Judge praises bravery of schoolgirls who rescued victim of riverside attackers – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in assault, news, school children, victims by sally

‘A judge ordered that three 13-year-old schoolgirls should each be awarded £200 as reward for intervening in violent attack.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Norwich man jailed for toy gun armed robbery at store – BBC News

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in news, robbery, sentencing, weapons by sally

‘A man who robbed a convenience store brandishing a toy hand gun has been jailed.’

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BBC News, 20th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Serial rapist Shaun Hopkins handed life sentence after victim spotted him on Facebook – The Independent

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in evidence, internet, news, rape, sentencing, victims by sally

‘A rapist has been handed a life sentence after he was identified by one of his victims when she spotted his picture on Facebook.’

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The Independent, 21st March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CMA says UK energy market needs better regulation and more customer switching – Zenith Chambers

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in competition, consumer protection, energy, news by sally

‘The CMA’s updated issues statement on its energy market investigation has been hailed as a ‘win’ for the energy companies, while suggesting that a lack of competition could be due to poor regulation and customer apathy. A closer look at the CMA’s initial findings suggests a more nuanced view.’

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Zenith Chambers, 26th February 2015

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Jury were right to clear Sun quartet – they shouldn’t have been on trial – The Guardian

‘Yet another jury has cleared more Sun journalists who were charged with offences related to the paying of public officials.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Paedophile cases may need to be streamlined, warns top officer – Daily Telegraph

‘National Crime Agency chief hints at possible updates to the way child pornography offences are prosecuted, as it emerges more than 260 people have been charged in new investigation.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Miscarriage of justice review body is dismissed as the Court of Appeal’s ‘lap dog’ in hard-hitting report – The Independent

‘Innocent victims of miscarriages of justice are “languishing in jail” due to delays and faults in the case review system, according to MPs behind a hard-hitting report to be published this week.’

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The Independent, 22nd March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

City worker nicknamed ‘Shagger’ jailed for campaign of threats against women – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in domestic violence, harassment, news, restraining orders, sentencing by sally

‘Married father Michael Nartey sentenced after terrorising five lovers – some of whom also had children by him – in vile campaign of abusive text messages.’

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

MoD ‘mole’ Bettina Jordan-Barber jailed over Sun leaks – The Guardian

‘A “mole” at the Ministry of Defence who made £100,000 from leaking stories to the Sun has been jailed for 12 months, it can now be reported after verdicts were delivered in a related trial.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Strangeways riot: Ex-inmates recall siege, 25 years on – BBC News

‘The Strangeways riot was the longest in British penal history and dramatically changed the way UK prisons were run. Twenty-five years on, four people at the centre of the siege explain their part in the drawn-out drama.’

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BBC News, 23rd March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lord Woolf: Conditions in prisons are as bad now as they were 25 years ago

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in inquiries, judges, news, prisons, recidivists, standards, statistics, violent disorder by sally

‘Conditions in prisons are as bad now as they were at the time of one of Britain’s worst jail riots, a former lord chief justice has warned.’

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The Independent, 23rd March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

‘The supreme court’s judgment on whether the government unlawfully blocked the publication of a series of secret letters written by Prince Charles is due to be made public on Thursday next week, court officials have announced.

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

EVENT: The Law Society – Public debate series: Human rights and the theatre of war

Posted March 20th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘This debate will discuss questions such as:

Is there an increasing number of legal claims being brought against the MoD under human rights law?
Does the application of civilian norms to military conduct lead to a surge in claims?
Should rules of engagement be subject to the same laws as those applied to civilians in non-conflict situations?
Is there an appropriate balance between legal protections of those whose human rights have been violated and protecting the public?’

Date: 5th May 2015, 6.00-8.45pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

The Care Act 2014: Overview – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Posted March 20th, 2015 in carers, community care, health, local government, news, social services by sally

‘The Care Act adopts and implements many of the recommendations of the Law Commission on Adult Social Care (published 11 May 2011). It is the largest single piece of community care legislation since the great Beveridge reforms of 1948, sweeping away and re-codifying more than 50 years worth of law and policy.’

Full story (PDF)

Thirty Nine Essex Street, February 2015

Source: www.39essex.com

Non-genetic parentage under the HFEA 2008 – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 20th, 2015 in assisted reproduction, embryology, news, parental rights by sally

‘Where a child is conceived with donor sperm, parentage is normally determined under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008. S.33 provides that the woman who bears the child will be the mother, regardless of whether the egg was hers or came from a donor. If she is married or in a civil partnership, her spouse or civil partner will be the other parent, unless it is shown that the spouse or civil partner did not consent to the treatment – s.35 and s.42. Otherwise, ss.36 and 37 provide that a man (who will normally be the mother’s partner) will be the child’s father if:

(i) the treatment is provided by a clinic in the UK under a licence from the HFE Authority; and

(ii) both parties give written notice to the clinic consenting to such parentage.’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 20th February 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

EVENT: The Law Society – The life and times of the Human Rights Act

Posted March 19th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘How do you guarantee effective human rights within the UK system of government? Has the Human Rights Act struck the right balance? Why has the Act become a political football?

At this event Jonathan Cooper will provide a serious analysis of the life and times of the Human Rights Act. The talk will cover a wide-ranging review of the Human Rights Act’s past, present and its future. No doubt there will be a few ghosts knocking about.’

Date: 23rd March 2015, 6.00-8.00pm

Location: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

Local Authority Governance, Current Issues – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Posted March 19th, 2015 in local government, news, standards by sally

‘“Governance” in local authority terms means different things to different people. We have chosen three issues within this broad field which appear to us to have caused significant recent controversy, and which are likely to continue to cause problems in the future. These are –

a. Local government standards and predetermination particularly examining the regime under the Localism Act 2011 and asking, two years on from its implementation, what has been the impact of the new regime?
b. A look at some recent case-law concerning the conduct of local authority meetings, the provision of information at and prior to meetings, and the effect of breaches of such requirements on the legality of decisions.
c. Finally, some brief notes on the 2014 DCLG Transparency Code and the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.’

Full story (PDF)

Thirty Nine Essex Street, February 2015

Source: www.39essex.com

Hillsborough inquests: Assessing David Duckenfield’s evidence – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2015 in evidence, health & safety, inquests, news, police, sport by sally

‘Police match commander David Duckenfield spent a week in the witness box at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster. But what were the key parts of his evidence, and what have we learned?’

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BBC News, 19th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Schedule 1 – Child Maintenance – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 19th, 2015 in child support, news, periodical payments, regulations by sally

‘S 8 of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) circumscribes the role of the courts in deciding child maintenance. This act trumps the provisions in the MCA 1973 and Children Act 1989 s 15 / Schedule l save in certain circumstances (e.g. where an existing maintenance order has been made less than one year earlier – s 4 (10) (aa) CSA 1991). The combined effect of s10 CSA 1991 and § 3 (1) of the Child Support (Maintenance Arrangements and Jurisdiction) Regulations 1992 (SI 1992/2645) is that from the effective date of a maintenance calculation made pursuant to CSA 1991, any existing court order ceases to have effect.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 20th February 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

All proportionality defences are equal, but some are more equal than others – Zenith Chambers

‘The Supreme Court, in the case of Akerman-Livingstone v Aster Communities Ltd [2015] UKSC 15, have provided some much needed and helpful clarification of the practicalities of raising and potentially defeating a defence based on discrimination on a summary basis. In the event, events overtook the appeal, and Mr Akerman-Livingstone’s appeal was dismissed, but had it not been for a suitable offer of accommodation and the superior landlord serving notice to quit on the Housing Association and requiring vacant possession from them, the result would have been different.’

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 12th March 2015

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk