLR (D)  46

“In the context of the Extradition Act 2003 a person who was no more than a suspect was not an accused person. The mere suspicion that an individual had committed offences was insufficient to place him in the category of ‘accused’ persons. The dividing line between a suspect wanted for questioning and an accused person was fact specific and was complicated by the fact of the different legal systems in Part 1 countries. A purposive interpretation of ‘accused’ was to be adopted in order to accommodate the differences between legal systems. Courts had to adopt a cosmopolitan approach to the question whether, as a matter of substance rather than form, the requirement of there being an ‘accused’ person was satisfied. Resolving the issue would require an intense focus on the particular facts of each case. The fact that under the criminal procedure of the requesting state a person might be asked further questions before a decision was made to charge him was not decisive, as also was the absence of a full file. A person could be accused of an offence even though the decision had not finally been taken to prosecute or charge.”

WLR Daily, 23rd February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Flachglas Torgau GmbH v Federal Republic of Germany – WLR Daily

Flachglas Torgau GmbH v Federal Republic of Germany: (Case C-204/09);  [2012] WLR (D)  45

“The option given to member states pursuant to the first sentence of the second sub-paragraph of article 2(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2003/4/EC of not regarding ‘bodies or institutions acting in a … legislative capacity’ as ‘public authorities’ responsible for guaranteeing access to environmental information, could be applied to ministries to the extent that they participated in the legislative process, in particular by tabling draft laws or giving opinions.”

WLR Daily, 14th February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v Gul – WLR Daily

Posted February 27th, 2012 in Afghanistan, armed forces, international law, internet, Iraq, law reports, terrorism by tracey

 Regina v Gul: [2012] EWCA Crim 280;  [2012] WLR (D)  44

“Acts by insurgents against the armed forces of a state anywhere in the world which sought to influence a government and were made for political purposes were acts of terrorism for the purposes of section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000. There was nothing in international law which required the clear terms of the 2000 Act to be read down to exempt those committing such acts from the definition of terrorist in that Act.”

WLR Daily, 22nd February 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted February 27th, 2012 in parliamentary papers by tracey

Government response to the House of Commons Health Committee report on public expenditure (thirteenth report of session 2010-12), Cm 8283 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Sentencing guideline for drug offences comes into force – Sentencing Council

Posted February 27th, 2012 in drug offences, news, sentencing by tracey

“The new definitive guideline on drug offences will be used in all courts in England and Wales from 27 February 2012.”

Definitive guideline on drug offences (PDF)

Sentecning Council, 27th February 2012

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

Ombudsman sets out relationship with new Financial Conduct Authority – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 27th, 2012 in bills, complaints, consumer protection, financial services ombudsman, news, ombudsmen by tracey

“The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has set out how it intends to co-operate with new regulator the Financial Conduct Authority .”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Friends’-only postings not subject to ‘right to be forgotten’ rules, Commission says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 27th, 2012 in data protection, EC law, internet, news, privacy by tracey

“The operators of social networking sites, such as Facebook, would not be obliged to delete every piece of information about individuals that they host under proposed new EU ‘right to be forgotten’ laws, the European Commission has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 24th February 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

 

Family arbitration – a soft launch or a hard landing? Some provisional thoughts – Family Law Week

Posted February 27th, 2012 in arbitration, dispute resolution, families, news by tracey

“Family arbitration – a soft launch or a hard landing? Some provisional thoughts.”

Full story

Family Law week, 26th February 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Professional footballer brings race discrimination claim – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 27th, 2012 in employment tribunals, news, race discrimination, sport, unfair dismissal by tracey

“Mark McCammon, 33, claims that he and other black players at Gillingham FC were treated differently to white players. The tribunal case, believed to be the first race discrimination claim brought by a professional footballer, comes amid widespread concern over racism in football.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 26th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Stately home owners sue Coal Board for £100m claiming house is sinking – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 27th, 2012 in damages, miners, news by tracey

“The owners of a stately home once described as ‘the finest’ Georgian house in England are mounting a claim for more than £100 million after claiming it has been devastated by mining substance.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 27th February 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Equality law ‘should be extended to cover faith’ – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in Christianity, equality, news, religious discrimination by tracey

“A report on the status of Christianity in the UK says equality laws should cover people with religious beliefs.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Adoptions: Ofsted issues tougher new rules – BBC News

Posted February 27th, 2012 in adoption, fostering, local government, news, ombudsmen by tracey

“Local authorities in England will only get an outstanding rating for adoption in future if they place children within 12 months, Ofsted says.”

Full story

BBC News, 27th February 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal wrangle throws spotlight on food labelling – The Independent

Posted February 27th, 2012 in appeals, consumer protection, food hygiene, news, public interest by tracey

“A landmark legal case revolving around a batch of frozen pigs’ tongues could change the way food use-by dates are enforced in the country. High Court judges ruled earlier last week that a business accused of selling food past its use-by date could counter a prosecution under food labelling laws by showing the product had in fact not needed a use-by date. Consumer experts fear that this interpretation could allow retailers to sell out-of-date food. The matter is being viewed as a test case for use-by dates, and similar cases across the country are being put on hold while it is dealt with.”

Full story

 The Independent, 26th February 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk