Greater Transparency in Children Proceedings: A Note of Caution – Family Law week

‘Tom Wilson, pupil barrister at 1 Garden Court Family Law Chambers, examines the arguments in favour of greater transparency in the family justice system but sounds a note of caution.’

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Family Law Week, 9th July 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

The Lord Janner U-turn: what is the public interest in a trial of the act? – Crimeline

‘Yesterday’s U-turn concerning the decision to prosecute Lord Janner for alleged child sex offences has thrown a spotlight onto a procedure in English criminal law called the “trial of the act”. What is this procedure and what purpose does it serve? And why has its application to Lord Janner’s case proved controversial?’

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Crimeline, 30th June 2015

Source: www.crimeline.info

Secret prosecution of terrorism suspect raises ‘difficult constitutional issues’ – The Guardian

‘The decisions that led to a terrorism suspect being prosecuted in conditions of almost unprecedented secrecy raise “really difficult constitutional issues” about the independence of prosecutors from government, the head of the judiciary in England and Wales warned on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 1st July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government should address core Libya rendition allegations, judge rules – The Guardian

‘The government should address the core allegations of 12 claimants who say they were kidnapped, tortured, subject to control orders or tricked into travelling to Libya where they were detained or mistreated, a high court judge has said.’

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The Guardian, 1st July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New UK rules finalised on the re-use of public sector information – OUT-LAW.com

‘Public bodies in the UK must make it easier for businesses to re-use the information they hold from the middle of next month, under new regulations that have been passed by parliament.’
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OUT-LAW.com, 30th June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Tribunal rejects request for correspondence between solicitor and planning officers – Local Government Lawyer

‘The First-Tier Tribunal has ruled that a district council was entitled to refuse to disclose correspondence passing between one of its solicitors and various members of its planning department.’
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Local Government Lawyer, 30th June 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Greville Janner case: Alison Saunders faces calls to publish secret papers – Daily Telegraph

‘Alleged child abuse victims and MPs say independent review of bungled case must be made public.’

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Daily Telegraph, 29th June 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Supreme Court on EU and ECHR proportionality – back to basics – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Supreme Court has reminded us, in a tour de force by Lord Reed, that there is no such thing as one-stop proportionality. It varies between ECHR and EU law, and the tests of EU proportionality then vary according to the nature of the EU issue in play.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 27th June 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Lord Janner U-turn is the CPS’s own fault – The Guardian

‘Between the independent reviewer and the DPP there’s no disagreement on facts, but ultimately it’s highly unlikely Janner will appear in court.’

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The Guardian, 29th June 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lord Janner: DPP Alison Saunders was wrong not to bring charges against peer, lawyer rules – The Independent

‘Accusations that Greville Janner, the former Labour MP, sexually abused a number of children are to be tested in court after an independent lawyer ruled the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was wrong not to bring charges.’

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The Independent, 28th June 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Freddie Starr sues over grope claim – BBC News

Posted June 16th, 2015 in damages, defamation, news, public interest by sally

‘Comedian Freddie Starr is claiming damages from a woman who says he groped her when she was 15.’

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BBC News, 15th June 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Belmarsh prison officer guilty of being paid mole for reporter – The Guardian

‘A prison officer at Belmarsh high-security prison has been found guilty of being the paid mole of a reporter working at the Daily Mirror and News of the World over five years.’

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The Guardian, 1st June 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Is crowdfunded litigation the future of justice? – The Guardian

Posted May 26th, 2015 in costs, dispute resolution, internet, news, public interest, third parties by sally

‘With legal aid in crisis, CrowdJustice selects public interest cases and invites the public to fund them. But it faces many obstacles to enacting real change.’

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The Guardian, 25th May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Stacey Hyde cleared of murder in retrial – The Guardian

‘A young woman who faced a retrial for the murder of man with a history of domestic violence has been acquitted after a jury heard how she acted in self-defence. Stacey Hyde, 22, was ordered to face a second trial by the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders, after the court of appeal quashed her original murder conviction last year.’

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The Guardian, 21st May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Syrian asylum seekers successfully appeal UK convictions – BBC News

‘Two Syrian asylum seekers who were jailed for arriving in the UK without passports, have successfully appealed against their convictions.’

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BBC News, 7th May 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge grants Operation Elveden police access to press phone records – BBC News

Posted May 6th, 2015 in corruption, news, police, public interest, telecommunications by sally

‘A judge has granted police permission to access journalists’ phone records for the first time in a public hearing.
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BBC News, 5th May 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Critics of Lord Janner decision misunderstand justice system – The Guardian

‘The creation of the Crown Prosecution Service nearly 30 years ago was pretty traumatic for the police. I remember it well and wrote a book about it at the time. Overnight, detectives lost the power to decide what charges should be brought against people they had arrested. Instead, the director of public prosecutions — whose remit had been confined to cases of “importance or difficulty” for the previous 100 years — took responsibility in 1986 for most public prosecutions across England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 22nd April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Journalists should not always be prosecuted for paying public officials, says former CPS head – The Indpendent

‘The former head of the Crown Prosecution Service has said it can be “appropriate” for journalists to pay officials for information and that Operation Elveden had overlooked the public interest.’

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The Independent, 18th April 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Crown Prosecution Service re-review of Operation Elveden – CPS News Brief

‘Operation Elveden is a Metropolitan Police Service investigation that revealed the payments made to corrupt public officials by journalists for information. It followed two parliamentary committees and the Leveson Inquiry which revealed serious questions over the techniques used by some which may have amounted to systematic and flagrant breaches of the law. The range and circumstance of this activity was of a scale not previously encountered by police or CPS.’

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CPS News Brief, 17th April 2015

Source: http://blog.cps.gov.uk

Three years, £20 million, one conviction: Operation Elveden on brink of collapse – Daily Telegraph

‘Operation Elveden, the long running investigation into allegations of corruption by tabloid journalists, lies in tatters after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was forced to scrap most of the outstanding cases. ‘

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Daily Telegraph, 17th April 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk