Outsourcing and the Human Rights Act 1998 – the consequences – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

‘Without straying into politics, Sammut v Next Steps Mental Healthcare Ltd [2024] EWHC 2265 (KB) is a case which demonstrates the consequences of the fact that much state-funded care – including coercive mental health care – is now delivered privately. It concerns a man, Paul Sammut, who had what was described as a chronic, enduring and treatment resistant schizophrenia. For large parts of his adult life, he was detained under s.3 Mental Health Act 1983.’

Full Story

Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 16th September 2024

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

Inside Operation Soteria: Half of rape investigation teams are not fully qualified – Each Other

Posted September 18th, 2024 in human rights, news, ombudsmen, police, rape, sexual offences by sally

‘The police inspectorate recently published its report on progress in delivering a new model for investigating rape and serious sexual offences, known as Operation Soteria.’

Full Story

Each Other, 16th September 2024

Source: eachother.org.uk

Recent orders for possession in University protest camp claims – implications for academic institutions – Local Government Lawyer

‘Joe Walker and Fred Groves provide an update on unauthorised pro-Palestinian protest encampments on university premises where many have refused to comply with demands to vacate.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 13th September 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Home Office ‘mostly consulted Rwandan officials’ in asylum plan safety report – The Guardian

Posted September 11th, 2024 in asylum, deportation, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, refugees, Rwanda by tracey

‘The last Conservative government relied largely on evidence from Rwandan officials in its assessment of the country as a safe place to send asylum seekers, an official report has found.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 10th September 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Afghan family refused UK visas to join son, 13, evacuated from Kabul – The Guardian

Posted September 9th, 2024 in Afghanistan, children, families, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, visas by tracey

‘The Home Office has rejected a visa application from a family trapped in Afghanistan, whose son was evacuated to the UK during the fall of Kabul.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 9th September 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Absence of Authority? – Financial Remedies Journal

‘In G v S (Family Law Act 1996: Publicity) [2024] EWFC 231 (B) (6 June 2024) HHJ Reardon asked:

“What is the default position in terms of publication in a case where s 12 [of the Administration of Justice Act 1969] does not apply?”’

Full Story

Financial Remedies Journal, 1st September 2024

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Arguing Incompatibility: Lessons from the Court of Appeal – St Philips Barristers

‘In Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Marilyn Mailley [2023] EWCA Civ 1246, the Court of Appeal considered whether the statutory provisions governing succession to secure tenancies under the Housing Act 1985 were discriminatory in circumstances where a family member was not able to succeed to a tenancy, as the tenant had ceased to occupy the property due to ill-health and did not have capacity to assign the tenancy to them.’

Full Story

St Philips Barristers, 19th August 2024

Source: st-philips.com

The recent sentencing of climate protestors – Six Pump Court

‘On 18th July 2024, attentions were drawn to the sentences received by five Just Stop Oil activists, including its co-founder, Roger Hallam, for the offence of conspiracy to intentionally cause a public nuisance, namely by disrupting traffic on the M25.[1] Mr Hallam received a sentence of five years and the others received sentences of four years. Many viewed the sentences as excessive and repressive considering that the protests were peaceful,[2] despite causing large-scale disruption with significant economic consequences.’

Full Story

Six Pump Court, 9th August 2024

Source: 6pumpcourt.co.uk

Family reunion and human rights: KF (Syria) overturned in new Upper Tribunal decision – EIN Blog

Posted August 20th, 2024 in families, human rights, immigration, news by tracey

‘In the newly reported Upper Tribunal decision in Al Hassan & Ors. (Article 8; entry clearance; KF (Syria)) [2024] UKUT 00234 (IAC), my client, a Syrian national, arrived in the UK through a resettlement scheme. She applied to be reunited with her siblings, as well as her nieces and nephews. This was through the standard family reunion route, outside of the Immigration Rules. Our point, inter alia, was that KF and others (entry clearance, relatives of refugees) Syria [2019] UKUT 413 (IAC) was wrong in law to only look at the sponsor’s rights, as well as the argument that the risk of refoulement in a family reunion appeal surely has to be the biggest interference in family life.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 19th August 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Police officers used ‘unnecessary force’ on woman – BBC News

Posted August 19th, 2024 in human rights, mental health, news, nuisance, police, professional conduct, restraint, women by tracey

‘Two police officers committed gross misconduct by using “unnecessary force” on a vulnerable woman in Bristol, a panel has found.’

Full Story

BBC News, 17th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Alerter by Tim Green KC & Georgina Pein – How to engage A2 ECHR in Healthcare Inquests – Henderson Chambers

Posted August 8th, 2024 in chambers articles, families, human rights, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘This article provides practitioners with an overview of the law relating to inquests which engage Article 2 ECHR in the context of deaths arising from shortcomings in healthcare. It is intended to provide a pithy summary on the legal complexities in domestic and European case law and it offers some general advice on how best to engage Article 2 arguments.’

Full Story

Henderson Chamber, 17th July 2024

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Deputy High Court judge gives reasons for granting interim injunctions against occupants of boats trespassing on land needed for regeneration project – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 8th, 2024 in housing, human rights, injunctions, local government, London, news, trespass by tracey

‘The London Borough of Enfield has secured interim injunctions against the occupants of boats and land on the River Lea who it has claimed obstruct progress on a £6bn development of 10,000 homes.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 8th August 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Persistent questioning of appellant by judge was fair – EIN Blog

Posted August 7th, 2024 in appeals, asylum, examinations, fraud, human rights, immigration, judges, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Court of Appeal held in this case that FTTJ Beg’s persistent questioning of an immigration appellant, Mr Tareque Hossain, a Bangladeshi national, who had been found to have fraudulently obtained an English language competence test did not indicate that she had “descended into the arena” such as to adversely affect her evaluation of the evidence. FTTJ Beg’s questions concerned matters that fell within the areas previously covered by the evidence and were clearly directed to the central issue of whether Mr Tareque Hossain had undertaken the test. There was no evidence that she was unable to consider the evidence objectively. It was fairer that she asked questions about the matters going to the central factual issue rather than leave her concerns unaddressed, and without giving Mr Hossain and his witnesses an opportunity to deal with them. Mr Tareque Hossain had appealed against a decision upholding the refusal of his application for leave to remain in the UK. He entered the UK on a student visa but his leave to remain was curtailed on the basis that he had relied on an English language test (“TOEIC”) which was fraudulently obtained from the Educational Testing Service (“ETS”). He could not appeal and did not challenge that finding by way of judicial review but claimed asylum (later withdrawn) and made a series of applications the last of which was a further application for leave to remain on the basis of his family and private life made on 21 October 2020. His application was refused on the basis that his TOEIC exam involved cheating.’

Full Story

EIN Blog, 6th August 2024

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Serial killer Levi Bellfield blocked from having civil partnership – The Guardian

Posted August 2nd, 2024 in civil partnerships, human rights, imprisonment, legal aid, marriage, murder, news, prisons by michael

‘The serial killer Levi Bellfield has been blocked from having a civil partnership, after a new law came into force stopping the most serious offenders getting married behind bars.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 2nd August 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Disbanding a parish – and a question of jurisdiction: All Saints Spring Park PCC – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 31st, 2024 in appeals, Christianity, Church of England, human rights, news, Privy Council by sally

‘All Saints Spring Park Parochial Church Council v Church Commissioners [2024] UKPC 23 was an appeal by the PCC and the incumbent of All Saints Spring Park under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011 to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council against a scheme made by the Church Commissioners under the Measure. An episcopal visitation in 2016 had concluded that the parish was not financially viable [5], and the Commissioners made a scheme under the Measure to dissolve the parish and divide its area between the neighbouring parishes of St John Shirley and St George Shirley. The incumbent, Revd Yvonne Clarke – who was the first black woman to be ordained deacon in the Church of England and one of the first women to be ordained priest [3] – and the Parochial Church Council had made written representations on the proposal, but the Bishop of Southwark duly approved the scheme in June 2020.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 31st July 2024

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Using Universal Periodic Review Recommendations in UK Courts – Judicial Review

Posted July 30th, 2024 in human rights, judicial review, news, United Nations by sally

‘This article is the first to demonstrate how the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations can be used in UK domestic law and courts. The UPR is a cyclical review of UN member states’ human rights obligations. It is unique because it involves states (rather than judges or experts) scrutinising and making recommendations to one another on how they can improve human rights on the ground. These recommendations are then subject to a process of follow-up in the subsequent review, which will occur four to five years later when the state can then be scrutinised about their implementation of recommendations made in the previous cycle. The UPR was set up as an international political process, and as a consequence legal practitioners may be unaware of the UPR, or at least unfamiliar with its relevance to their work. Indeed, it has almost never featured in reported case law in England and Wales.’

Full Story

Judicial Review, 29th July 2024

Source: www.tandfonline.com

Towards a rights-based approach for disabled women’s access to abortion – Medical Law Review

Posted July 29th, 2024 in abortion, disabled persons, human rights, mental health, news by sally

‘This article adds to the still limited scholarship on the impact of abortion laws and policies on people with disabilities and those with diminished capacity who seek abortion. We argue that neither the legal nor policy framework currently operating in England and Wales adequately incorporates and protects the rights of people with disabilities or those experiencing mental ill-health. Rather, the law and policy framework jeopardizes their reproductive agency. We argue that greater attention to and incorporation of standards contained within the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (including the sources produced by its Committee) and implementation of guidelines produced by the World Health Organization would result in a rights-affirming framework that supports disabled women’s reproductive agency, enhances their effective enjoyment of human rights, and supports them in accessing quality abortion care.’

Full Story

Medical Law Review, 17th July 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Deportation and human rights: the right to respect for private life in MK (Albania) v Minister for Justice and Equality – Legal Studies

Posted July 25th, 2024 in deportation, families, human rights, immigration, news by sally

‘The sovereign power to control the entry and residence of persons in the state, and the corollary power to deport, has long been considered to be a defining feature of statehood. State discretion as to who may remain within the national border is, however, tempered by international and regional human rights obligations, as well as domestic constitutional principles. In this context, it is well established that a deportation will violate Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if it constitutes a disproportionate interference with family and/or private life in the host country.’

Full Story

Legal Studies, 1st July 2024

Source: www.cambridge.org

Right Care, Right Person before the courts – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

Posted July 24th, 2024 in extradition, human rights, mental health, news by sally

‘It is perhaps slightly surprising that Right Care, Right Person should make its first reported appearance in case-law in the context of an extradition challenge, but in Platt v The High Court of the Republic of Ireland [2024] EWHC 1821 (Admin), it featured in the challenge to the decision to extradite the claimant to Ireland.’

Full Story

Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 23rd July 2024

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

UK government faces claim over alleged failure to protect people in climate crisis – The Guardian

In December, council officials ordered Kevin Jordan to leave his home, warning him it was at risk of falling into the sea at any moment.

Full Story

The Guardian, 23rd July 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com