Council wins FOI battle over legal advice for whistle-blowing investigation – Local Government Lawyer

‘A council has won an appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal over its refusal to meet a freedom of information request for the disclosure of legal advice given to a consultant conducting an investigation on the authority’s behalf.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New Equality objectives for 2014-15 – Bar Standards Board

Posted June 4th, 2014 in barristers, disclosure, diversity, equality, harassment, press releases by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has developed and adopted five new equality objectives for 2014-15.’

Full text

Bar Standards Board, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Regina (Privacy International and others) v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Commissioners – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, law reports, third parties by michael

Regina (Privacy International and others) v Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2014] EWHC 1475 (Admin);  [2014] WLR (D)  234

‘The margin of discretion afforded HM Revenue and Customs Commissioners in considering whether to disclose to a third party information about its export control functions under section 18(2)(a) and (d) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 could not be uniformly categorised and would vary according to the facts. It might be, in some circumstances, materially or even very substantially circumscribed but in other cases it might be relatively broad and there was no convincing wisdom in seeking to categorise the margin in quantitative terms that were wide, middling or narrow.’

WLR Daily, 12th May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Clyde & Co LLP and another (Respondents) v Bates van Winklehof (Appellant) – Supreme Court

Clyde & Co LLP and another (Respondents) v Bates van Winklehof (Appellant) [2014] UKSC 32 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 21st May 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Distinctive behaviour – New Law Journal

Posted May 28th, 2014 in disclosure, divorce, fraud, news by sally

‘Kirstie Gibson considers allegations of non-disclosure, misconduct & adverse inferences.’

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New Law Journal, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

MoD denies access to files for Deepcut soldier’s family – The Guardian

Posted May 27th, 2014 in armed forces, disclosure, evidence, freedom of information, news, suicide by sally

‘The family of a teenage soldier who died after being shot twice in the head at the Deepcut barracks have been denied access to a cache of files they believe could shed light on his death, the Guardian can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 26th May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Common Law and the Spirit of Kennedy – Panopticon

‘Following the Supreme Court’s lengthy, slightly unexpected, and difficult to grasp judgment in Kennedy v Charity Commission [2014] UKSC 20 (on which I have been quiet because of my involvement, but see Tom Cross’s blogpost here) there has been room for quite a large amount of debate as to how far it goes. Was the majority only suggesting access to the Charity Commission’s information under the common law principle of open justice applied because of the particular statutory regime and/or the nature of the statutory inquiry involved? Or was the principle rather more wide-ranging?’

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Panopticon, 20th May 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Jackson rules High Court erred in refusing more time – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 21st, 2014 in civil justice, disclosure, interpretation, news, time limits by tracey

‘Lord Justice Jackson, architect of the civil justice reforms, has overturned a High Court decision which wrongly interpreted his own changes to the system.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 19th May 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Mitchell reaches hire? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 13th, 2014 in appeals, civil procedure rules, disclosure, insurance, news by sally

‘Eleven years on from the House of Lords’ decision in Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64 “impecuniosity” remains a hot topic in the world of credit hire. The Court of Appeal case of Zurich v Umerji [2014] EWCA Civ 357 handed down on 25 March 2014 is an important case on credit hire for both Claimants and Defendants. Its impact is likely to resound further in light of the Jackson reforms as clarified by Mitchell v News Group Newspapers [2013] EWCA Civ 1537.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd May 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Public Engagement and Commercial Confidentiality – Oil and Water? – Hardwicke Chambers

‘CCGs may face pressure to disclose information about commissioning in at least four ways. From:

Their duties to involve the public in “planning of the commissioning arrangements by the group” (s14 Z2 National Health Service Act 2006).
Their duties to involve individual patients in “their care or treatment” (s14U National Health Service Act 2006).
Applications to provide information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Applications for disclosure, as part of litigation brought by failed tenderers following procurement exercises.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 10th April 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Will Prince Charles’s musings see the light of day? – RPC Privacy Law

‘Prince Charles as heir to the British throne is an assiduous letter-writer and has sent a number of letters to ministers regarding government policy on matters such as environmental issues in which he has a strong interest rather than, it would appear, the more lower level political issues of the day.’

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RPC Privacy Law, 7th May 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Tchenguiz and another v Director of the Serious Fraud Office – WLR Daily

Posted May 8th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, consent, disclosure, documents, law reports by tracey

Tchenguiz and another v Director of the Serious Fraud Office: [2014] EWHC 1315 (Comm); [2014] WLR (D) 186

‘A claimant wishing to provide independent counsel with documents which had been disclosed to it in the course of civil proceedings, to obtain advice for potential criminal proceedings, needed the permission of the court to do so as such documents could not be categorised as being “for the purpose of the proceedings” in which the documents had been disclosed within CPR r 31.22.’

WLR Daily, 29th April 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Disclosure of medical records breached patient’s human rights – Strasbourg – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 1st, 2014 in disclosure, human rights, medical records, news, privacy by sally

‘The release of confidential patient details to a state medical institution in the course of her negotiations with a hospital over a lawsuit was an unjustified interference with her right to respect for private life under Article 8.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Documents remained privileged when they were sent on to third party’s work email address, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘Highly confidential documents that were subject to legal professional privilege (LPP) did not lose this status when they were emailed by a party to his girlfriend, who then forwarded them to and accessed them through her work email account, the High Court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th April 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Relief from sanction and witness statements – The Barristers’ Hub

Posted April 24th, 2014 in case management, civil procedure rules, disclosure, news, sanctions, witnesses by tracey

‘The Court of Appeal last week handed down judgment in the case of Chartwell Estate Agents v. Fergies Property & Anor. [2014] E. W. C. A. Civ. 506. It is an important decision for all civil practitioners, as it deals directly with the question of relief from sanction under the modified Rule 3.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and mollifies to some extent the (at least perceived) harshness of the rule in Mitchell v. News Group Newspapers [2014] 1 W. L. R. 795 – so much so that the Westlaw service run by respected legal publishers Sweet & Maxwell now state that the Mitchell decision has received “mixed or mildly negative judicial treatment”.’

Full story

The Barristers’ Hub, 23rd April 2014

Source: www.barristershub.co.uk

Richard Clayton: The Curious Case of Kennedy v Charity Commission – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On 26 March 2014 the Supreme Court gave a lengthy judgment in Kennedy v Charity Commission [2014] UKSC 20, running to 248 paragraphs. The Supreme Court decision is full of surprises. The Court decided to depart from the arguments of the parties- the majority insisted that common law rights rather than the Human Rights Act were the key to the case; and then embarked on an extended and wide ranging obiter discussion of public law issues, revealing further disagreements between the Justices.’

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th April 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Public and private law wrongs are not the same – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

‘ Tchenguiz v. Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2014] EWCA Civ 472, 15 April 2014. This judgment is a neat illustration of how important it is to keep the concepts of public law and private law unlawfulness separate – they do not necessarily have the same legal consequences.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th April 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Regina (JC and another) v Central Criminal Court (Just for Kids Law intervening) – WLR Daily

Regina (JC and another) v Central Criminal Court (Just for Kids Law intervening): [2014] EWHC 1041 (Admin);   [2014] WLR (D)  166

‘Any order made by any court under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 prohibiting the identification of (among others) a defendant under the age of 18 years could not extend to reports of the proceedings after the subject of the order had reached the age of majority at 18.’

WLR Daily, 8th April 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Eve’s Law: addresses of domestic violence victims must be kept secret – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘In busy working environments it is easy to make mistakes but some mistakes are more costly than others. An inadvertent disclosure of a domestic violence victim’s safe address to their abuser, for instance, could cost someone their life. Now signed by 87 MPs, Early Day Motion 900 so called “Eve’s Law” is calling for the greater protection of safe addresses.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 14th April 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Chagossians update – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The appeal is against the decision of the Divisional Court in Bancoult v. FCO (read judgment and see my post here). Mr Bancoult had said that the decision to create the MPA was flawed by having an improper purpose (to stymie the Chagossians’ claims for resettlement), by inadequate consultation, and being a breach of an EU obligation to promote the economic and social development of the islands. The Court ruled against all these claims.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 11th April 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com