Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted September 18th, 2013 in legislation by sally

The National Crime Agency (Limitation of extension to Northern Ireland) Order 2013

The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2013

The Pensions Act 2004 (Codes of Practice) (Reporting Late Payment of Contributions) Appointed Day Order 2013

The Welfare Benefits Up-rating Act 2013 (Commencement) Order 2013

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (Transitional Provision) Order 2013

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Consequential Amendments) (No. 2) Order 2013

The Sustainable Communities (Parish Councils) Order 2013

The Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Automatic Enrolment) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

The Public Bodies (Merger of the Gambling Commission and the National Lottery Commission) Order 2013

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Paedophile loses bank rule challenge – BBC News

Posted September 18th, 2013 in appeals, banking, child abuse, disclosure, news, police, privacy, proportionality, sexual offences by sally

“A convicted paedophile has lost a legal challenge against rules requiring him to disclose bank details to police.”

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BBC News, 18th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

What is a “public authority” for the purposes of environmental information? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 18th, 2013 in disclosure, EC law, freedom of information, human rights, news, utilities by sally

“In this most recent case concerning access by private individuals to environmental information held by public authorities, the AG grasps the nettlish question of what precisely a public authority is. The issue was a subject of debate because the request for information had been addressed to private companies which manage a public service relating to the environment. The question therefore was whether, even though the companies concerned are private, they may be regarded as ‘public authorities’ for the purposes of the Directive governing access to environmental information (Directive 2003/4).”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th September 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Change to UK collective redundancy laws “inevitable”, says expert, as Government granted leave to appeal Woolworths case – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 18th, 2013 in appeals, consultations, EC law, employment tribunals, news, redundancy by sally

“The Government is not guaranteed a ‘favourable outcome’ in its appeal of a tribunal’s finding that consultation requirements under the collective redundancy rules were triggered when retailers made redundancies in multiple shops, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Mark Elliott: Justification, Calibration and Substantive Judicial Review: Putting Doctrine in its Place – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted September 18th, 2013 in human rights, judicial review, news, parliament, proportionality, rule of law by sally

“To observe that substantive judicial review—and the notions of proportionality and deference in particular—constitute well-trodden ground would be to engage in reckless understatement. And that, in turn, might suggest that there is nothing more that can usefully be said about these matters. Yet the debate in this area of public law remains vibrant—and for good reason. Like the controversy about the foundations of judicial review in which many public lawyers engaged energetically over a decade ago, the controversy about substantive review is ultimately a manifestation of underlying disagreements concerning the nature, status and interaction of fundamental constitutional principles, including the rule of law, the separation of powers and the sovereignty of Parliament. It is hardly surprising, then, that questions about the intensity of review and (what amounts to the reverse side of the same coin) deference remain under active discussion long after the debate was ignited by the entry into force of the Human Rights Act 1998.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 17th September 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Inspectors catch Bristol prison officer denying meals to inmate – The Guardian

“Surprise inspection finds HMP Bristol overcrowded, dirty and cockroach-infested with ‘delinquent’ staff.”

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The Guardian, 17th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Doctoral students: when does supervision become harassment? – Education Law Blog

Posted September 18th, 2013 in complaints, electronic mail, harassment, news, universities by sally

“The case of Saha v Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine [2013] EWHC 2438 (QB) concerned a £1.5m claim for harassment by a doctoral student against her supervisor Following a hearing that lasted 7 days, with the claimant acting in person, Hamblen J dismissed the claim in its entirety, summarising his conclusions at [160] as follows:

‘I find that a number of the alleged incidents are not proven, and those that are proved do not involve harassment. At most they involve treating Miss Saha in an abrupt, peremptory and at times vexed manner. They do not involve aggressive, bullying or threatening behaviour.'”

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Education Law Blog, 18th September 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

EU could be given powers to ban ‘legal highs’ within weeks of them hitting the market – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2013 in drug offences, EC law, health & safety, news by sally

“The European Union could be given powers to ban dangerous psychoactive substances known as ‘legal highs’ within weeks of them hitting the market, under new proposals unveiled by the bloc’s legislative branch today.”

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The Independent, 17th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Niqaab issue is too important to be left to liberal instinct – UK Human Rights Blog

“Yesterday, before His Honour Judge Peter Murphy ruled that a female Muslim defendant in a criminal trial must remove her face-covering veil (niqaab) whilst giving evidence, Home Office Minister Jeremy Brown said he was ‘instinctively uneasy’ about restricting religious freedoms, but that there should be a national debate over banning the burka.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th September 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Wormwood Scrubs prison ‘on knife edge’ because of staff cuts – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2013 in budgets, news, ombudsmen, prison officers, prisons, restraint, standards, statistics by sally

“Wormwood Scrubs, the west London prison, is on a ‘knife-edge’, an official watchdog has warned, with an alarming 50% growth in the use of force or restraining measures to control prisoners in an increasingly violent, gang-dominated jail.”

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The Guardian, 18th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wearing veil should be the woman’s choice, says Theresa May – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2013 in courts, evidence, freedom of expression, Islam, news, religious discrimination, women by sally

“The government should not tell women what to wear, the home secretary has said, amid ongoing debate over the use of full-face veils.”

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The Guardian, 17th September 2013

Source: www.guardian.com

Women are legally free to abort a baby because of its sex, says abortion charity head – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 18th, 2013 in abortion, charities, Crown Prosecution Service, doctors, equality, gender, news, prosecutions by sally

“The chief executive of Britain’s biggest abortion charity has said women are legally free to arrange an abortion because they are unhappy with the sex of their unborn baby.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th September 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dog attack men get community service for animal cruelty – BBC News

Posted September 18th, 2013 in animal cruelty, community service, dogs, hunting, news, sentencing by sally

“Six men have been sentenced to more than 800 hours of community service for using their dogs to kill other animals.”

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BBC News, 17th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Conman ‘addicted’ to taking money from women he met on dating sites – The Independent

Posted September 18th, 2013 in fraud, internet, news, sentencing, theft, women by sally

“A conman with an ‘addiction’ to swindling money from vulnerable women on dating websites has been jailed for four years.”

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The Independent, 17th September 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk