Category: news

What qualifies a law degree: surveying elective module provision in undergraduate legal education across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2023–2024 – The Law Teacher

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in examinations, legal education, news, solicitors, statistics, universities by sally

‘This paper explores the contemporary elective module provision in undergraduate English law degrees. The demise of the qualifying law degree as a requirement to pursue qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales means that providers of undergraduate English law degrees now have increasing flexibility over the structure and content of courses. This paper reviews elective modules offered at providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the academic year 2023–2024 and finds that while there is increasing diversity among elective provision when compared to historic provision, there is also a degree of standardisation among degree providers. It discusses the significance of this standardisation in the post-qualifying law degree world and develops seven themes based on current elective provision to highlight the broader trends in elective provision. It then concludes by arguing that the legacy of the qualifying law degree is clearly influencing the new normal and suggests several questions which this raises for undergraduate legal education going forward.’

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The Law Teacher, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

R v Jones Case Comment: Running diminished responsibility without an expert – Pump Court Chambers

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in chambers articles, diminished responsibility, expert witnesses, homicide, news by sally

‘Diminished responsibility is one of the partial defences available to those charged with murder. If a defendant is found to have had diminished responsibility during the commission of the offence, they are not acquitted but rather found guilty of voluntary manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 20th December 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Legal challenges to UK infrastructure projects to be blocked in push for growth – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in airports, energy, environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning, railways by sally

‘Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ordered to provide adequate asylum accommodation to mother and severely disabled child following successful judicial review – Garden Court Chambers

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in asylum, chambers articles, children, disabled persons, housing, judicial review, ministers' powers and duties, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In a judgment handed down on 18 December 2024, the High Court declared that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘SSHD’) breached her duty to provide adequate asylum accommodation under sections 95 and 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The High Court granted a mandatory order requiring the Claimants (C1 and C2) to be moved to adequate accommodation that would meet the needs of the C2, a severely disabled child.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 19th December 2025

Source: gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Directors duties after the BHS decisions – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in chambers articles, company directors, insolvency, news by sally

‘In March 2015, BHS was sold for to Retail Acquisition Limited for the princely sum of just £1. Dominic Chappell (a thrice bankrupt former racing driver with no experience in retail) and his fellow directors took the helm of the struggling group. A little over a year later, in April 2016, BHS collapsed into administration and later insolvent liquidation by which point the net deficiency was a staggering £1.3 billion).’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 18th December 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Pension loss: a very brief introduction – Exchange Chambers

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in chambers articles, compensation, economic loss, news, pensions, personal injuries by sally

‘In the world of personal injury law, we often deal with things that are easy – for example, calculating a simple loss of earnings over a short period of time. We sometimes deal with things which are a bit harder – for example, the approach to loss of earnings where due to an accident the Claimant is now under a disability. However, we sometimes have to bite the bullet and deal with things which are nasty. Pension loss, unfortunately, is one of them.’

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Exchange Chambers, 3rd December 2025

Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk

Man ordered to pay £10,000 costs for failed LeO judicial review – Legal Futures

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in barristers, complaints, costs, executors, judicial review, legal ombudsman, news, solicitors by sally

‘A man whose application for permission to bring a judicial review against the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) was certified as totally without merit has been ordered to pay £10,000 in costs.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Kevin Clarke’s family denounce police discipline system after officers cleared – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in death in custody, disciplinary procedures, London, mental health, misfeasance in public office, news, police, restraint by sally

‘The family of a black man who died after being restrained by police officers who denied having heard him say “I can’t breathe” have condemned the police discipline system after two officers were cleared of gross misconduct.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Treasury seeks to intervene in Supreme Court motor finance case – Legal Futures

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in consent, consumer credit, consumer protection, disclosure, financial regulation, government departments, interest, loans, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The government has applied to intervene in the Supreme Court hearing on motor finance, expressing concern that the Court of Appeal ruling could have a significant and potentially damaging impact on the market.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Revised terror laws will not include disruptive protest, says No 10 – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in children, demonstrations, murder, news, terrorism, violence, young offenders, young persons by sally

‘An overhaul of laws on terrorism after the Southport murders will not expand the definition to take in disruptive but non-violent protest, Downing Street has said, as MPs and senior lawyers warned about potential risks to the plan.’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Prince Harry settles legal claim against Sun publisher – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in damages, interception, media, news, privacy, royal family by sally

‘The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action at the eleventh hour against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN).’

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The Guardian, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Baroness Brenda Hale on a Long Career in the Law – Law Pod UK

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in diversity, equality, judges, Law Commission, legal profession, news, podcasts, privacy, women by sally

‘Lady Hale discusses with Rosalind English the development of the right to privacy, reflects in her career in academia and the Law Commission, and ponders on the position of women in the legal profession today.’

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Law Pod UK, 20th January 2025

Source: audioboom.com

Dane Luo: R (Jwanczuk) v Work and Pensions Secretary: Bringing a Comparative Lens to Judicial Precedent on Inter-jurisdictional Laws – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in appeals, bereavement, constitutional law, courts, government departments, jurisdiction, news, Northern Ireland, pensions, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court will hear the appeal in R (Jwanczuk) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (UKSC/2023/0152) on 11 and 12 March 2025. One of the issues is the circumstances in which courts in England and Wales may depart from decisions of appellate courts in Northern Ireland and Scotland regarding laws of inter-jurisdictional operation (that is, laws passed by the Westminster Parliament that apply throughout the UK, or where identical or materially similar laws have been enacted in multiple jurisdictions). On one hand, the classical exposition of stare decisis is that it operates vertically, such that decisions by extra-hierarchical courts are never binding. But if stare decisis is concerned with predictability and enabling the public to legitimately rely on past decisions in carrying out their affairs, those aspirations would not be met if the same provisions were given two different meanings depending on whether one is north or south of the Tweed (or if one is to the east or west of the Irish Sea in Great Britain or Northern Ireland).’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd January 2025

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Parks and interpretation – Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in appeals, chambers articles, news, tribunals by sally

‘It’s time to unwrap Rule 7(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (‘the Tribunal Rules’): the Upper Tribunal (‘UT’) has held in Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) that the First-tier Tribunal (‘FTT’) is not entitled under Rule 7(6) to require one party to serve the Tribunal’s directions on another, but must do so itself.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 11th December 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Thatchers triumph in Court of Appeal copycat battle – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in appeals, competition, intellectual property, news, trade marks by sally

‘A recent court of Court of Appeal decision is “game changing” for brand owners and signals a renewed commitment by the UK courts to protecting brand identity and ensuring fair competition, experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st January 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Assisted dying bill amendment aims to close potential ‘anorexia loophole’ – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in assisted suicide, bills, health, mental health, news, parliament, select committees, suicide by sally

‘MPs will look to close a potential anorexia loophole in the assisted dying bill that psychiatrists fear could result in people with severe eating disorders using it to end their lives. The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, who sits on the committee of MPs that will scrutinise the proposed law, is tabling an amendment to tighten the language around mental capacity.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

MPs meet to scrutinise assisted dying bill for first time – The Independent

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in assisted suicide, bills, health, mental health, news, parliament, select committees, suicide by sally

‘The crucial committee which will scrutinise the assisted dying bill was told to be “civil and courteous” as members met for the first time ahead of expert evidence hearings at the end of January. The 23-member committee has a majority of MPs who are supportive of assisted dying, including two government ministers Stephen Kinnock and Sarah Sackman. The MPs, who will test the proposed legislation line by line, met on Tuesday to set out the timetable for the inquiry process.’

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The Independent, 21st January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Southport attack: why is so much information being published only now? – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in children, contempt of court, crime prevention, criminal justice, Crown Prosecution Service, disclosure, government departments, juries, media, murder, news, reporting restrictions, terrorism by sally

‘Axel Rudakubana, 18, on Monday pleaded guilty to the murders of three young girls – Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine – and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last summer. He also admitted producing the biological toxin ricin, and possessing a terrorist handbook about al-Qaida. The guilty pleas have triggered a deluge of new information about the teenage attacker and how he had been known to the authorities before the atrocity on 29 July last year. It has also prompted searching questions about how the state failed to stop the attack – and whether there has been a cover-up. Here we answer some of the key questions about the Southport attack.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law experts demand inquiry into Met policing of pro-Palestine protest – The Guardian

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in demonstrations, freedom of expression, Israel, London, news, police, proportionality by sally

‘More than 40 legal scholars have signed a letter calling for an independent inquiry into the Met’s policing of a pro-Palestine protest in London on Saturday, describing it as “a disproportionate, unwarranted and dangerous assault on the right to assembly and protest”.’

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The Guardian, 21st January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Woman awarded thousands after routine tooth extraction leaves her in intensive care – The Independent

Posted January 22nd, 2025 in compensation, damages, dentists, news by sally

‘A London mother-of-three has received an £8,500 settlement after a routine tooth extraction resulted in a fractured jaw, haemorrhage and a stay in intensive care.’

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The Independent, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk