HMRC seeking ‘unprecedented’ information request powers – OUT-LAW.com

‘HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK is seeking “unprecedented” powers to obtain information about taxpayers without independent oversight from the tax tribunal, a tax expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th July 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

High Court judge berates leading law firm for “shameful” behaviour – Legal Futures

Posted July 12th, 2018 in airlines, costs, law firms, news, professional conduct by sally

‘A High Court judge has accused leading law firm Pinsent Masons of losing sight of “any basic standard of decent and compassionate behaviour” in the way it dealt with the widow of a defendant its client was suing.’

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Legal Futures, 11th July 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge refuses permission for legal challenge to Inner Temple planning permission – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 12th, 2018 in inns of court, judicial review, news, planning by sally

‘The High Court has refused permission for a judicial review of the Corporation of the City of London’s grant of planning permission for educational facilities in the Inner Temple Treasury Building, which involves the loss of the upper gallery of its library, it has been reported.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th July 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

A question of authority – settled accommodation – Nearly Legal

Posted July 12th, 2018 in homelessness, housing, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Doka v Southwark concerned what could amount to ‘settled accommodation’ for homelessness matters, and specifically for ‘breaking the chain’ of intentional homelessness.’

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Nearly Legal, 11th July 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Paul Cleeland’s 45-year fight to clear name over gun murder – BBC News

‘A man at the centre of one of the UK’s longest alleged miscarriages of justice is making a fresh bid to clear his name after a legal fight spanning more than four decades.’

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BBC News, 12th July 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Home Office ordered to pay £50,000 after child separated from father – The Guardian

Posted July 12th, 2018 in care orders, children, compensation, detention, families, immigration, news by sally

‘The Home Office has agreed to pay £50,000 compensation after a three-year-old girl was left in care while her father was unlawfully placed in immigration detention.’

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The Guardian, 11th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Churchyard memorials which cause affront and offence – Law and Religion UK

Posted July 11th, 2018 in Church of England, families, monuments, news by sally

‘Although it is always open for a person who wishes to introduce a memorial, or to modify an existing one, to submit a petition to the consistory court, in Re Holy Trinity Drayton Parslow [2018] ECC Oxf 3* permission was refused inter alia as it was deemed that the proposed alteration would be an affront and offence to the parishioners.’

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Law and Religion UK, 11th July 2018

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Late and late again – intentional homelessness and benefit claims – Nearly Legal

Posted July 11th, 2018 in adjournment, delay, homelessness, local government, news by sally

‘Oduneye v Brent London Borough Council (2018) EWCA Civ 1595. This was a second appeal from a s.204 appeal on Brent’s decision that Ms O was intentionally homeless. Ms O was in person. She had sought an adjournment to seek legal representation but this was a fortnight before the hearing and refused on the basis that she had known of the appeal hearing since permission on 21 October 2017.’

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Nearly Legal, 10th July 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Appeals on a point of law in arbitration and adjudication – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted July 11th, 2018 in construction industry, dispute resolution, news by sally

‘One of the recurring themes on this blog is looking at what happens in arbitration and drawing parallels with what happens in adjudication. It is something that really interests me as I act as both adjudicator and arbitrator. This week is no different and I am looking at the judgment in Fehn Schiffahrts GmbH & Co KG v Romani SPA, where the Commercial Court allowed an appeal on a point of law under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 and remitted the award back to the three-person tribunal.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 10th July 2018

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Legal challenge to the Undercover Police Inquiry — will it succeed? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 11th, 2018 in diversity, inquiries, news, police, spying by sally

‘It was reported on Thursday, 5 July 2018, that three core participants in the Undercover Policing Inquiry are intending to launch a legal challenge against the Home Secretary’s decision not to appoint a panel to sit with the Chair, Sir John Mitting. They say a diverse panel is needed who will better understand the issues of racism, sexism and class discrimination that the inquiry will inevitably raise. So where has this challenge come from, and is it likely to succeed?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 10th July 2018

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Council not required to disclose advice of independent person: Tribunal – Local Government Lawyer

‘Stratford-on-Avon District Council need not disclose advice given by an independent person in a case over a councillor’s conduct, the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th July 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Stand by your man? The clash of criminal law and family law concerning inter-spousal transfers of assets – Family Law

Posted July 11th, 2018 in confiscation, divorce, fraud, matrimonial home, news, proceeds of crime by sally

‘The judgment of the Court of Appeal in R v Hayes [2018] EWCA 682 is a stark and unsettling reminder of how occasionally a family court and a criminal court may deliver contradictory judgments on the same facts.’

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Family Law, 11th July 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Costs judge applies ‘wider criteria’ in proportionality dispute – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 11th, 2018 in costs, injunctions, news, proportionality by sally

‘A costs judge has refused to pare a defendant’s costs after finding she should not have to bear the consequences of the claimant’s conduct.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th July 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Inquiry condemns school that barred A-level pupils – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2018 in examinations, inquiries, news, school exclusions by sally

‘An independent inquiry into a top grammar school, which was revealed by a Guardian investigation to be forcing out pupils who were unlikely to get top grades at A-level, has delivered a damning report accusing the school of illegally treating its students as “collateral damage” in the pursuit of its own interests.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs want new watchdog to root out research misconduct – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2018 in fraud, news, select committees, universities by sally

‘A national watchdog that has the power to punish British universities for failing to tackle research misconduct is needed to ensure that sloppy practices and outright fraud are caught and dealt with fast, MPs say.’

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The Guardian, 11th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mother and grandmother found guilty of killing teenager ‘left to rot to death’ in bed – The Independent

‘The mother and grandmother of a teenager who died after being “left to rot to death” on an inflatable mattress at their house in Leeds have been convicted of manslaughter.’

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The Independent, 10th July 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Facebook fined for data breaches in Cambridge Analytica scandal – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2018 in data protection, fines, internet, news by sally

‘Facebook is to be fined £500,000, the maximum amount possible, for its part in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the information commissioner has announced.’

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The Guardian, 11th July 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Justice finds UK transgender state pension law discriminatory – Family Law

Posted July 10th, 2018 in EC law, marriage, news, pensions, transgender persons by sally

‘Pensions analysis: A ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in MB v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Case C-451/16 [2018] All ER (D) 135 (Jun) that EU law precludes UK legislation which requires a woman who had previously been a married man to be no longer married to a woman in order to be able to claim a state retirement pension as from the statutory pensionable age applicable to women is examined by Dr Christopher Stothers, a partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. This case has significant implications on how countries recognise changes to gender.’

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Family Law, 10th July 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Court finds abuse of process did not affect limitation period – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 10th, 2018 in abuse of process, limitations, news, striking out, time limits by sally

‘The High Court has decided not to strike out a claim where an incorrect fee was paid days before the limitation period ended.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 10th July 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Pay defence practitioners earlier to improve disclosure – attorney general – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Redesigning the legal aid system to pay defence practitioners earlier in a case could help to tackle long-standing disclosure challenges, the attorney general has told MPs.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th July 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk