‘The pandemic has inarguably made custody more severe. Prisoners spend more time in their cell, have fewer visits, and face a heightened risk of infection. The higher courts have established that sentencing courts should account for such hardship. The below is a round-up of the relevant authorities.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 4th March 2021
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘The Domestic Abuse Bill received its second reading stage in the House of Lords on 5 January 2021. The government has indicated a commitment to improving the justice system’s effectiveness in providing protection for victims of domestic abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice.’
Garden Court Chambers, 1st March 2021
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘The courts are increasingly referring to PD 27A and the necessity for compliance.’
3PB, 26th February 2021
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘As anticipated the start of 2021 has shown an increase in COVID-19 related claims being heard at employment tribunals. What type of claims have been heard so far and what should we expect to see more of?’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 1st March 2021
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘The new Practice Direction 57AC (Witness evidence at trial) is set to significantly alter the approach taken to witness statements in the Business and Property Courts (B&PCs) by introducing new rules to deal with “the phenomenon over-long, over-lawyered trial witness statements” (paragraph 10 of the Factual Witness Evidence in Trials before the Business & Property Courts: Implementation Report of the Witness Evidence Working Group (31 July 2020) (Implementation Report). It will apply in the B&PCs to witness statements signed on or after 6 April 2021 in both new and existing proceedings (paragraph 1.1, PD 57AC. Note that certain types of proceedings are excluded unless the court directs otherwise: see paragraph 1.3).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 4th March 2021
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘V is in her early 70s and resides in a care home. She has Korsakoff’s syndrome. SD, V’s daughter, sought a declaration that it would not be in V’s best interests to administer a Covid-19 vaccine to V. The local authority argued it was in V’s best interests to receive the vaccine.’
Garden Court Chambers, 26th February 2021
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court’s decision in the case of The Open Spaces Society v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2020] EWHC 1085 Admin (05 May 2020) as to the correct criteria to be applied when considering applications to divert a footpath, bridleway or restricted byway under section 119 of the Highways Act 1980. The judgment confirms that in carrying out the test of expediency under section 119(6) of the Act, the decision making is not confined to determining the matter solely on the basis of the criteria under section 119(6)(a),(b), and (c). Provided that those criteria are specifically considered, then the decision maker can take account of a broad range of matters in reaching a conclusion, even if those matters have already been considered under other requirements of section 119 of the Act.’
Pallant Chambers, 26th February 2021
Source: www.pallantchambers.co.uk
‘In EOG v SSHD [2020] EWHC 3310 (Admin) the Court considered a challenge to the Home Office’s policy not to grant victims of trafficking a right to work or leave to remain whilst they are within the National Referral Mechanism. Mostyn J found in the Claimant’s favour and declared the Home Office’s policy unlawful as it failed to implement the obligation in Article 10.2 of ECAT to protect potential victims of trafficking from removal pending the conclusion of the process. He held that “[s]uffering such persons to remain as overstayers, or as illegal immigrants, does not fulfil the obligation” (§48). He left the issue of how the policy should be reformulated to the Home Office to determine. As regards the right to work, the Judge held that “Someone in the position of the claimant, who has a time-limited right to work, should not have the arbitrary adverse consequence of a removal of that right meted out to her simply by virtue of the delays that she is likely to face” (§48).’
Garden Court Chambers, 26th February 2021
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘In The Spiliada [1987] AC 460, 465 Lord Templeman hoped that in jurisdiction disputes, “the judge will be allowed to study the evidence and refresh his memory of [the legal principles] in the quiet of his room without expense to the parties; that he will not be referred to other decisions on other facts; and that submissions will be measured in hours and not days.”‘
Littleton Chambers, 3rd March 2021
Source: littletonchambers.com
‘If you are unlucky enough to have a car crash after 31 May 2021 and suffer whiplash injuries, you will face a very different approach to the valuation of and means of obtaining your damages. The new tariff regulations – The Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 – will reduce general damages significantly, from the potential £4,080 for a 12-month whiplash injury under the Judicial College Guidelines to a fixed £1,320 under the tariff scheme.’
No. 5 Chambers, 1st March 2021
Source: www.no5.com
‘The Spring edition of the PSQB Newsletter is now available for download.’
Park Square Barristers, 3rd March 2021
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘In Jarman v Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust [2021] EWHC 323 (QB), the Claimant brought a claim against the Defendant hospital for failing to promptly diagnose Cauda Equina Syndrome (“CES”).’
Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 25th February 2021
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘The Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered his Budget yesterday afternoon. A number of tax measures were introduced to ease the financial burden on businesses and individuals. Some were simply extensions of short-term tax relief, including a holiday on business rates for 3 months, maintaining the £500,000 SDLT nil-rate band, and a freeze on alcohol and fuel duties. In this update, I focus on some longer-term measures designed to promote a post-Covid rebound.’
Wilberforce Chambers, 4th March 2021
Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk
‘Andrew Butler QC assesses the recent Court of Appeal decision in Quantum Actuarial LLP v Quantum Advisory Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 227, in which he appeared for the Appellant. The case concerned covenants in restraint of trade, arising in an unusual context.’
Tanfield Chambers, 2nd March 2021
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Every year, Parliament makes hundreds of changes to UK law with little to no scrutiny from elected MPs. Partnering with EachOther, the legal charity Public Law Project has launched a video – available to watch below – calling for this process to be reformed. In this article, Alexandra Sinclair, the Public Law Project’s research fellow, explains more about the campaign.’
Each Other, 4th March 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A man who “roamed around” a beauty spot looking for someone to kill has been found guilty of a walker’s murder.’
BBC News, 3rd March 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In a recent dispute over employees and copyright ownership – Penhallurick v MD5 Limited – ownership of copyright in software created out of hours and on a home computer was in question. Did the employee have the right to take it with him when he left or was it owned by his employer?’
Mills & Reeve, 3rd March 2021
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
‘These rights have been central to many key justice fights in the past 20 years, and we can’t allow politicians to take them away.’
The Guardian, 3rd March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Sophie Basma (“Sophie”) is 10. She suffers from Type 3 Spinal Muscular Atrophy (“SMA”). SMA is a rare, genetic, neuromuscular disease which progressively leads to sufferers being unable to walk or sit unaided with devastating consequences on their quality of life. Sophie can no longer walk. There is medication for SMA sufferers which would have had the potential of helping Sophie regain her ability to work. But the NHS Trust had concluded that Sophie did not meet the eligibility criteria for this new medication, “Nusinersen”.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th March 2021
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
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