‘The recent Court of Appeal judgment in Farrar v Rylatt should serve as a warning to practitioners of the uphill struggle that a party faces when attempting to appeal a trial judge’s findings of fact.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 25th November 2019
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘Insolvency and Companies Court (ICC) Judge Barber held that the Lundy Granite principle does not extend to an obligation to ‘top up’ a rent deposit fund, where sums had been withdrawn from the fund to pay rent. Re London Bridge Entertainment Partners shows how seemingly immaterial business decisions made when an entity is solvent will be thrown into relief when the same entity becomes insolvent. Here, the decision to ‘pay first, ask questions later’ from the deposit fund meant that the landlord effectively lost its priority ranking in respect of those rent payments; a priority it could otherwise have been entitled to. The case also demonstrates that the ambit of provable debts will continue to be construed broadly, while the category of administration expenses will be narrowly construed. Written by Samuel Parsons, barrister at Guildhall Chambers.’
Guildhall Chambers, 22nd November 2019
Source: www.guildhallchambers.co.uk
‘Drug trafficking, and tackling it, includes practices which are costly to the UK’s natural habitat—from drug-fuelled deforestation to drug-plant eradication—yet it remains an underexplored issue. A recent study has highlighted the environmental damage caused by the narcotics trade, showing traces of cocaine and other illegal drugs in marine life in UK rivers. Rudi Fortson QC, barrister at 25 Bedford Row and visiting Professor of Law at Queen Mary University of London, outlines the legislation (or lack of) responsible for protecting the environment against illegal activity and how things could be improved.’
25 Bedford Row, 7th November 2019
Source: www.25bedfordrow.com
‘At an inquest in Hastings yesterday Senior Coroner Alan Craze concluded that three patients who died after a fire at a hospice on 11 July 2015 were unlawfully killed.’
Garden Court Chambers, 21st November 2019
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘Employee competition litigation typically starts with the discovery of some perceived threat to a business: perhaps the theft or removal of confidential documentation or information; the co-ordinated departure of key employees; or evidence of breaches of post termination covenants. Decisions have to be taken, often under time pressure, about how best to respond to that threat: is a without notice application justified? Is pre-action correspondence appropriate, and if so in what terms? What if any undertakings should be sought? These critical early decisions can have a significant impact on the future conduct of any litigation, including issues of costs and interim relief.’
Littleton Chambers, 21st November 2019
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
‘“CumEx” is a controversial dividend arbitrage stock trading practice currently under investigation in several European jurisdictions with, to date, limited involvement from the UK authorities. It allegedly caused significant losses to various EU treasuries, which are currently engaged in civil proceedings, regulatory settlements and criminal proceedings, including against two former London traders who are currently on trial for tax fraud in Germany.’
5SAH, 19th November 2019
Source: www.5sah.co.uk
‘Michelle Brewer of Garden Court delivered the keynote address at the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe) international conference on ‘The Critical Role of the Judiciary in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings’.’
Garden Court Chambers, 22nd November 2019
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘A lorry driver charged with the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a refrigerated trailer has pleaded guilty to plotting to assist illegal immigration.’
The Guardian, 25th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has had to suspend rules due to come into force today that would allow solicitors to operate from firms regulated by the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC).’
Legal Futures, 25th November 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In its first substantive output since being announced a year ago, the LawTech Delivery Panel last week posted good news for anyone developing, or working with, products based on blockchain encryption technology.’
Law Society's Gazette, 25th November 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘British women are increasingly being pressured into polygamous relationships or left without child support when relationships break up because UK law does not offer adequate protection to spouses in religious marriages, campaigners have warned.’
The Independent, 25th November 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Gender equality in the number of judges in England and Wales should be achieved by 2033 at the current rates of progress, according to Lady Hale, the president of the supreme court.’
The Guardian, 23rd November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) new rulebook – Standards and Regulations (STaRs) – comes into force today, with experts highlighting several areas of significant change and opportunity for firms.’
Legal Futures, 25th November 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘This week has seen reports in the legal press of a speech in which the President of the Family Division set out an idea for a research project about news reports containing accounts of how family courts have handled domestic abuse claims. See for example : Press attacks on family courts should be assessed – McFarlane by Monidipa Fouzder in The Gazette.’
Transparency Project, 23rd November 2019
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Engaging in controlling and/or coercive behaviour in intimate or familial relationships became a new criminal offence in England and Wales in December 2015. Coercive Control involves a pattern of abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten the victim. Example behaviours included in this legislation are isolation from friends and family, deprivation of basic needs, monitoring behaviour and time, controlling a victim’s life and/or finances, and may include physical violence. The introduction of this offence was welcomed for recognising the cumulative impact of various forms of domestic abuse and for encouraging police and other criminal justice agencies to move beyond an incident-led and physical violence-based understanding of domestic abuse. However, four years on since the legislation was enacted and with no compulsory national level training or support, what has actually changed?’
OUP Blog, 25th November 2019
Source: blog.oup.com
‘The number of unrepresented defendants in crown courts is rising sharply, the head of the Criminal Bar Association has warned, as cuts to legal aid increasingly affect the criminal justice system.’
The Guardian, 24th November 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘On 15 October the Environment Bill was published. The first half of the bill was originally published in December 2018 as the Environmental (Principles and Governance) Bill.’
Law Society's Gazette, 25th November 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘A review is under way into the Government’s compensation scheme for families of British people murdered outside the UK and the European Union.’
Daily Telegraph, 24th November 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The Secretary of State has withdrawn her appeal against the decision of the Administrative court in R(ota K, a child by her litigation friend) v SSHD [2018] EWHC 1834 (Admin).’
Garden Court Chambers, 6th November 2019
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
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