University tutor wins £60,000 libel damages from Mail and Standard – The Guardian

Posted June 25th, 2012 in damages, defamation, demonstrations, media, news by sally

“A university tutor has won £60,000 in libel damages from the Daily Mail and London Evening Standard over stories alleging he was involved in violence at a demonstration against education cuts.”

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The Guardian, 22nd June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Former prisons inspector condemns probation service reform plans – The Guardian

Posted June 25th, 2012 in bills, competition, consultations, news, probation by sally

“Lord Ramsbotham, a former prisons inspector, has condemned government plans to overhaul the probation service and promised to lead a rebellion of peers and politicians unless they are rewritten.”

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The Guardian, 24th June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers seizing lion’s share of payouts in NHS negligence cases – Daily Telegraph

“Lawyers who sue the NHS in medical negligence cases are earning from the state up to 30 times the amount their clients win in damages, it can be disclosed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 25th June 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Badger cull ‘not legal or scientific’, high court will hear – The Guardian

Posted June 25th, 2012 in animals, environmental protection, evidence, judicial review, lobbying, news by sally

“The bitter battle over the government’s plan to kill thousands of badgers reaches the high court on Monday, when the Badger Trust will tell a judicial review that the action is neither legal nor scientifically justified.”

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The Guardian, 25th June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Retained Met Police photos of suspects breached human rights – BBC News

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in criminal records, human rights, news, police by sally

“A police decision to retain photographs of two suspects who were never charged has been declared a breach of human rights in a landmark High Court ruling.”

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BBC News, 22nd June 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court quashes decision to designate developer’s land as high risk flood zone – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in canals, environmental protection, news, planning by sally

“The High Court has overturned a decision by the Environment Agency to designate land along a 36 mile stretch of the Manchester Ship Canal as a high risk flood zone.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st June 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Social Media and the Voice of the Child in Hague Convention Cases – Family Law Week

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in child abduction, children, enforcement, internet, news by sally

“Emma Pinder, Solicitor, of Spring Law considers a Hague Convention case which has attracted extensive attention in Australia and analyses the potential wider impact of the coverage, especially that within social media.”

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Family Law Week, 21st June 2012

Source: www.familylawweek.com

CPS handed further journalist hacking files – the Independent

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in Crown Prosecution Service, interception, media, news, prosecutions by sally

 “Prosecutors are to decide whether to charge four journalists with phone hacking after they were handed their files by Scotland Yard. The Crown Prosecution Service was today given four files involving four journalists relating to the phone hacking inquiry Operation Weeting, for charging decisions.”

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The Independent, 21st June 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK in EU legal stink over garlic from China – BBC News

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in customs and excise, EC law, food, news by sally

“Britain is being taken to court by the European Commission in a battle over a £15m unpaid tax bill on imports of Chinese garlic.”

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BBC News, 21st June 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Staff who fall ill on holiday entitled to further paid leave, court rules – The Guardian

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in EC law, holiday pay, news, sick leave by sally

“Workers who fall sick during their annual leave are entitled to take corresponding paid leave at a later date, following a ruling made today by the European court of justice.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rochdale paedophile ringleader is named – The Guardian

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in child abuse, news, rape, reporting restrictions, sexual grooming by sally

“The ringleader of a gang of men in Rochdale who groomed young white girls for sex has been named after he was found guilty of 30 separate child rape charges. Shabir Ahmed, 59, led a child sex exploitation ring of nine men who targeted vulnerable young girls in the Rochdale and Oldham areas of Greater Manchester.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jailed, the drunken thief who robbed his local bookies – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 22nd, 2012 in news, robbery, sentencing by sally

“A man who used a rock to hold up a bookies at which he was a regular customer has been jailed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 21st June 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Man who used Facebook to try to incite riots jailed for three years – The Guardian

Posted June 21st, 2012 in incitement, internet, news, sentencing, violent disorder by sally

“A man who used Facebook to try to incite violence and urged others to attack the police and Muslims during the height of last summer’s riots has been jailed for three years.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BC Supreme Court grasps the nettle in right to die case – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 21st, 2012 in assisted suicide, necessity, news by sally

“Interest in the ‘locked-in syndrome’ cases currently before the High Court runs high. We posted here on the permission granted to locked-in sufferer Tony Nicklinson to seek an advance order from the court that would allow doctors to assist him to die under the common law defence of necessity.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st June 2012

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Last man sentenced to death in UK has conviction quashed – The Guardian

“The last man to be sentenced to death in the UK has had his conviction quashed after a court heard that he confessed to the crime after being waterboarded and subjected to death threats. His successful appeal comes 39 years after his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.”

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The Guardian, 21st June 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BIALL Wallace Breem Award 2012

Posted June 21st, 2012 in inns of court, libraries, news by sally

The BIALL Wallace Breem Award 2012 has been awarded to the team at Inner Temple Library.

Margaret Clay and Tracey Dennis received the award at the BIALL Annual Dinner which took place at the Europa Hotel, Belfast, on Friday 15th June.

The award reflects the team’s considerable contribution to the legal information profession via three sources in particular.

Firstly, the publication ‘Transcripts of Judicial Proceedings in England and Wales: a Guide to Sources‘. This was first published in 2006 and a new edition was published in 2011. The guide provides invaluable information on how to find transcripts of judicial proceedings of courts and tribunals in England and Wales in an easy-to-use format. The guide is compiled and updated by contacting service providers directly in order to ensure that the information given about their services is as accurate as possible.

Secondly, a daily current awareness blog. This provides up-to-date information on new case law, changes in legislation, and legal news relating to England and Wales. Users can receive updates via email, RSS or Twitter and a version of the blog is also available for mobile devices. Currently the blog attracts 20,000 visits per month from over 100 countries and has 2,000 subscribers and 2,430 followers on Twitter. The Times described the blog as “An extremely useful digest of latest resolutions and legal news stories from around the web, updated regularly.”

Thirdly, the AccessToLaw Database which provides annotated links to selected UK, Commonwealth and international legal websites. Over 1400 sites are currently included. These are mainly legal, government and parliamentary sites with a particular emphasis on those which contain substantive law or related materials, or which will help the legal practitioner to find such information. New sites are added regularly, and existing site entries are checked and updated every three months.

Nominating the winner, Elaine Wintle of Blackstone Chambers felt that ‘the quality of the work that they do, under considerable budgetary constraints, deserves an accolade’.

The judging panel agreed and were pleased to acknowledge the achievements of the team at Inner Temple Library.

Text taken from the BIALL website.

Bar Council Responds to Consultation on Separate Legal Jurisdiction for Wales – The Bar Council

Posted June 21st, 2012 in consultations, jurisdiction, news, Wales by sally

“The Bar Council has responded to the Welsh Government’s consultation on whether there should be a separate legal jurisdiction for Wales. The Bar Council does not express a view on this matter, which is essentially a political question, but it seeks to identify a number of practical issues relevant to arguments for and against the proposition.”

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The Bar Council, 20th June 2012

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

New family visit visa appeal regulations – UK Border Agency

Posted June 21st, 2012 in appeals, families, immigration, news, visas by sally

“The government laid the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2012 in Parliament on 18 June 2012, which set out who qualifies for a full right of appeal against refusal of a visa to visit family in the UK.”

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UK Border Agency, 18th June 2012

Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Lawyers slam shared parenting plan – Law Society’s Gazette,

Posted June 21st, 2012 in consultations, divorce, news, parental rights by sally

“Lawyers have described government plans to introduce a legal presumption of shared parenting after relationship breakdown as ‘unnecessary political posturing’ that could detract from children’s wellbeing.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 20th June 2012

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Rights holders groups campaign for private copying exception to exclude cloud storage – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 21st, 2012 in copyright, internet, news by sally

“Limits should be placed on any new ‘private copying’ exemption introduced under UK copyright law to prevent individuals copying digital content into cloud storage services for private use, rights holder groups have said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th June 2012

Source: www.out-law.com