Supreme court clears way for release of secret Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, documents, news, royal family, Supreme Court, veto by sally

‘The UK supreme court has cleared the way for the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles to British government ministers, declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 26th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Do not-so smart pension reforms mean FCA wants pensioners to be ScamSmart? – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in consumer protection, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘Less than two weeks after Martin Wheatley’s speech identifying April’s ‘big bang’ pension reforms as “[t]he defining challenge of our time”, the FCA has launched a website called ‘ScamSmart’ dedicated to helping retail investors identify fraudulent investment scams. Martin Wheatley’s keynote speech and the launch of the ScamSmart website indicate the level of concern in the FCA about the impact of the reforms on UK pensioners. The strength of these concerns is confirmed in today’s Business Plan which includes plans for the FCA to carry out a thematic review (with, presumably, intense supervisory and enforcement work to follow) into the suitability of pensions and retail investment advice.’

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RPC Financial Services Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Save Legal Aid, Save Lives – Family Law Week

Posted March 26th, 2015 in domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Ruth Tweedale, a law lecturer at the University of Roehampton and former solicitor at Rights of Women, describes recent developments in the campaign to preserve family law legal aid for victims of domestic violence.’

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Family Law Week, 24th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on publishing Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos’ – The Guardian

‘The supreme court will rule on Thursday on whether highly sensitive secret correspondence between Prince Charles and government ministers should at last be released in the public interest.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Contractual discretion – lost at sea? – Technology Law Update

Posted March 26th, 2015 in compensation, contract of employment, contracts, news, suicide by sally

‘Contracts often include terms that give discretion to one of the parties to make a decision affecting the other party. Does that mean that the party with the discretion can use it freely? Apparently not, according to a recent Supreme Court case.’

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Technology Law Update, 25th March 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Grooming bans could stop child sex abuse say councils – BBC News

Posted March 26th, 2015 in local government, news, sexual grooming, social services by sally

‘Councils in England and Wales want new powers to combat predatory men suspected of grooming children for sex.’

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too little progress on stop and search, says police watchdog – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in news, police, race discrimination, reports, stop and search by sally

‘Police forces have made too little progress on improving their use of stop and search powers, with too many officers lacking any understanding of their impact on the lives of young black people, an official watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 24th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

How to sue in respect of abusive comments on the Internet – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in defamation, internet, law firms, news by sally

‘The facts of this case are simple. A defamatory comment was posted on the claimant’s Google maps directional page, implying that he was a “loser” as a lawyer and that his firm lost “80%” of cases brought to them. The defendant claimed that someone must have hacked in to his own Google account to put up the post.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Cheating Premier League footballer at centre of one-night stand blackmail plot should be named, says judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 26th, 2015 in anonymity, appeals, blackmail, costs, injunctions, news by sally

‘Justice Warby rules an anonymity order protecting a wealthy well-known defender who had a one-night stand despite having a long term partner and child should be lifted.’

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Daily Telegraph, 25th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Vaginal piercings have always been FGM – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 26th, 2015 in consent, crime, female genital mutilation, news by sally

‘In the UK some women choose to have their clitoris pierced to enhance their sexual pleasure. Recent headlines in the UK announced that vaginal piercings are now being classed as female genital mutilation (FGM) under new NHS guidelines. The truth is that vaginal piercings have always fallen within the definition of FGM but the lack of clear guidance to piercing clinics and the absence of clear guidance for health professionals has affected the way that traditionally mutilated girls and women are treated. The new guidelines are part of a package of measures designed to identify those at risk of traditional procedures in a non-discriminatory way as part of necessary intervention that ought to engage all health practitioners in the campaign to eradicate FGM in the UK.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th March 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Support for death penalty drops below 50% for the first time – BBC News

Posted March 26th, 2015 in death penalty, news, reports, statistics by sally

‘Support for the death penalty in Britain has dropped below 50% for the first time on record, an annual opinion survey says.’

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Exclusive: Miscarriages of justice charity seeks law firm status – Legal Futures

‘A criminal appeals charity run by lawyers has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to be a regulated legal practice, and could become the first charity to become a traditional law firm in its own right.’

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Legal Futures, 26th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

R (on the application of Trail Riders Fellowship and another (Respondents) v Dorset County Council (Appellant) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of Trail Riders Fellowship and another (Respondents) v Dorset County Council (Appellant) [2015] UKSC 18 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 18th March 2015

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Jail for thief who tried to sell secret nuclear submarine documents – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in burglary, confidentiality, documents, intelligence services, news, sentencing, theft by sally

‘A factory worker who stole restricted documents about British nuclear submarines and tried to sell them to an eastern European government has been jailed for four and a half years.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

M&S and hair cut paramedic guilty of misconduct – BBC News

‘A paramedic who left patients in an ambulance while he did some shopping and had his hair cut has been found guilty of misconduct.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Dating site ban for ‘serial abuser’ Karl Crimmins – BBC News

‘A “serial abuser” who admitted unlawfully wounding a woman he met online has been banned from joining dating websites.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

R (on the application of SG and others (previously JS and others)) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of SG and others (previously JS and others)) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Respondent) [2015] UKSC 16 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 18th March 2015

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Solicitors fail to stop cuts in legal aid defence contracts – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, Law Society, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Criminal solicitors have failed in their attempt to prevent the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, imposing deep cuts on the number of legal aid contracts for defence lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk