Successful judicial review of social services age assessment – Free Movement

‘R (on the application of GB by litigation friend, Francesco Jeff) v Oxfordshire County Council (age dispute- relevance of documents) IJR [2015] UKUT 429 (IAC) is an interesting and successful judicial review challenge to an age assessment. My colleague Shu Shin Luh was Counsel, instructed by Scott-Moncrieff & Associates.

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Free Movement, 10th August 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

‘It did seem to be expensive’ – Nearly Legal

Posted August 11th, 2015 in appeals, costs, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, service charges, tribunals by sally

If a head leaseholder, or managing company passes on as a service charge, rent charged by a freeholder for property in order to provide services, does this amount to a variable service charge for the purposes of s.18 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and so only payable if the rent costs were reasonably incurred and if the services or works to which they relate were of a reasonable standard?

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Nearly Legal, 9th August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Court of Appeal: Tenants on small claims track can be ordered to pay more than costs of issue – Litigation Futures

‘County courts can order tenants on the small claims track (SCT) to pay more than the costs of issuing the claim, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
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Litigation Futures, 6th August 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Bedroom Tax and separated families – UT again – Nearly Legal

‘The Upper Tribunal has another go at the separated families issue in CH 0062 2015-00 and this time, unsurprisingly, shuts down completely the FTT dissenting position in a Middlesborough FTT decision, while upholding and amplifying MR v North Tyneside.’

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Nearly Legal, 1st August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

New tribunal cases on statutory human rights considerations and “integration” – Free Movement

Posted July 30th, 2015 in human rights, immigration, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal has handed down another two cases on the statutory human rights considerations introduced by the Immigration Act 2014. The relationship between Article 8, the Immigration Rules and the statutory considerations is the itch that judges cannot help but scratch, but it is primarily an academic and political issue rather than one of real substance.’
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Free Movement, 29th July 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Kiani v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily

Kiani v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWCA Civ 776; [2015] WLR (D) 325

‘The requirements of the right to a fair trial in article 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms depended on the context and all the circumstances of the case. In a security case an individual was not entitled to full article 6 rights if to accord him such rights would jeopardise the efficacy of the vetting regime itself. The same approach was taken under European Union law.’

WLR Daily, 21st July 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Circle the Wagons: They are Coming for the Information Tribunal – Panopticon

Posted July 28th, 2015 in consultations, fees, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

‘We all fell for it, didn’t we? If the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist, then Michael Gove’s may have been to convince everyone that he wasn’t interested in FOIA. His shunting responsibility for FOIA/EIR matters off to the Cabinet Office, and the Cabinet Office’s announcement of the Commission on Freedom of Information (generally staffed by people who publicly don’t much like it), last week has led to a lot of comment and reaction – mostly adverse – from social media, blogs and even the mainstream press.’

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Panopticon, 24th July 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Service charges, the burden of proof and reasonableness of decisions – Park Square Barristers

‘Last week wrote an introductory article on a service charge case, The Gateway (Leeds) Management Ltd v Naghash and Shamsizadeh (citation above), a decision of Martin Rodger QC, Deputy President in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), in which I acted for the Defendants/Respondents. The facts are set out in that piece, and I do not propose to rehearse them here.’

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Park Square Barristers, 15th July 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Tenants who lack mental capacity to make decisions – Tanfield Chambers

‘In Wychavon District Council v EM (HB) [2011] UKUT 144 (AAC), the claimant, who was profoundly physically and mentally disabled, appealed from a decision that she was not entitled to housing benefit in respect of the sums payable under a tenancy agreement which, in the space for the tenant’s signature, stated that she was “profoundly disabled and cannot communicate at all.”’

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Tanfield Chambers, 18th June 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Surveillance of MPs’ data challenged – BBC News

‘Three politicians will challenge the lawfulness of the intelligence services’ bulk interception of electronic data at a hearing later.’

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BBC News, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Proposal on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales – Ministry of Justice

Posted July 17th, 2015 in consultations, courts, tribunals by tracey

‘Proposal on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales.’

Full consultation

Ministry of Justice, 16th July 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Met police to face tribunal over decision to access Plebgate phone records – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police is being taken to court in a landmark case over its decision to secretly obtain journalists’ phone records in an attempt to identify the mole behind the Plebgate saga involving the then cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell.’

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The Guardian, 14th July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Council was entitled to refuse disclosure of planning documents, tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘The First-Tier Tribunal has dismissed an appeal and held that following a freedom of information request Aylesbury Vale District Council was entitled to refuse disclosure of correspondence between its solicitor and the planning department.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th July 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Bar regulator consults on reforms to the disciplinary tribunal system – Bar Standards Board

Posted July 8th, 2015 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, news, regulations, tribunals by sally

‘In an open consultation, launched today, the bar regulator is seeking views on proposals to reform the disciplinary tribunal system.’

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Bar Standards Board, 7th July 2015

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Regina (Detention Action) v First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and others – WLR Daily

Regina (Detention Action) v First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) and others [2015] EWHC 1689 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 267

‘The fast track rule regime in the Schedule to the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules 2014 was ultra vires.’

WLR Daily, 12th June 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

GCHQ spied on two human rights bodies – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 23rd, 2015 in data protection, human rights, intelligence services, news, tribunals by tracey

‘GCHQ spied on two human rights organisations, it has emerged, and breached its own internal policies in how it handled the information.’

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Daily Telegraph, 22nd June 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Good news and bad for challenges to ETS fraud decisions – Free Movement

Posted June 18th, 2015 in appeals, fraud, immigration, news, tribunals, visas by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal has given judgment in a test case on ETS appeals and judicial reviews: R (on the application of Gazi) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (ETS – judicial review) IJR [2015] UKUT 327 (IAC). It is essential reading for anyone directly affected by the ongoing ETS saga and for their legal representatives.’

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Free Movement, 18th June 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Upper Tribunal: Ocean Finance VAT arrangements could stand as not ‘wholly artificial’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 10th, 2015 in advertising, HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax avoidance, tribunals, VAT by sally

‘HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) should not look beyond the contractual arrangements that govern a company’s structure when establishing liability for VAT unless those arrangements do not reflect “economic and commercial reality”, a tribunal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

HCA International Ltd v Competition and Markets Authority – WLR Daily

Posted June 3rd, 2015 in appeals, bias, competition, law reports, tribunals by sally

HCA International Ltd v Competition and Markets Authority [2015] EWCA Civ 492; [2015] WLR (D) 221

‘The Court of Appeal gave guidance as to the appropriate principles to be applied by a court or tribunal, having quashed a decision by an administrative body, in deciding whether it should remit that decision to be remade by a freshly constituted decision-making body.’

WLR Daily 21st May 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Upper Tribunal decisions on Part 4 of SEN statements – Education Law Blog

Posted June 2nd, 2015 in education, news, special educational needs, tribunals by sally

‘First up, MA v Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (SEN) [2015] UKUT 0186 (AAC). In this judgment, the Upper Tribunal considers the legal status of an ASD unit within a mainstream school.’

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Education Law Blog, 31st May 2015

Source: www.education11kbw.com