Government acted unlawfully in sharing information that could lead to death penalty, rules UK Supreme Court – Garden Court Chambers

‘The UK Supreme Court today ruled that the British Government acted unlawfully in a case where it departed from the UK’s longstanding policy on opposing the death penalty in all circumstances.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 25th March 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

High Court orders disclosure of DBA and funding – Litigation Futures

Posted March 30th, 2020 in damages, disclosure, limitations, news, third parties by sally

‘The High Court has ordered the claimants in a major group action to disclose details of both the damages-based agreement (DBA) and third-party funding arrangements they have entered into.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Substantial compliance just won’t do: Supreme Court on international data transfers under DPA Part 3 – Panopticon

‘Foreign fighters. Law enforcement cooperation with the US. The death penalty. A seven judge bench in the Supreme Court. Despite showing all the signs of a landmark public law decision, Elgizouli v Secretary of the State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 10 was a bit of a fizzer on that front. In the end, the real meat was in the DPA 2018’s regulation of law enforcement processing and international data transfers.’

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Panopticon, 30th March 2020

Source: panopticonblog.com

New Judgment: Elgizouli (AP) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 10 – UKSC Blog

‘The appellant’s son is alleged to have been one of a group of terrorists operating in Syria, involved in the murder of US and British citizens. The US made a mutual legal assistance request to the UK in relation to an investigation into the activities of that group. The Home Secretary requested an assurance that the information would not be used directly or indirectly in a prosecution that could lead to the imposition of the death penalty. The US refused to provide a full death penalty assurance and the Home Secretary agreed to provide information to the US without requiring any assurance. The appellant challenged the Home Secretary’s decision by way of judicial review. The questions for the Supreme Court were firstly whether it is unlawful for the Secretary of State to exercise his power to provide MLA so as to supply evidence to a foreign state that will facilitate the imposition of the death penalty in that state on the individual and secondly whether it is lawful under the Data Protection Act 2018, Part 3 for law enforcement authorities in the UK to transfer personal data to law enforcement authorities abroad for use in capital criminal proceedings.’

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UKSC Blog, 25th March 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Illegality and separating a PD from an underlying dispute – 3PB

‘Tracey Robinson (‘C’) was hired by Mr Cathcart on behalf of the Crown Prince Ras-alKhaimah (‘the Sheikh’) in 2007 to carry out a number of duties including looking after the Sheikh’s children and properties in the UK. The contract clearly stipulated that C was responsible for paying her own tax.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Whistle-blowers Beware: Just because there is a PD doesn’t necessarily mean that the employer can’t respond (and damage your reputation) in order to ‘set the record straight’ – 3PB

‘Edwin Jesudason (‘C’), was a paediatric surgeon who was an honorary consultant working in the Department of Paediatric Surgery (‘DPS’) in the respondent NHS trust from 2006 until he resigned in 2012. Between 2009 and 2014 he made a series of allegations to the Trust, regulatory bodies and the media where he alleged fundamental failings in the operation of the DPS including serious allegations of professional incompetence, use of improper medical practices, attempts to cover up wrongdoing and in some cases he named and criticised specific individuals.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

UK broke law over IS ‘Beatles’ by passing information to US – BBC News

‘The UK acted unlawfully by passing evidence to the US that could lead to the execution of two British members of an Islamic State murder squad.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Whistle-blowers Beware: Just because there is a PD doesn’t necessarily mean that the employer can’t respond (and damage your reputation) in order to ‘set the record straight’ – 3PB

‘Edwin Jesudason (‘C’), was a paediatric surgeon who was an honorary consultant working in the Department of Paediatric Surgery (‘DPS’) in the respondent NHS trust from 2006 until he resigned in 2012. Between 2009 and 2014 he made a series of allegations to the Trust, regulatory bodies and the media where he alleged fundamental failings in the operation of the DPS including serious allegations of professional incompetence, use of improper medical practices, attempts to cover up wrongdoing and in some cases he named and criticised specific individuals.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Raiffeisen Bank International AG v Asia Coal Energy Ventures Ltd & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 11 – Hardwicke Chambers

‘The Appellant was a corporate and investment bank (the “Bank”). On 7 May 2015, it entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) as the seller of a 23.8% shareholding in an Indonesian company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The Respondent solicitors, (“Ashurst”), had acted for the First Defendant, the counterparty buyer under the Agreement (“ACE”).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 5th March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Icebergs Avoided: Navigating the s23 Case Law – Panopticon

Posted March 20th, 2020 in appeals, disclosure, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

‘Anyone who has had a FOIA case in the national security space will have faced the near-impossible task of trying to work out what on earth Corderoy & Ahmed v Information Commissioner & Attorney General & Cabinet Office [2017] UKUT 495 (AAC) means; a front-runner for most impenetrable Upper Tribunal decision on FOIA. Now Judge Markus QC has had a go at squaring the circle in Lownie v Information Commissioner & Foreign and Commonwealth Office & The National Archives [2020] UKUT 32 (AAC).’

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Panopticon, 19th March 2020

Source: panopticonblog.com

Employment Tribunal awards whistleblowing doctor £857,000 – Local Government Lawyer

‘A doctor who lost his job after making whistleblowing disclosures has been awarded more than £857,000 by an Employment Tribunal.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

CPS failed to tell inspectors of internal review revealing rape case failings – The Guardian

‘The Crown Prosecution Service conducted a secret internal review that exposed its failings in rape cases – but failed to share it with inspectors who were conducting an official inquiry for a major government investigation into rape, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 15th March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sex offender’s hard drive in police commissioner’s safe for 14 years – BBC News

‘Indecent images of children could not be used as evidence because they were in a police commissioner’s safe.’

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BBC News, 12th March 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Information watchdog warns of dangers of school photos and wrongful disclosure of personal data – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued two reprimands, or legal warnings, to schools for wrongly disclosing the personal data of children.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court to rule on access to full adoption file – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has been asked to make an unprecedented order to allow a journalist to see all court papers in a flawed adoption case. The application comes as the family justice system faces heightened pressure to be more transparent.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th March 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Disclosure can apply to subsidiaries under pilot, says court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 5th, 2020 in disclosure, news, pilot schemes, subsidiary companies by tracey

‘Disclosure of documents held by a subsidiary company of a party to litigation may be ordered in certain circumstances under the terms of the pilot disclosure scheme currently running in the Business and Property Courts (BPC) of England and Wales, a judge has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th March 2020

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Law firm “under no duty” to disclose counsel’s advice to funder – Litigation Futures

Posted March 5th, 2020 in champerty, contracts, disclosure, law firms, legal representation, news by tracey

‘The High Court has struck out claims brought against a City law firm that a litigation funder said did not pass on the “pessimistic views” expressed by counsel about a case it was backing.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Judge attacks S&G for “wholly unacceptable” failure – Legal Futures

A High Court judge has strongly criticised Slater & Gordon (S&G) for a “wholly unacceptable” failure to give him a crucial letter when applying for an urgent injunction in a police misconduct case.

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Legal Futures, 4th March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

DWP criticised for ‘incredible secrecy’ over deaths of benefit claimants – The Guardian

‘The head of an influential cross-party committee of MPs has criticised the “incredible secrecy” surrounding the government’s handling of the deaths of vulnerable benefit claimants following the case of Errol Graham, a severely ill man who died of starvation after his benefits were cut off.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Harry Dunn lawyers call for High Court to publish US secret immunity papers – The Guardian

‘Lawyers acting for a teenager who died after a collision with a car allegedly driven by an American woman want the High Court to publish a secret document protecting her from prosecution.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com