Sexual history evidence: fair game? – Counsel

Posted December 9th, 2016 in admissibility, consent, evidence, interpretation, news, rape, retrials by sally

‘Ali Naseem Bajwa QC and Eva Niculiu examine the issues raised by use of the complainant’s sexual history in the Ched Evans rape retrial.’

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Counsel, December 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Judge quashes permission in basement and permitted development rights case – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 9th, 2016 in building law, interpretation, local government, London, news, planning by sally

‘A judge has quashed the London Borough of Camden’s grant of planning permission for a basement extension, deciding that the planning committee misdirected itself over the volume of associated engineering works.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th December 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme court Brexit hearing: 10 things we learned – The Guardian

‘From the royal prerogative and Henry VIII clause to what makes lawyers laugh – and how to interpret a judge’s choice of tie.’

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The Guardian, 8th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

What do points mean? (No prizes) – Nearly Legal

Posted August 30th, 2016 in children, homelessness, housing, interpretation, local government, news by sally

‘Another allocation judicial review, related, but perhaps distinct from the line of ‘reasonable preference’ cases we have previously seen. The issue, in part, Islington’s use of a ‘points threshold’ for allowing bidding for properties, though not for qualification to the register.’

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Nearly Legal, 29th August 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Heaven or Hell? Brexit Legal Issues Analysed Through ‘Hotel California’ Lyrics – Littleton Chambers

‘This post sets out some of the legal issues arising after the referendum of 23 June 2016, taking a generous liberty with the interpretation of the lyrics of The Eagles’ song “Hotel California”.’

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Littleton Chambers, 12th August 2016

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

‘More than half’ of taxpayer challenges to HMRC decisions successful – OUT-LAW.com

‘More than half of the challenges brought by taxpayers against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) decisions last year were successful, according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 23rd August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Gambling regulator looks to clamp down on unlicensed e-sports betting and gambling of ‘in-game’ items – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 22nd, 2016 in class actions, gambling, internet, interpretation, licensing, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The British gambling regulator has warned online platforms that facilitate bets on e-sports or which allow gamers to gamble virtual items they have obtained when gaming that they might require a gambling licence to continue with their operations.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

High Court ruling due on whether new Labour members can vote in leadership contest – Daily Telegraph

‘A High Court judge is ruling on a bid by five new members of the Labour Party who have “paid their dues” for the legal right to vote in the forthcoming leadership election.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th August 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The Human Rights Act helps us hold power to account. We must defend it – The Guardian

‘Protestors like John Catt are being monitored by the state without explanation – except that they ‘could be a victim’ of a future crime. What’s going on?’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jake Rylatt: The Irrevocability of an Article 50 Notification: Lex Specialis and the Irrelevance of the Purported Customary Right to Unilaterally Revoke – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘With the constitution of a new UK Government formed around a policy of ‘Brexit’, and the creation of the new ministerial position of ‘Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union’, the likelihood that Article 50 will actually be triggered has increased significantly. In addition to the cavalcade of recent posts addressing who is constitutionally empowered to make the Article 50 notification, attention has also been given to the question of whether an Article 50 notification made in conformity with the constitutional requirements of the UK could be subsequently revoked. An interesting argument raised by Charles Streeten is that ‘an Article 50 notification can be withdrawn unilaterally at any point prior to the expiry of the two year guillotine imposed by Article 50’. This post responds by challenging this argument on two grounds, arguing that ultimately a Member State cannot unilaterally revoke an Article 50 notification once it is made. It will do so by firstly outlining the argument made by Streeten, before explaining its difficulties and attempting to clarify the legal position. In concluding, it will be argued that the decision to trigger Article 50 is one that should be taken with the greatest care; relying upon technical legal arguments to provide a safety net risks creating further uncertainty and undermining the position of the UK in subsequent negotiations.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th July 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Avoid/evade – Counsel

‘Recent news analysis of the Panama Papers, and high-profile-personality stakes in offshore funds, have turned up the heat in the tax avoid v evade debate. Kevin Prosser QC sheds light on this greyest of areas.’

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Counsel, July 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

And There Lurks the Minotaur: The Interrelationship Between the Inherent Jurisdiction and Section 25, CA 1989: Part II – Family Law Week

‘Alex Laing, barrister of Coram Chambers, considers further the interrelationship of secure accommodation and the inherent jurisdiction and the principles which should govern its use.’

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Family Law Week, 8th July 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Speech by Lady Justice Arden DBE: Is Commercial Arbitration the Future of Commercial Justice? – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Is Commercial Arbitration the Future of Commercial Justice?’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary,  5th July 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Nick Barber, Tom Hickman and Jeff King: Pulling the Article 50 ‘Trigger’: Parliament’s Indispensable Role – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘In this post we argue that as a matter of domestic constitutional law, the Prime Minister is unable to issue a declaration under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – triggering our withdrawal from the European Union – without having been first authorised to do so by an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament. Were he to attempt to do so before such a statute was passed, the declaration would be legally ineffective as a matter of domestic law and it would also fail to comply with the requirements of Article 50 itself.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 27th June 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Part 36 uplift for beating offer includes contractual interest, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

‘The 10% uplift claimants receive for beating their part 36 offer includes contractual interest on the sum won at trial, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th June 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Conflicts of interest – Law Society’s Gazette

‘In the recent decision of W Ltd v M SDN BHD [2016] EWHC 422, Knowles J considered a challenge by the claimant of an arbitral award on the grounds of ‘serious irregularity’ under section 68(2) of the Arbitration Act 1996. That section provides that ‘serious irregularity’ means an irregularity ‘which the court considers has caused or will cause substantial injustice to the applicant’. The claimant alleged apparent bias on behalf of the sole arbitrator, H, based on alleged conflict of interest.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 27th June 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

EAT: workers must be engaged in ‘principal purpose’ immediately before TUPE transfer – OUT-LAW.com

‘Whether a group of workers consists of an “organised grouping” which will automatically transfer to a new service provider when the work that they do is taken over by that provider will depend on their activities “immediately before” the transfer, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th June 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

BNY Mellon Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v LBG Capital No 1 plc and another – WLR Daily

Posted June 17th, 2016 in banking, contracts, interpretation, law reports, trusts by tracey

BNY Mellon Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v LBG Capital No 1 plc and another [2016] UKSC 29

‘In March 2009, the financial services regulatory authority conducted a stress test of a banking group against the then applicable benchmark of a ratio of core tier 1 (“CT1”) capital to risk-weighted assets. The test demonstrated a shortage of capital. As a result, the defendants, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of the group, issued contingent convertible securities, described as enhanced capital notes. The notes, which carried a relatively high rate of interest, were not redeemable until specified maturity dates between 2019 and 2032 unless they were converted into shares on the occurrence of a conversion trigger, being any time when the group’s CT1 ratio fell below 5%, or they were redeemed early by the group on the occurrence of a capital disqualification event. Under clause 19 of the notes’ terms and conditions, contained in the trust deed, a capital disqualification event was deemed to have occurred if the notes ceased to be taken into account for the purposes of any stress test applied by the regulatory authority in respect of the group’s “consolidated CT1 ratio”. In 2013 regulatory changes replaced CT1 capital with a more restrictive category, common equity tier 1 (“CET1”) capital. The regulatory authority announced that the notes would now need to have a trigger for conversion higher than 5.125% CET1 in order to count as core capital but, under the terms of the notes, conversion would only be triggered if the group’s CET1 ratio fell to 1%. In December 2014 the regulatory authority carried out a stress test which did not take into account the notes and, as a result, the group announced that a capital disqualification event had occurred and that it was entitled to redeem the notes. The claimant trustee, on behalf of the note holders, sought a declaration that a capital disqualification event had not occurred, contending that the December 2014 stress test was not relevant for the purposes of clause 19 because it had been conducted by reference to a CET1 ratio rather than a consolidated CT1 ratio and that, alternatively, the fact that the notes had not been taken into account in the December 2014 stress test was not enough to trigger a capital disqualification event, rather the notes had to have been disallowed in principle from being taken into account for the purposes of the tier 1 ratio. The judge rejected the trustee’s first argument but accepted the second argument and declared that a capital disqualification event had not occurred. On the defendants’ appeal, the Court of Appeal, in construing the trust deed, took into account statements in the exchange offer memorandum, a letter from the group’s chairman and documents issued by the regulatory authority at and before the time at which the notes had been issued, and it allowed the appeal, holding that a capital disqualification event had occurred and that, therefore, the defendants were entitled to redeem the notes.’

WLR daily, 16th June 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Hold Me Close, I’m an Academic – Panopticon

‘If I am an extremely well-regarded academic at Cambridge (don’t snigger at the back, I could be) and due to my eminence I do some unpaid voluntary work for a major international group (here, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change), the work in relation to which I do over my university email account, are those emails held by the University under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”)?’

Full story

Panopticon, 10th June 2016

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

A series of unfortunate events – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in holidays, insurance, interpretation, law firms, negligence, news, solicitors by sally

‘Judges occasionally lighten their judgments with literary references. The quotation from Alice in Wonderland “Words mean what I want them to mean” is a favourite in cases involving the interpretation of contracts, and Shakespeare appears fairly regularly.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 23rd May 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk