New Untraced Drivers Agreement in force after 1st March 2017 – Park Square Barristers

‘If an injured person cannot identify the fault driver of another vehicle, this is the agreement which governs their rights to compensation. In many instances, this is because the accident was a classic “hit and run”; indeed the MIB have stated that 12% of accidents in which the accident was reported to the police and a person was injured were such “hit and run accidents”. (That statistic is not as significant as it would seem at first blush; the majority of relatively minor road traffic accidents are not reported to police; the reason that such accidents are reported is that the other vehicle has made off without stopping so to a certain extent it is a self-selecting criteria). No details of the fault vehicle or the driver tend to have been obtained or recorded so an injured person’s only option would be the Untraced Driver’s Agreement.’

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Park Square Barristers, 8th February 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Reeves v Young – Tanfield Chambers

Posted February 16th, 2017 in boundaries, costs, enforcement, estoppel, news, party walls, surveyors by sally

‘Third surveyors, the impartial arbiters of the party wall world, rarely feature prominently in party wall litigation. However, there have been two recent County Court cases in which the selection and purported removal of third surveyors has been considered by the Court, in both cases HHJ Bailey in the County Court at Central London.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 2nd February 2017

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

EVENT: King’s College London – The Appeal of Independence Europe’s Way of Political Legitimacy

Posted February 16th, 2017 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The current polymorphous crisis of the ‘European project’ commands that we question once again what has been up to now Europe’s own specific form of government. Bringing together recent streams of scholarship in historical sociology, critical legal scholarship and political science, the talk will suggest a renewed narrative of EU polity-formation, whereby ‘independence’ and ‘expertise’ form the very terrain on which Europe’s political capacity and specialised form of authority have been shaped, staged and consolidated. Scholars generally agree that institutions ‘independent’ from the political are an ubiquitous and pervasive feature of EU polity. The critical role of the European Court of Justice, the salient position of the European Central Bank and of the Commission (particularly its powerful and quasi-autonomous DG Comp) or the more recent blossoming of regulatory agencies have exemplified an overall process of delegation of governmental functions to institutions put at distance from direct political and electoral ‘pressures’. Yet, most accounts of this ‘rise of the unelected’ have stuck to sector-specific explanations providing idiosyncratic reasons for the ‘functionality’ of statutory independence in the different judicial, monetary, executive branches of EU government. As a result, we still fail to grasp the deep and cross-sectorial entanglement between ‘independence’ and the ‘European project’. This paper suggests that we recognize EU historically-rooted idiosyncrasy and adapt our democratization strategies accordingly by addressing the conditions under which the independents could be integrated into Europe’s public sphere and be opened to more democratic responsibilities. Insofar as the ‘independents’ are the keystones of the European edifice, any major overhaul of the political union should therefore prioritise the bid to develop new forms of democratic connections with the various institutions that make up Europe’s tricephalous independent branch.’

Date: 1st March 2017, 6.00-7.30pm

Location: SW1.18, Somerset House East Wing, King’s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Protective proceedings should not be necessary to maintain right to judicial review of university decisions, court rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 16th, 2017 in complaints, education, judicial review, news, time limits, universities by sally

‘Students wishing to preserve the right to apply for judicial review of a decision by their higher education institution while pursuing independent adjudication need not necessarily apply for protective proceedings, a High Court judge has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th February 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Dawson-Damer: The Irresistible Rise of the DPA – Panopticon

Posted February 16th, 2017 in appeals, data protection, news, privilege, proportionality by sally

‘Hot off the presses comes the first of the Court of Appeal’s two forays into data protection law this term: Dawson-Damer v Tayor Wessing LLP [2017] EWCA Civ 74. It is an important decision and one well worth reading, particularly while waiting for round 2 (which has some overlaps) in Ittihadieh v 5-11 Cheyne Gardens / Deer v University of Oxford (likely to be handed down in the next month or so).’

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Panopticon, 16th February 2017

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

New law to stop adults sexting children not being enforced – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2017 in children, internet, news, sexual grooming, telecommunications by sally

‘Tough new laws that make it a criminal offence for an adult to send sexually explicit messages to a child under 16 are still not being enforced almost two years after they were passed by parliament, child protection campaigners have said. ‘

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The Guardian, 16th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge finds council sold seafront land at undervalue but refuses to quash decision – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 16th, 2017 in consultations, local government, news, sale of land, ultra vires, valuation by sally

‘Canterbury City Council sold land on the seafront in Whitstable to a property developer for less than best consideration but the case was not appropriate for a quashing order, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th February 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

LSB to put regulators’ efforts to improve diversity under microscope

Posted February 16th, 2017 in diversity, legal profession, Legal Services Board, news by sally

‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) will next year carry out the first formal assessment of how the profession’s regulators have performed in improving diversity in their parts of the law, it has announced.’

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Legal Futures, 16th February 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Trade Union Act ballot thresholds in force from 1 March, regulations confirm – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 16th, 2017 in elections, industrial action, news, regulations, trade unions by sally

‘Higher ballot thresholds which must be met before trade unions can proceed with industrial action, particularly in relation to ‘important public services’, will come into force on 1 March 2017, the government has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th February 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

EVENT: LSE – A Bill Called William

Posted February 16th, 2017 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘A documentary film screening, courtesy of Channel 4, first screened in 1997 to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, nicknamed `William’, which legalised sex between males aged 21 and over. As a dramatized documentary A Bill Called William has all the elements of a Whitehall farce; a larger than life cast of genuine eccentrics and double-dealing politicians. The programme includes interviews with Leo Abse, who sponsored the bill through Parliament, Lord Roy Jenkins, and Baroness Barbara Castle, and dramatizations of the contemporary debates held in the Houses of Commons and Lords. Gay men also recall the social ostracism, blackmail threats and physical attacks of the era.’

Date: 24th February 2017, 5.00-6.00pm

Location: Wolfson Theatre, New Academic Building

Charge: Free, booking required

More information can be found here.

EVENT: IALS Legal History Seminar – “Political” Murders, Extradition and the British Empire, 1870-1914

Posted February 16th, 2017 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘Speaker: Professor Michael Lobban, London School of Economics’

Date: 6.00-8.00pm

Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Millionaire who killed his wife sued by sons for ‘profiting’ from murder – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2017 in appeals, children, divorce, domestic violence, families, murder, news, proceeds of crime by sally

‘A millionaire businessman who stabbed his wife to death in the midst of a bitter divorce row is being sued for £1.5m by his two sons.’

Full story

The Guardian, 15th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK legal academics urge PM to cancel Donald Trump’s state visit – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2017 in freedom of expression, legal education, news, rule of law, teachers, universities by sally

‘Theresa May has been urged by 250 legal academics to cancel Donald Trump’s state visit and scale back Britain’s support for the US until he reverses his positions on immigration, refugees, torture, climate change and judicial independence.’

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The Guardian, 15th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

EVENT: Queen Mary – An Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Court for the UK?

Posted February 16th, 2017 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The plight of unaccompanied migrant children will be familiar to many of you. You may be less familiar with the proposal to establish an Unaccompanied Migrant Children’s Court in the UK, a sort of ‘one stop shop’ to help migrant children address the many complex problems they face, in a holistic manner.

Catriona Jarvis will lead a panel discussion on the work of the Steering Group in seeking to establish this court. A former Judge of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), Catriona Jarvis has extensive experience in the field of immigration and asylum law and human rights.’

Date: 7th March 2017, 5.30-9.00pm

Location: School of Law (Laws 210), Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Child of incestuous rape seeks compensation – BBC News

‘A severely disabled man born after an incestuous rape is seeking compensation at the Court of Appeal as a victim.’

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BBC News, 15th March 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawyers unite in opposition to massive extension of fixed costs – Litigation Futures

Posted February 16th, 2017 in barristers, civil justice, costs, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Lawyers have united against the potential threat of a huge extension of fixed recoverable costs to all civil claims worth up to £250,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th February 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

EVENT: The Law Society – The 13th Stonewall Lecture

Posted February 16th, 2017 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The Law Society and the Bar Council in association with Stonewall, Interlaw Diversity Forum and CILex, requests the pleasure of your company at the 13th Stonewall Lecture: The Law and Trans People – Pitfalls and Potential.

The lecture will be delivered by Helen Belcher, Founder and Trustee of Trans Media Watch and Liberal Democrats Candidate for Chippenham and chaired by Ruth Hunt, CEO, Stonewall. ‘

Date: 23rd February 2017, 5.30-8.45pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

Supreme Court president warns judges vetted by MPs would be picked for ‘political and religious beliefs’ – The Independent

Posted February 16th, 2017 in judges, judiciary, news, parliament by sally

‘The president of the Supreme Court has warned that its judges will end up being picked for their political or religious views if they are vetted by MPs before appointment.’

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The Independent, 16th February 2017

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK bosses face tougher punishments over corporate pay rules – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2017 in company directors, consultations, financial regulation, fines, news by sally

‘Boardroom bosses face tougher punishments when they break financial reporting rules under proposals being submitted to the government by the body which polices corporate behaviour.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Drink driver jailed for nine years after routine DNA sample links him to historic kidnap and sex assault – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 16th, 2017 in DNA, kidnapping, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A pensioner arrested for drink driving has been jailed for nine years after a routine DNA sample linked him to the kidnap and sex assault of a young girl more than 15 years ago.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th February 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk