Yarl’s Wood: deported asylum seekers to give evidence to parliament – The Guardian

‘Deported asylum seekers who have made allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour by staff at the Yarl’s Wood detention centre are to be called before an ongoing parliamentary inquiry.’

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The Guardian, 28th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court is supreme, says Neuberger – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 27th, 2014 in constitutional law, human rights, news, select committees, Supreme Court by tracey

‘No legislative change is needed to enable the Supreme Court to deviate from rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, the Supreme Court’s president told peers today.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 25th June 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Top judges raise concern over plan to restrict judicial review challenges – The Guardian

Posted June 26th, 2014 in bills, human rights, judges, judicial review, news, select committees by sally

‘Restrictions on judicial review challenges may be motivated more by a desire to avoid political embarrassment than the need to save money, a senior judge has suggested.’

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The Guardian, 25th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Watchdog to investigate private colleges’ potential misuse of millions – The Guardian

Posted May 23rd, 2014 in education, loans, news, select committees by sally

‘Margaret Hodge calls in audit office after Guardian reveals colleges offer access to loans for students who don’t attend.’

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The Guardian, 22nd May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Are international students deterred by the UK’s immigration policy? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted May 16th, 2014 in education, immigration, news, select committees, statistics, universities by sally

‘The Government has been called upon to rethink immigration policy and remove non-EU students from net migration figures in a report published by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. The Committee looked specifically at the number of international students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and whether the UK’s immigration policy has any impact on these numbers. It concludes the Government is simultaneously committed to reducing net migration and attracting increasing numbers of international students, a contradiction which could be removed by excluding students from net migration figures.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 15th May 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Judges criticise impact of legal aid cuts – The Guardian

‘There has been a large increase in unrepresented claimants, outbreaks of courtroom violence, extra litigation and increased costs, according to senior judges who have criticised the impact of legal aid cuts in the family courts.’

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The Guardian, 14th May 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Andrew Le Sueur: Imagining judges in a written UK Constitution – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The tide of interest (among those who care about these things) in the idea of a written, codified constitution for the United Kingdom rises and falls. At the moment the tide is quite high, but certainly not high enough to flow into the estuaries of government policy making.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th May 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

High Speed 2, Hybrid Bills and Environmental Impact Assessment – Thirty Nine Essex Street

‘This paper considers the hybrid bill process, as occasionally used to promote major infrastructure projects, and how this interacts with the Environmental Impact Assessment regime. In particular it deals with the current High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Bill, which is seeking powers to build and operate Phase I of the High Speed 2 railway (“the HS2 Bill”).’

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Thirty Nine Essex Street, May 2014

Source: www.39essex.com

Mark Elliott: Judicial Review Reform — The Report of the Joint Committee on Human Rights – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘Earlier this week, the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has published its report on The implications for access to justice of the Government’s proposals to reform judicial review (HL 174 HC 868 2013-14). The report is, perhaps unsurprisingly, generally critical of the proposals and of the way in which they have been or are being introduced. I have already summarised the proposals and commented on some of them in earlier posts. In this post, I draw attention to some key passages in the JCHR’s report, commenting on them briefly and, at the end of the piece, offering some reflections on some of the underlying constitutional issues highlighted by the Committee.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 1st May 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Not in our name: Parliamentary committee rejects Government’s case for Judicial Review reform – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Angela Patrick, Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE, summarises the important Joint Committee on Human Rights report “The implications for access to justice of the Government’s proposals to reform judicial review”.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 30th April 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Nigerian woman fearing daughters’ FGM wins reprieve on deportation – The Guardian

‘A woman has won a temporary reprieve in her fight against being deported to her native Nigeria where she says her children face being subjected to female genital mutilation.’

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The Guardian, 25th April 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Housing benefit changes distress disabled people, say MPs – BBC News

‘Changes to housing benefit in England, Scotland and Wales are creating “financial hardship and distress” for disabled people, MPs have warned.’

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BBC News, 2nd April 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

MoD burdened by unprecedented rise in court actions, MPs warn – The Guardian

‘An unprecedented rise in court actions is placing a huge burden on the Ministry of Defence and could have the unintended consequence of leading to even more civilian casualties, according to a report by MPs.’

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The Guardian, 2nd April 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MPs renew demand for Commons votes on use of war-making powers – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2014 in news, parliament, select committees, war by tracey

‘The government must enshrine in law its commitment to consult the House of Commons before using its war-making powers, MPs have reiterated.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Offenders choosing jail time ahead of paying confiscation orders: MPs – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 25th, 2014 in confiscation, imprisonment, news, reports, sanctions, select committees by sally

‘Offenders are choosing to spend extra time in jail rather than pay confiscation orders and the sanctions for such non-payment do not work, the Public Accounts Committee has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th March 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Mental Capacity Act 2005 – a damning report – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘The House of Lords Select Committee appointed to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) has now reported. After a mammoth evidence gathering exercise (the transcripts of the oral evidence received and the written evidence submitted ran to almost 2,000 pages), the Committee has provided a damning report upon almost all aspects of the (lack of) implementation of the MCA 2005.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 17th March 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Bullying in armed forces on rise, MoD figures reveal – The Guardian

‘Shocking official figures reveal a surge in the incidence of bullying in the armed forces, with one in 10 military personnel claiming to have been the victim of “discrimination, harassment or bullying in a service environment” during the past year.’

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The Guardian, 1st February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barristers tell Parliament that some GCHQ mass surveillance is illegal – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Two barristers have advised a Parliamentary committee that some mass surveillance allegedly undertaken by the UK’s security services is probably illegal. Jemima Stratford QC and Tim Johnston’s advice (PDF) was commissioned by the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th January 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Mentally unfit refugees unfairly targeted by Home Office – The Guardian

‘The Home Office is covertly targeting the most vulnerable asylum seekers – those considered mentally unfit, or victims of torture – for deportation as part of the government’s hardline stance on immigration, according to lawyers and charity workers.’

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The Guardian, 25th January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Is the Mental Capacity Act incompatible with the ECHR? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 10th, 2014 in Court of Protection, evidence, human rights, mental health, news, select committees by tracey

‘A group of leading lawyers has expressed concern that the current system for representation of certain protected parties (P) in Court of Protection proceedings is incompatible with the ECHR.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th January 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk