‘Victims of domestic abuse should not be denied legal aid because they have assets trapped in a home, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 25th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The family of a woman who they suspect was killed is suing a health trust that allegedly stored her corpse incorrectly, allowing it to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in her death, the Guardian can reveal.’
The Guardian, 23rd November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A drug that was weaponised by the UK’s most prolific rapist and the serial killer Stephen Port should be reclassified, says an official report.’
BBC News, 20th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A grieving daughter who lost her father to Covid-19 in an Oxfordshire care home has won the first stage of a high court challenge against the government’s policy of discharging hospital patients into care homes without tests.’
The Guardian, 19th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Both the Family Justice Review led by David Norgrove back in 2011 and the Care Crisis Review report in 2018 have asked whether child protection mediation in public law could offer anything useful over and above the usual methods of best engaging and involving families in or on the edge of care proceedings. Current methods include Public Law Outline (PLO) processes, Family Group Conferences (FGCs) and problem-solving courts like the Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC). The Care Crisis review noted that mediation in public law was an under researched area.’
Transparency Project, 18th November 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The brief facts of the matter are that the parties cohabited and were married for a total of 11 years. They had two children, aged 8 and 10. When they met both the Husband (H) and the Wife (W) were working as solicitors with H an associate and W a trainee although W became an associate on qualifying in 2001. They started a relationship in 2002/3 and in that year, H became an equity partner. By 2019 he earned net of tax just short of £1m per annum. In 2006 W became a managing associate, and in 2007 cohabitation started. Later that year W left the firm to be an in-house lawyer at a bank (on the promise she could work part time if she had children). In 2010 she was made a director, although after her maternity leave she found she was not permitted to work part time in the legal department, and took a part time role in the business team. In 2016 she was made redundant, and she did not work after that.’
Becket Chambers, 2nd November 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘Family lawyers should be forced to follow good practice to protect children from “acrimonious legal representation” and report it to their regulator, a major report has concluded.’
Legal Futures, 17th November 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Calls to the UK’s largest domestic abuse helpline are rising “week on week” as new figures reveal that almost 50 suspected killings may have occurred during the first lockdown.’
The Guardian, 15th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Recent changes to the Family Procedure Rules (FPR) 2010 and views expressed from the bench mean that there has been an increased emphasis upon parties making open offers and seeking to narrow the issues in financial remedy proceedings. Not since the long-lamented demise of Calderbank letters have there been so many cases with clear warnings about costs.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th November 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has ordered a fresh welfare hearing in a case where a Family Division judge decided that three children should be placed for adoption after he found, amongst other things, a major stumbling block to be the parents’ irrational and extreme over-reaction to the involvement of professionals in their lives and those of their children, most especially social workers.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th November 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A court has permitted the correction of an order which accidentally allowed a husband to stop making payments to his ex-wife.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th November 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The family of Harry Dunn, the 19-year-old motorcyclist killed outside a US airbase, have begun their court case seeking a ruling that the Foreign Office acted unlawfully in granting diplomatic immunity to the American driver of the car that killed him.’
The Guardian, 11th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A report from the British Red Cross finds the system that gives refugees in the UK the right to bring their family to join them – one of the few existing “safe” and legal routes to Britain – is putting people in danger because of the journeys they have to take to submit their applications.’
The Guardian, 12th November 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, has published guidance on the need to protect victims of domestic abuse in remote and hybrid hearings.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th November 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The grandmother of a baby who drowned in a bath while she was out of the room has admitted child cruelty.’
BBC News, 10th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Anyone in an abusive relationship is in a dangerous and terrifying situation. But if you are in the UK on a Spouse Visa, Civil Partnership Visa, or Unmarried Partner Visa, the situation is especially frightening. But you are not alone. And you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which will allow you to stay permanently in the UK if your relationship breaks down because of domestic violence/abuse.’
EIN Blog, 9th November 2020
Source: www.ein.org.uk
‘People who lose a close relative or partner should be entitled to two weeks’ statutory paid bereavement leave, the Sue Ryder charity has said.’
The Guardian, 9th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘R (Peter Skelton and anr) v Senior Coroner for West Sussex [2020] EWHC 2813 (Adminn). Susan Nicholson and Caroline Devlin were killed by the same man during the course of abusive relationships. They died in 2011 and 2006, but the man was not convicted – of murder and manslaughter respectively – until 2017. The inquest into Susan’s death in 2011 resulted in a verdict of accidental death. Following the murder conviction, the Coroner applied to the High Court for this to be quashed, with the intention of holding a short inquest at which a fresh conclusion of “unlawful killing” would be recorded. However, the Claimants in this case – Susan’s parents – sought to expand the scope of the inquest to consider what they thought, understandably, were police failings. They were successful; this blog explains why, and examines the wider implications of the ruling.’
UK Human Rights Law Blog, 5th November 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘In Ecila Henderson v. Dorset Healthcare University NHS Trust Foundation [2020] UKSC 43 the Supreme Court has revisited the defence of illegality (“ex turpi causa”) in the context of a claim for clinical negligence.’
UK Human Rights Law Blog, 3rd November 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The family of a severely mentally ill woman who died after being without disability benefits for several months have accused the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of failing to safeguard her.’
The Guardian, 5th November 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2024