Category: news
High Street Gloom, Adjudication Boom – Hardwicke Chambers
“Forum shopping is an ill against which the courts are always vigilant to guard. Adjudication is a process that, naturally, is vulnerable to forum shopping because the parties have control over the selection of the tribunal that is to decide the dispute, which is unlike anything that would occur in the ordinary run of litigation.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 10th February 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
The Localism Act and Non-domestic Rating – No. 5 Chambers
“The entirety of Part 4 of the Localism Act is devoted to non-domestic rating but the changes introduced seem to have a much lower profile than some of the other ‘Localism’ provisions. Whilst there are some small but important changes, the rating reforms introduced could by no means be described as radical. Importantly,
contrary to what some may have expected, the Act does not include any provisions designed to defeat the now well known schemes that are being used to avoid liability for the 100% unoccupied property rate. It is nevertheless necessary for local authorities, ratepayers and advisers to be aware of the changes that have been made. So, what does the Act do?”
Full story (PDF)
No. 5 Chambers, 8th February 2012
Source: www.no5.com
The Prosperous UK Emigrant: how clear are the residence/non-residence rules now? – New Square Chambers
“In advising the emigrant, the emphasis should be on his actual and substantive acts and way of
life. Too often, the issues addressed, in considering the conditions or circumstances required for residence in the United Kingdom, or the loss of it, and non residence, are tied to patent technicalities (i.e. whether the emigrant maintains subscription to a club or counts the days of absence to a threshold number(i.e. 90 days p.a.). What, in fact, really matters is the substance and pattern of life. In this assessment, the approach of the Court, in cases past to the most recent is the best guide. In this lecture I look at that and tie it to the government’s proposals for reform and the imposition of a statutory test or tests for determining residence, by individuals, or their non-residence in the United Kingdom.”
Full story (PDF)
New Square Chambers, February 2012
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Costs, Expenses and Provable Debts – Hardwicke Chambers
“October last year saw the decision of the Court of Appeal in litigation arising from the administrations of Nortel and Lehman Brothers (Re Nortel GMBH [2011] EWCA Civ 1124). The case concerned the treatment of contribution notices from the Pensions Regulator by the administrators. However, for those who ventured beyond mention of the Pensions Regulator, the decision contains a useful review of the law pertaining to whether liabilities fall as provable debts or expenses of the insolvency process.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 8th February 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Drug mule jailed for double murder – The Guardian
“A former cage fighter has been jailed for life for killing two gangland enforcers linked to an IRA drugs ring.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Supreme Court rules BBC need not reveal internal Israel-Palestine coverage report – UK Human Rights Blog
“The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that an internal BBC report into its coverage of the Israeli Palestinian conflict was ‘information held for purposes journalism art or literature’ and therefore need not be released to the public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).”
UK Human Rights Blog, 15th February 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Woman who battled cancer must fight law to return ovary – Daily Telegraph
“A woman left infertile by teenage cancer is having to battle the law to get doctors to give her back the ovary that she had frozen before chemotherapy.”
Daily Telegraph, 15th February 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Stronger CPS cases in hate crime lead to increase in guilty pleas – Crown Prosecution Service
“The CPS is prosecuting more hate crimes, more successfully and with more defendants pleading guilty than ever before.”
Crown Prosecution Service, 14th February 2012
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Youth custody is failing young people who want to change their ways – The Guardian
“Dismal reoffending rates prove that incarcerated children who want to live a ‘normal’ life aren’t being given the support to do so.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Canoe man prosecutors recover £500,000 from wife – The Guardian
“Prosecutors have recovered more than half a million pounds in assets from Anne Darwin, whose husband faked his own death in a sea canoeing accident so they could claim more than £600,000 in life insurance money.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ryanair ‘sexist adverts’ banned after complaints – BBC News
“Two UK newspaper adverts for budget airline Ryanair have been banned after complaints from readers that they were sexist and objectified women.”
BBC News, 15th February 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Legal highs evade being banned as scientists run out of cash to test them – The Guardian
“Scientists studying Britain’s rapidly increasing number of synthetic recreational drugs are struggling to assess the risks they pose because money for testing is being cut. Legal highs are flourishing as their manufacturers seek to stay ahead of drug classification laws by tweaking the chemical composition of their legal products to replicate the effects of illegal ones.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Child rapist’s jail term cut to encourage guilty pleas – Daily Telegraph
“A judge has cut the minimum sentence to be served by a child rapist, Paul Wilson, in order to encourage other offenders to plead guilty and spare their victims the ordeal of a court case.”
Daily Telegraph, 15th February 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Stephen Lawrence: papers passed to CPS about potential perjury allegations – The Guardian
“Detectives and prosecutors are examining whether certain witnesses at the Stephen Lawrence murder trial may have perjured themselves while giving evidence, the Crown Prosecution Service has confirmed.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Payout of £600,000 after child witness put at risk – BBC News
“The Crown Prosecution Service and Met Police paid a family more than £600,000 ($943,000) in damages and costs after a child witness was identified to a gang.”
BBC News, 15th February 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Lord Justice Moses and the 161 criteria – The Guardian
“Judges know the new ratings scheme for advocates is misconceived and over-elaborate. But they don’t want anyone else doing it.”
The Guardian, 14th February 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Sound of tumbleweed greets secret civil trials proposals – UK Human Rights Blog
“65 responses to the Justice and Security Green Paper consultation, which proposes introducing ‘Closed Material Procedures’ – secret trials – into civil courts, have been published on the official consultation website. According to the site there are potentially 25 more to come.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 14th February 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
