Caldey Island historical child sex abuse review announced – BBC News

Posted April 11th, 2024 in child abuse, clergy, inquiries, news, sexual offences, Wales by sally

‘A Welsh abbey has commissioned an independent review into alleged historical child sex abuse.’

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BBC News, 10th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Assault of shop workers to be made specific criminal offence – BBC News

Posted April 10th, 2024 in assault, bills, criminal justice, news, sentencing by sally

‘Assaulting a shop worker will be made a separate criminal offence in England and Wales as part of a government response to a wave of retail crime.’

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BBC News, 10th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Met Police refers itself to watchdog after woman fatally stabbed in Westminster home – The Independent

Posted April 10th, 2024 in delay, missing persons, murder, news, ombudsmen, police, professional conduct by sally

‘Scotland Yard has referred itself to the police watchdog after officers waited until the next morning to respond to calls and then found a woman stabbed to death.’

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The Independent, 9th April 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lack of immigration advisers “encourages illegal services” – Legal Futures

Posted April 10th, 2024 in immigration, legal advice, news, statistics by sally

‘A lack of immigration advisers “encourages those who seek to provide advice illegally”, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) has warned.’

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Legal Futures, 10th April 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Universal Credit: Gang guilty of large £53.9m benefit fraud – BBC News

Posted April 10th, 2024 in benefits, Crown Prosecution Service, fraud, gangs, money laundering, news by sally

‘Five members of an organised gang have been convicted of what has been described by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as the largest case of benefit fraud in England and Wales.’

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BBC News, 10th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Vicarious liability and reforming the law of apologies in civil proceedings? – Law & Religion UK

‘Section 2 of the Compensation Act 2006 (Apologies, offers of treatment or other redress) was enacted to make it easier for organisations to apologise for their actions without admitting civil liability: it reads, “An apology, an offer of treatment or other redress, shall not of itself amount to an admission of negligence or breach of statutory duty”.’

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Law & Religion UK, 10th April 2024

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Rapist who drowned mum is set for release from prison despite whole-life sentence – The Independent

‘The children of a woman killed by a man serving a whole-life sentence have described how the possibility of his release from prison on “compassionate grounds” makes their “blood boil” and would be a “national scandal”.’

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The Independent, 9th April 2024

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CPS says it was wrong to pursue case against press photographer – The Guardian

‘The Crown Prosecution Service has admitted it was wrong to press on with a case against a news photographer arrested as he tried to lawfully take pictures at a crime scene.’

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The Guardian, 9th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Hull funeral home inquiry: Legal move to close Legacy stalls – BBC News

Posted April 10th, 2024 in burials and cremation, insolvency, local government, news by sally

‘A formal move to dissolve the funeral firm at the centre of a police inquiry could not proceed in court.’

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BBC News, 9th April 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Shoplifting crackdown to include £55m for facial recognition tools in England and Wales – The Guardian

Posted April 10th, 2024 in assault, bills, criminal justice, facial mapping, news, theft by sally

‘The government is investing more than £55m in expanding facial recognition systems – including vans that will scan crowded high streets – as part of a renewed crackdown on shoplifting.’

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The Guardian, 10th April 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Clear as mud: Proprietary Estoppel after Guest v Guest – Trusts & Trustees

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, equity, estoppel, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The dust should now have settled since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Guest v Guest (2022). However, in exploring recent case law, this article exposes that the rules applied to decide proprietary estoppel cases remain as uncertain as ever. Some commonality can be identified, but only in the persistent favouring of promisors over promisees. This article criticises the practical and theoretical underpinnings of proprietary estoppel and proposes further reform. In particular, the article draws new links from the doctrine of secret trusts to suggest a more just and certain basis for proprietary estoppel’s future application.’

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Trusts & Trustess, 19th March 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

The Resurgence of Standing in Judicial Review – Oxford Journal of Legal Studies

Posted March 27th, 2024 in judicial review, news by sally

‘It is now commonplace for courts to remark that standing to seek judicial review is ‘context-sensitive’. The questions of how the courts adapt standing to context, and whether they do so appropriately, have, however, received remarkably little scholarly and judicial attention. This is perhaps because, until recently, there has been relatively little in the case law to spark scholarly interest. Standing, however, is in the midst of a resurgence. This article makes use of a distinction between three types of judicial review case—challenges to (i) favourable targeted, (ii) unfavourable targeted and (iii) non-targeted decisions—as a mode through which to explore the growing body of standing case law. In doing so, it both seeks to further understanding of how courts determine what constitutes a ‘sufficient interest’ and to highlight areas of the law in need of clarification or reconsideration.’

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Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 14th March 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Finley Boden: Parents killed baby when he should have been most protected, report says – BBC News

‘Safeguarding practices in the case of 10-month-old Finley Boden who was murdered by his parents were inadequate, a review has found.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Assignments and transfers by operation of law: an important distinction clarified in Dassault Aviation SA v Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 5 – 29 Essex Chambers

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, arbitration, assignment, chambers articles, damages, news by sally

‘In this case the Court of Appeal considered when a non-assignment clause would be effective to stop the transfer of a cause of action to an indemnifying insurer.’

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39 Essex Chambers, 7th February 2024

Source: www.39essex.com

Blockchain as a database—proposal for a new test for the criterion of ‘independence’ in the legal definition of a database for the purposes of copyright and the sui generis right – Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice

Posted March 27th, 2024 in computer programs, copyright, intellectual property, news by sally

‘Technology’s exponential growth often outpaces that of the law. The persistence of outdated legal concepts that were not drafted with new technology in mind leads to legal uncertainty. This article focuses on one example of such a friction between old law and new technology, namely the eligibility of blockchain as a “database” for protection under the EU Database Directive, as implemented into UK copyright law. The most problematic requirement for blockchain as a candidate is that the material inside the database be “independent”. This can pose a significant hurdle for blockchain to succeed as the immutability of blockchain is ensured by the “linked-list” structure in between the blocks and the combinational hashing of data within the individual block. This article examines this issue and proposes a solution to this quandary: to divide the data recorded on a blockchain into “content” and “structure”, and confine the criterion of “independence” to the former. In reaching this solution, the author examines previous literature on the different types of data that can be found in databases, as well as how the concept of “independence” is understood by judges and academics. This article will be of practical significance for developers of non-open source blockchain applications who wish to protect their products as a database.’

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Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, 22nd March 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Anti-trafficking Chains: Analyzing the Impact of Transparency Legislation in the UK Construction Sector – Law & Social Inquiry

‘A recurring conundrum lies at the heart of current anti-trafficking law and policy. Despite enormous efforts by civil society organizations, corporations, and governments to reduce human trafficking in supply chains, and the introduction of legislation in various countries that requires corporations to take active actions in this field, there is wide agreement that, so far, the desired change has not occurred. This article addresses this puzzle through studying the vibrant anti-trafficking activity in the UK construction sector that emerged following the enactment of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA). Applying socio-legal methods, the article unpacks the structural dynamics that shape the implementation of the MSA in the construction sector. We find that the Act exacerbates the imbalanced power relations between firms and anti-trafficking initiatives, positioning the latter as suppliers of modern slavery risk solutions that are dependent on corporate will and funding. The article demonstrates that anti-trafficking initiatives in the construction sector largely follow a “supply chain logic” that significantly limits their capacities to transform corporate behavior. We develop the notion of “anti-trafficking chains” to describe the dynamics of anti-trafficking activities in supply chains and to problematize the entanglement of anti-trafficking actors in supply chain power structure and logic.’

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Law & Social Inquiry, 14th February 2024

Source: www.cambridge.org

Claimant fails in judicial review over SEND Review consultation and information on available remedies for tribunal in disability discrimination cases – Local Government Lawyer

‘The High Court has rejected a judicial review challenge brought on behalf of a 12-year-old boy with special educational needs to one of the 22 consultation questions contained in the SEND Review, the Government’s consultation Green Paper.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th March 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Assisted dying / assisted suicide – concrete British realities -Mental Capacity Law and Policy

Posted March 27th, 2024 in assisted suicide, bills, news, Scotland by sally

‘Reading some of the recent media coverage of the issue of assisted dying / assisted suicide, people could be forgiven for thinking that resolving the debate is a simple matter. In the context of a private MSP bill being introduced into the Scottish Parliament this week (March 25 2024), it is doubly important to be clear that – whatever one’s views – implementing any decision to legalise assisted dying / assisted suicide is not going to be simple.’

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Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 25th March 2024

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

NHS parking charges should be free of VAT, Court of Appeal rules – OUT-Law.com

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, HM Revenue & Customs, hospitals, news, parking, taxation, VAT by sally

‘A new ruling by the Court of Appeal could help NHS trusts across England recover VAT paid on parking charges imposed at their hospital sites, though there is the prospect of an appeal, tax experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th March 2024

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Case Comment: Byers and others v Saudi National Bank [2023] – UKSC Blog

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, breach of trust, Cayman Islands, equity, insolvency, news, Supreme Court, trusts by sally

‘In this post, Adam Ferris (Senior Associate) in the Finance Disputes Team at CMS and Henry Powell (Associate) in the Real Estate Disputes Team at CMS comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Byers and Ors v Saudi National Bank [2023] UKSC 51, which was handed down on 20 December 2023.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th March 2024

Source: ukscblog.com