R (on the application of Evans) and another (Respondents) v Attorney General (Appellant) – Supreme Court
Supreme Court, 26th March 2015
Category: disclosure
Whistleblowing ‘public interest’ test can cover internal matters in some circumstances, says UK’s EAT – OUT-LAW.com
‘Matters covered by someone who ‘blows the whistle’ on suspected bad practices at their employer need not necessarily be “of interest to the public” to benefit from stricter rules governing whistleblower protection, the UK’s Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 13th April 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Why we should see Andrew Lansley’s diary in the run up to 2011 NHS reforms – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Department of Health v. Information Commissioner et al [2015] UKUT 159, 30 March 2015, Charles J read judgment Simon Lewis requested that the Department of Health supply him with copies of the ministerial diary of Andrew Lansley from May 2010 until April 2011, via a Freedom of Information request. Mr Lewis’s interest in all this is not revealed in the judgment, but I dare say included seeing whether the Minister was being lobbied by private companies eager to muscle in on the NHS in this critical period. But such is the nature of FOIA litigation that it does not really look at the motive of the requester – and this case does not tell us what the diary showed. Indeed by the time of this appeal, Lewis was untraceable, and the burden of the argument in favour of disclosure was taken up by the Information Commissioner.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 10th April 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Alison Young: R (Evans) v Attorney General [2015] UKSC 21 – the Anisminic of the 21st Century? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘On Thursday 26th March the Supreme Court concluded, to the delight of The Guardian and the dismay of the Prime Minister, that communications between Prince Charles and government Ministers – the so-called ‘black spider memos’ – should be released. This has been a long saga, involving issues of freedom of information, discussion of constitutional conventions surrounding the behaviour of a Monarch in training, which now also includes the principle of legality and the nature of the relationship between parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law. Such a cornucopia of delights for constitutional lawyers guarantees that the case has earned its place in the ‘Constitutional law Case list Hall of Fame’, with the promise of further delight as the memos, once released and savoured, cast an insight into the relationship between the Crown and the Government.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 31st March 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Untangling the spider’s web: Evans at the Supreme Court – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘On Friday, 27th March, the Supreme Court handed down a decision which will be as much of interest to public lawyers as information rights practitioners alike. Evans, a journalist for the Guardian newspaper utilised the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 to seek the disclosure of letters sent by Prince Charles to seven government departments between September 2004 and March 2005. The departments refused to disclose the letters (so-called “black spider” memos on account of the Prince’s handwriting) on the basis that they were exempt from doing so. In their view the letters represented private correspondence which effectively allowed the Prince to prepare for “kingship.” Evans subsequently complained to the Information Commissioner who upheld the refusal before appealing to the Information Tribunal. The Tribunal held that many of the letters should be disclosed as they constituted “advocacy correspondence.”’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 31st March 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
The Tale of the Black Spider: The Supreme Court speaks – UK Human Rights Blog
‘And so, the long legal saga of the Black Spider Letters finally comes to a close.
I last blogged about this case back in October 2012. At that time, the Attorney General had ignited controversy by invoking a little-known power under section 53 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 27th March 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
The New FA Football Intermediaries Regulations and the Disputes Likely to Arise – Blackstone Chambers
‘The FA Regulations on working with Intermediaries (‘FA Intermediaries Regulations’) come into force on 1 April 2015. They put into force FIFA’s Intermediaries Regulations, with some important variations and, with them, apparently signal the abolition of the licensed football agent.’
Full story (PDF)
Blackstone Chambers, 27th March 2015
Source: www.blackstonechambers.com
Why Evans gets the spiders – Panopticon
‘The Supreme Court’s judgment in R (Evans) v Attorney General [2015] UKSC 21 has received vast amounts of media coverage – more in a single day than everything else about FOI has received in ten years, I reckon. No need to explain what the case was about – the upshot is that Rob Evans gets Prince Charles’ ‘black spider’ letters. Here’s why.’
Panopticon, 26th March 2015
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Supreme court clears way for release of secret Prince Charles letters – The Guardian
‘The UK supreme court has cleared the way for the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles to British government ministers, declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.’
The Guardian, 26th March 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Supreme court to rule on publishing Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos’ – The Guardian
‘The supreme court will rule on Thursday on whether highly sensitive secret correspondence between Prince Charles and government ministers should at last be released in the public interest.’
The Guardian, 25th March 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The Insurance Act 2015: practical changes for insurers to consider – OUT-LAW.com
‘The 2015 Insurance Act will, subject to an 18-month transition period, introduce what the UK government has described as “the biggest reform to insurance contract law in more than a century”.’
OUT-LAW.com, March 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Regina (Secretary of State for the Home Department) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission – WLR Daily
‘In review proceedings under sections 2C and 2D of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997, challenging specified decisions of the Home Secretary to exclude an individual from the United Kingdom or refuse applications for naturalisation, the Home Secretary was required to disclose to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and to the special advocates acting in the closed proceedings such material as had been used by the author of any relevant assessment, relied on by the Home Secretary in reaching the decision, to found or justify the facts or conclusions expressed therein; or if subsequently re-analysed, to disclose such material as was considered sufficient to justify those facts and conclusions and which was in existence at the date of decision.’
WLR Daily, 18th March 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
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.’
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.
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.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 19th March 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Missing Persons – Tanfield Chambers
‘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.’
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.’
Full story (PDF)
Henderson Chambers, 17th March 2015
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
Disclosure – pulling your head out of the sand – Cloisters
‘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.’
Cloisters, 10th February 2015
Source: www.cloisters.com
Important judgment on liquidators’ ability to obtain documents – RPC Commercial Disputes Blog
‘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).’
RPC Commercial Disputes Blog,
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
