The Abortion Act 1967 and Down Syndrome: Crowter – Law & Religion UK

Posted December 6th, 2021 in abortion, disabled persons, human rights, news, pregnancy, time limits by sally

‘In R (Crowter & Ors) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2021] EWHC 2536 (Admin), the issue before the Court was the fact that the Abortion Act 1967 differentiates between pregnancies where there is a substantial risk that, if born, a child would be “seriously handicapped” (the terminology used in the Act) and those where it would not. The three claimants – a 25-year-old woman with Down Syndrome who had gained an NVQ qualification level, was employed and had recently married, A, a two-year-old with Down Syndrome who had met all his developmental milestones, and A’s mother [6-8] – challenged the disability ground for abortion in section 1(1)(d) of the Act as contrary to Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (inhuman or degrading treatment) and 8 (private and family life) ECHR.’

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Law & Religion UK, 3rd December 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Pestering women in the street to be outlawed – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 6th, 2021 in criminal justice, harassment, hate crime, Law Commission, news, sexual offences, women by sally

‘Public sexual harassment, such as cat-calling and making sexually explicit comments, to be made an offence in wake of Sarah Everard murder.’

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd December 2021

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Boris Johnson ‘planning reforms which would let ministers overrule judicial decisions’ – The Independent

‘Reported move triggers backlash from lawyers, with one senior QC quoted as saying the prime minister is seeking a “more compliant judiciary”‘.

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The Independent, 6th December 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jailed women in UK five times more likely to suffer stillbirths, data shows – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2021 in bail, bills, birth, imprisonment, news, pregnancy, prisons, sentencing, statistics, women by sally

‘Women in prison are five times more likely to have a stillbirth and twice as likely to give birth to a premature baby that needs special care, new data collected by the Observer shows.’

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The Guardian, December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

How we marry is changing, and the law needs to keep up – Law & Religion UK

Posted December 6th, 2021 in Law Commission, marriage, news, statute law revision by sally

‘It has long been recognized that the law governing the process of getting married needs reform. Following on from Getting married: a scoping paper, published in December 2015, in September 2020 the Law Commission published Getting Married: A Consultation Paper on Weddings Law, setting out a series of provisional reform proposals for weddings law. An empirical study conducted by us titled “When is a wedding not a marriage? Exploring non-legally binding ceremonies” investigated wedding ceremonies taking place outside of the legal framework which reflected a variety of faiths, beliefs and non-beliefs. Drawing on the extensive data we gathered from September 2020 to May 2021, a Briefing Paper for the Law Commission has been published this week analysing the potential impact of the Commission’s proposals for reform.’

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Law & Religion UK, 4th December 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Navy rape survivor backs civilian court trials for serious offences – BBC News

‘A member of the Royal Navy, whose rape case collapsed in a military court, has backed calls for serious offences committed in the UK to be investigated and tried through civilian courts.’

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BBC News, 6th December 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Owners of flats near Tate Modern take privacy case to supreme court – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2021 in appeals, housing, news, nuisance, planning, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘On one side is Tate Modern. On the other are the owners of nearby luxury apartments objecting to what they regard as the prying eyes of visitors enjoying a viewing platform at Britain’s most visited gallery.’

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The Guardian, 6th December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Remand inmates in England and Wales ‘facing second Christmas behind bars’ – The Guardian

‘Some defendants will be facing “a second Christmas behind bars without the opportunity to prove their innocence”, a legal charity has warned, as the number of remand prisoners in England and Wales detained longer than the legal custody limit continues to rise.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Man who glued lock of Gorleston vaccine centre is jailed – BBC News

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in coronavirus, criminal damage, news, sentencing, vaccination by sally

‘A man who put superglue on the lock of a Covid-19 vaccination centre, preventing 504 people from getting jabs, has been jailed for 12 weeks.’

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BBC News, 1st December 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Harassment arrest breached journalist’s human rights, ECtHR rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in freedom of expression, harassment, human rights, news, privacy by sally

‘An arrest on a charge of harassment violated a British journalist’s right to freedom of expression, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in a judgment likely to be contested by the government.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st December 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Meghan Markle: Mail on Sunday loses appeal in privacy battle over letter to estranged father – The Independent

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in appeals, media, news, privacy, royal family by sally

‘The publisher of the Mail on Sunday has lost a legal battle to overturn a High Court ruling on its publication of a letter written by Meghan Markle to her estranged father.’

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The Independent, 2nd December 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

New Judgment: Fratila and another (AP) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] UKSC 53 – UKSC Blog

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in benefits, brexit, EC law, news, regulations, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Respondents are Romanian nationals residing in the UK. They both made applications for universal credit in June 2019. At the time of their applications, the Respondents’ right to reside in the UK arose solely from their pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme. The Respondents’ applications were refused because the Universal Credit Regulations 2013, as amended by the Social Security (Income Related Benefits) (Updating and Amendment) (EU exit) Regulations 2019 (the “2019 Regulations”) do not permit universal credit to be granted solely on the basis of an individual’s pre–settled status.’

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UKSC Blog, 2nd December 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Ben Raymond: Co-founder of neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action convicted of terror offences – The Independent

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in news, proscribed organisations, terrorism by sally

‘The co-founder of the National Action neo-Nazi terrorist group has been convicted of remaining a member after it was banned.’

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The Independent, 1st December 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

MoD overhauls rules for investigating sexual offences in armed forces – The Guardian

Posted December 2nd, 2021 in armed forces, courts martial, inquiries, news, sexual offences by sally

‘Complaint of sexual offences in the armed forces will be dealt with outside the chain of command in future – but military police will retain the right to investigate allegations of rape, the Ministry of Defence announced on Thursday.’

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Man jailed after kidnapping woman by posing as London taxi driver – The Independent

‘A man who posed as a taxi driver before a kidnapping a young woman in central London and attempting to sexually assault her has been jailed.’

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The Independent, 30th November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Grace period in a time of Covid – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 1st, 2021 in asylum, coronavirus, delay, deportation, detention, housing, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘In R (Babbage) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 2995 (Admin), the Claimant applied for judicial review, claiming that his immigration detention from 27 February 2020 to 29 April 2021 had been unlawful and/or that there was a public law error relating to the delay in the provision of s.4 accommodation. Soole J gave a potentially significant judgment concerning the ambit of the “grace period” for locating s.4 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 accommodation, i.e. accommodation provided to failed asylum seekers. The judge also made some apposite comments concerning the requirement for appropriate evidence in unlawful detention claims from the relevant decision maker.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th November 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Court of Appeal on time of demands and legal costs in service charges – Nearly Legal

Posted December 1st, 2021 in appeals, costs, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, tribunals by sally

‘A second appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Upper Tribunal on a service charge dispute – a decision we briefly noted as Kensquare Ltd v Adwoa & Anor here. There were two main issues, both of some significance, but the one on the recovery of freeholder’s costs of FTT proceedings through the service charge is likely to be of the broader importance.’

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Nearly Legal, 30th November 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Raab eyes “drastic action” to keep family disputes out of court – Legal Futures

‘Justice secretary Dominic Raab is “in the market for something quite drastic and bold” to reduce the number of private law family cases in the courts, he said yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 1st December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Council facing judicial review for push to get children in vulnerable families back to school – Local Government Lawyer

‘A Covid-vulnerable family has sent a pre-action protocol letter to a council that it says unlawfully told a headteacher to stop allowing their children to stay home during rises in case numbers.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th November 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Company Law: How do the courts interpret the articles of association? – Bloomsbury Professional Law Online Blog

Posted December 1st, 2021 in company law, contracts, drafting, interpretation, limitations, news by sally

‘A common problem with the articles of association is the addition of poorly drafted precedents with unambiguous terms. The court is often asked to make judgments on such provisions and to interpret the true meaning of the words used. To instigate the process of establishing the intention of the parties, it is important to consider firstly the articles in terms of their contractual obligations.’

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Bloomsbury Professional Law Online Blog, 22nd November 2021

Source: law.bloomsburyprofessional.com