Category: chambers articles

Law firms and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace – Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog

Posted May 24th, 2023 in bills, chambers articles, employment, equality, harassment, law firms, news, professional conduct, sex discrimination, sexual offences, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘Sexual harassment in the workplace has attracted growing concern globally over the past five years. The House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) inquiry in July 2018 triggered a parliamentary debate around the need for stricter duties for employers to prevent unwanted sexual behaviour at work. In parallel, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has prioritised tackling sexual misconduct in law firms and recent changes to its Codes of Conduct emphasise the expectation on firms to foster a culture of zero tolerance to counter-inclusive behaviours, including sexual misconduct.’

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Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Bell v HM Coroner for South Yorkshire (Eastern District) – Inquests and Inquiries Law Blog

Posted May 17th, 2023 in chambers articles, coroners, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘In this post, Alex Carington considers a recent unsuccessful application under s. 13 of the Coroner’s Act 1988 in light of new evidence to quash an inquest in 1992 into the death of a woman who stepped into the path of an oncoming train where an open verdict was reached.’

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Inquests and Inquiries Law Blog, 16th May 2023

Source: inquestsandinquirieslawblog.com

Does the Raab affair provide sufficient clarity on what is meant by “bullying”? – Kingsley Napley

Posted April 26th, 2023 in bullying, chambers articles, employment, government departments, interpretation, news by sally

‘Employers have been crying out for years for clarity as to what exactly is meant by “bullying” in the modern workplace. What counts as reasonable and constructive criticism on the one hand, and intimidating or insulting behaviour on the other? The Raab case has brought this to a head. Indeed, there seems to have been more debate about this important question since publication of the Tolley report, than almost anything else to do with the case. And there is, in fact, a solution.’

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Kingsley Napley, 25th April 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

End of the road for wishful thinking in asset valuations? – Pensions Barrister

Posted April 25th, 2023 in chambers articles, intellectual property, news, trusts, valuation by sally

‘Paul Newman KC has written a summary of the FTT decision in Morgan Lloyd Trustees Limited & ors v HMRC (31 March 2023). The case concerns the appropriate approach to the valuation of intellectual property rights (including domain names), and will be bad news for trustees hoping to rely on eyebrow-raising expert valuations to escape scheme sanction charges.’

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Pensions Barrister, 25th April 2023

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Subsidy Control reviews: proportionality with a light touch – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted April 20th, 2023 in chambers articles, competition, news, proportionality, state aids by sally

‘As erstwhile State aid lawyers will know, under the UK’s new subsidy control regime, interested parties can challenge subsidy decisions in the CAT, which will apply the same principles applied by the High Court in a judicial review. But what standard of review will the CAT adopt when examining a substantive subsidy decision? The recent decision of the Divisional Court in the Bulb case suggests that the answer is proportionality (rather than rationality) – but that the proportionality review may be so light touch as not to add much to the traditional ground.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 19th April 2023

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Living in a zoo – the Supreme Court’s decision in Fearn v Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2023] UKSC 4 – Exchange Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in appeals, chambers articles, housing, news, nuisance, Supreme Court by sally

‘A few yards from the Tate Modern lies the Neo-Bankside block. It contains glass fronted flats constructed not long before the gallery’s viewing platform (known as the Blatvanik Building) opened. The trial took place in 2019, shortly before coronavirus struck in 2020 ([2019] EWHC 246) and took an inordinately long time to get to the Supreme Court.’

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Exchange Chambers, 23rd March 2023

Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk

Should Those Convicted of Serious Offences be Compelled to Face Their Victim’s Family? – Pump Court Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in bereavement, chambers articles, criminal justice, families, news, sentencing, victims by sally

‘The current Justice Secretary Dominic Raab thinks so. The recent, tragic murders of Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena have prompted Mr Raab to consider new legislation which will see those convicted of serious offences compelled to attend court and face the families of those they have harmed. Both convicted murderers Jordan McSweeney and Koci Selamaj refused to attend their sentencing hearings which meant the families of Sabina and Zara were unable to put their Victim Personal Statements to them. Mr Raab says he wants to “make sure courts have the power to compel someone who’s been convicted of a serious crime to come and face the sentence… is the very least the victims deserve… and is a basic principle of British justice”[1] but what are the implications of this proposal?’

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Pump Court Chambers, 9th March 2023

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

The use of the new statutory public nuisance offence to prosecute political and environmental protest – Doughty Street Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in chambers articles, climate change, demonstrations, environmental protection, news, nuisance by sally

‘On 28 June 2022, section 78 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (‘the PCSCA’) came into force. Following a recommendation by the Law Commission, the new statutory offence of intentionally or recklessly causing public nuisance codified and abolished the old offence of common law public nuisance.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 15th March 2023

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

The King v Arie Ali [2023] EWCA Crim 232 – Drystone Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in appeals, assault, chambers articles, imprisonment, news, prison officers, prisons, sentencing by sally

‘In this case the Court of Appeal held that the exceptional factor relating to the overcrowding conditions of the adult male prisons can properly be taken into account by a sentencing judge, particularly for short term prison sentences.’

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Drystone Chambers, 5th March 2023

Source: www.drystone.com

Rory Cochrane comments on Supreme Court’s latest telecommunications decision – Devereux Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in appeals, chambers articles, government departments, licensing, news, Supreme Court, telecommunications by sally

‘Last week [8 March], the Supreme Court handed down its decision in VIP Communications (In Liquidation) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] UKSC 10, upholding the Secretary of States’ appeal. The Supreme Court has confirmed that the Secretary of State can rely on section 5 of the Communications Act 2003 to direct Ofcom, on national security grounds, not to make regulations exempting commercial multi-user GSM gateways (COMUGs) from licensing.’

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Devereux Chambers, 8th March 2023

Source: www.devereuxchambers.co.uk

QOCS changes in April 2023: the practical and tactical implications for claimants and their solicitors – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in appeals, chambers articles, civil procedure rules, costs, damages, enforcement, news, part 36 offers, personal injuries by sally

‘In what is becoming something of a pattern, the Rules committee have come along to clear up the anomaly resulting from the decisions in the Appellate courts, this time in Cartwright v Venduct Engineering Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 1654; [2018] 1 WLR 6137 and Ho v Adelekun [2021] UKSC 43; [2021] 1 WLR 5132.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 16th March 2023

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Dove v Assistant Coroner for Teeside [2023] EWCA Civ 289 (17 March 2023) – Parklane Plowden

Posted April 14th, 2023 in appeals, benefits, bereavement, causation, chambers articles, coroners, government departments, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘Mrs Dove’s daughter took her own life after DWP benefits were withdrawn. In September 2021, the Divisional Court refused her application under s13 of the Coroners Act 1988 to quash the Coroner’s determination and direct a new inquest. The Divisional Court considered that the question of ‘how’ someone died in a Jamieson inquest was directed only to the means by which the deceased died, and did not encompass the wider circumstances of their death. In this case, the Court of Appeal considered the meaning of ‘by what means’.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 29th March 2023

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

Entering properties to fit a prepayment meter – what test should the Magistrates apply when granting a warrant? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in chambers articles, energy, magistrates, news, warrants by sally

‘Under the legislation there is no automatic right for an affected party to apply to the magistrates to apply to stay or adjourn the execution of the warrant.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 29th March 2023

Source: www.no5.com

Steven Gee KC – British Tax Review – R. (on the application of Cobalt Data Centre 2 LLP) v HMRC: a Cobalt white elephant – Monckton Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in capital allowances, chambers articles, construction industry, HM Revenue & Customs, news, taxation by sally

‘Section 298(1) of the Capital Allowances Act 2001 (CAA 2001) offered taxpayers Enterprise Zone allowances (EZAs) as an inducement to taking on the financial risks of newbuild industrial developments in disadvantaged areas, without a tenant. It extended their availability for a further 10 years after expiry of the 10-year life of an enterprise zone (EZ), provided that the qualifying “expenditure is incurred under a contract entered into within” the first 10 years (“the proviso”). According to the Court of Appeal1 changes made to a development, resulted in two building contracts with the claimed expenditure incurred under the second, being a “separate” contract

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Monckton Chambers, 22nd March 2023

Source: www.monckton.com

Fraud and indemnity costs – no presumption; and polemicists beware! – Littleton Chambers

Posted April 14th, 2023 in chambers articles, costs, fraud, indemnities, news by sally

‘In Pisante v Logothetis [2022] EWHC 2575 (Comm), Baker J had to consider whether to make an order for indemnity costs following a successful US$6.5m fraud action.’

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Littleton Chambers, 7th March 2023

Source: littletonchambers.com

‘Failure to prevent’ fraud offence to apply in UK to large organisations – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 14th, 2023 in bills, chambers articles, company law, crime prevention, fraud, news, statutory duty by tracey

‘A new criminal offence of failing to prevent fraud is to be added to UK law and applied to large businesses and other large organisations.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th April 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Submarines, Sherlock Holmes and Clinical Negligence – Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog

Posted April 14th, 2023 in burden of proof, chambers articles, damages, negligence, news, personal injuries by tracey

‘A topic close to my (legal) heart, and one upon which I have been known to speak unprompted at some length, is the correct approach to fact-finding where several possible causes, or causal mechanisms, are suggested for the damage under investigation: a common feature of clinical negligence (and, more widely, personal injury) litigation.’

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Ropewalk Clinical Negligence Blog, 29th March 2023

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

Research Demonstrates Juries Convict in 58% of Rape Cases, on Average – Pump Court Chambers

Posted April 13th, 2023 in chambers articles, juries, news, prosecutions, rape, statistics by sally

‘Over the period 2007 to 2021, the jury conviction rate for all rape charges stood at an average of 58%, with a high of 75% in 2021, according to new research published in the Criminal Law Review[1]. In 2007, the jury conviction rate was 55%. This research was commissioned by senior judiciary following public concerns that the jury conviction rates for rape were extremely low, and analysed 5,623,800 criminal charges from January 2007 to December 2021, not just including sexual offences.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 9th March 2023

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

The Not-So-Beautiful Game – Pump Court Chambers

Posted April 13th, 2023 in assault, chambers articles, news, sport, statistics, threatening behaviour by sally

‘In February 2023, BBC Radio 5 Live released the results of a questionnaire canvassing the experiences of 927 grassroots referees. The statistics make for grim reading, although will come as little surprise to anyone who has played Sunday league football.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 9th March 2023

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

A Master’s decision to order disclosure of internal non-contemporaneous documents upheld on appeal (Re Scherbakov (deceased)) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted April 13th, 2023 in administrators, appeals, chambers articles, disclosure, documents, news, practice directions by sally

‘Dispute Resolution analysis: On appeal, an order for disclosure against neutral Interim Administrators of the estate of a deceased person, requiring the search of review of non-contemporaneous internal documents has been upheld.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 24th March 2023

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk