Man who murdered sex offender is jailed – BBC News
‘A man convicted of murdering a registered sex offender has been told he must spend at least 20 years in jail.’
BBC News, 11th September 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: news
UK Supreme Court and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council publishes its annual Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy update – Supreme Court
‘The Court recognises that it has a leadership role to play in supporting increasing diversity of the judiciary, and to communicate the Court’s support for diversity and inclusion to the legal profession and the public. The overarching aims of this strategy are to support the progress of underrepresented groups into judicial roles and to achieve an inclusive and respectful working environment for justices where differences are valued.’
Supreme Court, 8th September 2025
Source: www.supremecourt.uk
Court grants interim injunction preventing Welsh council from going ahead with library closures – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has issued an interim injunction preventing Caerphilly County Borough Council from proceeding with its plans to shut ten libraries pending a judicial review.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th September 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Women barristers “disproportionately affected” by new complaints rule – Legal Futures
‘Women barristers will be “disproportionately adversely affected” by plans to introduce mandatory reporting by barristers of any complaints they receive, the Bar Council has warned.’
Legal Futures, 10th September 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
HMCTS sets out plans to accelerate responsible use of AI in courts and tribunals – Family Law
‘HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has announced that it is accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) to support the modernisation of courts and tribunals, while emphasising that all applications will be implemented responsibly.’
Family Law, 9th September 2025
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Cumulative Public Interest Exemptions in the Supreme Court – Panopticon
‘Section 1(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”) creates the right to have information held by a public authority communicated to a requestor. But as night follows day, this is not an absolute right. Part II of the Act sets out a series of exemptions to the right in section 1(1)(b). Some of these are absolute exemptions. Others are qualified.’
Panopticon, 9th September 2025
Source: panopticonblog.com
Tribunal clarifies employer duties in ‘out of hours’ harassment case – OUT-LAW.com
‘An employment appeal tribunal ruling over ‘out of hours’ sexual harassment will throw welcome clarity onto UK employers’ responsibilities of care, experts have said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 9th September 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
More transparency over court documents is coming, businesses told – OUT-LAW.com
‘Businesses involved in commercial disputes litigated in England and Wales should expect more documents relevant to their case to be accessible to journalists and other ‘non-parties’ in future, experts have said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 9th September 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Revisiting the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association case and its legacy – Law & Religion UK
‘On 21 June 2025, Franklin Graham, the President and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA), announced the creation of a UK fund to support Christian organisations facing legal challenges. This follows a touchstone case on religious discrimination, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Against Scottish Event Campus Ltd [2022] SC GLW 33 where the BGEA successfully sued a Scottish events provider for cancelling the letting of their premises.’
Law & Religion UK, 9th September 2025
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘We stand by our evaluation’: MoJ defends disputed study on pre-recorded evidence – LawSociety Gazette
‘The Ministry of Justice has defended its evaluation of pre-recorded video evidence that suggested the special measure made little difference to rape conviction rates, after being grilled by MPs on why the department’s report and a bigger study conducted by an eminent academic reached different conclusions.’
Law Society Gazette, 10th September 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Smart tools, sound judgement – Counsel
‘Discussions around artificial intelligence (AI) in legal practice are often polarised. Some lawyers believe AI is the future of the profession, set to transform everything from legal research to drafting and case strategy. Others see it as unpredictable, risky and dangerous.
‘As with most technological shifts, the truth lies somewhere in between. AI is neither a magic wand nor an existential threat – it is a tool. Whether that tool is helpful or harmful depends on how it is used.’
Counsel, 8th September 2025
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
Police should stop logging non-crime hate incidents, watchdog says – BBC News
‘Sir Andy Cooke, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said current legislation places police in an “invidious position” with “discretion and common sense” not always prevailing.’
BBC News, 10th September 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Hormone tourism’: when is travelling abroad for gender affirming care a safeguarding concern? – Family Law
‘This article explores the legal and safeguarding implications of UK families seeking gender-affirming medical care abroad for children amidst tightening domestic restrictions. In particular, it examines the extent to which accessing puberty blockers and/or gender affirming hormones in other jurisdictions may be framed as “significant harm,” and the types of orders that local authorities may seek if they take the view that the child is at risk of harm from “hormone tourism.”’
Family Law, 9th September 2025
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Developer’s judicial review challenge rejected by High Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘In Rydon Group Holdings Ltd v Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities [2025] EWHC 2182 (Admin), the High Court dismissed a judicial review challenge brought by Rydon, a developer criticised in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 Report. The Court held that the government’s decisions, principally the designation of the Claimant as “unfit” to carry out remediation works, were contractual in nature. As such, they were governed by private law and not amenable to judicial review, save under allegations of fraud, corruption, or bad faith. Rydon remains excluded from carrying out the remediation works and is liable to reimburse costs through the Building Safety Fund (BSF).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th September 2025
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Paul F Scott: The power to do what exactly? MI6’s functional vires – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘On 31 July, the final day of Trinity term, and so of the legal year, there was published by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal an OPEN judgment in a case entitled A Complainant v The Secret Intelligence Service (“the MI6 case”). In recent years the IPT has become a much more visible contributor to the legal landscape, and its judgments are often the best source of information about the law applicable to the work of the security and intelligence agencies (“SIAs”), and to other bodies enjoying access to powers of surveillance etc. This judgment, however, was notably laconic. It informed the reader that the Tribunal had ruled on “an issue of law” regarding the powers conferred on the Secret Intelligence Service (“MI6”) by section 1(1) of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (the short statute which first gave MI6 a statutory basis and which governs it to this day). It had ruled, the judgment stated in its sole substantive paragraph, that the provision in question “conferred on SIS the vires to engage in the tasks necessary to fulfil the functions specified in the subsection (1)(a) and (b)… irrespective of whether those tasks took place in the United Kingdom or overseas.” This post considers some of the background to, and possible implications of, this recognition of what we might label MI6’s “functional vires”.’
UK Constitutional Law Association Blog, 9th September 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Contributory Negligence and the Vulnerable Road User – Ropewalk Personal Injury Blog
‘Personal injury lawyers will be well familiar with the concept of contributory negligence. This article is intended to give guidance to practitioners in more unusual cases where assessment of contributory negligence may be more complex than it first appears, focussing particularly on road traffic claims brought by vulnerable road users.’
Ropewalk Personal Injury Blog, 9th September 2025
Source: ropewalk.co.uk
City lawyers attack Leveson jury plan – Law Society Gazette
‘Removing juries from complex fraud trials is a “red herring” that risks exposing judges to personal attack and creating added delay, City lawyers have warned.’
Law Society Gazette, 8th September 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
The rise and rise of fake cases – Counsel
‘The issue of AI-generated fake case citations, commonly referred to as “AI hallucinations,” gained notable attention through the combined High Court cases of Ayinde v London Borough of Haringey and Al-Haroun v Qatar National Bank [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin). However, it may be less widely appreciated that AI hallucinations have already been causing significant issues internationally for some time, particularly in the US. But it’s not just fake cases; AI hallucinations can take various forms. The Natural and Artificial Intelligence in Law Blog (“NAIL Blog”), which explores the intersection between AI and law, has identified eight of the most common types of AI hallucination affecting the legal profession and lawyers should ensure they are acquainted with each one.’
Counsel, 8th September 2025
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
Why proscription of Palestine Action is a mistake – Counsel
‘The proscribing of Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act is an assault on the English language and on civil liberties, argues Paul Harris SC, founder of the Bar Human Rights Committee’
Counsel, 8th September 2025
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
Diversity initiatives in judicial appointments – Counsel
‘Efforts to improve judicial diversity have gained momentum in recent years, with growing recognition that a representative bench is essential for public confidence. That will not happen without focused work. To address this, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) and its partners in the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF) have implemented a range of initiatives and support pathways aimed at increasing appointments from underrepresented groups.”
Counsel, 8th September 2025
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
