Serious sexual offences involving Medical professionals: Catherine Silverton shares 18 years’ of trial experience – Park Square Barristers

‘Sexual allegations can be distinguished from criminal allegations of other types by virtue of often being prosecuted purely on the basis of one person’s word. There are invariably no witnesses to the interaction between the Complainant and Defendant during which the alleged offence is said to have been committed. There is very rarely any physical or scientific evidence capable of proving or refuting the allegation. No circumstantial evidence. No technological evidence. Sexual allegations are increasingly made weeks, months or even years after the alleged event, by which time delay has frayed memories on all sides which leaves nothing but word against word.’

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Park Square Barristers, 7th April 2020

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

El Gizouli: Mutual Legal Assistance Meets Data Protection – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘On 25 March 2020, the UK Supreme Court issued R (El Gizouli) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 10. Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this was the court’s first judgment to be handed down remotely. It confirmed the importance of data protection laws to international transfers of personal information for law enforcement purposes and may have even broader ramifications.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 13th April 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

The Non-Disclosure and Barring Service: Victim Access to Information – Panopticon

‘If you believe that an individual who works with children sexually assaulted you, but was never prosecuted for that allegation, it is understandable that you might wish to know whether that person has been placed on the formal list of persons barred from engaging in regulated activity with children, run by the Disclosure and Barring Service (“DBS”). But it is also understandable why the DBS might not wish to tell you (and thereby the public at large) who is or is not barred, and even more so why the individual accused would not wish that to be revealed. Who’s rights win out?’

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Panopticon, 8th April 2020

Source: panopticonblog.com

Court of Appeal upholds order for disclosure to police of documents filed in care proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 9th, 2020 in appeals, care orders, child cruelty, children, disclosure, documents, families, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has rejected a father’s appeal against an order for the disclosure of certain documents filed in childcare proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th April 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Company must disclose documents held by subsidiaries – Litigation Futures

‘A company must disclose documents held by its subsidiaries and which it controls, the High Court has ruled, in a case handled under the disclosure pilot.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Data Protection and Capital Punishment – The 36 Group

‘Case note on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Elgizouli (appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (respondent) [2020] UKSC 10.’

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The 36 Group, 30th March 2020

Source: 36group.co.uk

Morrisons not liable for massive staff data leak, court rules – The Guardian

‘The UK’s highest court has ruled that Morrisons should not be held liable for the criminal act of an employee with a grudge who leaked the payroll data of about 100,000 members of staff.’

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The Guardian, 1st April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Whistleblowing: how easy is it to make a qualifying disclosure? – St John’s Buildings

‘It is generally assumed that the threshold for a statement made by a worker to qualify for whistleblowing protection is not high. After all, the information provided need only ‘tend’ to show, in the ‘reasonable belief’ of the worker that one of the wrongs identified in s.43B Employment Rights Act 1996 is being, has been, or will be committed. Often therefore, an unfair dismissal, or detriment, claim will proceed on the basis, without more, that the worker told the employer something to do with health and safety (or legal obligation or crime etc.). A deeper analysis of the s.43B requirements shows that qualification for protection is not as simple as first appears.’

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St John's Buildings, March 2020

Source: stjohnsbuildings.com

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