Save Legal Aid, Save Lives – Family Law Week

Posted March 26th, 2015 in domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Ruth Tweedale, a law lecturer at the University of Roehampton and former solicitor at Rights of Women, describes recent developments in the campaign to preserve family law legal aid for victims of domestic violence.’

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Family Law Week, 24th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on publishing Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos’ – The Guardian

‘The supreme court will rule on Thursday on whether highly sensitive secret correspondence between Prince Charles and government ministers should at last be released in the public interest.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Contractual discretion – lost at sea? – Technology Law Update

Posted March 26th, 2015 in compensation, contract of employment, contracts, news, suicide by sally

‘Contracts often include terms that give discretion to one of the parties to make a decision affecting the other party. Does that mean that the party with the discretion can use it freely? Apparently not, according to a recent Supreme Court case.’

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Technology Law Update, 25th March 2015

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

Grooming bans could stop child sex abuse say councils – BBC News

Posted March 26th, 2015 in local government, news, sexual grooming, social services by sally

‘Councils in England and Wales want new powers to combat predatory men suspected of grooming children for sex.’

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too little progress on stop and search, says police watchdog – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in news, police, race discrimination, reports, stop and search by sally

‘Police forces have made too little progress on improving their use of stop and search powers, with too many officers lacking any understanding of their impact on the lives of young black people, an official watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 24th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

How to sue in respect of abusive comments on the Internet – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in defamation, internet, law firms, news by sally

‘The facts of this case are simple. A defamatory comment was posted on the claimant’s Google maps directional page, implying that he was a “loser” as a lawyer and that his firm lost “80%” of cases brought to them. The defendant claimed that someone must have hacked in to his own Google account to put up the post.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Cheating Premier League footballer at centre of one-night stand blackmail plot should be named, says judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 26th, 2015 in anonymity, appeals, blackmail, costs, injunctions, news by sally

‘Justice Warby rules an anonymity order protecting a wealthy well-known defender who had a one-night stand despite having a long term partner and child should be lifted.’

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Daily Telegraph, 25th March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Vaginal piercings have always been FGM – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 26th, 2015 in consent, crime, female genital mutilation, news by sally

‘In the UK some women choose to have their clitoris pierced to enhance their sexual pleasure. Recent headlines in the UK announced that vaginal piercings are now being classed as female genital mutilation (FGM) under new NHS guidelines. The truth is that vaginal piercings have always fallen within the definition of FGM but the lack of clear guidance to piercing clinics and the absence of clear guidance for health professionals has affected the way that traditionally mutilated girls and women are treated. The new guidelines are part of a package of measures designed to identify those at risk of traditional procedures in a non-discriminatory way as part of necessary intervention that ought to engage all health practitioners in the campaign to eradicate FGM in the UK.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th March 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Support for death penalty drops below 50% for the first time – BBC News

Posted March 26th, 2015 in death penalty, news, reports, statistics by sally

‘Support for the death penalty in Britain has dropped below 50% for the first time on record, an annual opinion survey says.’

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Exclusive: Miscarriages of justice charity seeks law firm status – Legal Futures

‘A criminal appeals charity run by lawyers has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to be a regulated legal practice, and could become the first charity to become a traditional law firm in its own right.’

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Legal Futures, 26th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Jail for thief who tried to sell secret nuclear submarine documents – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in burglary, confidentiality, documents, intelligence services, news, sentencing, theft by sally

‘A factory worker who stole restricted documents about British nuclear submarines and tried to sell them to an eastern European government has been jailed for four and a half years.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

M&S and hair cut paramedic guilty of misconduct – BBC News

‘A paramedic who left patients in an ambulance while he did some shopping and had his hair cut has been found guilty of misconduct.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Dating site ban for ‘serial abuser’ Karl Crimmins – BBC News

‘A “serial abuser” who admitted unlawfully wounding a woman he met online has been banned from joining dating websites.’

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BBC News, 25th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Solicitors fail to stop cuts in legal aid defence contracts – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, Law Society, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Criminal solicitors have failed in their attempt to prevent the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, imposing deep cuts on the number of legal aid contracts for defence lawyers.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Extension of Freedom of Information Act to Network Rail – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 25th, 2015 in freedom of information, news, railways, statistics, transport by sally

‘Passengers and the public can request information directly from the authority which runs Britain’s rail infrastructure for the very first time from Tuesday 24 March.’

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Ministry of Justice, 23rd March 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

NIHL: Disease or Injury and Does it Really Matter? – Zenith PI Blog

‘A recent case heard by Mr Justice Phillips in the High Court has considered the increasingly popular argument that Noise Induced Hearing Loss is an injury rather than a disease.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Life imprisonment possible for breach of new Computer Misuse Act rules from 3 May – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 25th, 2015 in computer crime, imprisonment, news, sentencing by sally

‘People who cause “serious damage” to computer systems in the UK could be sentenced to life imprisonment under a change to the law set to come into force in May.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

A loophole in the slavery bill could allow companies to hide supply chain abuses – The Guardian

Posted March 25th, 2015 in bills, company law, construction industry, forced labour, news, sale of goods by sally

‘The modern slavery bill now in parliament must ensure big business respects human rights in providing its goods and services worldwide, not just in the UK.’

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The Guardian, 24th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Council to bring judicial review action over DCLG direction on newspaper frequency – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 25th, 2015 in advertising, budgets, employment, housing, judicial review, local government, media, news by sally

‘The Royal Borough of Greenwich is to bring judicial review proceedings after the Communities Secretary earlier this month served the authority with a direction requiring it to cut publication of its weekly newspaper.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th March 2015

Source: www.localgovernment.co.uk

Top Catholic school takes fight for admissions policy to court – The Guardian

Posted March 25th, 2015 in Christianity, education, judicial review, news, school admissions by sally

‘The religious ethos of one of England’s oldest state-funded Catholic boys’ schools is at risk after an education watchdog attacked its admissions code, the high court has heard.’

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The Guardian, 24th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk