Consult judges on devolution, says lord chief justice – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 4th, 2014 in bills, devolution, drafting, judges, judiciary, news by sally

‘The lord chief justice has called for judicial engagement in the drafting of new devolution bills that will be brought forward by the next parliament.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 3rd December 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Counter Terrorism and Security Bill unveiled – Home Office

Posted November 27th, 2014 in bills, citizenship, news, passports, terrorism, visas by sally

‘Urgently-needed legislation which will give the UK some of the toughest powers in the world to tackle the increasing threat from international terrorism was introduced today.’

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Home Office, 26th November 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Terror law watchdog calls for court role in temporary exclusion orders – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2014 in bills, courts, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

‘The lack of any effective check or court oversight of the home secretary’s new powers to impose temporary exclusion orders for up to two years on British citizens returning from Iraq or Syria has been strongly criticised by the official counter-terror law watchdog.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stop Retaliating! – NearlyLegal

Posted November 27th, 2014 in bills, complaints, housing, landlord & tenant, news, notification, repairs, time limits by sally

‘The Tenancies Reform Bill has now been formally published following its second reading. The Bill has changed substantially from the original version that was put forward by Sarah Teather MP and drafted by Shelter. We commented on the Bill before as we had seen the version produced at first reading. The Bill has now benefitted from the gentle caress of the Parliamentary Draftsman’s office so it looks entirely different.’

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NearlyLegal, 27th November 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Cohabiting pitfalls: is it time the law caught up? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 26th, 2014 in bills, cohabitation, married persons, mortgages, news by sally

‘The law on relationship breakdown differs between couples who are cohabiting and married couples. Under English Law the concept of common-law wife/husband does not exist. If an unmarried couple live together in a property owned by both of them, they need to be careful to express at the outset what they intend as to property ownership. If they intend it to be an equal ownership they should state this or differing percentages.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Theresa May to publish new anti-terror powers – BBC News

‘New measures to tackle terrorism are to be unveiled by the home secretary, days after she said the UK faces a “greater” terror threat than ever before.’

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BBC News, 26th November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Counter-Terrorism Bill – the proposals in a nutshell – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Whatever else can be said about the war on terrorism, it has been hugely influential in the shaping of the law (statutory, common law and European). The latest proposal to come from the Coalition is a “Temporary Exclusion Order”, announced in the press in September. It was “re-booted” in November and we are told that these will feature in the new Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill (name not confirmed) due before Christmas. The Bill is in fact scheduled to be published later this week, but these things sometimes slip.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Device user data retention laws to be introduced in UK – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 25th, 2014 in bills, data protection, internet, news, terrorism by sally

‘Internet service providers will be required to retain information detailing the IP addresses of internet users under proposed new UK anti-terrorism laws.’

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OUT-LAW.com,

Source: www.out-law.com

Terror bill requires universities to ban extremist speakers – The Guardian

‘New powers for the home secretary to order universities to ban extremist speakers from their campuses are to be included in a new counter-terrorism bill.’

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The Guardian, 24th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Illegal immigration Bill – solution to a problem that doesn’t exist – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 25th, 2014 in bills, crime, immigration, news by sally

‘Do we need any new laws? Christopher Chope, the Tory MP for Christchurch thinks so. He’s introduced the Illegal Immigrants (Criminal Sanctions) Bill 2014. It is short – only three clauses, and its aim is clear from the title, and this is made clear from the Preamble. This is a Bill to “Make provision for criminal sanctions against those who have entered the UK illegally or who have remained in the UK without legal authority”.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 24th November 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Internet data plan back on political agenda – BBC News

‘A law forcing firms to hand details to police identifying who was using a computer or mobile phone at a given time is to be outlined by Theresa May.’

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BBC News, 23rd November 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Counter-terrorism bill will enable ‘internal exile’ of UK suspects – The Guardian

Posted November 21st, 2014 in bills, news, terrorism, terrorism prevention & investigation measures by tracey

‘Nick Clegg has conceded that the new counter-terror bill to be published next week will include a power to force terrorism suspects to relocate to another part of Britain, dropping previous opposition to the measure. But the Liberal Democrats say they have secured further changes to the existing system of terrorism prevention and investigation measures, known as Tpims, that will make it harder rather than easier for the home secretary to use them to restrict a suspect’s liberty.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Violent prisoners to face tougher penalties in crackdown against serious assaults on prison staff – The Independent

‘Violence in jails will be met with tougher repercussions in a new crackdown against serious assaults on prison staff.’

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The Independent, 16th November 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jihadis who travel to Syria could be barred from UK return for two years – The Guardian

‘Suspected jihadis, including teenagers, who travel to Syria will be prevented from returning to Britain for two years and only allowed to re-enter if they consent to face trial, home detention, regular police monitoring or go on a deradicalisation course. The plan, agreed after months of internal Whitehall talks, has been cleared by government law officers and devised to minimise legal claims that the British government will be rendering citizens stateless by barring them from the UK.’

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The Guardian, 14th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law to change so that 17-year-olds in police custody treated as minors – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 13th, 2014 in bills, children, detention, news, young persons by tracey

‘The law will be changed so that 17-year-olds held in police custody are treated as minors and placed in local authority care, Policing Minister Mike Penning has said. This move followed a campaign on behalf of 17-year-olds, who argued that the police had wrongly treated them as though they were adults by holding them in overnight detention.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th November 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law to protect foreign aid rejected by Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 13th, 2014 in bills, budgets, charities, news by tracey

‘Philip Hammond has rejected a “bizarre” plan to enshrine in law Britain’s commitment to spend billions of pounds every year on foreign aid. The Foreign Secretary’s comments could prompt a row with the Liberal Democrats, who are attempting to force through legislation committing the Government to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid. Mr Hammond said there is no need for a new law because the Government is already spending 0.7 per cent, which is a United Nations target.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th November 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Assisted dying will be made legal in UK ‘within two years’ – The Guardian

Posted November 10th, 2014 in assisted suicide, bills, doctors, news by sally

‘A change in the law that will allow terminally ill people to be helped to end their lives is inevitable and will happen within as little as a couple of years, according to the deputy chair of the British Medical Association (BMA).’

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The Guardian, 8th November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Family of girl who killed herself after arrest challenges detention policy – The Guardian

‘Kesia Leatherbarrow broke a window trying to enter a residential care home for ex-addicts to visit a friend. When officers arrested the 17-year-old, they discovered a small quantity of cannabis. She spent two nights and three days in police custody; a few hours after being released, she hanged herself.’

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The Guardian, 2nd November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Modern slavery bill is ‘lost opportunity’, says human trafficking adviser – The Guardian

‘The government’s modern slavery bill is a “lost opportunity,” the home secretary’s former special envoy for human trafficking has warned. Anthony Steen, who advised on the legislation and chairs the Human Trafficking Foundation, said the bill, which will be debated in parliament on Tuesday for its third reading, had “yawning gaps”, and failed to focus on the needs of victims of trafficking in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 3rd November 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New ‘watchdog’ and ‘monitor’ will hold reformed Highways Agency to account, says UK government – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 30th, 2014 in bills, enforcement, fines, government departments, news, road traffic by sally

‘New bodies which will monitor the performance of the strategic road network and champion the needs of its users will be created as part of plans to hold a reconstituted Highways Agency to account, the UK government has announced.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 29th October 2014

Source: www.out-law.com