Boris Johnson ‘acted illegally’ over jobs for top anti-Covid staff – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson and his health secretary, Matt Hancock, acted “unlawfully” when appointing three key figures – including the head of NHS Test and Trace, Dido Harding – to posts in the fight against Covid-19, according to a legal challenge submitted by campaigners to the high court.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Signed For 1st Class’ service is first-class post, CA rules – Litigation Futures

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in appeals, civil procedure rules, documents, news, postal service, service, solicitors by sally

‘The Royal Mail service ‘Signed For 1st Class’ is first-class post or equivalent for the purposes of the deemed service provisions of the CPR, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Rebekah Vardy wins in first stage of Coleen Rooney libel action – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in defamation, internet, news by sally

‘Coleen Rooney’s Instagram post about the suspected source of leaks of private information in the so-called “Wagatha Christie” row “clearly identified” Rebekah Vardy as having “secretly informed the Sun newspaper of Ms Rooney’s private posts and stories”, a judge ruled on Friday.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

District council forced to go to High Court to deal with planning permission errors – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in judicial review, local government, news, notification, planning by sally

‘South Cambridgeshire District Council is to commence proceedings in the High Court after discovering two planning permission errors.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th November 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New Judgment: Test Claimants in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation & Ors v Commissioners of Inland Revenue (1) [2020] UKSC 47 – UKSC Blog

‘The Supreme Court has unanimously allowed this long-awaited appeal arising in the course of long-running proceedings known as the Franked Investment Income (“FII”) Group Litigation. The FII Group Litigation brings together many claims concerning the way in which advance corporation tax and corporation tax used to be charged on dividends received by UK-resident companies from non-resident subsidiaries. The respondents to this appeal are claimants within the FII Group Litigation whose cases have been selected to proceed as test claims on certain common issues (“the Test Claimants”). These issues are being determined in phases, with the courts’ decisions affecting not just the other claims within the FII Group Litigation, but potentially also a number of other sets of proceedings brought by corporate taxpayers against the appellant, the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”).’

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UKSC Blog, 20th November 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Youth court closures in England and Wales due to Covid ‘have almost doubled backlog’ – The Guardian

‘The temporary closure of youth courts due to Covid-19 has almost doubled the backlog of cases in some areas of England and Wales, increasing anguish for traumatised victims and creating more uncertainty for accused children, inspectors have found.’

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The Guardian, 20th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Deprivation of liberty: Unlawful placements of children – Transparency Project

‘Can an English family court order the unlawful detention of a Welsh child?’

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Transparency Project, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Criminalise public sexual harassment in UK, charities say – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in charities, children, criminal justice, harassment, news, sexual offences, statistics, women by sally

‘Girls’ rights groups are calling for public sexual harassment to be criminalised in the UK after research suggested more than half of young women and girls were harassed on the street during the summer.’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shamima Begum: Justice and the jihadi bride – BBC News

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in appeals, children, citizenship, government departments, Islam, news, Supreme Court, terrorism by sally

‘Shamima Begum ran away to Syria as a 15-year-old to join the self-proclaimed Islamic State. But when the terror group was defeated, she ended up in a refugee camp in Syria.’

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BBC News, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Trans teen in legal action over gender clinic wait – BBC News

‘A 14-year-old transgender boy is starting legal proceedings against NHS England over delays to gender reassignment treatment.’

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BBC News, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge wrong to find ‘subject to contract’ compromise binding – Litigation Futures

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in appeals, contracts, judges, loans, news, solicitors by sally

‘A judge was wrong to rule that solicitors had reached a binding compromise on a piece of litigation, when their correspondence had expressly been “subject to contract”, the Court of Appeal has decided.’

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Litigation Futures, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Criminal justice system is ‘on its knees’, says top English lawyer – The Guardian

‘Crown court cases are being delayed until 2023, the innocent penalised more than the guilty, and the under-funded, criminal justice system brought “on its knees”, according to the chair of the Criminal Bar Association in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 19th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Catterick man jailed for ambush murder of ex-girlfriend – BBC News

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A man who kidnapped and murdered his ex-girlfriend in a woodland hideout has been jailed for at least 25 years.’

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BBC News, 21st November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family who fear daughter was killed sue Leeds NHS trust after body decomposes – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in bereavement, coroners, damages, families, hospitals, inquests, negligence, news, unlawful killing by sally

‘The family of a woman who they suspect was killed is suing a health trust that allegedly stored her corpse incorrectly, allowing it to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in her death, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in legislation by tracey

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted November 23rd, 2020 in law reports by tracey

High Court (Administrative Court)

Aviva Insurance Ltd & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] EWHC 3118 (Admin) (20 November 2020)

High Court (Commercial Court)

NIHL Ltd & Anor v Infinite Ltd [2020] EWHC 3136 (Comm) (20 November 2020)

High Court (Patents Court)

Teva UK Ltd v Janssen Pharmaceutica N.A. [2020] EWHC 3157 (Pat) (16 November 2020)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Mathewson v Crump & Anor [2020] EWHC 3167 (QB) (20 November 2020)

Vardy v Rooney [2020] EWHC 3156 (QB) (20 November 2020)

Source: www.bailii.org