Government to create new domestic abuse offence – Home Office
‘Home Secretary sets out new law to criminalise coercive and controlling behaviour.’
Home Office, 18th December 2014
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Category: news
Charities in front seat of new reoffending drive – Ministry of Justice
‘The government fired the starting gun today [18 December] on making key reforms to the way ex-offenders are looked after in the community, in an effort to tackle stubbornly high reoffending rates in England and Wales.’
Full story
Ministry of Justice, 18th December 2014
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Gemma Simpson death: Martin Bell jailed for 11 years – BBC News
‘A killer who bludgeoned and stabbed a woman to death, then kept the location of her remains secret for 14 years, has been jailed.’
BBC News, 19th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Good news” for employers as High Court rejects second tribunal fee judicial review – OUT-LAW.com
‘The High Court has dismissed a second judicial review application by the trade union UNISON against the recent introduction of employment tribunal fees. Lord Justice Elias said that the union had not been able to provide evidence of “any actual instances” of individuals that had been prevented from making a claim by the introduction of fees.’
OUT-LAW.com, 18th December 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Employment Tribunal Fees: The evidential ‘hot potato’ to be heard by Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The Divisional Court (Lord Justice Elias and Mr Justice Foskett) has dismissed Unison’s second-generation attempt to challenge by judicial review the legality of the Employment Tribunal fees system but gave permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. The “striking” reduction in claims (79 per cent fewer) presented to Employment Tribunals, Lord Justice Elias accepted, was evidence that the system was “extremely onerous” for people in the position of the hypothetical claimants construed by Unison in their legal argument but “not so burdensome as to render the right illusory” (paragraph 53).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 18th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Latvians guilty of illegal gangmaster role in case exposing debt-bondage – The Guardian
‘Two Latvian men have been found guilty of acting as illegal gangmasters, supplying Latvian and Lithuanian workers from the Wisbech area to pick leeks, cabbages, broccoli and flowers, for supermarket supply chains across East Anglia.’
The Guardian, 18th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Supreme Court justices debate decline in dissenting judgments – Litigation Futures
‘Better teamwork, smaller panels and less controversial cases have all been put forward by a seminar attended by Supreme Court justices and other senior judges as reasons for a decline in dissenting judgments at the court.’
Litigation Futures, 19th December 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Gang involved in £5m mortgage fraud given jail sentences – BBC News
‘A gang of people who carried out an “audacious” mortgage fraud worth more than £5m have been jailed.’
BBC News, 18th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Domestic abuse charity criticises May’s law criminalising coercive behaviour – The Guardian
‘The home secretary, Theresa May, announced on Thursday that a new domestic abuse offence of “coercive and controlling behaviour” is to be introduced, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine.’
The Guardian, 18th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teacher who hit boy, six, over head with ruler acquitted of assault – Daily Telegraph
‘Rina Khan walks free from court after being found not guilty of common assault and child cruelty during primary school maths lesson.’
Daily Telegraph, 18th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Man jailed over cling film mummification ‘sex death’ – BBC News
‘A man has been jailed for five years for causing the death of a man covered in cling film during a sex game.’
BBC News, 18th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Some youth offending teams failing to protect at-risk girls, say inspectors – The Guardian
‘Many girls in the criminal justice system are being sexually exploited and some youth offending teams are failing to provide protection for them, independent inspectors have said.’
The Guardian, 19th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
28-day police bail limit proposed for England and Wales – BBC News
‘The time people can be put on pre-charge police bail could be limited to 28 days, the home secretary has said.’
BBC News, 18th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Exceptional legal aid funding should not be limited to extreme cases – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that the Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on exceptional funding in civil legal aid is incompatible with the right of access to justice under Article 6 of the ECHR and Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The Court has further decided that this Guidance was not compatible with Article 8 of the ECHR in immigration cases; in other words, that legal aid should not be refused when applicants for entry to the UK seek to argue that refusal of entry would interfere with their right to respect for private and family life.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Judicial Review: Case Update – No. 5 Chambers
‘In this paper, I will review two cases from earlier this year. The first case discusses the issue of costs and what may be considered to be an unreasonable refusal to engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution ( ADR) or not. The second case examines the scope and implications of an order that an application for permission to judicial review is totally without merit.’
Full story (PDF)
No. 5 Chambers, 15th December 2014
Source: www.no5.com
Asset finance in the education sector: the ultra vires predicament – Henderson Chambers
‘The ability of many state schools to enter into lease agreements (often for office equipment such as photocopiers) is limited by statute. Where a school exceeds its statutory power, the agreement will be void and unenforceable by the creditor. This article examines the issue of ultra vires, the consequences and potential remedies for both creditors and schools.’
Full story (PDF)
Henderson Chambers, 18th December 2014
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
Settling a taxing point about taxation of settlement agreements – Cloisters
‘If you are an advisor who only occasionally dabbles with tax issues in settlements for fear of having to delve into murky tax law, take note of a recent decision providing a lucid summary of the relevant principles. The case is also a cautionary tale for claimants challenging tax assessments as the claimant’s unsuccessful challenge before the First-Tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) resulted in a tax bill larger than the one sent to him by HMRC. If Oti-Obhihara [2011] IRLR 386 and Orthet v Vince Cain [2005] ICR 374 ring a distant bell from advising on settlements past, they should now be retuned to the sound of alarm bells as the FTT in Moorthy v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 834 (TC) has doubted their correctness.’
Cloisters, 12th December 2014
Source: www.cloisters.com
Access To Justice Effective Remedy And Rule Of Law: The Adequacy Of Judicial Review – No. 5 Chambers
‘The ideal judge is a supremely intelligent woman. She is especially empathetic. She has limitless expertise in every field and infinite patience. We can trust her to do right. She is perfect justice. Lets place her on a pedestal.’
Full story (PDF)
No. 5 Chambers, 16th December 2014
Source: www.no5.com
New domestic abuse law on controlling behaviour unveiled – BBC News
‘A new domestic abuse offence for “coercive and controlling behaviour” within relationships has been announced by the home secretary.’
BBC News, 18th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
