Adam Johnson: The Neck Guard Debate – Mountford Chambers
‘The tragic death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson on 28 October 2023 has caused considerable shock.’
Mountford Chambers, 6th November 2023
Source: www.mountfordchambers.com
Category: news
Needs Improvement: Tribunal Quashes Deficient Improvement Notice – Tanfield Chambers
‘Chapters 1 and 2 of the 2004 Act establish a system for the assessment and enforcement of housing standards, by which local authorities are required or empowered to take action (including serving hazard awareness, improvement, or prohibition notices) where they identify category 1 and category 2 hazards in residential premises.’
Tanfield Chambers, 29th November 2023
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Cassandra Somers-Joce: Public Inquiries, the Public Record, and Governmental Accountability – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘“Public inquiries are one of Britain’s only growth industries,” the Financial Times has suggested recently. Research from the Institute for Government demonstrates that there were 69 public inquiries launched between 1990 and 2017, compared with 19 in the previous 30 years. Several high-profile public inquiries are open at time of writing, including the Grenfell Inquiry, the Covid-19 Inquiry, and the Post Office Horizon Inquiry. The near-constant media coverage of the Covid-19 Inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, serves as a reminder of the role that public inquiries play in ensuring accountability and scrutiny. Each week of the Covid-19 Inquiry has painted a fuller picture of governmental decision making during the pandemic. The Covid-19 Inquiry has, however, demonstrated the shortcomings in governmental record-keeping and disclosure, particularly with respect to decisions which were taken via private communications platforms such as WhatsApp.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th December 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Tiger Tiger: West End nightclub fined for caustic soda shot error – BBC News
‘A West End nightclub has been fined for accidentally serving caustic soda with tequila shots rather than salt, Westminster City Council has said.’
BBC News, 19th December 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Man jailed for murdering ex-partner and dumping body near layby in Derbyshire – The Guardian
‘A man who murdered his ex-partner during an argument and dumped her body near a motorway layby has been jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years.’
The Guardian, 19th December 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Deficient enquiries and accommodation pending review – Nearly Legal
‘Saint Sepulchre, R (On the Application Of) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (2023) EWHC 2913 (Admin). A judicial review of RBKC’s refusal to provide temporary accommodation pending section 202 review of the decision that Mr S was not homeless.’
Nearly Legal, 17th December 2023
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Sammy Talalay: The Lord Chancellor, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘At the beginning of the year, this blog covered the report from the House of Lords Constitution Committee into the Lord Chancellor and the Law Officers, with Conor Casey’s post focusing in particular on the latter. This post aims to ensure that 2023 is bookended by consideration of the issues addressed in the committee’s report – and in the subsequent Lords debate on that report in July – by providing a closer look at the role of the Lord Chancellor.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 19th December 2023
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Defra’s generic plan for river clean up unlawful – local focus on water bodies needed – UK Human Rights Blog
‘This interesting case concerns a problem endemic to the manner of regulating water bodies under the Water Framework Directive and the regulations passed under it.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 15th December 2023
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
A newcomer to the world of injunctions – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The appeal in Wolverhampton City Council and others v London Gypsies and Travellers and others [2023] UKSC 47 concerned injunctions obtained by over 38 different local authorities between 2015 and 2020 to prevent unauthorised encampments by Gypsies and Travellers. These “newcomer injunctions” as they are known, are a wholly new form of injunction, granted without prior notice, against persons unidentified at time of the grant of the injunction and who have not yet performed, or even threatened to perform the acts which the injunction prohibits. They therefore apply “to potentially anyone in the world” [143(i)]. Local authorities sought to use such injunctions, due to the inefficacy of obtaining an injunction against named Gypsies or Travellers who, by the time proceedings have commenced, have left, and been replaced by another group, against whom the injunction has no effect.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2023
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Easier access to historic wills under new government plans – Ministry of Justice
‘The ambitious digitisation programme could see millions of wills dating back more than 150 years moved online and more easily accessible to the public in a bid to improve the current storage system.’
Ministry of Justice, 15th December 2023
Source: www.gov.uk
Review of law on kinship – Law Commission
‘If a child can’t live with their parents, they should ideally live with someone they already know and trust. This is called kinship care. The Law Commission will be carrying out a review into the legal framework for kinship carers. The project has been referred to us by the Department for Education who are seeking to ensure the legislative framework is fair, modern, and best meets the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of society.’
Law Commission, 15th December 2023
Source: lawcom.gov.uk
Fraudster forced to pay back £1 million to victims – Crown Prosecution Service
‘More than 200 people who were conned into buying useless investments have received payouts from the money recovered from the fraudster.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 18th December 2023
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Hitler partly to blame for 2021 blast damage, Court of Appeal confirms – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A judge was correct to find that damage caused by the detonation of a 79-year-old German bomb was the fault of the Luftwaffe and not a 2021 bomb disposal squad, the Court of Appeal has ruled. In University of Exeter v Allianz Insurance plc, three judges led by Lord Justice Coulson dismissed an appeal by the University of Exeter against a High Court ruling earlier this year over a denied insurance claim for damage caused.’
Law Society's Gazette, 18th December 2023
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Doctor who sexually harassed nurses to stay in work – BBC News
‘A hospital doctor who admitted sexually harassing two nurses should not be suspended, a High Court judge has ruled.’
BBC News, 18th December 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wiltshire man who abused girl, 7, jailed for life – BBC News
‘A man has been jailed for life for his “horrific crimes” in sexually abusing a seven-year-old girl.’
BBC News, 18th December 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
UK court removes daughter from care of mother who disputed use of expert – The Guardian
‘A family court judge has accepted the recommendation of an unregulated expert and ruled that a child should be removed from her mother’s care after finding the mother made an “entirely false allegation” about the child’s father.’
The Guardian, 16th December 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Respected’ doctor caught selling drugs using dark web under Star Wars pseudonym – The Independent
‘A doctor who bought illegal drugs to sell to customers on the dark web using the Star Wars pseudonym “Imperial Storm Trooper” has been jailed for five years.’
The Independent, 17th December 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Boy kept in solitary confinement wins £31,500 payout – The Guardian
‘The UK government has agreed to pay £31,500 compensation after accepting that a 15-year-old boy with serious mental health problems was subjected to “inhuman or degrading treatment” by being kept in solitary confinement for almost two months.’
The Guardian, 18th December 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Teachers in England won’t have to inform parents if pupils ask about gender – The Independent
‘Teachers in England will not be made to inform parents if pupils come to them with questions about gender identity under new government guidance due to be published this week.’
The Independent, 18th December 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
