MoD pays out £100,000 to female RAF recruits injured from marching in step with the men – The Independent

Posted November 25th, 2013 in armed forces, compensation, news, personal injuries, women by tracey

‘Three female RAF recruits have each been given £100,000 by the Ministry of Defence after incurring injuries from marching in step with their male colleagues.’

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The Independent, 24th November 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

London slaves: the day they escaped suburban ‘jail’ after 30 years – Daily Telgraph

Posted November 22nd, 2013 in news, trafficking in human beings, women by tracey

‘It was, in the words of one charity boss, “just an ordinary house in an ordinary street”. Yet behind its doors, unbeknown to neighbours going about their daily lives, the elderly home owners were allegedly keeping three women as slaves in conditions that belonged to the pre-Victorian age.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Podcast 224: Dexter Dias QC on female genital mutilation and human rights – Charon QC

Posted November 21st, 2013 in barristers, crime, female genital mutilation, human rights, news, prisons, women by sally

“Dexter Dias QC talks to me about the legal and moral issues involved in female genital mutilation and the increasing prison population in the USA and UK.”

Podcast

Charon QC, 20th November 2013

Source: www.charonqc.wordpress.com

“Charon QC” is the blogging pseudonym of Mike Semple Piggot, editor of insitelaw newswire.

Dress Codes And Discrimination Claims – No. 5 Chambers

“Dress codes in the workplace are not uncommon. Most Employers have a certain standard of dress in the workplace, whether enforced through contractual terms or through customary practices. More recently, we have seen informal advice given by senior solicitors to new female recruits at Berwin Leighton. The advice was addressed specifically at women.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 7th November 2013

Source: www.no5.com

High Court rejects benefit cap claims – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 19th, 2013 in benefits, families, news, social security, women by sally

“The High Court has rejected claims for a judicial review of the so-called ‘benefit cap’. Its judgment brings to an end – for the time being at least – speculation about the lawfulness of one of the Government’s most controversial welfare reforms and comes just months after the High Court rejected similar claims for a judicial review of the Social Sector Size Criteria, or so-called ‘bedroom tax’.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 6th November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Niqabs in the witness box: yes or no? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 8th, 2013 in criminal justice, freedom of expression, juries, news, witnesses, women by tracey

“Niqab-wearing defendants should be obliged to remove their veils before giving evidence say 90% of my colleagues in a poll conducted by the Bar Council for The Times (although personally I’d like to see what the participation rate was for that). Former justice secretary, Ken Clarke, agrees, likening wearing a full-face veil in the witness box to giving evidence ‘in a bag’. The Lord Chief Justice says that trial judges should be able to decide whether a defendant may give evidence wearing a face-veil or not, but promises to provide guidance.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th November 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Lord Chief Justice: public should decide if Islamic veil should be allowed in court – Daily Telegraph

“The most senior judge in England and Wales says a public consultation will open on the ‘divisive’ subject soon.”

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Daily Telegraph, 5th November 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lord Chief Justice suggests using Skype and FaceTime in courts – The Independent

“Video-call technology such as Skype and FaceTime could be used to allow criminal defendants to take part in court hearings from home, the most senior judge in England and Wales has said. In his first press conference, the new Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, said the use of such applications could reduce the cost of hearings held in the run up to a trial.”

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The Independent, 5th November 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Vicky Pryce: ‘Prison clearly does not work’ – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2013 in costs, families, news, prisons, women by michael

“Fresh from jail, the economist and author of Prisonomics explains why the system costs too much, locks up the wrong people and does not prevent reoffending.”

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The Guardian, 29th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ombudsman could rule on Church of England disputes – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 28th, 2013 in Church of England, clergy, complaints, equality, news, ombudsmen, women by sally

“Church of England proposes setting up an ombudsman to handle complaints arising from the introduction of women bishops.”

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Daily Telegraph, 25th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Jailed women will serve their sentences closer to home – The Independent

Posted October 25th, 2013 in imprisonment, news, prisons, rehabilitation, sentencing, women by sally

“Women prisoners will be held as close to their homes as possible and guaranteed help to return to the outside world under measures to be announced today to break the cycle of female offending.”

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The Independent, 25th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Richard Cornes: 11-1 gender ratio Court’s Achilles Heel: Reporting of the Supreme Court’s start of the year press briefing – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted October 16th, 2013 in diversity, human rights, Islam, media, news, Supreme Court, women by sally

“On October 2 at 10am, the United Kingdom Supreme Court held an hour long pre-term press-briefing to mark the opening of the Court’s fifth year. This blog looks not only at what was said by the Court, and asked by the journalists on the day, but also what was then reported.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 16th October 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

JAC seeks first part-time High Court judge – Litigation Futures

“The first part-time High Court judge could start sitting next year after the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) launched a competition that allows candidates to work under flexible arrangements.”

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Litigation Futures, 15th October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Women sharing prison vans with men ‘exposed to abuse’ – BBC News

Posted October 15th, 2013 in news, prisons, reports, women by sally

“Private contractors exposed women prisoners at HMP Holloway to ‘intimidation and abuse’ by forcing them to travel in escort vans with male inmates, an inspection found.”

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BBC News, 15th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Nine in 10 walk free for first violent crime – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 14th, 2013 in community service, news, sentencing, statistics, violent offenders, women by sally

“The majority of people convicted for the first time of violent crime are walking free, new figures show.”

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Daily Telegraph, 12th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Robin Thicke advert ruled ‘too sexual’ for early showing – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in advertising, children, complaints, media, news, video recordings, women by sally

“An advert featuring singer Robin Thicke performing his number one hit Blurred Lines must not be shown before 19:30 as it is too sexual, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said.”

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BBC News, 9th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Neuberger urges government caution over judicial review reform – Litigation Futures

Posted October 3rd, 2013 in diversity, judges, judicial review, judiciary, news, women by sally

“The president of the Supreme Court has urged the government to tread very carefully when considering whether to restrict the ability of people to bring judicial reviews.”

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Litigation Futures, 3rd October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Tory ECHR Withdrawal, Prisoner Cold Turkey & Niqabs Again – The Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 2nd, 2013 in court dress, human rights, Islam, news, prisons, smoking, women by tracey

“This week the Conservative Party Conference is likely to generate human rights headlines. Meanwhile, previous controversies still bubble away. Chris Grayling, taking a break from legal aid cuts, offered his opinion on the Europe debate. Meanwhile, others considered the role of transparency, demeanour, religious freedom and niqabs in the courts, and, with the proposed smoking ban in prisons, smokers may have found another reason not to break the law.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th September 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Balancing the Niqab in the Courtroom on the Head of a Pin: the Case of D(R) – The Barristers’ Hub

Posted October 1st, 2013 in courts, evidence, freedom of expression, Islam, news, women by sally

“Professor Susan Edwards, following recent judicial guidance and debate on the wearing of the niqab, provides both expert and legal opinion on the issue.”

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The Barristers’ Hub, 1st October 2013

Source: www.barristershub.co.uk

Niqab court ruling: a classic exercise in reasonableness – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

“In 1894 Edward Marshall Hall KC defended the Austrian-born prostitute Marie Hermann, charged with the murder of a client whose body she hid in a trunk. The jury acquitted of murder and convicted of manslaughter after what has become his most famous jury speech ending with, ‘Look at her, gentlemen of the jury, look at her. God never gave her a chance, won’t you?’ The personalities may have changed and the language less flowery but the basic principle of a jury trial is the same – we judge our peers on the evidence and that is the evidence presented in court. This includes our assessment of other human beings, not just what they say but how they say it.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th September 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk