Category: news

‘The government recognises the harm that some forms of pornography can have in shaping real-world behaviour, including by normalising harmful or illegal sexual behaviour. That is why it has criminalised the possession and publication of particularly harmful forms of pornography, including material depicting strangulation or suffocation, sex between certain relatives (‘incest porn’), and adults roleplaying as children under 16. These offences tackle pornography that risks normalising conduct that is harmful or illegal in real life, such as child sexual abuse.’

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Ministry of Justice, 16th October 2026

Source: www.gov.uk

‘The Courts and Tribunals Bill will now head to the House of Lords after the government managed to get the proposed legislation – now revamped following a partial U-turn on jury trial reforms – through the House of Commons yesterday.’

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Law Society Gazette, 14th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Nearly three-quarters of legal professionals think they know what content they can legally copy at work – but only 2% actually do, according to research published by the Copyright Licensing Agency.’

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Law Society Gazette, 15th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Six new and revised guidelines for sentencing offences involving bladed articles, offensive weapons and corrosive substances in England and Wales have been published for consultation today by the Sentencing Council.’

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Sentencing Council, 14th October 2026

Source: sentencingcouncil.org.uk

‘The Court of Appeal recently considered whether a local authority was required to carry out an assessment of the appellant’s capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 prior to completing the Care Act assessment. Members of 39 Essex Chambers analyse the ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon) considers a recent Court of Protection ruling on whether sufficiently effective safeguards were in place for the Article 8 rights of twins with significant disabilities.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘When does a Child Arrangements Order bring a child’s looked-after status to an end, and what are the implications for local authority financial responsibility? Daniel Sheridan analyses a recent High Court ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘A national expansion of the CPS Victims Programme means in the future, when a charging decision is made by the CPS, victims will receive direct communication explaining whether prosecutors decide to charge a case or take no further action, why the decision was made, their rights under the Victims’ Code, and what happens next in the case.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 14th October 2026

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

‘As I speak: (i) almost everyone with a legal problem asks an LLM for the answer before going anywhere near a lawyer, (ii) many, if not most, lawyers routinely ask an LLM or Harvey or Legora to assist with their legal work, (iii) judges in this jurisdiction are provided with a ring-fenced version of Microsoft CoPilot on their computers, and (iv) judges in other jurisdictions, such as South Korea, Kazakhstan and China routinely use AI-enabled programmes to assist them in deciding their cases.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 15th October 2026

Source: www.judiciary.uk

‘On 21 May 2026, the International Court of Justice (also known as the ‘ICJ’ or ‘World Court’) delivered an Advisory Opinion, which is of importance for workers across the globe. The question referred to the Court was whether the right to strike is protected under International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and the Right to Organise (C87). It should not be surprising that a clear majority of the World Court answered this question in the affirmative (by ten in favour to four against); it is only surprising that it was not unanimous. Nevertheless, it is a significant acknowledgement of the importance of the right to strike for effective worker organisation and activities nationally and transnationally. The World Court has recognized the vital connection between freedom of association and the right to strike, as well as the ‘great weight’ to be given to the decisions of the ILO supervisory bodies. We find that this contrasts with the problematic approach taken by both Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government and Keir Starmer’s Labour government to these matters. In this blog, we explain the background to the dispute, the reasoning of the ICJ, and the potential application of the Advisory Opinion in the ILO, the UK, and beyond.’

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UK Labour Law, 14th October 2026

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

‘On Thursday 8 October, the government published factsheets on the Immigration and Asylum Bill. The Bill is currently at the committee stage in the Commons. The factsheets set out the government’s view that the current immigration and asylum system is not fit to deal with “the sheer number of individuals that it is seeing today”, noting that over 460,000 people have claimed asylum in the UK since 2021.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th October 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘What happens to members’ pensions if a DB scheme buys out and the insurer later fails? Paul Newman KC offers a practical guide to the capital, liquidity, insolvency and FSCS protections behind bulk annuities.’

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Pensions Barrister, 15th October 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

‘Hackers who breached the Legal Aid Agency’s systems may be in possession of surnames and postcodes of suspects interviewed by the police and legal aid providers’ banking details, the government has revealed.’

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Law Society Gazette, 15th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Repeated failures by the Ministry of Defence to adhere to time limits set by court directions has led the High Court to advice that “parties should familiarise themselves with the principles” as “deadlines set by the court…must be met”.’

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Law Society Gazette, 14th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Solicitors and lawyers must do more to help raise awareness of out-of-court dispute resolution while the judicial college must improve on how it teaches judges about the alternatives to court, judges have said.’

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Law Society Gazette, 13th October 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘On 8 October 2026 Mr Justice Hilliard quashed a search warrant which had been granted by the Central Criminal Court on the application of Thames Valley Police (“TVP”). The Court has released the High Court’s order and reasons, and it makes interesting reading.’

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Five St Andrew's Hill, 12th October 2026

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

‘The Court of Protection has ruled that the provisions of the Care Act and the Mental Capacity Act are “adequate protections” in a case involving twin sisters who lack capacity to make decisions, while directing that both require a Care Act advocate.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th October 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Since AI use became widespread the number and complexity of claims against employers has soared. How should companies cope?’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th October 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘A recent ruling in a terminal dilapidations case in England determined that a landlord was not entitled to recover the full cost of significant refurbishment works after the commercial lease expired.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 13th October 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined the online furniture retailer £4.8m and electronics retailer Appliances Direct £1.2m for misleading customers with time-limited offers.’

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BBC News, 14th October 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk