An avalanche of reform – New Law Journal
‘Geraldine Morris reviews the family law changes in 2014 & makes predictions for the year ahead.’
New Law Journal, 8th January 2015
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
Category: news
High Court judge disagrees on whether creditors can access bankrupt’s pension savings where pension not in payment – OUT-LAW.com
‘Trustees in bankruptcy should not be able to access a bankrupt pension scheme member’s savings for the purposes of paying off debts, a High Court judge has ruled, contradicting a 2012 decision of the same court.’
OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Good character citizenship criteria quietly tightened up – Free Movement
‘The Home Office has quietly tightened up the criteria for granting British citizenship under the good character test. This had passed me by so I thought it useful to flag up – and many thanks to Alex Moran for point it out. A number of undesirable behaviours have been added to the list of disqualifying behaviour, including illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and evasion of immigration control. The changes seem to have been made on 11 December 2014. The previous version of the guidance can be seen here and the new version here.’
Free Movement, 8th January 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
Immigrant children still being detained, figures show – The Independent
‘More than 600 children, the majority under 12 years old, have been put in detention under immigration rules in the four years since the Government claimed to have ended the controversial practice.’
The Independent, 8th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Supreme Court to hear landmark licensing fees battle next week – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court will next week hear a case with major implications for local authorities and other regulators’ ability to charge fees for licences.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th January 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Time for a fry-up – patent claims reinterpreted in Jarden v SEB – Technology Law Update
‘In a surprise end-of-year appeal success Jarden has escaped the heat of SEB’s ‘dry fryer’ patent. The apparatus claimed by the patent allows a user to produce crispy chips without needing a pan full of hot fat.’
Technology Law Update, 8th January 2015
Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk
Ofcom deals blow to Greens’ election debate hopes – but boosts Ukip’s – The Guardian
‘Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, has declared that the Green party does not have sufficient support to qualify for “major party status” in the general election, but Ukip may have.’
The Guardian, 8th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teaching assistant who tied 7-year-old child to a chair sentenced to 12-month community service – The Independent
‘The “cruel” teaching assistant who “humiliated” a seven-year-old girl over five months at a West Yorkshire school has been given a 12-month community service order.’
The Independent, 8th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Pilot jailed for flying while drunk – The Guardian
‘A pilot who flew an executive jet from Spain while hungover after a three-day drinking binge has been jailed for nine months.’
The Guardian, 8th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
A landmark decision for brand owners: Court rules ISP blocking orders extend to trademark rights – RPC IP Hub
‘The High Court has recently granted Richemont a blocking order requiring the five largest ISPs in the UK to prevent access to various third party websites from advertising and selling goods which infringe Richemont’s trade mark rights. This was the first time that such a blocking order had been sought against ISPs on the basis of trade mark infringement anywhere in the EU (other than, perhaps, in the Danish case of Home v Telenor).’
Full story
RPC IP Hub, 8th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
Complaint trends for 2015 – RPC Financial Services Blog
‘The FOS yesterday published its 2015/16 budget consultation. In short, we can expect more of the same.’
RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
Chickens coming home to roost: SFO’s first conviction of a company for bribery after contested trial – RPC Financial Services Blog
‘Hot on the heels of the SFO’s first conviction under the Bribery Act 2010, discussed in George’s post, and just as some of us were disappearing for a Christmas break, the SFO announced its first conviction of a company for bribery of foreign public officials after a contested trial. (Regular SFO-watchers will recall that in Mabey & Johnson (2009) and Innospec (2010), both companies pleaded guilty by agreement to offences involving bribery of foreign public officials.) This prosecution was not in fact under the much-trumpeted Bribery Act 2010, but under s1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.’
RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
‘Deport first, appeal later’ measures start to bite – Home Office
‘Nearly 800 foreign criminals are being kicked out of the country as tough new ‘deport first, appeal later’ measures start to have an impact.’
Home Office, 6th January 2015
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
The Law and Artificial Intelligence – BBC Unreliable Evidence
‘Clive Anderson ask how our legal system will cope in a fast-approaching world of autonomous cars, care-bots and other machines using artificial intelligence to make judgments normally made by humans.’
BBC Unreliable Evidence, 7th January 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Monitoring of sex offenders by home visits does not breach human rights – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The law governing the monitoring of sex offenders, allowing police officers to visit the homes of registered offenders, did not constitute an unlawful interference with the offenders’ privacy rights under Article 8 of the ECHR.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 7th January 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Munby: legal aid system ‘neither compassionate nor humane’ – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The president of the Family Division has described as ‘unconscionable’ delays over legal aid funding which have held up a case concerning the removal of a child from his parents.’
7th January 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Judgment published where court rejected attack on conduct of ward election – Local Government Lawyer
‘The written judgment has been published this week setting out why an Election Court dismissed a challenge to the validity of an election for a ward in the London Borough of Hackney.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th January 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Pro bono – what lies ahead in 2015? – The Future of Law
‘2015 looks set to be a critical year for the pro bono movement and its uneasy relationship with legal aid. The well-worn pro bono mantra – that pro bono is “an adjunct to and not a replacement for legal aid” – has been challenged in recent years. The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) effectively scrapped public funding for much of social welfare law advice in April 2013 and the legal profession is finally beginning to rethink the formula. Legal aid lawyers are rightly sceptical about ministers trying to co-opt pro bono – but LASPO 2012 is a game-changer.’
The Future of Law, 7th January 2015
Source: http://blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk
Ched Evans: the legal issues – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘The “innocent man wrongly imprisoned who fights a valiant struggle to secure his freedom” is a long used trope in our culture. The hero is normally a sympathetic figure, heroically taking on the establishment.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th January 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Woman brings boyfriend to justice after remembering attack with hypnosis – Daily Telegraph
‘Zoe Dronfield only remembers brutal attack by Jason Smith in Coventry, West Midlands, after she was hypnotised into reliving traumatic ordeal.’
Daily Telegraph, 6th January 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
