‘A woman has been jailed for four years for causing the death of an eight-month-old baby girl in a crash outside a hospital after losing control of her car while reaching for a handbag.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A protester has been ordered to pay more than £7,500 after failing to comply with a public space protection order (PSPO), which created a designated safe zone outside a reproductive health clinic in Ealing.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This paper explores the contemporary elective module provision in undergraduate English law degrees. The demise of the qualifying law degree as a requirement to pursue qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales means that providers of undergraduate English law degrees now have increasing flexibility over the structure and content of courses. This paper reviews elective modules offered at providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the academic year 2023–2024 and finds that while there is increasing diversity among elective provision when compared to historic provision, there is also a degree of standardisation among degree providers. It discusses the significance of this standardisation in the post-qualifying law degree world and develops seven themes based on current elective provision to highlight the broader trends in elective provision. It then concludes by arguing that the legacy of the qualifying law degree is clearly influencing the new normal and suggests several questions which this raises for undergraduate legal education going forward.’
The Law Teacher, 22nd January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘Diminished responsibility is one of the partial defences available to those charged with murder. If a defendant is found to have had diminished responsibility during the commission of the offence, they are not acquitted but rather found guilty of voluntary manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.’
Pump Court Chambers, 20th December 2025
Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com
‘Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In a judgment handed down on 18 December 2024, the High Court declared that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘SSHD’) breached her duty to provide adequate asylum accommodation under sections 95 and 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The High Court granted a mandatory order requiring the Claimants (C1 and C2) to be moved to adequate accommodation that would meet the needs of the C2, a severely disabled child.’
Garden Court Chambers, 19th December 2025
Source: gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘In March 2015, BHS was sold for to Retail Acquisition Limited for the princely sum of just £1. Dominic Chappell (a thrice bankrupt former racing driver with no experience in retail) and his fellow directors took the helm of the struggling group. A little over a year later, in April 2016, BHS collapsed into administration and later insolvent liquidation by which point the net deficiency was a staggering £1.3 billion).’
Gatehouse Chambers, 18th December 2025
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘In the world of personal injury law, we often deal with things that are easy – for example, calculating a simple loss of earnings over a short period of time. We sometimes deal with things which are a bit harder – for example, the approach to loss of earnings where due to an accident the Claimant is now under a disability. However, we sometimes have to bite the bullet and deal with things which are nasty. Pension loss, unfortunately, is one of them.’
Exchange Chambers, 3rd December 2025
Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk
‘The family of a black man who died after being restrained by police officers who denied having heard him say “I can’t breathe” have condemned the police discipline system after two officers were cleared of gross misconduct.’
The Guardian, 22nd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘An overhaul of laws on terrorism after the Southport murders will not expand the definition to take in disruptive but non-violent protest, Downing Street has said, as MPs and senior lawyers warned about potential risks to the plan.’
The Guardian, 22nd January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘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 2024
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘Following the 2024 Personal Injury Discount Rate (DR) review, the current DR of -0.25% will change to +0.5%, effective from 11 January 2025.’
St John's Chambers, 12th December 2024
Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk
‘This paper argues that solicitors are required to lawyer relationally when delivering independent legal advice (ILA) to (predominantly) women set to provide suretyship for their intimate partner’s debts. Case law tells us that women providing suretyship may be entering the transaction under the coercion of their partner. Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse, which in turn is a form of domestic abuse. ILA in this context therefore provides an important intervention to potentially assist victims of abuse before entering (potentially more) debt at the hands of their abuser. To make ILA purposeful, solicitors must prioritise relational values/dynamics such as consultation, care, judgement, and empowerment; the anti-thesis of market-exchange lawyering which is characterised by the values such as objectivity and detachment. Market-exchange lawyering is also associated with ethical apathy as lawyers prioritise their client’s means-ends above all else, therefore failing to consider the broader implications of those ends (in terms of their client’s best interests and/or the public interest). Drawing on interview data with 22 solicitors, it is demonstrated that most interviewees provide tick-box ILA prioritising completion. That is, most interviewees prioritised values of commerce over values of care when acting for women who may be experiencing economic abuse.’
Legal Ethics, 15th January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘This comment considers the decision of the Divisional Court in DPP v Cobban, looking at the application of s 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and the compatibility with Articles 8 and 10 of the ECHR. The comment argues that the decision is significant in imposing a criminal restriction to uphold standards of propriety in relation to a closed conversation between consenting adults. The comment also questions whether the reach of the decision can be limited to a context that involves police officers. The decision points to the limited protection of expression rights and highlights the ongoing problems of s 127 in applying a standard of gross offence in a speech crime.’
Journal of Media Law, 10th January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘A 19-year-old who was part of a neo-Nazi satanist group has been jailed for six years for encouraging girls to die by suicide and self-harm, as well as possession of a document for terrorist purposes.’
The Independent, 16th January 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Privacy is regarded as a fundamental right that is protected in multiple and varying ways. This cannot be said for privacy of the dead. This article considers the importance of post-mortem privacy and reviews the law of privacy and post-mortem privacy in England and Wales including under the ECHR. It also considers medical confidentiality and whether common arguments that pertain to the dead (e.g. organ donation, burial, testamentary dispositions and posthumous copyright) lend support to post-mortem privacy arguments. This article introduces the concept of post-mortem privacy as envisioned by Harbinja and Edwards, and discusses whether the dead can be legal rights holders with a focus on the Interest Theory of rights. This allows for the discussion of post-mortem theories and harm. It concludes by supplementing Donnelly and McDonagh’s theories on ante-mortem anxiety and Davey’s theory on chilling effects with the jurisprudence of the ECHR to create a new legal right.’
Journal of Media Law, 6th January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘A violent and controlling “monster” who subjected his late partner, Kiena Dawes, to repeated assaults, bullying and belittling has been jailed for six and a half years.’
The Guardian, 16th January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A woman who carried out a transphobic stabbing attack motivated by a “distorted notion of revenge” has been sentenced to more than eight years in youth detention.’
The Guardian, 16th January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2025