BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Administrative Court)
Source: www.bailii.org
Year: 2017
Why Isn’t Fat Shaming Officially Discrimination in Law? – Rightsinfo
‘When people complain about mistreatment at work or school based on their weight, many of us feel great sympathy, so why isn’t weight discrimination unlawful in the same way as racism, for example, or gender discrimination?’
Rightsinfo, 18th September 2017
Source: rightsinfo.org
Thomas Fairclough: What’s New About the Rule of Law? A Reply to Michal Hain – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘This blog recently published a detailed piece by Michal Hain. He made some very interesting claims that this note will examine. I start by explaining Hain’s arguments and ordering them roughly according to the way they come out in his piece. I then examine each in greater detail giving my own views. Finally, I will conclude with some general points about constitutionalism and individual cases.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th September 2017
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Aarhus costs cap challenge succeeds – UK Human Rights Blog
‘RSPB, Friends of the Earth & Client Earth v. Secretary of State for Justice [2017] EWHC 2309 (Admin), 15 September 2017, Dove J. In my March 2017 post here, I explained that amendments to the costs rules for public law environmental claims threatened to undo much of the certainty that those rules had achieved since 2013. Between 2013 and February 2017, if you, an individual, had an environmental judicial review, then you could pretty much guarantee that your liability to the other side’s costs would be capped at £5,000 (£10,000 for companies) if you lost, and your recovery of your own costs would be limited to £35,000 if you won. In this way, the rules sought to avoid the cost of such claims becoming prohibitively expensive and thus in breach of Art.9(4) of the Aarhus Convention.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 16th September 2017
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
MPs given early chance to scrutinise discount rate reform legislation – Litigation Futures
‘The justice select committee has accepted an invitation by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft legislation to reform the discount rate.’
Litigation Futures, 18th September 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Green groups claim ‘important victory’ in challenge to legal costs rules – The Guardian
‘Conservation and environmental groups have claimed an “important victory” in their high court challenge to new legal costs rules which they say make it much harder to bring cases to protect the environment.’
The Guardian, 15th September 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
UK legal claims grow over exposure at work to toxic diesel fumes – The Guardian
‘Legal claims over exposure to diesel exhaust fumes at work are growing as unions warn toxic air in the workplace is a ticking time bomb on a par with asbestos.’
The Guardian, 16th September 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Law firm faces £68,000 VAT bill after tribunal rules electronic property search fees are not disbursements – Legal Futures
‘A leading north-west law firm has been ordered to pay £68,000 in VAT for electronic local authority property searches it procured from an agency, after a tribunal ruled that they should not have been treated as disbursements.’
Legal Futures, 18th September 2017
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Teenagers convicted of homophobic hate crime – Crown Prosecution Service
‘Three teenagers who pleaded guilty to attacking two passengers on a train because of their sexuality have today been jailed. The three male youths, two aged 16 and one aged 17, were each sentenced to six months in prison at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 14 September, after admitting violent disorder and, in one case, possession of an offensive weapon.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 14th September 2017
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Paedophile has sentenced doubled under ULS scheme – Attorney General’s Office
‘A “House Parent” Stephen Joyce who sexually abused children while working at a boarding school in Torrington, Devon has sentence increased.’
Attorney General's Office, 15th September 2017
Source: www.gov.uk
McKenzie ban back to drawing board – Law Society’s Gazette
‘HM Judiciary is set to reassess some of its proposals for regulating the fast-expanding “McKenzie friend” sector after a consultation on banning fee recovery received “large numbers of responses”.’
Law Society's Gazette, 15th September 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘They funked it’ – LCJ’s dismay at inaction on older recorders – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The lord chief justice has urged the government to deal with the thorny issue of forcing retirement upon part-time recorders believed to be clogging up the judicial system.’
Law Society's Gazette, 18th September 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Up to a quarter of secondary schools break the law by failing to teach religious education, survey finds – Daily Telegraph
‘Up to a quarter of secondary schools are breaking the law by failing to teach religious education, a new survey has shown, as one expert said the subject can be seen as an “easy loss” amid financial pressure.’
Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Police ‘may work with paedophile hunters’ – BBC News
‘Police have admitted they may have to work with “paedophile hunters” after research revealed a rise in their evidence being used in court. Figures obtained by the BBC show 11% of court cases in 2014 for the crime of meeting a child following sexual grooming used vigilante evidence, rising to 44% in 2016.’
BBC News, 18th September 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Secret Millionaire property developer jailed for manslaughter after carpenter fell through ceiling – Daily Telegraph
‘A property developer who appeared on The Secret Millionaire has been jailed for manslaughter after a carpenter fell through the ceiling of a development a year after safety warnings.’
Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Ombudsman upholds third complaint against council over support for boy with SEN – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has criticised a London borough over repeated failures in relation to a boy with special educational needs, in a case where at one stage a council decision-making may have acted illegally when it withdrew support.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th September 2017
Source: localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Council agrees to pay grandmother four years of backdated foster care payments – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Royal Borough of Greenwich has agreed to pay a grandmother four years of backdated foster carer payments, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. The LGO said the case should serve as a reminder to councils of their duties towards friends and family foster carers.’
Local Government Lawyer, 14th September 2017
Source: localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Data Protection Bill introduced before UK parliament – OUT-LAW.com
‘The Data Protection Bill (218-page / 852KB PDF) is primarily designed to complement the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will have direct application in the UK from 25 May 2018, and implement another EU directive on the processing of personal data by law enforcement agencies.’
OUT-LAW.com, 14th September 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
Should police officers be separated after a shooting? – UK Police Law Blog
‘In February 2017, there was something of a falling out between the police and the IPCC regarding post-incident procedures when police firearms are deployed. Reasonable arguments were made on all sides, robustly and publicly.’
UK Police Law Blog, 15th September 2017
Source: ukpolicelawblog.com
