Court “does not have to accept” parties’ agreement not to budget – Litigation Futures

Posted November 8th, 2016 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, competition, costs, news, tribunals by sally

‘A High Court judge has made it clear that the court is not required to go along with parties who agree to dispense with costs management.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 7th November 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Lawyer rebuked for gloating at ‘win’ over parents seeking special needs support – The Guardian

‘he lawyer who sent a series of tweets gloating at a tribunal victory over parents who were trying to get specialist support for an autistic child has been given an official rebuke by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority.’

Full story

The Guardian, 2nd November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Speech by Sir Ernest Ryder: Raising the Bar: Innovation and global opportunity for a forward thinking profession – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted October 20th, 2016 in barristers, courts, legal profession, speeches, tribunals by tracey

‘Keynote address at the Annual Bar and Young Bar Conference 2016.’

Full speech

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 17th October 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Judges prepare profession for ODR across less complex cases and court administration in the cloud – Legal Futures

Posted October 18th, 2016 in courts, dispute resolution, internet, judiciary, legal profession, news, speeches, tribunals by sally

‘Online dispute resolution “will become the norm for much of the less complex work in civil, family and tribunals jurisdictions”, the Senior President of Tribunals said over the weekend.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 17th October 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

UK security agencies unlawfully collected data for 17 years, court rules – The Guardian

‘British security agencies have secretly and unlawfully collected massive volumes of confidential personal data, including financial information, on citizens for more than a decade, senior judges have ruled.’

Full story

The Guardian, 17th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

HMCTS reform will mean fewer staff and fewer courts but a better system, says Gross – Litigation Futures

Posted September 27th, 2016 in courts, judges, news, speeches, tribunals by sally

‘The court reform process will lead to staff cuts and fewer court buildings, the former Senior Presiding Judge has said, but it is not a cost-cutting exercise and the end result should be higher-grade staff and an improved court estate.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 26th September 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Transforming Our Courts and Tribunals System: By the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted September 16th, 2016 in civil justice, consultations, courts, criminal justice, reports, tribunals by tracey

‘Our justice system is the envy of the world. We have an outstanding independent judiciary that is widely admired as an international leader. Our lawyers have a global – and deserved – reputation for excellence. And we have a legal services industry that contributes billions of pounds every year to the UK economy.’

Full report

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 15th September 2016

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

TalkTalk ruling shows ICO will back tiered approach to data breach notification, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 14th, 2016 in data protection, EC law, fines, internet, news, notification, tribunals by tracey

‘A new ruling by the information rights tribunal suggests that businesses in the UK should be prepared to make multiple notifications to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the event of a data breach under new EU data protection laws, an expert has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 12th September 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

MasterCard sued for £14bn in largest ever British legal claim – The Guardian

Posted September 9th, 2016 in class actions, competition, consumer credit, consumer protection, EC law, fees, news, tribunals by tracey

‘Credit card group MasterCard is being sued for £14bn, the largest legal claim in British history, in a landmark lawsuit over allegations that it overcharged 46m UK consumers.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Clearer on costs – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 25th, 2016 in costs, landlord & tenant, news, regulations, tribunals by sally

‘Rule 13(1) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (SI 2013/1169) provides that the Property Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) may order costs(other than fees) in several limited circumstances. Of most interest to landlords, managing agents and others involved in FTT cases is r 13(1)(b), which provides for costs orders (in agricultural land and drainage, residential property or leasehold cases) “if a person has acted unreasonably in bringing, defending, or conducting proceedings”.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 5th August 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

‘More than half’ of taxpayer challenges to HMRC decisions successful – OUT-LAW.com

‘More than half of the challenges brought by taxpayers against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) decisions last year were successful, according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Successful compensation appeal by rape victim – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Upper Tribunal has ruled that, in deciding whether or not an applicant has cooperated with the prosecution of her assailant where she made and later retracted an allegation of rape, it was necessary to see why that retraction was made and whether it was done truly voluntarily, rather than simply assessing whether she was responsible for the retraction.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd August 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Yorkshire Ripper: tribunal rules Peter Sutcliffe can be sent to mainstream prison – The Guardian

Posted August 12th, 2016 in appeals, mental health, murder, news, prisons, sentencing, tribunals by sally

‘The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, who murdered 13 women during the 1970s, may be released from Broadmoor, the secure psychiatric hospital, and sent to a mainstream prison after a tribunal concluded his mental illness was under control.’

Full story

The Guardian, 12th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New Home Office API on Gay Asylum Claims: Not Fit For Purpose – Free Movement

‘The new Asylum Policy Instruction on Sexual Orientation Issues in the Asylum Claim, published last Wednesday, marks an unwelcome retrograde step for the Home Office, which still continues to apply the ‘voluntary discretion test’ to gay asylum claims, even though this has been held to be unlawful, as a matter of EU law, since July 2015. Having made positive strides with respect to the quality of decision-making since the public outcry over the sexually explicit methods of questioning gay asylum seekers in February 2014, in August 2016 this API will lead to sub-standard and unlawful decisions by the Home Office, and arguably Courts and Tribunals who rely on the API, leading to devastating outcomes to those returned to countries where they will suffer persecution.’

Full story

Free Movement, 8th August 2016

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Council tax, periodic tenancies, and the end of L&T law avoided – Nearly Legal

Posted August 2nd, 2016 in council tax, landlord & tenant, local government, news, tribunals, valuation by tracey

‘We’ve seen the issue of who is liable for Council Tax when a tenant has left a property before the end of a periodic tenancy arise before. Here, the Upper Tribunal decided that a statutory periodic monthly tenancy following a 6 month fixed term did not amount to a ‘material interest’ of over six months such that the tenant would remain liable for Council Tax, while here in the Shropshire decision (and amusingly featuring NL) the Valuation Tribunal decided that a contractual periodic tenancy following on from a fixed term of 6 months did amount to a material interest such that the tenant remained liable.’

Full story

Nearly legal, 1st August 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Trevor Gray: Wife’s battle to clear wrongly jailed detective’s name – BBC News

‘A High Court judge has said a police force was wrong not to reinstate a former detective wrongly jailed for raping a woman in 2011. Trevor Gray’s wife Alison told BBC News how her family won a five-year, £150,000 battle to clear his name.’

Full story

BBC news, 30th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge orders SDT to try again after botched strike-out – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The High Court has ordered the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to rehear a prosecution against two solicitors suspected of dishonesty.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 29th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Hostile environment – Counsel

‘As the nation grapples with the impact of Brexit on migration, Ronan Toal briefs readers on the major revisions already introduced by the Immigration Act 2016.’

Full story

Counsel, August 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Reprimand for barrister who encouraged client to seek out damaging information about fellow counsel – Legal Futures

‘A barrister who encouraged a client to search online for damaging information about another member of the Bar, and then told her to deny that he had done so, has been reprimanded by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 27th July 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Unreasonable Conduct in the First-tier Tribunal – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 26th, 2016 in appeals, news, regulations, service charges, tribunals by sally

‘On 22 June 2016, the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) gave judgment in three conjoined appeals concerning the proper interpretation of Rule 13 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013; four members of Hardwicke appeared in the case. The appeals shared a number of facts: each arose out of a dispute over service charges payable under the lease of a flat; each concerned a dispute between a lessee and a tenant owned management company; and in each the award of costs was greater than the amount of service charge in issue in the proceedings.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 14th July 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk