Report questions equality initiatives that “set women apart” – Legal Futures

Posted November 24th, 2020 in diversity, equality, law firms, news, reports, women by sally

‘Some of the measures used by law firms to tackle a lack of gender diversity in senior roles could be “ineffective or even counter-productive”, a report has found.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Proprietary Estoppel and the Matrimonial Home on the Death of a Spouse – Anaghara v Anaghara & Ors [2020] EWHC 3091 – Pump Court Chambers

Posted November 24th, 2020 in bereavement, domicile, estoppel, married persons, matrimonial home, news by sally

‘It is rare that a spouse needs to pursue a claim in proprietary estoppel to secure occupation of a matrimonial home owned by the other spouse on the latter’s death: the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 will usually provide a remedy. But where, as here, the deceased is not domiciled in England and Wales the 1975 Act does not apply and an interesting point arises. The trial judge had found that there had been repeated representations to the effect that the wife might live in the property for so long as she wished made over a period of more than 20 years. The wife had reasonably relied upon those representations (understandably so one might think). However, the estate argued that the wife’s long “rent-free” occupation of the property owned by her husband counted as a “countervailing benefit” which the court was obliged to weigh in the balance and might mitigate or extinguish her equity. Such a countervailing benefit has been taken into account in the case of a licensee who harvests a crop (Henry v Henry [2010] UKPC 3) of a live-in carer paying no rent (Jennings v Rice [2002] EWCA 159) and of a son-in-law paying no rent to his parents-in-law after the death of his wife (Sledmore v Dalby (1996) 72 P & CR 196). In the latter case the benefit was sufficient wholly to extinguish the equity.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 20th November 2020

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Family Law Newsletter #41 – Spire Barristers

‘Issue #41 of Spire Barristers’ Family Law Newsletter: edited by Connie Purdy and Taz Irshad; news and Case Reviews by Francesca Massarella.’

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Spire Barristers, 19th November 2020

Source: spirebarristers.co.uk

Harry Dunn’s family lose High Court battle against Foreign Office – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 24th, 2020 in costs, costs capping orders, dangerous driving, diplomats, immunity, news, treaties by sally

‘Harry Dunn’s parents have lost their High Court battle against the Foreign Office over whether their son’s alleged killer had diplomatic immunity.’

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Daily Telegraph, 24th November 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘I don’t like acts of dishonesty by the state’: Jolyon Maugham QC on Covid cronyism – The Guardian

‘Over the past few years, Jolyon Maugham QC, founder of the Good Law Project, has become an unmissable presence on Twitter. But unlike most keyboard warriors – anonymously vocal about Brexit, trading memes over mask-wearing and gender politics – he has only ever seen the social media platform as a means to an end. “I really don’t like this phenomenon of disinterested observers pointing out things that are going wrong,” he says. “I want to be in the club of people who actually put skin in the game to make it better, rather than merely making clever observations from the sidelines.”’

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Still no rules but full steam to April for whiplash reforms, says MoJ – Legal Futures

‘Ministers remain “determined” to implement the whiplash reforms next April, a top Ministry of Justice (MoJ) official confirmed yesterday, although it is still not certain when the rules governing the process will be published.’

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Legal Futures, 24th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Act – legislation.gov.uk

Posted November 24th, 2020 in benefits, legislation, social security by tracey

Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2020

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted November 24th, 2020 in legislation by tracey

The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (Commencement No. 20) Order 2020

The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020

The National Health Service (Dental Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

The General Optical Council (Committee Constitution, Registration and Fitness to Practise) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Rules Order of Council 2020

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted November 24th, 2020 in law reports by tracey

Supreme Court

Test Claimants in the Franked Investment Income Group Litigation & Ors v Revenue and Customs [2020] UKSC 47 (20 November 2020)

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Sotheby’s v Mark Weiss Ltd & Ors [2020] EWCA Civ 1570 (23 November 2020)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Whittington, R v [2020] EWCA Crim 1560 (23 November 2020)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Whitehead (On Behalf of the Copthorne Village Association), R (On the Application Of) v Mid Sussex District Council [2020] EWHC 3166 (Admin) (23 November 2020)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Cole v Carpenter & Ors [2020] EWHC 3155 (Ch) (23 November 2020)

BWT Aktiengesellschaft v Force India Formula One Team Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3187 (Ch) (23 November 2020)

High Court (Commercial Court)

PAO Tatneft v Ukraine [2020] EWHC 3161 (Comm) (23 November 2020)

Republic of Kazakhstan v World Wide Minerals Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 3068 (Comm) (23 November 2020)

Roberts v The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC [2020] EWHC 3141 (Comm) (23 November 2020)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

XM (By His Father and Litigation Friend FM) v Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust [2020] EWHC 3102 (QB) (23 November 2020)

Source: www.bailii.org

‘Bad parent’: children’s watchdog to accuse state of care failings in England – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2020 in care orders, children, news, social services, speeches by sally

‘The children’s commissioner for England will deliver a damning indictment of children’s social care in a speech on Tuesday and accuse the state of too often being a “bad parent”.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Jonathan Maertens: Man who raped girls jailed – BBC News

‘A “prolific” sex attacker who raped and abused girls has been jailed for life.’

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BBC News, 23rd November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Racism within the Windrush compensation scheme – The Guardian

‘The Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman wrote her first story on the Windrush scandal almost three years ago – yet she is still hearing from people facing injustice. Alexandra Ankrah, the most senior black Home Office employee in the team responsible for the Windrush compensation scheme, discusses why she resigned this year, describing the scheme as systemically racist and unfit for purpose while Samantha Cooper describes her frustrations with trying to access financial help.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

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