New Deepcut inquest to be held into death of Cheryl James – BBC News
‘A new inquest has been ordered into the death of soldier Pte Cheryl James at Deepcut barracks in Surrey.’
BBC News, 18th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: news
Banking sector faces wide-ranging review by finance watchdog – The Guardian
‘Britain’s big four high street banks could be forced to break themselves up after the competition watchdog signalled its intention to launch a sweeping investigation into the £10bn-a-year sector.’
The Guardian, 18th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Solicitor suspended over boiler-room scam – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A solicitor involved in a boiler-room scam to push financial products to clients has been suspended from practice for 18 months.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 17th July 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Local Authority Focus – July 2014 – Family Law Week
‘Sally Gore, barrister, of Fenners Chambers considers recent case law and other developments of particular significance to local authorities.’
Family Law week, 17th July 2014
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Applications Without Notice: A Practitioner’s Guide – Family Law Week
‘Rodney Noon, solicitor, provides a detailed review of the law and practice of – and the court’s attitude to – without notice applications in family proceedings.’
Family Law Week, 17th July 2014
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘On-the-run’ scheme flawed but not unlawful, inquiry finds – The Guardian
‘The post-Troubles scheme devised to reassure Irish republican “on-the-runs” (OTRs) that they were no longer wanted by the police was lawful and did not give terrorist suspects an amnesty, an independent review has concluded.’
The Guardian, 17th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teacher who jokingly threatened pupil with a knife banned for two years – The Guardian
‘A teacher who put his arm around a pupil’s neck while holding a knife and jokingly threatened to kill him for giving a wrong answer has been banned from the classroom for two years.’
The Guardian, 17th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Electoral Commission ‘failed to probe crooked Lib Dem donor’ – BBC News
‘The Electoral Commission is refusing to apologise after a watchdog ruled it had failed to properly investigate a Lib Dem donor later convicted of fraud.’
BBC news, 17th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Former Newcastle United footballer Nile Ranger fined for damaging door – BBC News
‘Footballer Nile Ranger has been fined for repeatedly kicking a jammed door at his penthouse flat in Swindon.’
BBC News, 17th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Terrorism laws watchdog issues warning over security services scrutiny – The Guardian
‘David Anderson says privacy and civil liberties board that is planned to replace his job must have unfettered access.’
The Guardian, 17th July 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Man and former wife abused their children, court hears – BBC News
‘A separated couple have been convicted of sexually and physically abusing their children. The man and his former wife were convicted of sexual and physical assaults on children in the Merthyr Tydfil and Caerphilly areas but cleared of rape. A second man was acquitted.’
BBC News, 17th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Trojan Horse: Council findings to be released – BBC News
‘An inquiry into 25 schools in Birmingham investigated over the alleged “Trojan Horse” plot is due to publish its findings later. Sir Ian Kershaw’s report was ordered by Birmingham City Council after claims some Muslim groups were attempting to take control of a number of schools.’
BBC News, 18th July 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Tory Human Rights Plans, Child Abuse Inquiry and the Burqa Ban – the Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog
‘This week, the role of Lady Butler-Sloss in the forthcoming inquiry into child abuse is challenged, while the government pushes for emergency legislation to monitor phone and internet records. Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Right upholds France’s niqab ban and the Tories get closer to announcing their plans for human rights reform.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th July 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Tom Hickman: Further Concerns about the DRIP Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In a blog post on Monday I expressed concerns about the lack of time for proper scrutiny of the changes to be brought in by the DRIP Bill. Towards the end of that blog I expressed puzzlement at a change to be made to the definition of “telecommunications system” in RIPA. This definition is central to the scheme of RIPA and is the basis for many of the powers therein.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 16th July 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
Natasha Simonsen:Government cannot use a ‘statutory back door’ to implement major changes to legal aid services, Divisional Court says – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In a judgment released yesterday a Divisional Court unanimously struck down the government’s attempt to introduce a residence test for eligibility for legal aid, finding it incompatible with the objective of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (“LASPO”). The ratio of the judgment was that the residence test had been introduced via an amendment to the schedule in the Act (that is, via subsidiary legislation) that was not compatible with the objective of the primary legislation. While that sounds like a rather technical decision, it has important ramifications for democratic accountability. It means, in essence, that if the government wants to make such a drastic change as this, it will need to do so via an amendment to the Act itself, with the full Parliamentary debate that that would entail. The case is also interesting because of the two rights-based grounds that were argued before it. The first, that the introduction of a residence requirement violated the fundamental right of access to a court, the court declined to engage with. The second was that residence was not a lawful ground for discriminating in the provision of legal aid between equally meritorious claims. The court accepted this claim, but apparently in obiter dicta, since only the statutory construction point was strictly required to reach the outcome.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th July 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org/blog
Academies and FOI – Panopticon
‘The question of whether information is ‘held’ by a public authority for FOIA or EIR purposes can raise difficulties. This is especially so where the boundaries between public and private service provision are blurred: consider outsourcing, privatisation of services, public/private partnerships, joint ventures, the use of external consultants and so on. Legal separation and practical day-to-day realities can often point in different directions in terms of who holds information on whose behalf.’
Panopticon, 16th July 2014
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Property owner liable for business rates when property fell unoccupied following liquidation of tenants, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com
‘A property fund group face a near £600,000 business rates bill in Birmingham after the council in the area won a High Court ruling relating to liability for business rates due following liquidation of the tenants of a property in the city.’
OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
My Left Shin – NearlyLegal
‘In years to come, we may all wonder what all the fuss was about, but Tuesday’s judgement in R (Public Law Project) v the Secretary of State for Justice has provided some relief and not a little amusement to legal aid practitioners girding themselves for yet another grim landmark in the legal aid story: the residence test.’
NearlyLegal, 17th July 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
Legal aid residence test held ‘discriminatory and unlawful’ – LegalVoice
‘The Administrative Court has declared that the proposed residence test for civil legal aid is discriminatory and unlawful, following a successful judicial review challenge against the Secretary of State for Justice. The case was brought by the Public Law Project, a national legal charity that promotes access to justice, on the basis that the residence test would, if implemented, violate fundamental constitutional rights guaranteed by the common law and the European Convention on Human Rights, as incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998.’
LegalVoice, 16th July 2014
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Impact of legal aid cuts on the Citizens Advice Bureau – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘The cuts in legal aid for professional advice wrought by Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) may be seen to have increased the opportunities – and workload – for volunteers and charities. Indeed, there are reports that the government intends to fill the gap regarding divorce by setting up law centres run by students. However, the cuts, often portrayed as affecting “fat cat” lawyers, can harm charitable and volunteer services as can be seen through the example of Citizens Advice Bureaux up and down the country.’
Halsbury’s Law Exhchange, 15th July 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
