Julian Assange to find out next week if he can appeal against extradition to US – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2024 in appeals, confidentiality, extradition, freedom of expression, news, spying, whistleblowers by tracey

‘In a matter of days Julian Assange will find out if he has exhausted all potential challenges through the British courts to being extradited to the US, where he could spend the rest of his life in prison. The two-day hearing is scheduled to take place in London on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, as he seeks leave to appeal against his extradition for publishing thousands of classified military and diplomatic documents.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK medics told not to report illegal abortions to police – The Guardian

‘Medical staff in the UK should not report women to the police if they believe their patients may have illegally ended their own pregnancy, a professional body has said. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has said it is never in the public interest to report women who have abortions to law enforcement agencies, according to the BBC.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Order Precedents Summarise Privacy Restrictions for Readers – Transparency Project

Posted June 19th, 2023 in children, confidentiality, families, family courts, news, privacy by sally

‘Most Family Court orders have some sort of confidentiality warning on them these days, especially in cases about children. Typically they warn that the names of the children and family members must not be published.’

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Transparency Project, 18th June 2023

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

UK ICO publishes new employer guidance on subject access requests – OUT-LAW.com

‘The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued new guidance for employers on how to handle subject access requests (SARs).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 1st June 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Court rejects £63m claim against PwC over Slater and Gordon deal – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A judge has dismissed a claim that national firm Slater and Gordon was passed confidential information which caused it to chop £63m off the price of an acquisition.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Warnings over NHS data privacy after ‘stalker’ doctor shares woman’s records – The Guardian

‘The confidentiality of NHS medical records has been thrown into doubt after a “stalker” hospital doctor accessed and shared highly sensitive information about a woman who had started dating her ex-boyfriend, despite not being involved in her care.’

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The Guardian, 14th May 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

HMRC permitted to disclose taxpayer information to another taxpayer, court finds – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 29th, 2023 in appeals, confidentiality, disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, news, taxation, VAT by sally

‘The Court of Appeal in London has decided that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can disclose confidential information about one taxpayer to another taxpayer in the context of a tax appeal.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

UK court ruling highlights privilege and disclosure issues relating to emails in corporate IT systems – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 15th, 2022 in confidentiality, disclosure, electronic mail, news, privacy, privilege by tracey

‘A recent decision by the England and Wales High Court, refusing to grant a declaration that company officers could not assert privilege in respect of emails stored in a corporate email system, provides useful lessons to businesses on legal professional privilege and disclosure, according to a legal expert.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th December 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Top barrister accuses Labour of ‘spin’ over NDAs gagging ex-staff – The Guardian

‘One of the UK’s most high-profile freedom of expression lawyers has accused Labour of “spin and dissembling” for denying it attempted to stop two female ex-staffers from speaking about sexual harassment. In a highly unusual intervention, Mark Stephens, who represented Georgie Robertson and Laura Murray, said there were “high public interests at play” and said the party was “undermining their credibility” by issuing statements denying it had tried to offer them non-disclosure agreements.’

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The Guardian, 21st July 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘The worst law on earth’: why the rich love London’s reputation managers – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson has vowed to level the playing field on which oligarchs stifle those who scrutinise them. How can he do it?’

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The Guardian, 8th June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal professional privilege in the UK – OUT-LAW.com

‘If a document is privileged, the basic position is it can be withheld from third parties.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th May 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Identity of person instructing solicitors not covered by privilege – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has rejected a company’s claim to litigation privilege over the identity of who instructed its lawyers.’

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Legal Futures, 16th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New Judgment: Bloomberg LP v ZXC [2022] UKSC 5 – UKSC Blog

‘The Respondent is a US citizen. He and his employer were the subject of a criminal investigation by a UK Legal Enforcement Body. During that investigation, the UKLEB sent a confidential Letter of Request to the authorities of a foreign state seeking, among other things, information and documents relating to the Respondent. The Letter expressly requested that its existence and contents remain confidential.’

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UKSC Blog, 16th February 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Balancing transparency and confidentiality ‘really difficult’ – McFarlane – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Greater transparency is necessary for the public to have confidence in the family justice system but balancing openness with confidentiality will be “really difficult”, the president of the Family Division told MPs today.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Court throws out claim over law firm’s “trivial” data breach – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has imposed indemnity costs on a family that claimed damages for distress after a law firm accidentally sent an email about outstanding school fees to the wrong person.’

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Legal Futures, 21st October 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Transparency 1 – 0 Confidentiality?: Manchester City v The Premier League in the Court of Appeal – Littleton Chambers

‘The Court of Appeal this week handed down its decision in Manchester City Football Club Ltd v The Football Association Premier League & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 1110, the latest judgment to consider the difficult tension that exists between the generally confidential nature of sports arbitration and the desirability of transparency where matters of public interest arise.’

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Littleton Chambers, 22nd July 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

Cyber-attacks, Theft of Confidential Information and Norwich Pharmacal Orders – The 36 Group

Posted June 24th, 2021 in affidavits, chambers articles, confidentiality, cross-examination, news by sally

‘In Stokoe Partnership Solicitors v Grayson & Ors [2021] EWCA Civ 626, the Court of Appeal considered the test for ordering the cross-examination of an individual, prior to trial, on the content of his sworn affidavit which had been provided pursuant to a Norwich Pharmacal order.’

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The 36 Group, 15th June 2021

Source: 36group.co.uk

Lawyer found guilty of criminal contempt of court, fined £7k for disclosing result of Supreme Court appeal prior to judgment being handed down – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has fined an environmental lawyer £5,000 after finding him in criminal contempt of court for deliberately disclosing the result of an appeal prior to hand down of the judgment.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

An Enlightened Approach to Taxpayer Confidentiality: The Story of the First Income Tax – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted April 15th, 2021 in confidentiality, income tax, news, privacy by sally

‘Confidentiality is a fundamental concept at the heart of the modern taxation system. The need to strike a balance between the taxpayer’s right to privacy and the requirement of HMRC to carry out its functions has been the subject of much legislation and litigation. There has been an explosion in the exchange of information between revenue authorities of different countries and British politicians have for years been under pressure to emulate the tradition of American presidents publishing their tax returns. But there is nothing new under the sun: the introduction of income tax in Britain at the end of the 18th century was dominated by concerns over taxpayer confidentiality, which led to measures being developed which have left their mark on today’s income tax system.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 6th April 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

An Enlightened Approach to Taxpayer Confidentiality: The Story of the First Income Tax – Wilberforce Chambers

‘Confidentiality is a fundamental concept at the heart of the modern taxation system. The need to strike a balance between the taxpayer’s right to privacy and the requirement of HMRC to carry out its functions has been the subject of much legislation and litigation.[1] There has been an explosion in the exchange of information between revenue authorities of different countries and British politicians have for years been under pressure to emulate the tradition of American presidents publishing their tax returns. But there is nothing new under the sun: the introduction of income tax in Britain at the end of the 18th century was dominated by concerns over taxpayer confidentiality, which led to measures being developed which have left their mark on today’s income tax system.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 6th April 2021

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk