Court delivers warning blow to parties seeking to rely on force majeure clauses – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2018 in contracts, news, ships by sally

‘The English High Court has ruled that a charter company was in breach of contract when it failed to provide cargoes to a ship owner – but that the contract’s ‘force majeure’ clause means it escapes paying damages.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Disciplined solicitor blames failings on legal aid cuts – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in costs, disciplinary procedures, expert witnesses, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘A criminal sole practitioner has been fined for offences including failure to distribute legal aid payments for professional disbursements, which he blamed on having laid off a manager after the firm suffered from government cutbacks.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Colin Murray: Brexit and the “Constitutional Integrity” of the United Kingdom – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 25th, 2018 in constitutional law, news, Northern Ireland, treaties by sally

‘The Foreign Office records regarding the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 must be amongst the most regularly requested papers held at the National Archives. One file, FO 608/65, is part of the herculean effort to redraw the map of Europe after the First World War. It recounts the efforts of officials and ministers to work out how to provide Poland with meaningful access to the Baltic. The focus of this attention was the port city of Danzig. The two options before the Council of Ten were to include the city as part of Poland, but place limits on how Poland exercised its national sovereignty over this part of its territory, or to create a “free city”, administered by a League of Nations High Commissioner, which was tied into a customs union with Poland. In late March 1919 Lloyd George expressed the UK’s support for the former option in the Council. Behind the scenes, however, the Foreign Office was preparing the alternate plans for a free city, which Lloyd George backed to decisive effect in April 1919. Concerns that this reversal might destabilise the fledgling Polish state were summarily dismissed.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th September 2018

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Defendant lawyer hits out at £730k costs claim for £13k holiday sickness case – Litigation Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in costs, holidays, news by sally

‘A senior defendant lawyer has hit out at solicitors who claimed £730,000 in costs for a “straightforward” holiday sickness claim in a case with damages of only £13,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 24th September 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Insufficient oversight and inadequate controls “allowed £2m fraud at joint venture” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 25th, 2018 in compulsory purchase, fraud, joint ventures, local government, news by sally

‘Insufficient oversight by Barnet Council together with inadequate controls allowed a former member of staff to commit a £2m fraud at a joint venture, a report by auditors Grant Thornton has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th September 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

“Prenup, postnup, catnup, dognup, petnup” – why? – Family Law

Posted September 25th, 2018 in enforcement, marriage, news, prenuptial agreements by sally

‘Behind the scenes there are many considerations for couples and their families. With the preparation of the happy joining of lives of two people with marriage, also comes financial considerations going forward.’

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Family Law, 24th September 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Prosecutors urged to ditch ‘weak’ rape cases to improve figures – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2018 in Crown Prosecution Service, news, prosecutions, rape, statistics by sally

‘Prosecutors in England and Wales have been urged to take a more risk-averse approach in rape cases to help stem widespread criticism of the service’s low conviction rates, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 24th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court finds oral agreement to pay solicitor’s fees – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in agreements, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has found there was an oral agreement between a solicitor and the son-in-law of a client that the latter would cover his fees, which in the end totalled £330,000.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge slams decision to house paedophile near children’s home – BBC News

‘A judge has ordered a police force and council to pay £52,000 to a sex abuse victim after a convicted paedophile was housed near his children’s home.’

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BBC News, 24th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Celebrity Big Brother to be investigated by Ofcom – BBC News

Posted September 25th, 2018 in assault, complaints, media, news by sally

‘Ofcom is to launch an inquiry into Celebrity Big Brother after it received more than 25,000 complaints about Roxanne Pallett’s allegation she was physically abused by Ryan Thomas.’

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BBC News, 24th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Private probation firms ‘put victims of abuse at risk’ – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2018 in contracting out, domestic violence, news, probation, rehabilitation, victims by sally

‘Tens of thousands of victims of domestic abuse and children are being put at further risk of harm by privatised offender supervision companies whose staff lack the skills, experience and time to supervise perpetrators, according to a new report.’

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The Guardian, 25th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge calls airport’s drop-off charge a “disgrace” as teacher avoids jail for driving into worker – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 24th, 2018 in airports, dangerous driving, guilty pleas, news, sentencing, suspended sentences by sally

‘A teacher who drove into an airport worker following a row over a new £3 drop-off charge has been spared jail after a judge said he agreed the levy was an “absolute disgrace”.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

How familial DNA trapped a murderer for the first time – BBC News

Posted September 24th, 2018 in DNA, forensic science, murder, news by sally

‘The pioneering technique used to identify a British widow’s sadistic killer has led to hundreds of crimes being solved around the world. How was familial DNA searching used to catch a murderer for the first time, 15 years ago, and more recently the suspected Golden State Killer?’

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BBC News, 23rd September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS sued for failure to help transgender patients with fertility – The Guardian

Posted September 24th, 2018 in assisted reproduction, news, transgender persons by sally

‘NHS England is to be taken to court by the UK’s equality watchdog for failing to offer fertility services to transgender patients.’

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The Guardian 22nd, September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

NHS wins legal battle against drugs giants over saving millions with cheaper medicine – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 24th, 2018 in judicial review, medicines, news by sally

‘The NHS has won a landmark battle against drug giants paving the way for the health service to save millions by prescribing cheaper medicine.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st September 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Heat rising over SRA plan for solicitors in unregulated firms – Legal Futures

Posted September 24th, 2018 in law firms, legal services, Legal Services Board, news, solicitors by sally

‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has received unprecedented lobbying against the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) plans to allow solicitors to practise from unregulated businesses.’

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Legal Futures, 24th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Revealed: less than a third of young men prosecuted for rape are convicted – The Guardian

Posted September 24th, 2018 in news, prosecutions, rape, statistics, young persons by sally

‘The crisis engulfing the criminal justice system over its approach to rape cases is revealed by startling figures that show less than a third of prosecutions brought against young men result in a conviction.’

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The Guardian, 23rd September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Contaminated blood scandal: Inquiry ‘must uncover truth’ – BBC News

Posted September 24th, 2018 in blood products, HIV, hospitals, inquiries, news by sally

‘Campaigners say it is time to find out the truth about the contaminated blood scandal that left nearly 3,000 people dead, as a public inquiry begins.’

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BBC News, 24th September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted September 21st, 2018 in law reports by tracey

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Browne v The Parole Board of England & Wales [2018] EWCA Civ 2024 (20 September 2018)

B-P (Children : adoption Or Fostering) [2018] EWCA Civ 2042 (20 September 2018)

Pham v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWCA Civ 2064 (20 September 2018)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Matchroom Boxing Ltd & Anor v British Telecommunications Plc & Ors [2018] EWHC 2443 (Ch) (20 September 2018)

Source: www.bailii.org

Property guardians and ‘non-domestic rates’ – Nearly legal

Posted September 21st, 2018 in landlord & tenant, news, rates, tribunals, valuation by tracey

‘This is an interesting decision of the Valuation Tribunal on the effect of the occupation by property guardians of a commercial building. Some (though not all) property guardian companies have made a sales feature of the alleged freedom from non-domestic (commercial) rates for a building occupied by guardians, on the basis that it is occupied for residential use. This Valuation Tribunal decision rather dents that position, as well as illustrating the complications that arise when you operate on the edges of landlord and tenant law.’

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Nearly legal, 20th September 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk