MoD ‘mole’ Bettina Jordan-Barber jailed over Sun leaks – The Guardian

‘A “mole” at the Ministry of Defence who made £100,000 from leaking stories to the Sun has been jailed for 12 months, it can now be reported after verdicts were delivered in a related trial.’

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

‘The supreme court’s judgment on whether the government unlawfully blocked the publication of a series of secret letters written by Prince Charles is due to be made public on Thursday next week, court officials have announced.

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Transparency in the Court of Protection: press should be allowed names – UK Human Rights Blog

‘A healthcare NHS Trust v P & Q [2015] EWCOP (13 March 2015). The Court of Protection has clarified the position on revealing the identity of an incapacitated adult where reporting restrictions apply.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Missing Persons – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 19th, 2015 in disclosure, news, presumption of death orders, third parties by sally

‘After bringing the first claim of its kind in the High Court in 2015, Gwyn Evans discusses how the Act will bring some relief to grieving families.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 20th February 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Group M UK Ltd v Cabinet Office – Henderson Chambers

‘The Technology and Construction Court has reiterated that, in considering whether to lift the statutory suspension of the placing of a public contract following a challenge by an unsuccessful tenderer, it will apply the American Cyanamid principles, as those principles are consistent with the requirements of Directive 2007/66/EC on the award of public contracts.’

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Henderson Chambers, 17th March 2015

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Disclosure – pulling your head out of the sand – Cloisters

Posted March 17th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, disclosure, documents, employment tribunals, news by sally

‘In this article Cloisters’ barrister Paul Epstein QC comments on what disclosure actually means and what the obligations are in the Employment Tribunal. He discusses the different types of disclosure, the new CPR test and what parties need to do.’

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Cloisters, 10th February 2015

Source: www.cloisters.com

Important judgment on liquidators’ ability to obtain documents – RPC Commercial Disputes Blog

Posted March 13th, 2015 in disclosure, documents, Hong Kong, liquidators, news, winding up by sally

‘In an important judgment handed down recently by the Court of First Instance in Hong Kong, the companies judge has ruled on the ambit of the power to order a person to produce documents to a provisional liquidator pursuant to section 221(3) of the Companies (Winding-Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance.(1) For now and pending any appeal, the judgment confirms that the scope of documents “relating to the company” that have to be produced to a liquidator (pursuant to section 221(3) of the Ordinance) is narrower than the matters in respect of which a person can be examined on oath concerning the “affairs of the company” (sections 221(1) and (2)). In so doing, the judgment gives a more literal interpretation of the power to order production pursuant to section 221(3) without reference to section 221(1).’

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RPC Commercial Disputes Blog,

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Disclosure requirements for ‘high risk’ UK tax avoidance scheme promoters come into force – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 11th, 2015 in disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax avoidance by tracey

‘Promoters of tax avoidance schemes that have been identified as “high risk” by UK tax authorities must now publicise that they are being monitored so that potential customers are aware of the risks of using them, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners – WLR Daily

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: [2015] EWCA Civ 173; [2015] WLR (D) 104

‘In the particular circumstances of the case limited disclosures made by a Revenue and Customs official in an “off the record” briefing with journalists concerning tax avoidance schemes had been made “for the purposes” of a function of the Revenue and Customs, within section 18(2)(a)(i). Therefore there had been no breach of article 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, which required the commissioners to maintain confidentiality of information about a taxpayer’s affairs.’

WLR Daily, 4th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nuptial Agreements: The Search for Intention – Family Law Week

‘Ben Wooldridge, pupil at 1 Hare Court, reviews the court’s treatment of nuptial agreements since Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, highlighting emerging trends and the growing significance of the parties’ intentions in determining enforceability.’

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Family Law Week, 5th MArch 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Cyril Smith abuse allegations: Cabinet Office denies cover-up – The Guardian

‘Documents released to Mail on Sunday reveal Margaret Thatcher knew of child abuse allegations against Rochdale MP before he was given knighthood.’

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The Guardian, 8th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev – WLR Daily

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev [2015] EWCA Civ 139; [2015] WLR (D) 94

‘Under the terms of a freezing order the court had jurisdiction to order a member of a class of beneficiaries under a discretionary trust to make disclosure of the details of the trust and the trust assets.’

WLR Daily, 27th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Disclosure and Barring Service checks: an individual’s rights – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 3rd, 2015 in criminal records, data protection, disclosure, employment, news, vetting by sally

‘Another of my articles has considered s56 of the Data Protection Act, which makes it an offence for an employer to compel a current or prospective employee to make a data subject access request. These subject access requests can reveal an individual’s spent criminal convictions as well as other sensitive personal information, and are therefore highly invasive and potentially highly prejudicial to an individual’s employment prospects.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Home Secretary announces investigation into collapsed police trial – Home Office

Posted February 27th, 2015 in disclosure, miscarriage of justice, murder, police, press releases, prosecutions by tracey

‘A QC-led investigation into the collapse of a police trial following the wrongful conviction of three people for the murder of Lynette White.’

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Home Office, 26th February 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

JX MX v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (Personal Injury Bar Association and another intervening) – WLR Daily

JX MX v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (Personal Injury Bar Association and another intervening) [2015] EWCA Civ 96 ; [2015] WLR (D) 77

‘The Court of Appeal issued guidelines as to the principles which should apply, on an application for approval of a compromise of a claim of damages for personal injury brought by a child, where the court in the exercise of its power was deciding whether as a matter of necessity to withhold from the public the names of the parties to the litigation.

WLR Daily, 17th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

In re Z (Children) (DNA Profiles: Disclosure) – WLR Daily

In re Z (Children) (DNA Profiles: Disclosure) [2015] EWCA Civ 34; [2015] WLR (D) 76

‘On a purposive construction of sections 19 and 22 in Part II of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, biometric material seized and retained by the police could not be used or disclosed for any purpose other than criminal law enforcement, nor could a court order its disclosure for an unconnected purpose. Such a construction was compatible with the right to respect for a person’s private and family life under article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.’

WLR Daily, 5th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

CA supports anonymity orders in personal injury approval hearings – UK Human Rights Blog

‘For some years there has been debate between the judges about whether anonymity orders should be made when very seriously injured people’s claims are settled and the court is asked to approve the settlement. This welcome decision of the Court of Appeal means that anonymity orders will normally be made in cases involving protected parties.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th February 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Costs and Applications for Pre-action Disclosure – Zenith PI Blog

Posted February 12th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, costs, disclosure, news, pre-action conduct by sally

‘It may come as a surprise to many solicitors that there is a presumption that the costs of making and complying with an application for pre-action disclosure are to be paid by the party making the application.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 11th February 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

The Algebra of FOIA – Panopticon

Posted February 9th, 2015 in disclosure, freedom of information, news, public interest, tribunals by sally

‘It is no matter of Euclidian geometry to say that where x + y = z, and z = 13, being told what y equals one need not be Pythagoras to establish the value of x. But what happens when z is in the public domain, x is absolutely exempt information under FOIA (because it is caught by section 23(1)) and the public interest otherwise favours the disclosure of y, which is not the subject of an exemption? Inevitably, the effect of disclosure is that the absolutely exempt information is also revealed. The Interim Decision of the Upper Tribunal in Home Office v ICO & Cobain [2014] UKUT 306 (AAC) was that the Tribunal had to consider whether it was appropriate to utilise the section 50(4) FOIA power so as not to direct disclosure. The issue may be formulaic, but the answer is not.’

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Panopticon, 6th February 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Tribunal tells council to disclose redactions from housing viability assessment – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 6th, 2015 in disclosure, housing, local government, news, planning, tribunals by sally

‘The First-tier Tribunal has ordered a London council to disclose redacted information in a viability assessment that led to the authority allowing a developer to vary the amount of affordable housing on a major site.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk