Is the Mental Capacity Act incompatible with the ECHR? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 10th, 2014 in Court of Protection, evidence, human rights, mental health, news, select committees by tracey

‘A group of leading lawyers has expressed concern that the current system for representation of certain protected parties (P) in Court of Protection proceedings is incompatible with the ECHR.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th January 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Dr Mansoor Kassim sentenced for faking Viagra scripts – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2014 in breach of trust, doctors, fraud, news, professional conduct, sentencing, theft by tracey

‘A doctor with “marital difficulties” forged prescriptions for Viagra because he was too embarrassed to see his GP. Dr Mansoor Kassim, 37, who worked at Ystrad Fawr Hospital near Caerphilly, faked £340.67 worth of scripts, Newport magistrates heard. He was given a suspended jail sentence after admitting four charges of making a false prescription, two of theft by an employee and one of fraud.’

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BBC News, 10th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Plebgate’ affair: Met PC admits misconduct – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2014 in misfeasance in public office, news, police, professional conduct by tracey

‘A Met police officer plans to resign after admitting misconduct in public office over the “plebgate” affair. PC Keith Wallis, 53, has admitted falsely claiming to have witnessed a row between then-cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell and police officers in Downing Street in September 2012. The diplomatic protection group officer has been bailed until 6 February when he is due to be sentenced.’

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BBC News, 10th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Appeal refuses blogger permission to appeal in libel case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 10th, 2014 in appeals, defamation, harassment, internet, news, perverting the course of justice by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal last month refused a blogger permission to appeal in her libel claim against a council and its chief executive, it has emerged.’

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Local Government Lawyer,  6th January 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Statement regarding defamation cases – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted January 10th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, defamation, press releases by tracey

‘During the passage of the Bill that became the Defamation Act 2013, Parliament discussed procedural changes to assist with the implementation of the legislation and the policy underlying it. The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has now made the rule changes. However, as these have not been as extensive as members of Parliament may have anticipated, I am issuing this statement to provide some clarification and reassurance to Parliament and others…’

Full statement

Judiciary of England and Wales, 2nd January 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

MLA guidelines for foreign authorities – Home Office

Posted January 10th, 2014 in criminal procedure, foreign jurisdictions, judiciary, news by tracey

‘These guidelines describe mutual legal assistance (MLA) that can be provided by the UK.’

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Home Office, 6th January 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Man sentenced for stirring up racial hatred – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted January 10th, 2014 in inciting racial hatred, press releases, racism, sentencing by tracey

‘Christopher Philips has today (8 January 2014) been sentenced to 12 months in prison and imposed with an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) for distributing videos of himself at an extremist right-wing event on a social media site. Mr Philips pleaded guilty to one count of stirring up racial hatred contrary to section 21 of the Public Order Act 1986 at a hearing on 31 October 2013 at Wolverhampton Crown Court.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 8th January 2014

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Personal data: Tribunal analyses the ‘relates to’ and ‘identification’ limbs – Panopticon

Posted January 10th, 2014 in benefits, complaints, data protection, freedom of information, news, tribunals by tracey

‘I have commented in previous posts on how infrequently the Data Protection Act 1998 has been the subject of substantive litigation before the courts. One consequence of this is persistent uncertainty over how pivotal concepts such as “personal data” are to be analysed and approached. Last year, the High Court in Kelway v The Upper Tribunal, Northumbria Police and the Information Commissioner (2013) EWHC 2575 (Admin) considered how “personal data” issues should be approached.’

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Panopticon, 9th January 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

UK firm fined £25,000 for failure to monitor, supervise and manage its appointed representatives – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 10th, 2014 in financial regulation, fines, insurance, news, unfair commercial practices by tracey

‘A firm has been fined £25,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the misconduct of two of its sales staff acting as its ‘appointed representatives’ (ARs). Amongst other cases of misconduct, the ARs were found to have used “high-pressure sales tactics and misleading information” to push vulnerable customers into buying insurance policies.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted January 10th, 2014 in legislation by tracey

The Local Government Finance Act 1988 (Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers) (England) Order 2014

The Stamp Duty and Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (European Central Counterparty N.V.) Regulations 2014

The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) Regulations 2014

The Closure of Prisons Order 2014

The Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Prime Sight Ltd v Lavarello – WLR Daily

Posted January 10th, 2014 in contracts, estoppel, law reports, trustees in bankruptcy, winding up by tracey

Prime Sight Ltd v Lavarello [2013] UKPC 22; [2013] WLR (D) 514

‘When a deed contained a valid contract of sale the parties were entitled on ordinary contractual principles to rely on the terms of the deed by which the purchase price was treated between the parties as having been paid, even though no payment had in fact been made. In those circumstances the seller’s trustee in bankruptcy was estopped by the terms of the deed from asserting that the purchase price had not been paid.’

WLR Daily, 9th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted January 10th, 2014 in law reports by tracey

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Robinson-Pierre v R [2013] EWCA Crim 2396 (20 December 2013)

Taylor v R [2013] EWCA Crim 2398 (20 December 2013)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Evans, R (on the application of) v Johnson & Ors [2013] EWHC 4109 (Admin) (20 December 2013)

Daniel, R (on the application of) v East Devon District Council & Anor [2013] EWHC 4114 (Admin) (20 December 2013

An Taisce (The National Trust for Ireland), R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2013] EWHC 4161 (Admin) (20 December 2013)

Y, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWHC 4141 (Admin) (20 December 2013

London Borough of Islington & Anor v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government [2013] EWHC 4009 (Admin) (20 December 2013)

London Borough of Islington & Ors v Mayor of London & Ors [2013] EWHC 4142 (Admin) (20 December 2013)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Nugent v Nugent [2013] EWHC 4095 (Ch) (20 December 2013)

Ali Haider v Syed [2013] EWHC 4079 (Ch) (19 December 2013)

High Court (Commercial Court)

Bank of India v Svizera Holdings BV [2013] EWHC 4097 (Comm) (20 December 2013)

B.A.T. Industries Plc v Windward Prospects Ltd & Anor [2013] EWHC 4087 (Comm) (20 December 2013)

High Court (Family Division)

Button v Salama [2013] EWHC 4152 (Fam) (19 December 2013)

Kinderis v Kineriene [2013] EWHC 4139 (Fam) (18 December 2013)

High Court (Patents Court)

Blue Gentian Llc & Anor v Tristar Products (UK) Ltd & Anor [2013] EWHC 4098 (Pat) (20 December 2013)

Source: www.bailii.org

Bias has ‘significant’ effect on verdicts, jury research says – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 10th, 2014 in bias, burden of proof, juries, news, verdicts by tracey

‘Jurors should be tested before trials to reduce the effect of prejudices on their understanding of the burden of proof, according to the authors of a study suggesting bias has a “significant” impact on verdicts.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th January 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Police officer Christopher Semak jailed for sexual activity with girl, 14 – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2014 in child abuse, news, police, sentencing, sexual grooming, sexual offences by tracey

‘A police officer who engaged in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl has been jailed for six years.’

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BBC News, 9th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

16-year legal battle over laptop reaches UK supreme court – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2014 in banking, consumer credit, contracts, news, sale of goods, Supreme Court by tracey

‘All Richard Durkin wanted was a laptop with an inbuilt modem. But what he ended up with was an epic 16-year legal tussle, a £250,000 bill for legal fees and, now, a date at the supreme court. The 44-year-old married father of two has been engaged in a David-and-Goliath battle against the bank that he says “annihilated” his credit rating after he walked into his local PC World to buy a £1,500 laptop in 1998.’

Full story

The Guardian, 9th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bedroom tax loophole could exempt 40,000 wrongly identified as liable – The Guardian

Posted January 10th, 2014 in benefits, government departments, housing, news by tracey

‘Thousands of people have been wrongly identified as liable for the bedroom tax, including some who now face eviction or have been forced to move to a smaller property, as a result of an error by Department of Work and Pensions. Housing experts believe as many as 40,000 people could be affected by the mistake. The DWP says it believes only a “small number” of tenants are affected, which it estimates number 5,000.’

Full story

The Guardian, 9th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Illegal tobacco seller Roger Gerrey sold cigarettes to children – BBC News

‘A man who turned his Devon home into a shop selling illegal cigarettes to school children has been spared a jail sentence.’

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BBC News, 9th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Drug-dealing father of 22 spared jail to care for son – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 10th, 2014 in drug offences, families, news, sentencing, suspended sentences by tracey

‘Drug-dealing father who has 22 children with 11 women has sentence suspended after judge ruled he needed to help his girlfriend look after their seven-month-old baby.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th January 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Life terms plan for terrorists in training – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 10th, 2014 in imprisonment, news, parole, sentencing, terrorism by tracey

‘Maximum sentences for a range of terrorism offences including weapons training will be upgraded from 14 years to life, the Telegraph can reveal.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th January 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Parkside Nursing Home deaths: Police to review evidence – BBC News

Posted January 10th, 2014 in care homes, care workers, disciplinary procedures, elderly, evidence, news by tracey

‘Police are to review evidence given at a tribunal after five “severely” neglected patients died in two weeks at a Northampton home.’

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BBC News, 9th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk