Bar’s disciplinary system on trial in High Court – Law Society’s Gazette

“The legality of the bar’s disciplinary system has been called into question this week as the High Court hears three claims for judicial review. The cases have been brought by three barristers in relation to charges of professional misconduct brought by the Bar Standards’ Board.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 18th July 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Regina (Sturnham) v Parole Board and another (No 2) – WLR Daily

Regina (Sturnham) v Parole Board and another (No 2): [2013] UKSC 47;   [2013] WLR (D)  274

“The statutory provisions relating to sentences of imprisonment for public protection involved a higher threshold for the imposition of such sentences than for continued detention after the expiry of a prisoner’s minimum term.”

WLR Daily, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judicial review of FTT in UT: what costs rule applies? – Education Law Blog

“In R (LR) v FTT [2013] UKUT 0294 (AAC) the parents and local authority had settled an appeal against a statement of special educational needs and entered into a consent order. The local authority subsequently sought to re-open the tribunal’s approval of that order and, following a review, the FTT set it aside.”

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Education Law Blog, 9th July 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

So we cannot see Prince Charles’ advocacy letters after all – UK Human Rights Blog

“As we all know, the Prince of Wales has his own opinions. And he has shared those opinions with various government departments. Our claimant, a Guardian journalist, thought it would be interesting and important for the rest of us to see those opinions. So he made a request under the Freedom of Information Act and the Environmental Information Regulations to see these documents.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th July 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Decision to block Prince Charles’s letters upheld – BBC News

“The attorney general’s decision to block public disclosure of letters the Prince of Wales wrote to ministers has been upheld by the High Court.”

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BBC News, 9th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Not pending this appeal – NearlyLegal

Posted July 9th, 2013 in appeals, homelessness, housing, judicial review, local government, news by sally

“When bringing a second appeal to the Court of Appeal from a section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeal to the County Court, what is the applicant’s route to challenge a refusal by the local authority to provide accommodation pending appeal to the Court of Appeal?”

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NearlyLegal, 8th July 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

R (on the application of Sturnham) No 2 (Appellant) v The Parole Board of England and Wales and another (Respondents) – Supreme Court

R (on the application of Sturnham) No 2 (Appellant) v The Parole Board of England and Wales and another (Respondents) [2013] UKSC 46 | UKSC 2013/0152 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 3rd July 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Legal aid cuts: ‘a return to widespread miscarriages of justice’ – The Guardian

“What impact will the latest raft of legal aid cuts have on people fighting councils or who are wrongly accused of a crime? We ask former defendants, their families, lawyers and experts.”

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The Guardian, 2nd July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Inner North London – WLR Daily

Regina (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs) v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Inner North London [2013] EWHC 1786 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 261

“It was a matter for the court in the exercise of its case management powers, having regard to the overriding objective to deal with cases justly, whether persons directly affected by judicial review proceedings should be joined as interested parties.”

WLR Daily, 27th June 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina ((JB) (Jamaica)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

Regina ((JB) (Jamaica)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: [2013] EWCA Civ 666;   [2013] WLR (D)  252

“Since the undisputed evidence was that homosexuals were routinely persecuted in Jamaica, the Secretary of State had acted unlawfully in designating Jamaica, under section 94(5)(a) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, as a state where there was ‘in general no serious risk of persecution of persons entitled to reside in that state.’ ”

WLR Daily, 12th June 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Sacking GP from government drugs advisor post for ‘anti-gay’ views was lawful – UK Human Rights Blog

“Dr Hans-Christian Raabe lost his judicial review challenge to the revocation of his appointment as the GP member of the Government’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD). His appointment was revoked less than a month after he had accepted an offer to join the ACMD, as a result of certain views about homosexuality expressed in a paper he had co-written in Canada some 6 years earlier.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

UNISON applies for judicial review of employment tribunal fees – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 25th, 2013 in employment tribunals, judicial review, news, trade unions, tribunals, women by sally

“UNISON has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to introduce employment tribunal fees from the end of next month, it has announced.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Unison to Judicially Review ‘Brutal’ Employment Tribunal Fees – UK Human Rights Blog

“News that Unison has applied for Judicial Review of the Government’s controversial plans to introduce fees in the Employment Tribunal has gone viral in the Labour Law community. A key theme in the application is access to justice for working people, particularly women.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

New guidance on DNR orders brought forward – The Guardian

Posted June 24th, 2013 in consent, families, judicial review, medical ethics, medical treatment, news by sally

“Guidance to doctors and nurses on decisions about whether or not to resuscitate patients is being reviewed amid concerns over whether it is being properly implemented.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judicial Review almost never possible where there is a statutory right of appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 21st, 2013 in appeals, financial regulation, judicial review, news, reasons, tribunals by sally

“(on the application of Christopher Wilford) v The Financial Services Authority [2013] EWCA Civ 677. This Court of Appeal judgment further reduces the scope for judicial review of a Decision Notice issued by the Financial Services Authority (‘the FSA’, now the Financial Conduct Authority). Indeed it comes close to excluding judicial review of these Notices. This is because there is a statutory mechanism for challenging Decision Notices. This case sheds light on the very limited role of judicial review where there is such a statutory right.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Pickles faces legal challenge over Tesco in ‘Portas Pilot’ Margate – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 21st, 2013 in environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning by sally

“Communities minister Eric Pickles is facing a legal challenge over his decision
to allow Tesco to build a huge superstore in ‘Portas Pilot’ Margate.”

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Daily Telegraph, 20th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Good lawyers save money’: Supreme Court President weighs in on Legal Aid – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 20th, 2013 in costs, judges, judicial review, judiciary, legal aid, legal profession, news, speeches by sally

“According to the President of the Supreme Court, the judiciary not only has a right but an obligation ‘to speak out on matters concerning the rule of law.’ In recent months, it is a duty from which Lord Neuberger has not shirked, and last night’s lecture to the Institute of Government was no exception. Its focus was the importance of legal aid, which Neuberger described through the prism of the UK’s constitutional set-up and the respective roles of the legislature, executive and judiciary within it.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Waterloo tower block ‘threatens view of Westminster’ – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2013 in building law, judicial review, news, planning by sally

“A judicial review is sought over plans for a tower block that critics say will harm views of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.”

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BBC News, 19th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance – Speech by Lord Neuberger

Judges and Policy: A Delicate Balance (PDF)

Speech by Lord Neuberger

Institute for Government, 18th June 2013

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Short Cuts – London Review of Books

“A fundamental shift in the relationship between the government and the governed is taking place: by restricting access to the law, the state is handing itself an alarming immunity from legal scrutiny. There are several aspects to this: the partial or total withdrawal of state financial support for people who lack the means to pay for legal advice and representation; and for those who can pay, a restriction on which kinds of decision by public bodies can be challenged. In the area in which I work, criminal law, defendants who receive legal aid will lose the right to choose who represents them in court. Meanwhile, the misleadingly named Justice and Security Act, passed earlier this year, enables the government to conceal evidence from litigants by using national security as a trump card. All this is accompanied by an unbending hostility to human rights law, tainted by its association with Europe, even though this legislation at least offers the weak the possibility of redress for abuses by public authorities.”

Full story

London Review of Books, 6th June 2013

Source: www.lrb.co.uk