Teenagers guilty of Liverpool launderette murder – BBC News
‘Five teenagers, some as young as 14, have been found guilty of murdering a 19-year-old man in a Liverpool launderette.’
BBC News, 8th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Author: sally
Prison book ban may face legal challenge – BBC News
‘A government policy that bans books being sent to prisoners in England and Wales may face a legal challenge.’
BBC News, 7th May 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Legal professional privilege does not automatically engage an EIR exception – Panopticon
‘FOIA provides an exemption (s. 42) expressly for legal professional privilege; as is well known, there is ‘strong inherent weight’ in maintaining that exemption. What about the EIRs? LPP is not expressly mentioned, but regulation 12(5)(b) EIR applies to information the disclosure of which would adversely affect “the course of justice, the ability of a person to receive a fair trial or the ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature”. Does information attracting LPP automatically come within that exception? Many practitioners operate on the assumption that the answer is ‘yes’. The Upper Tribunal has on a previous occasion, however, left that question open: DCLG v IC and Robinson [2012] UKUT 103 (AAC); [2012] 2 Info LR 43.’
Panopticon, 6th May 2014
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Gambling regulator to issue guidance on ‘gambling software’ after imposing new licensing conditions on its supply – OUT-LAW.com
‘Remote gambling operators in Great Britain (GB) will be forced to ensure that they source their gambling software from a GB licensed provider to remain compliant with a new licensing regime being brought into force.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th May 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Graham Gee and Kate Malleson: Judicial Appointments, Diversity and the Equal Merit Provision – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘One of the changes introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was to amend section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which provides that the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) must select candidates for judicial office ‘solely on merit’. Schedule 13 of the 2013 Act clarified that making selections solely on merit does not prevent the JAC from recommending a candidate on the basis of improving diversity on the bench where there are two candidates of equal merit. This is variously known as the ‘equal merit’, ‘tie-break’ or ‘tipping point’ provision and derives from s 159 of the Equality Act 2010. After a consultation exercise last summer, the JAC last month published its policy on how it will implement the equal merit provision. In this post, we draw on research conducted as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence to explain why the JAC’s policy is disappointingly cautious, limits the prospect of further progress on diversity and offers further evidence of what we believe is the excessive judicial influence on judicial appointments.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th May 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Knife crime sentencing – let’s cut the politics – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘Chris Grayling announced an intention to amend the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to include a provision providing for a six-month minimum sentence for a second knife-related offence. This was met with opposition from Grayling’s Liberal coalition partners (more of which later).’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 6th May 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Serious fraud trial abandoned because of cuts to legal aid for defence representation – UK Human Rights Blog
‘A judge has halted a serious fraud trial after defendants claimed they could not get adequate representation because cuts to legal aid, and as a result they would not get a fair trial under common law or Article 6 of the Convention. This case could be the first of a number of reversals following the government’s legal aid reforms with seven further trials due to start before September 2015 involving 28 defendants in similar positions.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 6th May 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Juries need to be taught about the reality of rape, says DPP – The Independent
‘Judges should warn juries about the common misconceptions people have about rape before they are allowed to hear any evidence, two of the leading figures in the fight against sex crime say today.’
The Independent, 6th May 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Forced marriage a problem for all religious minority communities in Britain – The Independent
‘Forced marriage is not confined to Britain’s Muslim communities but exists among all minority groups, the head of a commission into the issue has said.’
The Independent, 6th May 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Evolution or revolution – are we ready for a single legal services regulator? – Legal Services Board
Evolution or revolution – are we ready for a single legal services regulator? (PDF)
David Edmonds, Chairman, Legal Services Board
Modern Law Magazine Conference, 29th April 2014
Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk
Regina v White (Anthony) – WLR Daily
Regina v White (Anthony) [2014] EWCA Crim 714; [2014] WLR (D) 175
‘If a defendant, wrongly charged with offences contrary to section 16(1) of the Theft Act 1968, rather than under section 15A of the 1968 Act, was prepared to admit his dishonest transactions in relation to mortgage advances, it would be wrong to permit him to evade the consequences of his behaviour by refusing to substitute conviction of the correct offence simply in order to punish the prosecution for its egregious failures in relation to charging.’
WLR Daily, 15th April 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Jafri v Lincoln College – WLR Daily
Jafri v Lincoln College [2014] EWCA Civ 449; [2014] WLR (D) 178
‘When the Employment Appeal Tribunal detected a legal error by an employment tribunal, it had to remit the case unless it was able, without itself making any factual assessment or judgment as to the merits, either to conclude that the error could not have affected the result, or to conclude what different result there must have been without the error.’
WLR Daily, 16th April 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Dhooharika v Director of Public Prosecutions (Commonwealth Lawyers Association intervening) – WLR Daily
‘The common law offence of scandalising the court, a species of contempt of court which although abolished by statute in England and Wales continued to exist in many parts of the common law world, was “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society” within the meaning of section 12 of the Constitution of Mauritius.’
WLR Daily, 16th April 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Kásler and another v OTP Jelzálogbank Zrt – WLR Daily
Kásler and another v OTP Jelzálogbank Zrt (Case C‑26/13); [2014] WLR (D) 180
‘The expression the “main subject matter of a contract” in article 4(2) of Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in consumer contracts covered a term, incorporated in a loan agreement denominated in foreign currency concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer and not individually negotiated, pursuant to which the selling rate of exchange of that currency was applied for the purpose of calculating the repayment instalments for the loan, only in so far as it was found, which it was for the national court to ascertain, that that term laid down an essential obligation of that agreement which characterised it. Such a term, in so far as it contained a pecuniary obligation for the consumer to pay, in repayment of instalments of the loan, the difference between the selling rate of exchange and the buying rate of exchange of the foreign currency, could not be considered as “remuneration” the adequacy of which as consideration for a service supplied by the lender could not be the subject of an examination as regards unfairness under article 4(2) of Directive 93/13.’
WLR Daily, 30th April 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
