MoJ considers specialist courts for issues such as domestic abuse – The Guardian

‘The potential for developing more US-style specialist tribunals – including courts dedicated to tackling the surge in domestic abuse cases – is being examined by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).’

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The Guardian, 7th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stopping jailed fathers seeing their children is a political gimmick – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2015 in charities, children, families, news, prisons, statistics by sally

‘Prisons should nurture family relationships, but the government’s IEP scheme makes it difficult for male prisoners to maintain contact. It must be changed.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stalkers to be banned from contacting victims online under plans to protect people targeted on the internet – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 7th, 2015 in consultations, harassment, internet, news, stalking, statistics, victims by sally

‘The Home Office is drawing up proposals to hit stalkers with protection orders to prevent them from contacting strangers on the internet and in person.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Supreme Court: not enough for directors to use powers ‘honestly’ or ‘in good faith’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 7th, 2015 in appeals, company directors, disclosure, news, shareholders, Supreme Court by sally

‘Directors of a publicly-listed gas exploration company were not entitled to impose voting restrictions on certain shareholders which had failed to comply with statutory disclosure notices, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th December 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Hunting convictions thrown into doubt after court case collapses – Daily Telegraph

‘The neutrality of Professor Stephen Harris, one of the UK’s leading authorities on foxes, has been called into question.’

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Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

“Sexting” damages case: the legal issues – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘The award of damages to a victim of ‘sexting’ grabbed the attention of the media on at the beginning of December 2015. Given that the judgment appears to have been delivered in September 2015, it isn’t clear why it had not made it in to the news until this week, but such is the way of the media sometimes.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

The Human Genome and Human Rights recommendations: “aspirational and symbolic” – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 7th, 2015 in codes of practice, DNA, equality, human rights, medical ethics, news by sally

‘The International Bioethics Committee, under the auspices of UNESCO, has recently updated its guidance on the human genome and human rights. The Report of the IBC on Updating its Reflection on the Human Genome and Human Rights was published in October 2015, and takes into account the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights (1997), the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data (2003) and the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (2005). The following summary is based on Alison Hall’s review of the recommendations in the PHG Foundation’s bulletin.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Top judge leads calls to scrap mandatory daily Christian worship in UK schools – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2015 in Christianity, consultations, diversity, education, inquiries, news, school children by sally

‘Schools should no longer face a legal requirement to provide daily acts of worship of a Christian character, under radical reforms being proposed by a top-level inquiry into the place of faith in multicultural Britain.’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Family of hate preacher linked to ‘Jihadi John’ win right to UK citizenship – Daily Telegraph

‘Hani al-Sibai has been on a terror sanctions list since 2005 and resisted deportation to his native Egypt for almost 20 years – but the High Court has ruled his family should be given UK citizenship.’

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Daily Telegraph, 5th December 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Call for fewer Church of England bishops in House of Lords – BBC News

‘The number of Church of England bishops who sit as peers in the House of Lords should be cut to make way for leaders of other faiths, a new report argues.’

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BBC News, 7th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Love you to death: the British women dying at the hands of their partners – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2015 in domestic violence, homicide, media, murder, news, statistics by sally

‘In 2013, 86 women in Britain were killed by a husband, a boyfriend or a male ex-partner. A new documentary by Vanessa Engle tells the story of every one of them by giving voice to the traumatised families left behind.’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lord Janner judge to rule on evidence behind lack of fitness to stand trial – The Guardian

‘A high court judge is expected to rule on whether Lord Janner is unfit to stand trial – and what evidence can be released regarding that decision – for a string of child sex offences dating back 50 years.’

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The Guardian, 7th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan guilty of sex assaults – BBC News

Posted December 4th, 2015 in assault, child cruelty, false imprisonment, news, rape by tracey

‘A Maoist cult leader who used violence, fear and sexual degradation to control women he held captive has been found guilty of a string of sex assaults.’

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BBC News, 4th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Church of England pays £35,000 to man abused by expert on canon law – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2015 in Church of England, clergy, compensation, news, sexual offences, victims by tracey

‘The Church of England has paid £35,000 in compensation and apologised to a survivor of clerical sexual abuse in the latest in a string of cases involving senior church figures. The diocese of London has also agreed to an independent review of how the church handled the allegations of abuse, which date back to the 1980s.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Assisted dying: Disability rights campaigners lose court challenge – BBC News

Posted December 4th, 2015 in assisted suicide, disabled persons, news, prosecutions by tracey

‘Disability rights campaigners who say the assisted suicide policy in England and Wales is too “liberal” have lost a High Court legal challenge.’

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BBC News, 4th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Children denied visits to fathers in jail after rule changes – charity – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2015 in children, families, news, prisons, punishment by tracey

‘Thousands of children are being denied visiting rights to see their fathers in prison because of changes to the prison discipline system, according to a report. The report, Locked Out, by the children’s charity Barnardo’s, says 17,000 children a month visit a parent in prison, and changes to the incentives and earned privileges (IEP) scheme mean that prison visits are being used as a way to enforce discipline.’

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The “socialite” who rejected life saving treatment – UK Human Rights blog

Posted December 4th, 2015 in consent, Court of Protection, medical treatment, news by tracey

‘King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v C and another [2015] EWCOP 80. A woman who suffered kidney failure as a result of a suicide attempt has been allowed to refuse continuing dialysis. The Court of Protection rejected the hospital’s argument that such refusal disclosed a state of mind that rendered her incapable under the Mental Capacity Act. An adult patient who suffers from no mental incapacity has an absolute right to choose whether to consent to medical treatment. Continuation of such treatment is unlawful, even if the refusal seems irrational to others.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Court of Appeal: employer may challenge the amount due under a builder’s final account despite his failure to serve a pay less notice – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 4th, 2015 in appeals, construction industry, contracts, dispute resolution, news by tracey

‘Failure to serve a payment or pay less notice does not prevent an employer from disputing his building contractor’s final account in adjudication proceedings, even where the contractor has already obtained an adjudicator’s decision in his favour, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Court of Appeal highlights ‘real prospect of success’ of accelerated payment notice judicial review – OUT-LAW.com

‘Investors in the Ingenious Media film partnership schemes have been granted the right to appeal the High Court’s dismissal of their challenge to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which had required up-front payment of disputed tax.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd December 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Upper Tribunal continues to refuse to enforce procedure rules against Home Office – Free Movement

Posted December 4th, 2015 in costs, government departments, immigration, judicial review, news by tracey

‘In the recent case of R (on the application of Turay) v Secretary of State for the Home Department IJR [2015] UKUT 485 (IAC) Mr Ockelton, the Deputy President of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber of the Upper Tribunal, concludes (1) that applicants for judicial review cannot supplement or amend their position but (2) the Home Office can.’

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Free Movement, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk