Category: news

Freedom of expression: why are there greater restrictions online? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in freedom of expression, internet, news, public order by sally

“When you are speaking to someone face to face you are free to say something grossly offensive to them, or even to shout it out so that anyone within earshot can hear. It’s not a crime. Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 states that it doesn’t matter whether you let loose your volley of invective in front of someone who is likely to be insulted by it, or even offended by it, provided they are not likely to have been caused harassment, alarm or distress.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 2nd November 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.com

Petrodel v Prest: hiding assets behind the corporate veil? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in appeals, company law, disclosure, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

For a long time family lawyers and the family courts have made the best of the creaking mechanism for financial provision that is the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) (much amended…). Procedural changes are made but in terms of the interpretation of the MCA 1973 itself, case law is king. The family courts “make do and mend” so that the nearly 40-year-old primary legislation is fit for purpose. But the Court of Appeal last week decided that that the company law case of Salomon v A Salomon and Company, Limited [1897] AC 22 applies as much in the disposition of ancillary relief proceedings as in other proceedings.

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 1st November 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Finance and Divorce November Update – Family Law Week

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in divorce, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

“Anna Heenan, solicitor and David Salter, Joint Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve LLP analyse October’s financial remedies and divorce news and cases.”

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Family Law Week, 1st November 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Why we allow dissent – by our judges – Legal Week

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in EC law, freedom of expression, judiciary, news by sally

“Why do judges disagree and publish their disagreements when cases get decided? After all, the Cabinet does not do so (openly at least), and our FTSE 100 companies do not generally do so, when their executives propose a merger or launch a new product. Surely, judicial dissent is a recipe for diminishing the authority of the majority answer, and an invitation to self-indulgence on the part of the minority to re-fight lost and irrelevant battles.”

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Legal Week, 1st November 2012

Source: www.legalweek.com

Ken Clarke’s reforms could still cut prison population, figures show – The Guardian

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in imprisonment, news, sentencing, statistics by sally

“Ken Clarke’s sentencing reforms could still fuel a 2,000-strong cut in the record prison population in England and Wales, according to official projections.”

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The Guardian, 1st November 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Improving the protection of children across borders – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in child abduction, fostering, guardianship, news, parental responsibility, treaties by sally

“Children from the UK will now have international protection if they move to another country outside the European Union. The 1996 Hague Convention will be in force from today meaning the public can be assured that countries which have opted in to the treaty will uphold and enforce a court order involving the protection of a child.”

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Ministry of Justice, 1st November 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Employee share ownership: proposals for the de-regulation of share buybacks by companies with employee shareholders – Employment Law Blog

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in company law, consultations, employment, news, shareholders by sally

“The Nuttall Review commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and published on 4 July 2012 identified key barriers to the uptake of employee ownership and made a number of recommendations on how to reduce these barriers.”

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Employment Law Blog, 1st November 2012

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

New rules require the disclosure of stamp duty land tax schemes relating to properties of any value – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in disclosure, news, regulations, stamp duty, tax avoidance by sally

“Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) schemes relating to residential or non-residential property of any value must be disclosed to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) from 1 November under the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) rules, as new regulations come into force.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd November 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

No removal of right of appeal without clear and express wording – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in amendments, appeals, constitutional law, judicial review, news, taxation, tribunals, VAT by sally

“Tax litigation is not the most obvious hunting ground for human rights points but if claimants feel sufficiently pinched by what they perceive as unfair rules, there is nothing to stop them appealing to the courts’ scrutiny of the lawfulness of those rules.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 1st November 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Officers will not face court over ‘errors’ that led to Leonard McCourt’s death – The Independent

Posted November 2nd, 2012 in complaints, death in custody, news, police, prosecutions by sally

“The family of a man who died in the back of a police van following a ‘catalogue of errors’ by officers supposed to be monitoring him today spoke of their anger that nobody would face a criminal prosecution over his death.”

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The Independent, 1st November 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

John Pope and John Cooper lose murder legal challenges – BBC News

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, murder, news by sally

“Two men who were legally challenging their convictions for separate murders in Cardiff and Pembrokeshire have had their appeals dismissed.”

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BBC News, 1st November 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Divorce ruling branded ‘cheat’s charter’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, company law, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

“Lawyers have branded as a ‘cheat’s charter’ a Court of Appeal landmark ruling that an oil tycoon need not hand over to his wife £17.5m in assets held by his companies.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 1st November 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Prior Authority For ‘Unusually Large’ Amount Of Hours Requested By An Expert – Garden Court Family Law Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in expert witnesses, fees, legal services, news by sally

“Since 1st October 2012, the LSC has been refusing applications for prior authority for experts if their fees are set within the codified rate [ as per the Community Legal Service (Funding) (Ammendment No.2) Order 2011]. However there is an exception – that is if the hours requested by the expert are ‘unusually large’. So the question for practioners is what constitutes an ‘unusually large’ amount of hours ? The odds are that if, for instance, you are instructing a psychologist for a bog standard cognitive assessment of a parent, then the hours are likely to be very much the same across the board. But as soon as any form of complexity creeps in, then how long the assessment / report takes to complete begins to vary. And when you get to Independent Social Workers, what is the ‘norm’ for the LSC and the ‘norm’ for the Independent Social Worker seem continents apart.”

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Garden Court Family Law Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.gcfamily.wordpress.com

New approach to Community Payback begins in London – Ministry of Justice

Posted November 1st, 2012 in community service, London, news by sally

“A new approach to Community Payback that will see offenders completing tougher, more intensive punishments begins today [31 October] in London.”

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Ministry of Justice, 31st October 2012

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Keynote address – Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court

Posted November 1st, 2012 in barristers, disabled persons, equality, judges, news, speeches by sally

Keynote address (PDF)

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, President of the Supreme Court

The Bar Council’s Disability Conference, 31st October 2012

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

Family Division 1 – Chancery Division 2: A consideration of Petrodel v Prest – Family Law Week

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, company law, disclosure, financial provision, matrimonial home, news by sally

“Alison Burge, barrister, of Pump Court Chambers analyses the Court of Appeal’s decision in the watershed case of Petrodel v Prest.”

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Family Law Week, 31st October 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

Supreme Court upholds US detention of Yunus Rahmatullah – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in appeals, detention, habeas corpus, news, rendition, Supreme Court, terrorism, treaties by sally

“The Supreme Court has ruled that the law of habeas corpus should not be used to order the US to return a Pakistani national held in US custody to the UK.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Secret courts plan may be incompatible with Human Rights Act says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted November 1st, 2012 in bills, civil justice, closed material, human rights, news, private hearings by sally

“The government’s plans for a new generation of secret courts faced a fresh setback on Wednesday when its own human rights watchdog warned the proposals could be incompatible with the law”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Asylum seekers continue to be stigmatised by the British press – The Guardian

Posted November 1st, 2012 in asylum, complaints, immigration, media, news by sally

“‘Soft-touch Britain: the asylum capital of Europe’; ‘Refugees made our lives hell too, say neighbours’; and “DNA test for bogus refugees scrapped as expensive flop”. All are headlines that have appeared recently in the UK press, despite it now being almost a decade since the Press Complaints Commission first heard from charities on why coverage like this should stop. And despite it now being almost a decade since the PCC issued guidance to address what it agreed was widespread inaccurate reporting.”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The 21st Century Coroner – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 1st, 2012 in coroners, inquests, judges, news by sally

“The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 has created the office of Chief Coroner, plucked at the very last minute from the Coalition’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’. On Friday, the first Chief Coroner, His Honour Judge Peter Thornton QC, delivered The Howard League for Penal Reform’s 2012 Parmoor Lecture.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 31st October 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com