Public Law Newsletter – Spire Barristers
‘Public Law Newsletter May 2025; with case updates within the Court of Protection and other Public Law matters.’
Spire Barristers, 6th May 2025
Source: www.spirebarristers.co.uk
Author: sally
Murderer who shot dead Met sergeant Matt Ratana loses conviction and sentence appeal bids – The Independent
‘A man who murdered Metropolitan Police sergeant Matt Ratana has lost bids to challenge his conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal.’
The Independent, 8th May 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Judge blasts claimant lawyers for “appalling professional behaviour” in JR proceedings – Local Government Lawyer
‘A claimant legal team demonstrated “appalling professional misbehaviour” by submitting fake cases to the Administrative Court in a judicial review against the London Borough of Haringey and should be reported to their respective professional bodies, Mr Justice Ritchie has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th May 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Killer ‘should have been arrested’ before murder – BBC News
‘A criminal who shot dead a 20-year-old man in a case of mistaken identity should have been arrested months before the murder, the police watchdog has said.’
BBC News, 8th May 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wikipedia challenging UK law it says exposes it to ‘manipulation and vandalism’ – The Guardian
‘The charity that hosts Wikipedia is challenging the UK’s online safety legislation in the high court, saying some of its regulations would expose the site to “manipulation and vandalism”.’
The Guardian, 8th May 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
EAT clarifies principles of territorial and international jurisdiction in CNN v Bhatti – Old Square Chambers
‘The EAT has dismissed CNN’s appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal which held that it had both territorial and international jurisdiction to hear the claims of British presenter and international correspondent, Saima Mohsin, injured on assignment and later fired.’
Old Square Chambers, 7th May 2025
Source: oldsquare.co.uk
Racially Determined Case Characteristics: Exploring Disparities in the Use of Sentencing Factors in England and Wales – British Journal of Criminology
‘There is little understanding of how documented ethnic disparities in sentencing outcomes in England and Wales come to be and, consequently, how to address them. We argue that disparities in sentence outcomes could stem from how cases are constructed. We hypothesize that case characteristics determined through a high degree of judicial discretion and an assessment of the offender have a high risk of being racially determined, and therefore, operate as precursors of ethnic disparities in sentencing. We test this using Crown Court Sentencing Survey and Court Proceedings data. We identify three sentencing factors (remorse, good character and ability to rehabilitate) clearly favouring White offenders. We contextualize their operation and argue that all three should be classified as racially determined and sources of ethnic disparity. We conclude by setting out targeted policy solutions.’
British Journal of Criminology, March 2025
Source: academic.oup.com
Gonorrhoea and Presumed Sexual Abuse – Court of Appeal Clarifies Re A, B and C – Parklane Plowden
‘The matter concerned F, a six-year-old girl, (referred to in the first instance decision as ‘C’ and in the appeal as ‘F’) who presented at A&E in mid-2023 and was tested positive for gonorrhoea. At this time, F lives with her maternal grandmother and maternal uncle, X (referred to in the first instance decision as ‘P’ and in the appeal as ‘X’). X had also tested positive for gonorrhoea prior to F’s diagnosis, F’s mother, M, also tested positive.’
Parklane Plowden, 7th May 2025
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
The Limits of Positive Action under the Equality Act 2010 – UK Labour Law
‘Some British media outlets ran stories in April 2025 on how a regional Police Force (West Yorkshire) has put ‘applications from white Brits on hold’ and how the Chief Constable wants to discriminate against white candidates (Foreman, 2025; Bolton & Martin, 2025; Siddell, 2025). However, as may be inferred from the inconsistent tense, only a very limited version of positive discrimination is permitted under British law – and the facts of the story are not what may be, perhaps intentionally, implied from the phrasing used.’
UK Labour Law, 8th May 2025
Source: uklabourlawblog.com
Hotel manager sacked for ‘having sex with colleague after loud partying’ wins claim for unfair dismissal – The Independent
‘A hotel manager who was fired for playing loud music and allegedly having sex with a colleague in one of the rooms has won an unfair dismissal claim.’
The Independent, 7th May 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The deprivation of children’s liberty: the Human Rights Act exists for a reason – Administrative Court Blog
‘It is a rare event where, in an appeal against a first instance judgment, all parties unequivocally say that the judgment was wrong. So it was in J v Bath and North East Somerset Council [2025] EWCA Civ 478, which concerned a profoundly disabled 14 year-old (‘J’) in respect of whom the respondent local authority had been granted a full care order under section 31 of the Children Act 1989. Everyone agreed that J’s liberty needed to be restricted to a certain extent to properly look after him. The question was whether this meant that the elements of a ‘deprivation of liberty’ under Article 5 ECHR (the right to liberty) were satisfied as respects J’s care arrangements, so that a court had to make a deprivation of liberty (‘DoL’) order to render those care arrangements a lawful deprivation of liberty. In the High Court, Lieven J had held that the elements were not satisfied, and so no DoL order was necessary because there was no deprivation of liberty under Article 5 ([2024] EWHC 1690 (Fam)). The Court of Appeal (Sir Andrew McFarlane PFD, King and Singh LJJ) came to the opposite conclusion: J’s care arrangements amounted to a deprivation of liberty, and so a DoL Order was necessary to render those arrangements lawful under Article 5 and section 6 HRA 1998. The Court drew particular assistance from the submissions of the Secretary of State for Education, who intervened in the appeal. The Education Secretary was represented by Joanne Clement KC, who led this Blog’s very own Samuel Willis.’
Administrative Court Blog, 7th May 2025
Report urges Bar Standards Board to tackle systemic obstacles to tech uptake – Local Government Lawyer
‘The inconsistent use of technology at the Bar is driven by structural factors such as limited funding, time constraints, and the self-employed nature of the profession, a report for the Bar Standards Board has found.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th May 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
NHS blood donation worker wins £30k compensation after ‘insulting’ comparison to Darth Vader – The Independent
‘A woman has won almost £30,000 in an employment tribunal after she was compared to Darth Vader by her co-worker.’
The Independent, 7th May 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
You say potato… – Pensions Barrister
‘James McCreath looks at the different approaches adopted by the Court of Appeal to the construction of pension scheme documents and pensions legislation, and considers whether those differences are justified.’
Pensions Barrister, 8th May 2025
Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com
The UK Supreme Court Judgment Has Brought Much Needed Confusion: Why For Women Scotland Did Not Change UK Discrimination Law – UK Labour Law
‘What did the Supreme Court decide in For Women Scotland? The case concerned quotas in the representation of women in public boards in Scotland, under the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018. It was brought on appeal by For Women Scotland Ltd, a feminist organisation campaigning for women’s and children’s rights. The question, for the Court, was whether the Scottish quotas should include trans women with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), as provided for by the Gender Recognition Act 2004. To answer this question the Court turned to the interpretation of the Equality Act 2010, which is a consolidating act on matters of equality and non-discrimination. The Court found for the appellants, ruling that the quotas in the Scottish Act do not include trans women with a GRC.’
UK Labour Law Blog, 7th May 2025
Source: uklabourlawblog.com
Ministers call on tech firms for ‘bold ideas’ to tackle justice system crisis – The Independent
‘Top technology firms are set to meet with the Justice Secretary for the first time to look at how artificial intelligence and technology could be used to tackle violence in prisons and cut re-offending.’
The Independent, 7th May 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Judge condemns “continued saga” of excessive family law costs – Legal Futures
‘A deputy district judge and leading family law solicitor has condemned what he called the “continued saga” of “excessive costs” charged by family lawyers.’
Legal Futures, 8th May 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
A quick guide to the current changes envisaged by the Renters’ Rights Bill – Five Pump Court Chambers
‘The Renters’ Rights Bill continues to wend its way through Parliament – so what does the current Bill say and how is it likely to affect the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants? This is a brief guide to the Bill and the changes it envisages.’
Five Pump Court Chambers, 1st May 2025
Source: www.5pumpcourt.com
Climbing on Winston Churchill statue to become a crime – BBC News
‘The government will make it a crime to climb on Winston Churchill’s statue in Parliament Square, it will be announced today.’
BBC News, 7th May 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Dane Luo: Security, the Sussexes and Sir Geoffrey’s Judgments on the Duty to Follow Policies – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Public authorities are imbued with statutory and prerogative powers. And every now and then, they publish a policy setting out how they will exercise those powers. Policies must not be so rigid that they amount to a fetter on the discretion of decision-makers. But provided there is ample flexibility so as not to fetter, then the free-standing principle described in Mandalia v Home Secretary [2015] UKSC 59 (Mandalia) can kick in to impose a duty on the public authority to act in accordance with that policy unless there is good reason not to do so.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th May 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
