Rwanda: Civil servants mount court challenge over new law – BBC News
‘The union for senior civil servants is launching an unprecedented legal challenge to ministers’ Rwanda plan.’
BBC News, 1st May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Author: sally
Hadkinson Orders: the Need to Show Restraint – Financial Remedies Journal
‘This article addresses ‘Hadkinson’ orders (Hadkinson v Hadkinson [1952] All ER 567), in light of several recent cases handed down over a short period of time, highlighting the potential limitations as to their availability, namely:
– Williams v Williams [2023] EWHC 3098 (Fam) – Moor J
– WX v HX [2023] EWFC 279 – Recorder Day
– L v O [2024] EWFC 6 – Cobb J
– Re Z (No 5) (Enforcement) [2024] EWFC 44 – Cobb J’
Financial Remedies Journal, 17th April 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
Legal parenthood in surrogacy: shifting the focus to the surrogate’s negative intention – Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
‘This paper examines how legal parenthood should be allocated in surrogacy under English law. I argue that we need to shift the focus of the discussion to the surrogate’s negative intention to not be a parent as the key to move away from the current gestational model of motherhood. This has three main benefits that are explored in this paper. First, it respects surrogates’ voices and construes them in terms of their autonomy and agency, rather than solely in terms of their vulnerability. Second, it provides a conceptually robust basis for recognising legal parenthood of the intended parents at birth, since the surrogate’s negative intention is construed as the trigger for the application of specialised rules on parenthood. Third, it serves as a guiding principle in developing appropriate and comprehensive protections for the surrogate, including recognising the intended parents as the legal parents at birth, the parameters of the surrogate’s right to withdraw consent, and further safeguarding requirements and checks before entering into a surrogacy agreement. Overall, focusing on the surrogate’s negative intention allows us to view surrogacy in a nuanced way, away from false dichotomies, and contributes to a more compelling case in favour of actively facilitating surrogacy.’
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 30th April 2024
Source: www.tandfonline.com
Lady Chief Justice sets up Transparency and Open Justice Board – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Lady Chief Justice, Dame Sue Carr, has created a Transparency and Open Justice Board, which will “lead and coordinate the promotion of transparency and open justice across the courts and tribunals of England & Wales”.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1si May 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Deliveroo rider Jenniffer Rocha who bit off thumb seen working after conviction – BBC News
‘A delivery rider who bit off a customer’s thumb continued working for Deliveroo, even after the account she was using at the time was suspended.’
BBC News, 2nd May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Trawl for unsafe criminal convictions in UK being done by interns – The Guardian
‘Interns have been given the job of weeding out potential wrongful convictions for rape and murder in a major case review prompted by Andrew Malkinson’s exoneration, the Guardian can reveal.’
The Guardian, 2nd May 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera begin legal action against BBC – BBC News
‘Four presenters have begun legal action against the BBC on grounds of sex and age discrimination and equal pay.’
BBC News, 1st May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Former Met Police officer branded ‘the devil’ as he is jailed for life over multiple rapes – The Independent
‘A former Metropolitan Police officer jailed for multiple counts of rape has been described as the “devil” and a “pathetic excuse of a man” by his victims.’
The Independent, 1st May 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
When is an administrator an ‘officer’ of the company? – Legal Studies
‘When a company becomes insolvent, particularly if it is a large company, this will often mean that there will be a large-scale redundancy process. The requirements of the process can be technical, but there is a list of obligations that must be adhered and these are set out within the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA 1992).’
Legal Studies, 19th April 2024
Source: www.cambridge.org
Long Residence Applications – Where Are We Now? – EIN Blog
‘For many years the long residence route was pretty straightforward. 10 years’ continuous lawful residence, good character, within absences limits – job done.’
EIN Blog, 1st May 2024
Source: www.ein.org.uk
Uber faces £250m London black cab drivers case – BBC News
‘Uber is facing a multi-million pound legal case being brought on behalf of almost 11,000 London black cab drivers, in the latest challenge to the firm in the UK capital.’
BBC News, 2nd May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Nearly 3,000 people are languishing in jail unfairly. We must set them free – Bob Neill – The Guardian
‘There is consensus in parliament that indeterminate sentences are unjust. So why is the government dragging its heels?’
The Guardian, 2nd May 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Trauma-informed lawyering in the context of civil claims for sexual violence – Journal of Law and Society
‘Over the last decade, there has been an increase in civil compensation claims for sexual violence in the United Kingdom (UK). Given that trauma-informed approaches have been called for in relation to legal responses to sexual violence, we put forward seven key principles of trauma-informed lawyering in this context and draw on interviews with UK-based civil lawyers who represented sexual violence survivors to explore the extent to which trauma-informed work is taking place. While we found that our sample of lawyers typically had a very good knowledge of sexual violence and the trauma that it can cause, there was less certainty about how to accommodate the impacts in practice. Moreover, there was a tendency to prioritize individual healing and medicalize a form of social injustice. We conclude by emphasizing the need for legal training and education on a trauma-informed approach that accounts for the social and political dimensions of sexual violence and trauma.’
Journal of Law and Society, 29th April 2024
Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com
The Pursuit of Corporate Accountability: Climate Change Litigation and the Use of Shareholder Derivative Actions – Cambridge Law Journal
‘ClientTEarth v Shell [2023] EWHC 1897 (Ch) is the first attempt to use the statutory shareholder derivative action (Part 11 Chapter 1 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006)) to hold directors liable for breach of directors’ duties for issues related to climate change. A derivative action can be used by shareholders in limited circumstances to bring an action of recourse on behalf of the company. Derivative actions are typically used to protect minority shareholders. Therefore, its use in ClientEarth v Shell is of interest, especially considering the ongoing discussion on the role and purpose of business in society. Although company law has primarily focused on profits, the more modern view is that companies should exist for profit, public interests and societal goals (See British Academy, Reforming Business for the 21 st Century: A Framework for the Future of the Corporation). The ClientEarth case confirms and clarifies situations in which a claimant may obtain permission to continue a claim; and when an absolute liability may be imposed on directors for a climate change-related breach of director’s duty in shareholder derivative claims. It raises questions around the prospects of success for future claimants due to the difficulty in establishing sufficient legal merit; and the relationship between stage one and stage two of the statutory regime.’
Cambridge Law Journal, 3rd April 2024
Source: www.cambridge.org
Martin Myers tried and failed to steal a cigarette. Why has he spent 18 years in prison for it? – The Guardian
‘A devoted father with a zest for life, he was given an indeterminate sentence in 2006. He is still locked up – and losing hope that he will ever be released.’
The Guardian, 1st May 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Joint enterprise in England and Wales: why problems persist despite legal change – Current Issues in Criminal Justice
‘The law in England and Wales (as in Australia and other jurisdictions) enables a person to be convicted of an offence committed by another using complicity liability, sometimes termed ‘joint enterprise’. In England and Wales, ‘joint enterprise’ has been widely criticised for: failing to distinguish between the moral and legal culpability of the person who commits the substantive offence and those on the periphery of it; being disproportionality applied in cases involving young men from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds; and for lacking legal legitimacy. Thus, it was hoped that the decision of the Supreme Court in England and Wales in 2016 to abolish the extended form of complicity liability, known as Parasitic Accessorial Liability (PAL), would resolve these issues. Reporting on interviews with police detectives, and prosecution and defence lawyers in England involved in cases of serious youth violence, this paper argues that the problems associated with ‘joint enterprise’ in England and Wales remain, despite the change in the law. This is due to there being only ‘subtle shift’ in practice and a continued reliance on racialised inferences about young men from black and mixed ethnic backgrounds. To reduce problems with disproportionality and improve the fairness of the law related to complicity liability, changes to police and prosecutorial practice are required, alongside meaningful law reform.’
Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 29th April 2024
Source: www.tandfonline.com
Negligence in football: A claim of two halves – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Football fans everywhere will be familiar with reckless tackles, whether from their own Sunday league experience or as followers of the professional game. But when will a tackle amount to negligence and be actionable in a civil court, such that an injured player can sue their opponent?’
UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2024
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Digitising probate without new rules “an expensive mistake” – Legal Futures
‘Digitising the Probate Service without modernising the rules was “an expensive mistake”, the former chair of the Law Society’s wills and equity committee has told MPs.’
Legal Futures, 1st May 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Navigating housing rights, education and religious freedom: Ghaoui – Law & Religion UK
‘In Ghaoui v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2024] EWCA Civ 405, Mr Ghaoui, his wife and two young children lived in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. They were rendered homeless in April 2019 and Mr Ghaoui applied to the local authority for assistance with accommodation. In September 2019, he sent his older child to a fee-paying Muslim nursery in Waltham Forest [2]. The family was evicted in March 2020 and Waltham Forest LBC provided temporary accommodation in the Harlow area, some 20 miles from their previous address, which made it harder for the parents to get to work in London and for the child to go to the nursery [3]. In early September 2022, the younger child entered the same nursery [5]. Mr Ghaoui argued that in offering them accommodation 20 miles from the school, Waltham Forest was “not considering their rights”, while Waltham Forest explained at some length that it was not under any legal duty to provide accommodation that allowed the children to attend a specific religious school: in short, it was not a housing “need” [6]. The point at issue was whether or not the local authority was, in fact, under any such obligation.’
Law & Religion UK, 1st May 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
