Judges to be disciplined by lay majority panels – Legal Futures

‘Disciplinary panels hearing cases of judicial misconduct will have lay majorities, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the judiciary have decided, as part of a major overhaul of the system.’

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Legal Futures, 9th August 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Costs in lower-value clin neg cases ‘far exceed damages’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 8th, 2022 in consultations, costs, damages, doctors, negligence, news by tracey

‘Doctors’ representatives in clinical negligence cases have claimed that average costs far outstrip the compensation secured for cases worth less than £25,000.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th August 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law reforms proposed for digital assets, including NFTs and other crypto-tokens – Law Commission

Posted August 2nd, 2022 in consultations, cryptocurrencies, Law Commission, news by tracey

‘The Law Commission of England and Wales has published new proposals to reform the law relating to digital assets.’

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Law Commission, 28th July 2022

Source: www.lawcom.gov.uk

Crackdown on corrupt elites abusing UK legal system to silence critics – Ministry of Justice

‘The Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has today (20 July 2022) set out a package of measures that take aim at so-called “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation” (SLAPPs).’

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Ministry of Justice, 20th July 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

MoJ considers £5,000 costs cap to protect defendants against SLAPPs – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has suggested that people defending themselves from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) could be protected by a £5,000 costs cap.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

BSB launches a consultation on the regulation of non-professional conduct and on proposed new Social Media Guidance and publishes interim Social Media Guidance – Bar Standards Board

Posted July 22nd, 2022 in barristers, consultations, internet, news, professional conduct by tracey

‘The BSB is today launching a three-month public consultation on the regulator’s proposed approach to the regulation of non-professional conduct and on barristers’ use of social media. Simultaneously, interim Social Media Guidance has been published, which will be updated following the consultation. The consultation documents and interim Social Media Guidance were both developed with input from a stakeholder reference group consisting of external experts (including practising barristers) and BSB Board members.’

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Bar Standards Board, 21st July 2022

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

UK Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: in detail – OUT-LAW.com

‘New data protection laws proposed by the UK government are intended to promote data-driven innovation and reduce some of the burdens organisations have come to associate with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th July 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Legislation to counter state threats – Home Office

‘This is the government’s response to the Legislation to Counter State Threats (Hostile State Activity) public consultation.’

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Home Office, 12th July 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

New measures in Leicester to tackle rogue landlords – BBC News

Posted July 13th, 2022 in consultations, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news by tracey

‘New licensing measures are being introduced in parts of Leicester to help tackle rogue landlords, the city council said.’

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BBC News, 13th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Online Safety Bill: first indications of Ofcom’s regulatory approach – Panopticon

Posted July 7th, 2022 in bills, consultations, consumer protection, internet, news by sally

‘Ofcom has today published its “roadmap to regulation” if and when the Online Safety Bill becomes law, together with a “call for evidence” for the first phase of online safety regulation. Both are premised on the current version of the Online Safety Bill, which is acknowledged to be subject to alteration as the legislation goes through the Parliamentary process.’

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Panopticon, 6th July 2022

Source: panopticonblog.com

The UK Intellectual Property Office’s Consultation on Computer-Generated Works – City Law Forum

‘The UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 contains an odd section concerning ‘computer-generated works’. Section 9(2) of the Act states that when a work has no ‘human author’ and is generated by a computer, the work ought to be protected by copyright for 50 years, with the copyright owned by the person who made the necessary ‘arrangements’ for the work’s generation.’

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City Law Forum, 29th June 2022

Source: blogs.city.ac.uk

Civil Justice Council kicks off ‘holistic’ review of costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 4th, 2022 in civil justice, consultations, costs, news by tracey

‘The Civil Justice Council has set in motion a possible shake-up of the civil costs regime with the start of a wide-ranging consultation. The judicial-led group will look at the key areas of costs budgeting, guideline hourly rates, the impact of digitisation and portals, and the consequences of the extension of fixed recoverable costs.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 1st July 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

CJC begins process for major reform of costs regime – Legal Futures

Posted July 1st, 2022 in civil justice, consultations, costs, news by tracey

‘A rethought costs system that puts digitisation, vulnerable court users and a properly functioning civil justice system at its heart is the goal of a Civil Justice Council (CJC) working party, which yesterday began consulting on four key areas for possible reform.’

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Legal Futures, 1st July 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Land Value Capture Via CPO – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 27th, 2022 in bills, compensation, compulsory purchase, consultations, local government, news by tracey

‘Simon Ricketts examines the Government’s proposed reforms in relation to compensation following compulsory purchase.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th June 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK prepares for modernisation of Consumer Credit Act – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 23rd, 2022 in consultations, consumer credit, financial regulation, news by sally

‘The UK government has committed to the modernisation of its consumer credit regime, and plans to give the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) more control over the rules that apply to the consumer credit market.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd June 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Judge rejects legal challenge to decision-making for distributor road serving 7,500-home scheme – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 23rd, 2022 in consultations, judicial review, local government, news, planning, roads by sally

‘A judicial review challenging Wiltshire Council’s decision-making in relation to a major new distributor road serving a large-scale development project, the Future Chippenham programme, has been dismissed by a High Court judge.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st June 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Criminal legal aid fees will increase ‘by end of September’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government has revealed that it hopes to lay secondary legislation shortly that would see criminal legal aid fees increase by the end of September.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th June 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Electronic signatures instead of witnesses for LPAs stay on the table – Legal Futures

‘The government has refused to rule out replacing the witnessing of lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) with electronic signatures despite widespread opposition in a consultation.’

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Legal Futures, 20th May 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Proposed Reforms to the UK Human Rights Act – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted May 20th, 2022 in consultations, government departments, human rights, news by sally

‘In December 2021, the UK Government released its consultation document proposing changes to the Human Rights Act 1998. That document followed the report of the Independent Human Rights Act Review, established in 2020 to examine, first, the relationship between domestic UK courts and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and second, the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 on the relationship between the three branches of state in the UK. Incidentally, the Oxford Human Rights Hub submitted evidence to that latter report. This article considers some of the most important proposed changes.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 18th May 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

The Government’s Proposed Bill Of Rights Is A ‘Power Grab’ – Each Other

‘On the same day Prince Charles declared in the Queen’s Speech that the government intends to replace the Human Rights Act (HRA) with a new Bill of Rights, civil liberties activists rallied behind a campaign in what may be a last attempt to protect it.’

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Each Other, 11th May 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk