McPhee v The Queen – WLR Daily

McPhee v The Queen [2016] UKPC 29

‘The defendant, a 17-year-old from Nassau, was arrested on a neighbouring island of The Bahamas on suspicion of murder following an armed robbery. He gave his mother’s phone number in Nassau to the police but no contact with her was established and no lawyer was called. After more than 31 hours in custody, during which time the custody log showed he had been taken from his cell several times but without any record made of his being questioned, a church minister in his mid-seventies was asked to come to the police station to witness the defendant make a statement. The minister did not speak to the defendant alone nor offer him any advice, but observed that the defendant was hungry and gave the police money to buy him a meal, after which the defendant made a written statement under caution confessing to the murder. Apart from the confession the only evidence against the defendant was that of another defendant who became a prosecution witness during the trial. At trial, the defendant claimed that his statement had been made following torture and so was not admissible. The judge rejected the claim of torture but did not consider whether the taking of the defendant from his cells had been for the purpose of informal interrogation, or whether the minister could properly be said to have been acting as an “appropriate adult” for the witnessing of a juvenile’s confession, and allowed the confession to go before the jury. The defendant was convicted of murder. The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The defendant appealed to the Privy Council on the grounds, inter alia, that the confession should have been excluded under section 20 of the Bahamas Evidence Act as being unreliable, by reason of the defendant having been subjected to unrecorded questioning in the absence of a lawyer or appropriate adult and in any event should have been excluded as unfair under section 178 of the Bahamas Evidence Act.’

WLR Daily, 24th October 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court upholds right to claim against ‘malicious’ civil cases – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 29th, 2016 in costs, malicious prosecution, news, precedent, Privy Council, Supreme Court by tracey

‘Private individuals should have the right to bring a claim against another on the grounds that that person sued them in the civil courts with “unnecessary malice”, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 27th July 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Accountant wins legal claim to baronetcy in ‘cuckoo in the nest’ case that could challenge the British class system – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 21st, 2016 in DNA, news, peerages & dignities, Privy Council, time limits by sally

‘A retired accountant from Buckinghamshire is to be made a baronet in a landmark ruling set to shake the foundations of the British system of hereditary titles by opening them up to challenge through DNA tests for the first time.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th June 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK judges to rule on death penalties for ‘intellectually disabled’ – The Guardian

‘The fate of two Trinidadian prisoners, both of whom have been condemned to death despite having extremely low IQs, will be decided by British judges this week.’

Full story

The Guardian, 15th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Material Contribution and Williams – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 22nd, 2016 in appeals, medical treatment, negligence, news, Privy Council by sally

‘On 25 January 2016 the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council handed down judgment in the case of Williams v The Bermuda Hospitals Board [2016] UKPC 4, the most recent reported decision regarding material contribution in clinical negligence cases. While not binding in domestic courts the case is highly persuasive authority.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 8th March 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Higher education reform much-needed, but government must take time to get the framework right, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘Reforming higher education in England is both long overdue, and vitally needed to protect the sector’s hard-won reputation.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

When does the clock start ticking? Limitation and the Privy Council case of Maharaj v Johnson – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in contracts, limitations, negligence, news, Privy Council by sally

‘The majority of claims against professionals are framed in contract, the tort of negligence, or a combination of both. As readers of this article will be aware, the Limitation Act 1980 provides the same limitation period for both causes of action: “six years from the date on which the case of action arose.” But readers will also know that those periods frequently begin (and more importantly end) on different dates. This is because a breach of contract is actionable per se, i.e. without the need to prove damage, where as a claim in negligence requires proof of damage, which will often occur some time after the breach of duty, which is said to have caused it. For this reason many claims which are out of time for a claim in contract, are nevertheless in time for a claim in the tort of negligence.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2015

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Senior British judges decide if DNA evidence can ‘uncover affair’ and settle Scottish hereditary title dispute – Daily Telegraph

‘Norman Murray Pringle, an accountant living in High Wycombe, is attempting to prove his aristocratic entitlement as the next baronet of Stichill.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 25th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The right to a fair trial: part two – OUP Blog

Posted November 10th, 2015 in death penalty, freedom of expression, human rights, news, Privy Council, trials by sally

‘Human rights law has had a long and tortuous history in the UK, defined by some of the most fascinating cases in legal memory.’

Full story

OUP Blog, 10th November 2015

Source: www.blog.oup.com

Courts likely to look for evidence that journalists have verified alleged defamatory statements, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 16th, 2015 in defamation, evidence, media, news, Privy Council, public interest by sally

‘Journalists seeking to rely on the new ‘public interest’ defence to a claim of defamation will still have to be able to prove that they have taken steps to verify the accuracy of what they have published, an expert has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 15th October 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Queen intervenes to settle title feud opening way to title pretenders – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 12th, 2015 in DNA, evidence, news, peerages & dignities, precedent, Privy Council by tracey

‘DNA evidence could be used for the first time to resolve a feud over a hereditary title after the Queen personally intervened in the case.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 11th October 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘Broader interest of justice’ can trump parties’ duty of candour in judicial review cases, says Privy Council – OUT-LAW.com

‘Courts should not dismiss an application for judicial review solely on the grounds that one party has not complied with its duty to disclose all necessary facts and issues if doing so would not be in the interests of justice, one of the UK’s highest courts has ruled.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 19th June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Brantley and others v Constituency Boundaries Commission and others – WLR Daily

Posted May 21st, 2015 in boundaries, constitutional law, elections, law reports, Privy Council by sally

Brantley and others v Constituency Boundaries Commission and others [2015] UKPC 21; [2015] WLR (D) 209

‘A proclamation signed by the Governor General authorising alteration of the constituency boundaries in the territories of St Christopher and Nevis was made, under section 119 of the Constitution, when it was published in the Official Gazette; and it came into force, pursuant to section 50(6) of the Constitution, on the next dissolution of Parliament after it was made. Therefore, where the Governor General had dissolved Parliament with effect from 16 January 2015 and fixed the election date for 16 February 2015, and, by proclamation published in the Official Gazette on 20 January, authorised alteration of the constituency boundaries, the proclamation, having been made after the dissolution of Parliament, if valid only came into force on the dissolution of the Parliament elected in February 2015 and did not govern the 2015 election.’

WLR Daily, 11th May 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nilon Limited v Royal Westminster Investments – Privy Council – claims involving BVI companies – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted March 17th, 2015 in appeals, choice of forum, foreign companies, jurisdiction, news, Privy Council by sally

‘The Privy Council decision in Nilon Limited v Royal Westminster Investments₁ has put the brakes on the expanding jurisdiction of the BVI Courts over claims involving BVI companies, and reiterated the need for a common sense approach to forum conveniens. Peter Head considers the decision.’

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, February 2014

Source: www.11sb.com

The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom Constitution – Lecture by Lady Hale

The Supreme Court in the United Kingdom Constitution (PDF)

Lecture by Lady Hale

The Bryce Lecture, 5th February 2015

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

British court to rule on death sentences for two Trinidad murderers – The Guardian

‘Seven British judges will consider whether two convicted murderers from Trinidad should have their death penalty sentences lifted by the privy council.’

Full story

The Guardian, 4th February 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Alternative Power Solution Ltd v Central Electricity Board and another – WLR Daily

Posted January 14th, 2015 in fraud, injunctions, law reports, letters of credit, Privy Council by tracey

Alternative Power Solution Ltd v Central Electricity Board and another; [2014] UKPC 31; [2015] WLR (D) 3

‘The test for the grant of an interlocutory injunction to prevent payment under an irrevocable letter of credit on the grounds of fraud was whether it was seriously arguable that, on the material available, the only realistic inference was that (i) the beneficiary could not honestly have believed in the validity of its demands under the letter of credit, and (ii) the bank had been aware of such fraud.’

WLR Daily, 9th September 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Yiacoub v The Queen – WLR Daily

Posted July 17th, 2014 in appeals, bias, judges, law reports, Privy Council by tracey

Yiacoub v The Queen; [2014] UKPC 22; [2014] WLR (D) 314

‘Justice was not seen to be done when a judge who had sat on the original trial was responsible for overseeing the constitution of the panel of judges which formed the court which heard the appeal.’

WLR Daily, 10th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Dhooharika v Director of Public Prosecutions (Commonwealth Lawyers Association intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted May 1st, 2014 in contempt of court, crime, law reports, media, Privy Council by sally

Dhooharika v Director of Public Prosecutions (Commonwealth Lawyers Association intervening) [2014] UKPC 11; [2014] WLR (D) 179

‘The common law offence of scandalising the court, a species of contempt of court which although abolished by statute in England and Wales continued to exist in many parts of the common law world, was “reasonably justifiable in a democratic society” within the meaning of section 12 of the Constitution of Mauritius.’

WLR Daily, 16th April 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Ramdeen v State of Trinidad and Tobago – WLR Daily

Ramdeen v State of Trinidad and Tobago: [2014] UKPC 7; [2014] WLR (D) 149

‘Once the Privy Council was seised of a death sentence case, whether by way of an appeal against conviction and/or an appeal against sentence, it had jurisdiction to deal with commutation of sentence, at least where the ground for commutation arose out of court procedures or decisions.’

WLR Daily, 27th March 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk