MPs secretly vet judges for European court of human rights role – The Guardian

Posted May 23rd, 2012 in courts, human rights, judges, news by sally

“MPs aiming to claw back powers from Europe have secretly interviewed candidates to become Britain’s next judge at the European court of human rights.”

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The Guardian, 22nd May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prisoners could get vote within six months if UK loses last legal battle in Europe – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 22nd, 2012 in elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

“David Cameron could be forced to give prisoners the vote within six months if the Government loses a last ditch legal challenge today.”

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Convention should not be a basis for demanding unnecessary public inquiries – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 22nd, 2012 in appeals, children, human rights, inquiries, news, treaties by sally

“The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the Secretary of State acted lawfully in not ordering independent inquiry into a 2009 protest at an Immigration Detention Centre.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Will the human rights court throw Britain a lifeline on prisoner votes? – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2012 in elections, human rights, jurisdiction, news, prisons by sally

“If Strasbourg upholds its previous judgments, Cameron shouldn’t expect the bill of rights commission to come to his rescue.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Duty to House and Support the Vulnerable – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted May 21st, 2012 in health, housing, human rights, judicial review, local government, news by sally

“Tim Baldwin summarises a recent noteworthy High Court decision on housing and support for a terminally ill individual.”

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 21st May 2012

Source www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Two Articles on Local Government Law – 11 KBW

Local Government Law Update: 14 May (PDF)
Local Government Law Update: 15 May (PDF)

11 KBW, May 2012

Source: www.11kbw.com

Supreme Court judge on war, intelligence and the retreat of judicial deference – UK Human Rights Blog

“The recent standoff between two leading judicial lights, Jonathan Sumption and Stephen Sedley, may make for entertaining reading, but don’t be fooled.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 20th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Housing benefit system discriminated against disabled people, rules Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 21st, 2012 in appeals, benefits, disability discrimination, housing, human rights, news by sally

“In the same week that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan-Smith, announced his intention to implement sweeping reforms of the current system of disability benefits, the Court of Appeal has ruled that housing benefit rules were discriminatory against disabled people, in breach of Article 14 read with Article 1 Protocol 1 of the European Convention.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Good Constitution: Sir David Williams Lecture – Speech by Lord Justice Laws

Posted May 18th, 2012 in constitutional law, human rights, judicial review, speeches by sally

The Good Constitution (PDF)

Speech by Lord Justice Laws

Sir David Williams Lecture, 4th May 2012

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Disability Discrimination and Housing Allowance: The Importance of Article 14 – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted May 16th, 2012 in appeals, benefits, disability discrimination, housing, human rights, news by tracey

“Desmond Rutledge explains a landmark Court of Appeal decision upholding the rights of the severely disabled.”

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 15th May 2012

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Removing full right of appeal for family visitors – UK Border Agency

“A clause in the Crime and Courts Bill, published today, will remove the full right of appeal for those applying to enter the UK as a family visitor. Subject to Parliamentary approval and Royal Assent, this change is expected to come into force by 2014. Refused applicants will still be able to appeal on limited grounds of human rights or race discrimination.”

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UK Border Agency, 10th May 2012

Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Top QC says human rights laws need “serious change” – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 14th, 2012 in human rights, judges, news, terrorism, victims by sally

“Next month Ben Emmerson QC, who is short-listed as a candidate to represent the UK at the ECHR, will address the UN to argue that more attention should be paid to the human rights of victims of terrorism. Peter Stanford meets him.”

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Daily Telegraph, 12th May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Climate change human rights litigation: is it so radical? Nicola Peart – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 10th, 2012 in climate change, human rights, news by sally

“In the UK there are at present no rights expressly cast in terms applicable to climate change, nor have our traditional human rights been extensively interpreted as covering climate change consequences. As David Hart QC identifies in his blog, Is climate change a human rights issue?, human rights principles, to be useful for climate change litigators, have to have some democratic backing somewhere. So is there any hope, in the near future at least, of formally or even informally establishing a link between climate change and human rights in the UK? Is human rights based climate change litigation as ‘radical’ as David Hart suggests?”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abu Qatada deportation appeal rejected by human rights court – The Guardian

Posted May 10th, 2012 in appeals, deportation, human rights, news, terrorism by sally

“The home secretary, Theresa May, is to make a renewed attempt to deport Abu Qatada after judges at the European court of human rights rejected his appeal to the Strasbourg court.”

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The Guardian, 9th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Should we outlaw genetic discrimination? – UK Human Rights Blog

“Earlier this month the Association of British Insurers announced the latest extension on the moratorium on the use of genetic test results for insurance purposes. But is this ‘Concordat’ sufficient protection? Genetic technologies are becoming increasingly available and profound questions are arising in relation to life and health insurance and employability as genetic screening becomes cheaper and widespread.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Abu Qatada’s chances of success at Strasbourg are slim – The Guardian

Posted May 8th, 2012 in appeals, courts, human rights, news, time limits by sally

“Despite controversy over the deadline, I doubt the European court will agree to hear Abu Qatada’s appeal.”

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The Guardian, 8th May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Strasbourg judges have got it wrong in case of man’s mistreatment in custody – The Guardian

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in detention, human rights, mental health, news by sally

“Judgment in MS v UK from European court leaves publicly funded authorities threatened with litigation from all sides.”

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The Guardian, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mentally ill man’s detention in police cell breached his human rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in detention, human rights, mental health, news by sally

“A violent mentally ill man who was kept in a police cell for more than three days without medical treatment suffered ‘inhuman or degrading treatment’, European human rights judges have ruled.”

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Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The ECHR and democratic legitimacy – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in courts, human rights, news, treaties by sally

“Two interesting articles on the UK Human Rights Blog recently raised once again the question of the legitimacy of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd May 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Time, time, time, look what’s become of me – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted May 3rd, 2012 in courts, human rights, news, time limits by sally

“In law, time can be everything. Every lawyer will have experienced waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat at the realisation that a time limit has been missed. Courts often have the discretion to extend litigation time limits, such as under rule 3.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules, but simple mistakes by lawyers rarely generate sympathy from judges. Even scarier, judges sometimes do not even have the power to extend time at all, however unfair the circumstances. The idea is to encourage certainty and predictability in the legal system.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd May 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com