May 2018 – Page 7 – Current Awareness

‘The legal market is “totally fragmented, under-capitalised, technologically semi-illiterate and structurally redundant”, a former justice minister has claimed, arguing that a smaller number of big firms is the answer to the problems with criminal legal aid.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 21st May 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Hundreds of homeless people fined and imprisoned in England and Wales – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fines, homelessness, imprisonment, news by sally

‘Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping, the Guardian can reveal.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 20th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Police officer who Tasered force’s race relations adviser is cleared by a judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 21st, 2018 in assault, news, police, weapons by sally

‘A police officer has been found not guilty of assault after Tasering a police race relations adviser in the face having mistaken him for a suspect.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 18th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

New internet laws pledged as social media firms snub talks – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2018 in bills, data protection, internet, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

‘The culture secretary has agreed he does not have enough power to police social media firms after admitting only four of 14 invited to talks showed up.’

Full Story

BBC News, 20th May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Emotions run high as Grenfell Tower fire inquiry opens – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fire, health & safety, inquiries, news by sally

‘Almost a year after the Grenfell Tower fire, the first substantive hearings of the inquiry into the disaster will open on Monday with tributes from friends and relatives of the 72 victims.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 21st May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Murder and fraud: What happened to Carole Packman? – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2018 in fraud, insurance, murder, news, parole by sally

‘For years Sam Gillingham believed her mum had walked out on her, but the truth began to emerge when her father tried to fake his own death. Russell Causley is now serving life for his wife’s murder. As his sentence is reviewed by the Parole Board, his daughter fears she may never know why her father murdered her mother.’

Full Story

BBC News, 21st May 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A life ‘completely destroyed’ by one paragraph of immigration law – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2018 in immigration, income tax, news by sally

‘Paragraph 322(5) has devastating conditions, as Sidharth Vijay found when he made a simple correction to his tax return.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 20th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted May 18th, 2018 in law reports by tracey

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

The Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v Vauxhall Motors Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1100 (17 May 2018)

Travelers Insurance Company Ltd v XYZ [2018] EWCA Civ 1099 (17 May 2018)

Villiers v Villiers [2018] EWCA Civ 1120 (17 May 2018)

Worthington & Anor v Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1125 (17 May 2018)

TZ (Pakistan) and PG (India) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 1109 (17 May 2018)

Smith v Khan [2018] EWCA Civ 1137 (17 May 2018)

Woodeson & Anor v Credit Suisse (UK) Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1103 (17 May 2018)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Walker & Ors v Mills & Anor [2018] EWHC 998 (Ch) (17 May 2018)

Source: www.bailii.org

Representation of children in public law proceedings – Ministry of Justice

Posted May 18th, 2018 in children, guardianship, legal representation, news by tracey

‘Children subject to public law cases are usually represented by both a publicly-funded legal representative and a Cafcass guardian, known as the ‘tandem model’ of representation. This research explored how this model is working in practice during public law proceedings, and whether any reforms to the model are feasible or appropriate to ensure the rights of the child are safeguarded, efficient judicial case management is supported and public resources are effectively allocated.’

Full text

Ministry of Justice, 17th May 2018

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Travelling home with your baby after surrogacy abroad – the options – Family Law

Posted May 18th, 2018 in children, citizenship, immigration, news, passports, surrogacy by tracey

‘Your most pressing concern if you have a baby born through international surrogacy may be how quickly you can get home after he or she is born. This is often the first question we get asked when advising parents planning overseas surrogacy. UK immigration law in surrogacy cases is complex because there is no clear single process which applies to everyone, everywhere. There are number of different possible paths and which is the best one for you will depend on your personal circumstances and the country in which your baby is born.’

Full Story

Family Law, 18th May 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

BSB agrees actions to tackle unfair treatment of women at the Bar – Bar Standards Board

Posted May 18th, 2018 in barristers, harassment, press releases, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today announced how it intends to work with the profession to make further progress in eliminating the discrimination, harassment and other unfair treatment of female barristers.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 17th May 2018

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Bar Council backs Justice Committee concerns over increasing small claims limit – The Bar Council

Posted May 18th, 2018 in personal injuries, press releases, select committees, small claims by tracey

‘Yesterday’s report from the Justice Select Committee highlighted concerns over plans to increase the small claims limit to £5,000 which, according to the Bar Council, could undermine access to justice for those injured in accidents.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 18th May 2018

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

CPS fined £325k for losing DVDs containing victim interviews – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 18th, 2018 in encryption, fines, news, victims, video recordings by tracey

‘The Crown Prosecution Service has been fined £325,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office for losing unencrypted DVDs containing interviews with 15 victims of child sex abuse to be used at a trial. The sanction comes just over two years after being fined £200,000 for losing sensitive material.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 17th May 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Oxford student wrongly accused of rape endured two years of hell because police were too busy with Jimmy Savile cases – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 18th, 2018 in Crown Prosecution Service, delay, evidence, news, police, prosecutions, rape, reports by tracey

‘An Oxford University student spent two years on bail accused of rape because police claimed they were too busy dealing with other reports in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal, a damning report has revealed.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Man jailed for murder of bartender in London park at Christmas – The Guardian

Posted May 18th, 2018 in guilty pleas, murder, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years at the after he admitted killing a bartender in a park as she made her way home at Christmas.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Competition watchdog launches investigation into Sainsbury’s-Asda merger – The Independent

Posted May 18th, 2018 in competition, mergers, news by tracey

‘The Competition and Markets Authority said it will be considering whether the merger could result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the UK for goods or services.’

Full Story

The Independent, 18th May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office suspends immigration checks on UK bank accounts – The Guardian

Posted May 18th, 2018 in banking, immigration, news by tracey

‘The Home Office is to suspend controversial immigration checks on thousands of bank accounts in the wake of the Windrush scandal. The department is in the process of contacting banks and building societies to instruct them to reduce the scope of the checks, which were introduced as part of Theresa May’s plans to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 17th May 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Former policeman jailed after filming himself raping woman – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 18th, 2018 in news, rape, sentencing, video recordings by tracey

‘A former special constable filmed himself raping a drunken woman who thought she was having sex with another man, a court heard.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 17th May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk