Susskind: Parliament should adopt advanced IT for lawmaking – Legal Futures

Posted January 18th, 2017 in bills, electronic filing, legislative drafting, news, parliament by sally

‘Parliament could harness the power of technology to provide a system to lawmakers that gives them the ability to test speculatively the knock-on effects of legislative changes while they are considering bills, according to IT guru Professor Richard Susskind.’

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Legal Futures, 16th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Is it time for embryo research rules to be changed? – BBC News

Posted January 18th, 2017 in embryology, experiments, news, time limits by sally

‘Experts are renewing calls to allow experiments on embryos beyond 14 days of development, saying it would drive medical breakthroughs.’

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BBC News, 17th January 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Does the current rail dispute justify yet more reform to strike legislation? – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 18th, 2017 in industrial action, news, railways by sally

‘With amendments to toughen up trade union legislation waiting in the wings, rushing through yet more changes in response to recent rail strikes would likely only further polarise relations between employers and unions.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th January 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Wheelchair v buggy’: Man wins Supreme Court case – BBC News

‘A disabled man has won a Supreme Court case after a dispute with a woman with a buggy over wheelchair space on a bus.’

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BBC News, 18th January 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Proportionality – opening a can of worms – Litigation Futures

Posted January 18th, 2017 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, proportionality by sally

‘In his final report, Lord Justice Jackson said: “Disproportionate costs do not become proportionate because they were necessary. In my view, that disproportionate element of the costs cannot be saved, even if the individual items within it were both reasonable and necessary”.’

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Litigation Futures, 17th January 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

What Westminster did next. Sending the homeless to Coventry – Nearly Legal

Posted January 18th, 2017 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

‘As has been reported here and here, Westminster City Council have decided to adopt various new housing policies. In particular, there are new proposed policies on temporary accommodation and permanent accommodation offers for homeless households.’

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Nearly Legal, 16th January 2017

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Couple fails in Court of Appeal challenge over change to assisted dying policy – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 18th, 2017 in appeals, assisted suicide, euthanasia, news, prosecutions by sally

‘Disability rights campaigners have failed in a bid to challenge the Director of Public Prosecution’s policy on assisted dying which they fear leaves vulnerable people “at risk from dodgy doctors”.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th January 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK counter-terror laws most Orwellian in Europe, says Amnesty – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2017 in investigatory powers, news, privacy, proportionality, terrorism by sally

‘The UK is leading a Europe-wide “race to the bottom” with Orwellian counter-terrorism measures that seriously threaten human rights, according to a comparative survey of security laws by Amnesty International.’

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The Guardian, 17th January 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law Society warns solicitors may be damaged by Brexit – Legal Futures

Posted January 18th, 2017 in brexit, EC law, law firms, legal services, news, referendums, solicitors, treaties by sally

‘US law firms will have less incentive to employ UK-qualified lawyers as a way to access European markets and the UK solicitor title could become less desirable as a result of Brexit, the Law Society has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 16th January 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ofcom fines EE £2.7m for overcharging customers – The Independent

Posted January 18th, 2017 in consumer protection, fines, news, repayment, telecommunications by sally

‘The communications regulator found that the company broke a “fundamental billing rule” on two separate occasions, resulting in nearly 40,000 customers being overcharged around £250,000.’

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The Independent, 18th January 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Mental Capacity Act 2005: an opportune time to reflect – OUP Blog

‘More than a decade has passed since the Mental Capacity Act (‘MCA’) received royal assent. Described as a ‘visionary piece of legislation’, the MCA was a significant landmark on the legal landscape. It represented a triumph of autonomy by recognising that, as far as possible, people should play an active role in decisions about their welfare. At the core of the MCA is the fundamental principle that a person must be assumed to have decision making capacity unless it is established that he lacks it. The law therefore assumes that everyone has the ability to act and take decisions in accordance with their own interests, and affords primacy to individual priorities over paternalistic imperatives. Where a person lacks capacity – whether for reasons of learning disability, dementia, brain injury, or some other impairment of or disturbance in the functioning of the mind or brain – the MCA permits decision-makers to act on behalf of the person in accordance with his ‘best interests’. This means that, amongst other things, decision-makers must take into account the person’s past and present wishes and feelings, his beliefs and values, and any other factors that the person would be likely to consider, in order to act in a way which would likely give expression to the person’s autonomy. In this way, the MCA sought to empower people to make decisions for themselves, protect the vulnerable from the excesses of paternalism, and engineer a cultural shift in attitudes to mental impairment and incapacity.’

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OUP Blog, 17th January 2017

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Farmer dumps muck outside court in protest at justice system – Daily Telegraph,

Posted January 18th, 2017 in criminal damage, demonstrations, news, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘A wealthy farmer dumped a lorry load of muck outside a crown court on Tuesday in protest at the “severely flawed” justice system which he claimed left him thousands of pounds out of pocket.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th January 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

European court rejects whole-life murder term challenge – BBC News

Posted January 18th, 2017 in appeals, human rights, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A British triple-killer has lost a challenge at the European Court of Human Rights against his whole-life prison term.’

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BBC News, 17th January 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Daniel Morgan murder suspects named in court 30 years after killing – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2017 in conspiracy, corruption, malicious prosecution, media, murder, news, police by sally

‘The alleged conspirators in the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan have been named in court, nearly 30 years after the private detective was found dead with an axe embedded in his head in a pub car park.’

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The Guardian, 17th January 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk