Publications must be taken as a whole when determining meaning, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 19th, 2016 in defamation, interpretation, media, news by sally

‘In order to determine the meaning of a publication in defamation, what matters is the publication taken as a whole, a High Court judge has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Fee proposals for grants of probate – Ministry of Justice

Posted February 19th, 2016 in consultations, fees, news, probate by sally

‘This consultation sets out the government’s proposals for reforming the fee payable for an application for a grant of probate. The proposed fee regime will move from a flat to a banded fee approach, proportionate to, and rising with, the value of the estate, and at the same time will increase the value of the estate below which no fee is payable from £5,000 to £50,000, lifting some 30,000 estates out of paying any fee. The proposals are intended to be fair and progressive. The Government is also considering whether grant of probate applications should be excluded from the fee remissions scheme and are seeking views on this issue.’

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Ministry of Justice, 18th February 2016

Source: www.consult.justice.gov.uk

District council wins Planning Court appeal over permission for 103-dwelling scheme – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 19th, 2016 in environmental protection, local government, news, planning by sally

‘A district council has won a Planning Court appeal after an inspector granted outline permission for a 103-dwelling development.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th February 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Domestic violence legal aid changes were ‘invalid’ – BBC News

Posted February 19th, 2016 in domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, ministers' powers and duties, news, women by sally

‘A women’s charity has won an appeal against rule changes which it said “cut too many women off” from legal aid in domestic violence cases.’

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BBC News, 19th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EU court ruling on Iranian bank paves way for claims against UK – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2016 in banking, compensation, EC law, Iran, news, sanctions by sally

‘Bank Mellat, an Iranian firm whose assets were frozen due to alleged involvement in nuclear proliferation, has won a European Union court ruling paving the way for claims against the UK.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Grieving families could be forced to pay a new death tax – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 19th, 2016 in families, fees, news, probate by sally

‘For some families it could amount to a potential 129-fold increase in costs.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th February 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK court approves use of predictive coding as basis for e-disclosure for the first time – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 19th, 2016 in computer programs, costs, courts, disclosure, documents, news by sally

‘A UK court has approved for the first time the use of predictive coding as a basis for determining which electronic documents are relevant to a dispute.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Hampshire teacher jailed for sex offences against girls – BBC News

‘A junior school teacher who committed a series of “disgusting and appalling” sexual offences against nine girls has been jailed for three years.’

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BBC News, 18th February 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Public inquiry to scrutinise claims that police covertly monitored politicians – The Guardian

Posted February 19th, 2016 in inquiries, intelligence services, news, parliament, police, spying, whistleblowers by sally

‘The question of whether police spied on elected politicians could turn out to be one of the major issues that will be examined by the public inquiry into undercover policing.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

High Court awards Lord Chancellor £1m in battle with legal aid firm – Legal Futures

Posted February 19th, 2016 in accounts, law firms, legal aid, news by sally

‘The Lord Chancellor has been awarded almost £1m by the High Court in its battle with a legal aid firm over payments on account (POAs).’

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Legal Futures, 19th February 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Correcting the joint enterprise law won’t lead to mass prison releases – The Guardian

‘The UK supreme court has made a landmark ruling after 30 years, but what are the implications?’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Celebrities, the Media and the Personal Data Privacy Wars – Gresham College

Posted February 18th, 2016 in damages, data protection, EC law, legislation, media, news, privacy by sally

‘The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) should properly have been called the Data Privacy Act: it is about privacy of personal data and not merely its security. Recent cases – if successful for the claimants – will change the litigation landscape for everyone.’

Transcript

Gresham College, 27th January 2016

Source: www.gresham.ac.uk

UK government considers allowing increased planning fees where councils perform well – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 18th, 2016 in fees, local government, news, planning by sally

‘Communities secretary Greg Clark has announced that he will consult on whether to reward good performance by certain council planning teams with the opportunity to increase their planning application fees.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Supreme Court abolishes “wrong turn” Joint Enterprise law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 18th, 2016 in appeals, joint enterprise, murder, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Today the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the conjoined appeals of R v Jogee and Ruddock v R [2016] UKSC 8, having heard the latter sitting as the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Both cases were appeals against murder convictions founded on a discrete principle of secondary liability, sometimes referred to as ‘joint enterprise’, sometimes as ‘parasitic accessorial liability’ (‘PAL’).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Jake W. Rylatt and Joseph Tomlinson: Neuberger’s Novelties: Keyu and the Substantive Review Debate – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 18th, 2016 in inquiries, judicial review, news, proportionality by sally

‘Over the past few decades, the question of substantive review has provided one of the liveliest debates in public law. However, despite a myriad of contributions from courts and legal commentators, we are still left with little certainty as to its nature, scope, and structure. As we near 70 years since Lord Greene’s landmark decision in Wednesbury, and despite some interesting and innovative recent additions to the debate, a distinct sense of fatigue has begun to set in.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th February 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Is becoming a lawyer still about ‘who you know’? – Legal Week

Posted February 18th, 2016 in law firms, legal education, legal profession, news by sally

‘Law student Jasmine Robinson discusses her experience of how the legal profession is taking steps to shake off its elitist reputation.’

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Legal Week, 18th February 2016

Source: www.legalweek.com

Virginia Mantouvalou: Modern Slavery? The UK Visa System and the Exploitation of Migrant Domestic Workers – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 18th, 2016 in employment, immigration, news, trafficking in human beings, visas, women by sally

‘Since 2012 migrant domestic workers arrive in the UK under very restrictive visa conditions. The Overseas Domestic Worker visa does not permit them to change employer and ties them to the employer with whom they arrived for a non-renewable period of six months. Domestic workers, particularly when they live in the employers’ household, are a vulnerable group of workers. They are also often excluded from labour protective laws. The UK visa has been heavily criticised by many for creating further vulnerability, and has even been linked to slavery. Between 15,000 and 16,000 such visas are issued each year, according to the Home Office, which does not provide any further information on arrivals but produces data on the nationality of the employers. About 80 per cent come from a very small number of countries in the Middle East.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 16th February 2016

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Joint Enterprise press release from the Appellant’s solicitors – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 18th, 2016 in joint enterprise, murder, news, solicitors by sally

‘It is important to note that the draft judgment of the Supreme Court was embargoed from all apart from solicitors and counsel until today so our client, Ameen Jogee, and his family only found out about our success this morning.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th February 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Police watchdog criticises Met chief’s comments on sexual abuse policy – The Guardian

Posted February 18th, 2016 in crime, London, news, police, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘The head of the police watchdog has criticised Scotland Yard’s commissioner for claiming that an official policy to “believe the victim” had caused confusion among his detectives when investigating prominent people for alleged sexual abuse.’

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The Guardian, 18th February 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

‘Reputational damage’ fears discouraging corporate fraud investigations, expert warns – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 18th, 2016 in company law, enforcement, fraud, news by sally

‘Corporate victims of fraud will send a “convincing message about their values” to investors and customers if they set aside their fears of reputational damage in order to publicly investigate and deal with the discovery, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th February 2016

Source: www.out-law.com