DPP publishes new Code for Crown Prosecutors following public consultation – Crown Prosecution Service

Posted January 31st, 2013 in codes of practice, consultations, Crown Prosecution Service, news by sally

“The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, QC, has today published a new edition of the Code for Crown Prosecutors, the overarching document that guides prosecutors and police in deciding whether or not to charge a suspect.”

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Crown Prosecution Service, 28th January 2013

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Sperm donors who know parents can apply to see children, court rules – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in assisted reproduction, children, contact orders, news, parental rights by sally

“Sperm donors who know the parents to whom they have donated can apply for contact with their biological children, a court has ruled. Previously this was not allowed. The ruling has major implications for anyone who has a child conceived using the sperm of someone they know and for those considering starting a family this way.”

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The Guardian, 31st January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Hot 100: James Dingemans QC, 3 Hare Court – The Lawyer

Posted January 31st, 2013 in barristers, diversity, inns of court, news, pupillage by sally

“Inner Temple became a trailblazer on diversity issues at the bar when in March 2012 it launched the Pegasus Access Scheme.”

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The Lawyer, 28th January 2013

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Man convicted of supplying gun to Mark Duggan – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in firearms, news, retrials, witnesses by sally

“A man has been convicted of supplying a gun to Mark Duggan, whose shooting by police triggered the 2011 riots across England.”

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The Guardian, 31st January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Reducing delays in family courts – Ministry of Justice

Posted January 31st, 2013 in delay, evidence, expert witnesses, family courts, news by sally

“New measures have been introduced to ensure child care cases are dealt with more quickly and effectively in family courts. This is so children and families are spared unnecessary delays and the cost to taxpayers is reduced.”

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Ministry of Justice, 31st January 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Call centre justice – LegalVoice

Posted January 31st, 2013 in law centres, legal services, news, telecommunications by sally

“The Ministry of Justice is not that interested in research-based policy at the moment, writes Roger Smith. Better in the current environment to stick to prejudice; the elevation of austerity as the sole goal; and stagger through to tomorrow. Hence, no one, least of all Lord Chancellor Chris Grayling, is interested in what anyone has actually ever found out about telephone legal advice hotlines. We are two months away from LASPO Day when face to face advice begins to disappear from the High Street, at least for poor people, just as surely as Woolies and Comet. There is no time left for reflection, let alone reconsideration.”

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LegalVoice, 31st January 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Bali drugs: UK government accused of breaching Lindsay Sandiford’s rights – The Guardian

“The government’s failure to provide an ‘adequate’ lawyer to represent a British woman sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug smuggling is a breach of her rights, the high court has been told.”

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The Guardian, 31st January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

TV death baby: Kian McMillan’s mother jailed – BBC News

Posted January 31st, 2013 in child cruelty, child neglect, drug abuse, homicide, news, sentencing by sally

“The mother of a four-month-old boy who died when a television fell on his head has been jailed.”

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BBC News, 31st January 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prisoners’ rights: no tea bags please! – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 31st, 2013 in judicial review, news, prisons by sally

“Was challenging the decision for prisoners having the right to vote a step too far?”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 31st January 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

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Naomi Campbell wins damages from Telegraph over ‘elephant polo’ claims – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in damages, defamation, media, news by sally

“Naomi Campbell has received an apology and ‘substantial’ libel damages from the Daily Telegraph over an article that wrongly claimed she organised an elephant polo tournament in India.”

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The Guardian, 31st January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

EU Court annuls EU freezing orders on Iranian bank – and Wikileaks again – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 31st, 2013 in appeals, banking, EC law, news by sally

“In October 2009, Bank Mellat, an Iranian bank, was effectively excluded from the UK financial market by an Order made by the Treasury, on the basis that it had or might provide banking services to those involved in Iran’s nuclear effort. The Bank challenged the Order, and the challenge failed in the Court of Appeal, albeit with a dissent from Elias LJ: see Rosalind English’s post and read judgment. The Bank’s appeal to the Supreme Court is due to be heard in March 2013; it raises some fascinating issues about common law unfairness, Article 6, and the right to property under A1P1 , given that the Bank was not told of the intention to make the Order prior to its making.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Blanket disclosure requirement for minor past convictions breaches Convention – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 31st, 2013 in appeals, cautions, disclosure, human rights, news, privacy, vetting by sally

“The Court of Appeal has ruled that the statutory requirement that criminal convictions and cautions must be disclosed in an enhanced criminal record check (‘ECRC’) in the context of particular types of employment interfered with the appellants’ right to respect for private life under Article 8.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th January 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

TV cameras to be allowed into court of appeal – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in appeals, courts, law reports, media, news by sally

“TV cameras will be allowed into the court of appeal for the first time from October and senior judges will be offered training before appearing on camera, the lord chief justice has revealed.”

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The Guardian, 30th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK criminal record disclosure laws deemed to infringe individuals’ privacy rights – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 31st, 2013 in cautions, criminal records, disclosure, human rights, news, privacy, vetting by sally

“UK laws that set out a ‘blanket’ requirement that job applicants disclose to employers all of the ‘recordable’ criminal convictions and police warnings they have been given are incompatible with individuals’ right to privacy, the Court of Appeal has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 31st January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

B (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

Posted January 31st, 2013 in contempt of court, law reports, news, sentencing, Supreme Court by sally

B (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] UKSC 4; [2013] WLR (D) 29

“Where a person held by a civil court or tribunal to be in contempt of court appealed against a sentence of imprisonment imposed for the contempt and the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) found that the lower court’s factual findings had been flawed but that nevertheless, on the basis of the true facts, there had still been contempt requiring imprisonment, it could decide for itself what the appropriate sentence should be by asking whether the lower court’s sentence had been manifestly excessive, provided that the lower court’s decision had not been influenced by its flawed findings of fact.”

WLR Daily, 30th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Butler-Sloss condemns advice cuts – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 31st, 2013 in judges, law centres, legal aid, litigants in person, news by sally

“Removing funding for a service that helps litigants in person on the day wide-ranging legal aid cuts take effect will create ‘absolute disarray’ in the courts, a former head of the family division has warned.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 30th January 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Justice and Security Bill: no balance, no public interest – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 31st, 2013 in bills, closed material, news, public interest, select committees by sally

“The government’s Justice and Security Bill has this week entered a new phase of debate in the House of Commons as it is considered in detail by a 19-member Public Bill Committee over the next month. The critics of this Bill – and there are many – argue that it will make ‘secret justice’ a standard part of our legal process. The latest set of amendments proposed by the government were revealed yesterday and within them lies a crucial and unjustifiable secrecy provision. The significance of the amendments becomes apparent when one looks at how the Bill has progressed so far.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th Janaury 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Lord chief justice: changes to judiciary ‘eroding something important’ – The Guardian

Posted January 31st, 2013 in constitutional reform, judges, judiciary, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

“Constitutional reforms that have taken effect over the past seven years ‘may be eroding something rather important’, the lord chief justice of England and Wales told peers on Wednesday.”

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The Guardian, 30th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council and Law Society at loggerheads as standard terms of contract come into force – Legal Futures

Posted January 31st, 2013 in barristers, contract of employment, legal profession, news, solicitors by sally

“Barristers could end up uninsured and in financial hardship if they agree to variations of their new standard terms of contract recommended by the Law Society, the Bar Council has warned.”

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Legal Futures, 31st January 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk