Use of disclosed documents – Panopticon

Posted February 10th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, closed material, disclosure, documents, injunctions, news by sally

‘The important general principle is of course that a party to whom a document has been disclosed in litigation may use that document only for the purpose of the proceedings in which it is disclosed. There are, nonetheless, three significant exceptions to that principle, set out in CPR r31.22(1).’

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Panopticon, 7th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

High Court to consider Data Protection Act bid to halt reporting of corruption allegations – Panopticon

‘Can the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) be used to prevent a respected NGO from reporting allegations of corruption by a multi-billion dollar international mining conglomerate? That is the stark question posed by Steinmetz and others v Global Witness Limited, a recently issued High Court DPA Claim.’

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Panopticon, 10th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Claimant faces record costs after tribunal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in costs, disclosure, employment tribunals, equality, local government, news by sally

‘An employment tribunal has ordered a claimant who unsuccessfully took a local authority to tribunal to pay record costs for an individual.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

RC v CC and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 5th, 2014 in adoption, children, Court of Protection, disclosure, human rights, law reports by sally

RC v CC and another [2014] EWHC 131 (COP); [2014] WLR (D) 43

‘The jurisdiction to refuse disclosure of materials to the parties in children cases was clearly established and the same fundamental principles applied in cases relating to incapacitated adults in the Court of Protection. The test to be applied was that of “strict necessity” and the question was whether it was necessary, in the interests of the incapacitated person, for the information not to be disclosed.’

WLR Daily, 30th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Secret hearings could allow police to seize journalists’ notes if bill passes – The Guardian

Posted February 3rd, 2014 in bills, closed material, disclosure, inquiries, media, news, police by sally

‘The seizure of journalists’ notebooks, photographs and digital files could be conducted in secret hearings, owing to a little-publicised clause in a government bill aimed at cutting red tape, media organisations have warned. Requests for notebooks, computer disks, photographs or videos must currently be made in open court and representatives of news groups can be present. But the clause – in the deregulation bill, which comes before the Commons on Monday – significantly alters the way courts consider so-called “production orders”, stripping out current safeguards.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A Practical Guide To POCA & Unused Material: A Defence Perspective – Six Pump Court

Posted January 29th, 2014 in confiscation, criminal procedure, defence, disclosure, news, prosecutions by sally

‘It is easy to forget or overlook the fact that the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 1996 applies equally to confiscation proceedings as it does to the substantive criminal proceedings that have resulted in the defendant being convicted in the first place (something that prosecutors do themselves on a regular basis and only appreciate its significance when the contents of their own website are brought to their attention, see “Chapter 21: Disclosure of Unused Material Created in the Course of Financial Investigations”).’

Full story (Word)

Six Pump Court, 29th January 2014

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) – WLR Daily

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) [2014] EWCA Civ 7; [2014] WLR (D) 26

‘Where the state authority refused to permit a citizen of the European Union admission to the United Kingdom on grounds of public security, the national court had to ensure, as a minimum requirement, that he was informed of the essence of the grounds of the decision. While the manner in which that was done had to take due account of the necessary confidentiality of the related evidence against him, the need to protect such confidentiality was not capable of justifying non-disclosure of the essence of the grounds.’

WLR Daily, 24th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Freedom of Information: But What is Information? The Upper Tribunal Opines – Panopticon

Posted January 29th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, documents, freedom of information, interpretation, news, tribunals by sally

‘We all know that section 1 gives us a right to request information from listed public authorities, but what does “information” mean? Information is defined by section 84 of FOIA (“‘information’ (subject to sections 51(8) and 75(2)) means information recorded in any form”). This somewhat opaque definition has generally been treated as meaning that a request is for information. It is not for copies of documents. If the public authority wants to type out the document in a different format, they can, so long as the information contained within that document is provided.’

Full story

Panopticon, 28th January 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Media can refuse subject access requests if complying could jeopardise stories, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

‘Newspapers and other media groups can refuse individuals’ requests for access to the personal data those organisations hold about them where the disclosure of that information could jeopardise future stories, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Mike Hancock case: woman wins right to see full QC report – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2014 in complaints, disclosure, news, reports, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘The alleged sexual assault victim of MP Mike Hancock has won the right to see a full version of an independent QC’s report about her accusations.’

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The Guardian, 25th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Campaigner’s lawyers challenge secrecy over police spy accused of lying in court – The Guardian

‘Prosecutors are due on Monday to defend their decision to keep secret the cause of a miscarriage of justice involving an undercover police officer who allegedly used his fictitious identity in a criminal trial to conceal his covert work.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Another one bites the dust – life post Jackson and “Mitchell” – Sovereign Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2014 in appeals, civil procedure rules, disclosure, news, sanctions by sally

‘This is an important case on the question of the correct approach where there has been default in respect of a sanction imposed by the court under the new “post- Jackson” regime, both in terms of the appropriate structure of applications for relief against sanctions. The Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the deputy high court judge and refused to entertain a second application for relief against sanctions where a previous judge had ordered that the defence and counterclaim be struck out.
The history of litigation and orders is slightly complex but has to be understood.’

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Sovereign Chambers, 20th January 2014

Source: www.sovereignchambers.co.uk

Personal data and fitness to practice investigations – Tribunal overturns ‘neither confirm nor deny’ position – Panopticon

‘When an identifiable individual has been the subject of a formal complaint about their competence or conduct, that fact constitutes their personal data. In terms of privacy/publicity decisions, such situations are often approached in this way: where the complaint is well founded or at least merits serious consideration, publication is warranted, but otherwise confidentiality is maintained, lest unjustified aspersions be cast against that person.’

Full story

Panopticon, 17th January 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Council wins tribunal appeal over disclosure of legal advice and EIR – Local Government Lawyer

‘A local authority has won an appeal in the First-Tier Tribunal over an Information Commissioner decision that it should disclose legal advice related to the redevelopment of a town centre.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th January 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Disclosure costs force CPS to drop drugs case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence in a case of alleged conspiracy to supply class A drugs after the judge refused a prosecution application to adduce new evidence on the second day of the trial.’

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Law Society’s Gazette. 14th January 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Family judge ‘cannot control foreign media’ – BBC News

Posted January 15th, 2014 in anonymity, children, disclosure, family courts, foreign jurisdictions, judges, media, news by sally

‘A senior family judge says he cannot stop the foreign media from publishing the story of a Slovakian mother whose son has been placed into care.’

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BBC News, 14th January 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

E-disclosure: 2014 & beyond – New Law Journal

Posted January 7th, 2014 in disclosure, documents, news by sally

‘Mark Surguy, Rob Jones & Tracey Stretton predict where law, technology & business are going in 2014 when it comes to e-disclosure.’

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New Law Journal, 6th January 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Eve’s Law: Domestic violence victims’ addresses ‘may be kept secret’ – BBC News

Posted December 18th, 2013 in disclosure, domestic violence, news, privacy, victims by sally

‘The government will consider a domestic violence campaigner’s proposal for new laws to allow victims to keep their safe house addresses secret in court.’

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BBC News, 17th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Finance and Divorce Update – Family Law Week

‘Jessica Craigs, senior solicitor and David Salter, Joint Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve LLP analyse the financial remedies and divorce news and cases published in November.’

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Family Law Week, 6th December 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Smith v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change – WLR Daily

Smith v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2013] EWCA Civ 1585; [2013] WLR (D) 473

‘In order for the court to have jurisdiction to make an order under CPR r 31.16 for disclosure before proceedings had started, it was not a requirement that the applicant have an arguable case in those proceedings.’

WLR Daily, 5th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk