Activists lose legal bid to stop £27bn roads plan for England – The Guardian

‘Campaigners have lost a legal challenge to the government’s £27bn roadbuilding programme after the high court dismissed their application for a judicial review.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK faces legal action over North Sea oilfield exploration plans – The Guardian

‘The government faces the threat of legal action over plans to allow exploration at the Cambo oilfield near Shetland after promising to put an end to new oil exploration licences that do not align with the UK’s climate goals.’

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The Guardian, 23rd July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Perils of going against officer advice – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Skiing off-piste is dangerous. Reasons include instability of snow, hidden rocks and cliff edges and inaccessibility. Similarly, if local authority planning committee members go ‘off-piste’ in determining an issue against officer recommendations, without giving intelligible and adequate reasons for doing so, their decision risks a fatal crash in the High Court. So on 21 May 2021 Mrs Justice Tipples quashed planning consent given by Cornwall County Council for the development of a detached two-storey agricultural dwelling with garage and parking in the Rame Head area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) against officer recommendations. This was because the council ‘was under a common law duty to give reasons for the grant of planning permission’ and it was ‘a case where the defects in reasons go to the heart of the justification for permission and undermine its validity.’ The case in question was R (Cross) v Cornwall Council [2021] EWHC 1323 (Admin).’

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Law Society's Gazette, 19th July 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Laws of nature: could UK rivers be given the same rights as people? – The Guardian

Posted July 19th, 2021 in environmental health, environmental protection, human rights, news, water by michael

‘In 2018, Frome Town Council tried to pass a bylaw giving part of the river [Frome] and the adjacent Rodden meadow the status of a person in law. This would establish their right to exist, flourish and thrive, and for the river to flow freely and have a natural water cycle, as well as ensuring timely and effective restoration if they were damaged.’

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The Guardian, 17th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Rights groups join forces to call for UK corporate accountability laws – The Guardian

Posted July 5th, 2021 in company law, environmental protection, human rights, news by tracey

‘Almost 30 organisations have joined forces to call for the UK to follow in the footsteps of its European partners by introducing corporate accountability laws requiring companies to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence across their supply chains.’

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The Guardian, 4th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Right to repair rules will extend lifespan of products, government says – BBC News

‘Washing machines, TVs and fridges will be cheaper to run under a new legal right for repairs, the government says.’

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BBC News, 1stJuly2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

UK introducing three laws that threaten human rights, says UN expert – The Guardian

‘Boris Johnson’s government is introducing three pieces of legislation that will make human rights violations more likely to occur and less likely to be sanctioned even as averting climate catastrophe depends on these rights, the UN special rapporteur for human rights and the environment has said.’

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The Guardian, 24th June 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Legal experts worldwide draw up ‘historic’ definition of ecocide – The Guardian

‘Legal experts from across the globe have drawn up a “historic” definition of ecocide, intended to be adopted by the international criminal court to prosecute the most egregious offences against the environment.’

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The Guardian, 22nd June 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Greenpeace launch legal action against UK government over secrecy on deep sea mining – The Independent

‘Greenpeace has launched legal action against the UK government over ministers’ failure to disclose information over the first deep sea mining exploration licences to be made public.’

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The Independent, 13th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Food brands challenge deforestation rules in UK environment bill – The Guardian

Posted May 25th, 2021 in bills, environmental protection, fines, food, international trade, news, trees by sally

‘Trade associations representing leading food suppliers have questioned the need for new regulations to protect forests overseas, which will come before parliament in the environment bill on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 25th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK’s deep-sea mining permits could be unlawful – Greenpeace – The Guardian

‘Deep-sea mining exploration licences granted by the British government are “riddled with inaccuracies”, and could even be unlawful, according to Greenpeace and Blue Marine Foundation, a conservation charity.’

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The Guardian, 12th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Johnson’s planning laws an ‘utter disaster’, say countryside campaigners – The Guardian

‘A dramatic loosening of planning laws to create a housebuilding boom will damage local democracy and destroy swathes of countryside by granting property developers a freer hand to build over green fields, planning experts have warned.’

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The Guardian, 11th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lawyer found guilty of criminal contempt of court, fined £7k for disclosing result of Supreme Court appeal prior to judgment being handed down – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has fined an environmental lawyer £5,000 after finding him in criminal contempt of court for deliberately disclosing the result of an appeal prior to hand down of the judgment.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th May 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Nicholas Reed Langen: Confronting Climate Change in the Courts – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Talk is cheap. Governments, particularly wealthy, western ones, have been quick to make promises on climate change. They swear blind that they understand the threat the world faces, and that they will implement a policy response commensurate with it. Few nations have adopted this rhetoric as determinedly as the UK, with the British government promising to transform the UK into a net-zero country by 2050, an oath enshrined in law through the passing of the Climate Change Act 2008 (Order 2019) by Parliament in the summer of 2019.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th April 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

The cost of air pollution is captured in a child’s smile: it’s time for ‘Ella’s law’ – The Guardian

Posted April 27th, 2021 in bills, children, environmental protection, news, pollution by sally

‘As the family lawyers at Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s inquest, we join her mother and the coroner in calling for changes to the environment bill.’

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The Guardian, 26th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

HS2: Judge orders pause on tree felling at wood that inspired Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox – The Independent

‘A High Court judge has ordered HS2 to stop felling trees at a wood that inspired Roald Dahl to write Fantastic Mr Fox, ahead of a hearing into whether the government licences were issued legitimately.’

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The Independent, 17th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘Not a mini-trial’: Supreme Court explains the correct approach in jurisdiction challenges – Littleton Chambers

‘In The Spiliada [1987] AC 460, 465 Lord Templeman hoped that in jurisdiction disputes, “the judge will be allowed to study the evidence and refresh his memory of [the legal principles] in the quiet of his room without expense to the parties; that he will not be referred to other decisions on other facts; and that submissions will be measured in hours and not days.”‘

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Littleton Chambers, 3rd March 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

‘No Go’ For Offshore Wind Farm DCO – Simon Randle and Vivienne Sedgley – 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square

Posted February 25th, 2021 in energy, environmental protection, news, offshore installations, planning by sally

‘A local resident has successfully challenged the Secretary of State’s development consent order (“DCO”) for one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects on the grounds that the cumulative landscape and visual impacts of both this Vanguard project and its “sister” Boreas project (for which a DCO decision is expected in April 2021) were not take into account.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 22nd February 2021

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

Climate change “could transform legal profession” – Legal Futures

‘Helping clients cope with the repercussions of climate change could transform the legal profession, a Law Society report has predicted, as lawyers focus on “proactive risk management advice”, knowledge of numerous legal frameworks and “out-of-the-box thinking”.’

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Legal Futures, 25th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Environmental Law News Update – Six Pump Court

‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Charles Morgan, Noémi Byrd and Mark Davies consider a recent case involving the application of Energy National Policy Statements to nationally significant infrastructure projects, developments on legislation to curb sewage overflows and further delays for the Environment Bill.’

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Six Pump Court, 5th February 2021

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk