Two win sickness benefit test legal challenge – BBC News

“Two people with mental health problems, who claimed the test for sickness benefit would discriminate against them, have won their legal challenge.”

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BBC News, 22nd May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Female police officer offered ‘pink gun’ wins £20K in compensation – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 21st, 2013 in compensation, firearms, news, police, pornography, sex discrimination, tribunals by sally

A female police firearms officer tricked into opening a filing cabinet full of porn and offered a “pink gun” as a weapon has been awarded £20,000 in compensation.

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 21st May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

When do the secular courts protect the rights of a minister of religion? When is a minister of religion called by God to a non-contractual relationship and when does she do her job under a contract? – Employment Law Blog

“The Supreme Court held in The President of the Methodist Conference v Preston that a Methodist minister was not an employee and therefore had no claim for unfair dismissal.”

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Employment Law Blog, 20th May 2013

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Workfare and the First-tier Tribunal – Panopticon

Posted May 21st, 2013 in employment, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

“Employment programmes for welfare recipients – often referred to as ‘workfare’ – are highly controversial. In Department for Work and Pensions v Information Commissioner and Zola (EA/2012/0207,0232 and 0233), the First-tier Tribunal considered three FOIA requests for information about companies participating in such programmes. The Tribunal ordered disclosure, rejecting the Department’s reliance on the exemptions in FOIA section 43(2) (prejudice to commercial interests) and section 36(2)(c) (prejudice to the effect conduct of public affairs).”

Full story

Panopticon, 20th May 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Workfare placements must be made public, tribunal rules – The Guardian

“The Department for Work and Pensions has lost a major court battle to keep the locations of thousands of workfare placements secret.”

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The Guardian, 19th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Night Shelters, dwellings and housing benefit – NearlyLegal

Posted May 20th, 2013 in benefits, homelessness, hotels, housing, local government, news, tribunals by sally

“This a late note on OR -v- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Isle of Anglesey CC [2013] UKUT 065 (AAC) because, bluntly, I had read it quickly at the time and overlooked its broader significance.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 19th May 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Abu Qatada launches fresh bid to be released from prison – The Independent

“Radical cleric Abu Qatada will launch a fresh bid for freedom today as he seeks to be released from prison at an immigration tribunal.”

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The Independent, 20th May 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regina (SM and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department(Coram Children’s Legal Centre intervening); Regina (SR and another) Same (Same intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted May 10th, 2013 in appeals, immigration, judicial review, law reports, tribunals by sally

Regina (SM and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department(Coram Children’s Legal Centre intervening); Regina (SR and another) Same (Same intervening) [2013] EWHC 1144 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 169

“The Home Office Discretionary Leave policy and instruction document (issued 27 October 2009) was not capable of being read and applied in a way which was compliant with section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 and the associated jurisprudence.”

WLR Daily, 8th May 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

EIR: when is information ‘held’? – Panopticon

“One of the issues which commonly arises for information law practitioners is the question, which arises under both FOIA and the EIR, of whether a public authority actually holds the information which has been requested. The leading case on section 1(1) FOIA is University of Newcastle v IC & British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection [2011] UKUT 185 (AAC), [2011] 2 Info LR 54 and substantially the same approach has been adopted in, for example, Keiller v IC and University of East Anglia [2012] 1 Info LR 128 and Clyne v IC & London Borough of Lambeth [2012] 2 Info LR 24 in relation to regulation 3(2) EIR. What is required is a common-sense and non-technical approach. That, of course, is easier stated than applied.”

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Panopticon, 7th May 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Who “holds” the working papers of the Climategate inquiry? – UK Human Rights Blog

“In 2009 someone hacked into e-mails belonging to the Climate Research Unit at UEA and leaked them widely. Climate change sceptics whooped with delight because they thought that the e-mails showed attempts to suppress or gerrymander climate data (see e.g. this example from James Delingpole with some of the ticklish e-mails, and for more background, less tendentiously put, my post on an earlier UEA case). And the CRU data was important; it had made its way into the highly influential IPCC reports.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 7th May 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Parental choice of mainstream education – Education Law Blog

“In Harrow Council v AM [2013] UKUT 0157 (AAC), the Upper Tribunal considered a local authority’s obligations where a parent chose mainstream education for a child with complex special educational needs. The decision also discusses two important procedural issues, namely when a First-tier Tribunal can rely on its own knowledge without seeking views from the parties and its powers on review.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 6th May 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Daejan Investment Limited v Benson et al [2013] UKSC 14 – Zenith Chambers

Posted April 23rd, 2013 in consultations, landlord & tenant, news, Supreme Court, tribunals, valuation by sally

“This important case deals with the approach a leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) should take in relation to applications for dispensation from complying with the consultation requirements.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 23rd April 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Regina (Jones) v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) – WLR Daily

Regina (Jones) v First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber): [2013] UKSC 19;   [2013] WLR (D)  142

“Where a tribunal found that a person who had committed suicide had been reckless as to whether his action would also cause injury to some other person, and it had in fact done so an offence of inflicting grievous bodily harm contrary to section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 had been committed which was a ‘crime of violence’ entitling that other person to claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. However, the question as to what the offender had actually foreseen was for the First-tier Tribunal to answer, not an appellate court, which should not readily intervene in issues best left for determination by specialist appellate tribunals by classifying them as issues of law.”

WLR Daily, 17th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Simplified court fee waivers to save taxpayers £7m – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 19th, 2013 in consultations, courts, fees, press releases, tribunals by tracey

“A consultation published today sets out proposals for fee remissions (waivers) for courts and tribunals which are better targeted, fairer for the taxpayer and easy for users to understand.”

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 18th April 2013

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

M25 suicide case demonstrates limits of court of appeal – The Guardian

“Supreme court’s backing of initial tribunal reaffirms principle that suicidal people may not realise full effects of their actions.”

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The Guardian, 18th April 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fee remissions for the courts and tribunals – Ministry of Justice

Posted April 18th, 2013 in consultations, courts, fees, news, tribunals by sally

“This consultation paper sets our proposals for reform of the fee remissions system, which ensures that access to justice is maintained for those individuals on lower incomes who would otherwise have difficultly paying a fee to use court or tribunal services.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 18th April 2013

Source: www.justice.gov.uk

Jones (by Caldwell) (Respondent) v First Tier Tribunal (Respondent) and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (Appellant) – Supreme Court

Jones (by Caldwell) (Respondent) v First Tier Tribunal (Respondent) and Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (Appellant) [2013] UKSC 19 | UKSC 2011/0123 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 17th April 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

Stamp duty land tax sub-sale relief scheme failed because a novation was not a transfer of rights, according to Tribunal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 10th, 2013 in contracts, news, stamp duty, tax avoidance, tribunals by sally

A scheme to avoid stamp duty land tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a London house, involving a novation of a contract, failed because SDLT sub-sale relief was only available where there was a transfer of rights and a novation was not a transfer of rights, according to a decision of the First Tier Tax Tribunal.

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th April 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Gay? Prove it then – have you read any Oscar Wilde?’: Judges accused of asking lesbian asylum seekers inappropriate questions – The Independent

“Have you ever read Oscar Wilde? Do you use sex toys? Why have you not attended a Pride march? These are just some of the questions that have been asked of lesbian asylum seekers in what one academic says shows shocking levels of ignorance and prejudice among tribunal judges.”

Full story

The Independent, 4th April 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Albion v Dwr Cymru: Incompetence and counterfactuals – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted April 2nd, 2013 in appeals, competition, damages, news, tribunals, water companies by sally

“The Competition Appeal Tribunal today delivered that rarest of beasts: a judgment awarding damages in a follow-on claim. After its decade-long fight, Albion Water has been awarded around £2 million for Dŵr Cymru’s abuse of dominant position in relation to the price it was prepared to charge Albion for the use of its water pipes.”

Full story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 28th March 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com