Day: 29 April 2025

‘For most of its history, the common law legal system has regarded live answers from the witness box as the ultimate form of evidence, looking down its nose at other sources, above all the often-despised hearsay. Cross-examination of witnesses was the gold standard method of testing evidence, jealously guarded particularly in criminal trials. The process of an accused confronting their accuser, with the tribunal of fact judging the witness’s honesty or reliability, was invested with almost magical powers of revelation.’

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2 Hare Court, 15th April 2025

Source: www.2harecourt.com

‘The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in this case addressing the material increase in risk of contracting mesothelioma.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 22nd April 2025

Source: 12kbw.co.uk

‘Dr Shah faced a number of allegations from Colleague A and B. The Tribunal rejected much of Colleague A’s evidence. Dr Shah did, however, admit he had called her “a good girl” on occasions, and that he called one or more female colleagues “bird”. This constituted harassment related to sex. In relation to Colleague B, the Tribunal found the Respondent inappropriately touched her without consent. In October 2014, he put his arm around her shoulder, leaned in to hug her, and squeezed her bottom. In October 2019, he brushed his body against her breasts, put his hand on her hip and squeezed her bottom. This constituted sexual harassment and was sexually motivated. Of course, the Tribunal considered these acts did amount to misconduct, justified impairment, and ultimately led it to imposed a sanction of 12 months suspension with review.’

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2 Hare Court, 15th April 2025

Source: www.2harecourt.com

‘The document emphasises the legal coherence of GB’s current DEI framework, and the potential legal risks involved. Key topics covered in the paper include:

Impact of US Policy Changes: The US administration’s rollback of DEI initiatives could create uncertainty for GB employers, but GB equality law remains unchanged.

Differences in Legal Frameworks: The legal systems in the US and GB differ significantly. US ‘affirmative action’ and GB ‘positive action’ have historically been very different in practice, with GB law having always prohibited race-conscious recruitment and promotion practices.

US Supreme Court Cases: Key US Supreme Court cases, such as Bakke and SFFA v. Harvard, illustrate the evolving legal landscape in the US around affirmative action, which brings the principles closer in line with the approach that has always been followed under GB law.

Legal Risks for GB Employers: Blindly rolling back DEI policies purely because Trump is rolling back US initiatives could increase legal risks for GB employers.

Importance of DEI Policies: Thoughtful DEI policies drafted in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 not only comply with legal requirements here but also enhance workplace diversity, employee retention, and overall business performance.’

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Cloisters, 9th April 2025

Source: www.cloisters.com

‘How does Artificial Intelligence affect art and cultural institutions? Richard and Clarissa talk to Emily Gould, Assistant Director of the Institute of Art and Law, to discuss the use of creative works for training generative AI; who owns rights to AI produced works; and the use of AI in art attribution. They try their hands at AI-produced art themselves, with slightly worrying results.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 23rd April 2025

Source: www.39essex.com

‘In what must surely be one of the longest running cases in medical professional discipline (and the hardest to summarise pithily), the High Court has recently given some guidance in cases where an erased doctor applies multiple times to be restored to the register.’

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2 Hare Court, 15th April 2025

Source: www.2harecourt.com

‘Despite ongoing efforts to promote inclusivity and visibility, homophobia remains a pervasive issue in sports both in the UK and globally.’

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Church Court Chambers, 16th April 2025

Source: churchcourtchambers.co.uk

‘Britain’s first transgender judge is taking the UK to the European court of human rights over the supreme court’s ruling on biological sex.’

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The Guardian, 29th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In the not so distant past all advocacy in the Crown Court was effectively oral; witnesses were examined and cross-examined, documents were exhibited and speeches made.’

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25 Bedford Row, 10th April 2025

Source: www.25bedfordrow.com

‘Doctors at the British Medical Association (BMA) have condemned the Supreme Court’s ruling on biological sex, dubbing it “biologically nonsensical” and “scientifically illiterate”.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Regulators – for all their faults – appreciate the need to particularise allegations adequately. The same cannot always be said of the DBS. Whilst its decisions can ruin a professional’s life as effectively as any FTP process, it operates with about half the procedural rigour.’

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2 Hare Court, 15th April 2025

Source: www.2harecourt.com

‘Foreign nationals convicted of sex offences will be banned from claiming asylum in the UK, Yvette Cooper has said, as Labour attempts to fight off the threat from the Reform party before Thursday’s local elections.’

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The Guardian, 28th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Those with long memories will remember the two reports published under the tenure of Richard Thomas, the then Information Commissioner, “What price privacy?” in May 2006 and “What price privacy now?” in December 2006. The Commissioner had a particularly keen interest in halting the trade in unlawfully obtained personal data, regarding it as a high watermark of privacy invasion. Criminal prosecutions followed (see in particular the case of R v Daniel Summers and others in 2012 here), albeit not always brought by the Information Commissioner’s Office (“the ICO”) and not always successfully.’

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25 Bedford Row, 16th April 2025

Source: www.25bedfordrow.com

‘To recap the obvious and most widely-reported aspect of the judgment: the Supreme Court determined that, whenever the Equality Act 2010 (EqA2010) refers to the protected characteristic of sex (or to men or to women), those terms are to take the biological meaning of sex, and that only.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 22nd April 2025

Source: 12kbw.co.uk

‘The Family Court has dismissed a man’s application for a declaration of non-parentage of a young boy, on whose birth certificate he appears as the father, finding it would not be in the child’s best interests for the application to proceed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A schoolgirl has been detained for 15 years for attempting to murder two teachers and a pupil by stabbing them with a blade at a school in south Wales.’

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The Guardian, 28th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Mr Adebayo was a nurse who, whilst working at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, received payment for shifts he had not worked. He was investigated for this and ultimately fired from the Trust. He was also interviewed under caution by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority and ultimately charged with offences under the Theft Act 1968.’

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2 Hare Court, 15th April 2025

Source: www.2harecourt.com

‘An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found West Sussex County Council at fault for failing to provide a boy with complex needs with an education in school or through an alternative provision placement over an 18-month period.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘The structure of the Bar impedes the adoption of technology and innovation, but barristers need to do so to drive “a better and more efficient service for clients”, a Bar Standards Board (BSB) report has argued.’

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Legal Futures, 29th April 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk