‘Barrister Adam Pipe explains the role and appointment of litigation friends in the Immigration Tribunals following December’s new Joint Presidential Guidance No. 1 on the appointment of litigation friends in the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).’
EIN Blog, 28th January 2025
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘One evening in autumn 2023, a young couple took their five month old baby to an emergency hospital where she was diagnosed with numerous physical injuries (some very serious) which the parents couldn’t explain. Local authority children’s services were called in and care proceedings began. The baby went into foster care under an interim care order when she left hospital. Fortunately, she soon fully recovered from the injuries. More than a year later, a full care order was made.’
Transparency Project, 29th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Whatever its cause, a backlog of over 73,000 Crown court cases is not acceptable. Delays for complainants, defendants and witnesses all impede justice. In the third quarter of 2024, the Crown court received over 31,683 new cases and disposed of 29,502. The passage of time will not solve the problem. Change is inevitable.’
Kingsley Napley Criminal Law Blog, 27th January 2025
Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected an attempt by American actor Mercer Boffey to argue that his house in Richmond is not liable for council tax.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A former supreme court judge has told MPs that applications for assisted dying should not need high court approval.’
The Guardian, 29th January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A man who claimed his daughter died in a “freak accident” during a play-fight with a knife has been found guilty of her murder.’
BBC News, 27th January 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘On 23 January, Sir Keir Starmer announced plans to “stop blockers getting in the way” of infrastructure development, by introducing restrictions on judicial review of infrastructure projects. Notwithstanding this government’s consistent commitment to reforming the planning system, so as to galvanise infrastructure and housing delivery, and its forthcoming Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the announcement of these particular proposals may have come as something of a surprise to public lawyers. The proposals are, though, largely reflective of an Independent review into legal challenges against Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects led by Lord Banner KC (“the Banner Review”), which was commissioned by the previous Conservative government, and they follow on from the Ministry of Justice’s call for evidence on implementing some of Lord Banner’s proposals, which ran from 28 October 2024 to 30 December 2024.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th January 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has approved plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to change its publication policy and keep details of misconduct on its website for longer.’
Legal Futures, 28th January 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by two journalists against a judge’s decision to order the anonymisation of the names of the circuit judges that had decided historic care proceedings relating to Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and step-mother in 2023.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘New practice guidance ‘The use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family Court’, was issued by the President of the Family Division on 23 January.’
Transparency Project, 27th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The owner of an XL bully dog which chased and killed a man has been jailed for three years.’
BBC News, 27th January 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the striking out a representative action for misuse of private information. The judgment confirms the correct approach to identifying whether all claimants have the necessary ‘same interest’ in order to pursue a representative action. It highlights the risk that stripping back a claim to its lowest common denominator so as to satisfy the ‘same interest’ requirement may result in the pared down claim having no real prospect of success. Indeed, the Court of Appeal concluded that “a representative class claim for misuse of private information is always going to be very difficult to bring”.’
Henderson Chambers, 23rd December 2025
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘It’s time to unwrap Rule 7(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (‘the Tribunal Rules’): the Upper Tribunal (‘UT’) has held in Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) that the First-tier Tribunal (‘FTT’) is not entitled under Rule 7(6) to require one party to serve the Tribunal’s directions on another, but must do so itself.’
Gatehouse Chambers, 11th December 2025
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘A massive reduction in the combustion of fossil fuels will be required if the UK is to meet its target of “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. At a global scale, reliance on fossil fuels will need to be greatly reduced if irreversible impacts on the environment are to be avoided. It is against this background that the Supreme Court has had to answer the following question: in circumstances where there is an obligation to consider the environmental effects of a development proposal for the extraction of fossil fuels, must the climate impacts of the eventual combustion of those fossil fuels be assessed?’
Cambridge Law Journal, 7th January 2025
Source: www.cambridge.org
‘Residents of a “renegade” Somerset market town have won their battle to create an innovative 5-hectare (12-acre) community-led development that includes homes, workspaces and a lido, after councillors agreed to sell a large brownfield site to the not-for-profit social enterprise behind the project.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors [2024] UKSC 34, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of payment for the purposes of section 70(4) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974).’
Gatehouse Chambers, 20th December 2024
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘The Justice Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine the work of the County Court amid “persistent” concerns over capacity and resources.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the “ferocious” and “sadistic” knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In view of the name of this case HO v TL [2024] 2 FLR 175, and the fact that the family business was a hotel business, I really hope that it will become known as “The Hotel Case”. Anyway, it does deserve to become known, because it is another decision from Peel J of the type referred to by Edward Kenny in his article last month, i.e. a really useful authority that sets out fundamental points, and quite a lot of them in this case. What is more, the costs decision in this case is also reported HO v TL (Costs) [2024] 2 FLR 200 and fits into the same category.’
Becket Chambers, 18th December 2024
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘On 1 November 2024, the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (FTT IAC) ushered in a new era with the publication of its latest Practice Direction (PD). This comprehensive document replaces previous iterations and Practice Statement No. 1 of 2022, signifying a considerable shift in the landscape of immigration and asylum appeals.’
Garden Court Chambers, 19th December 2024
Source: gardencourtchambers.co.uk
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