Renault’s YouTube ad banned for ‘portraying women as sexual objects’ – The Guardian

Posted July 17th, 2013 in advertising, complaints, news, ombudsmen, women by sally

“The advertising watchdog has banned a Renault advert featuring scantily-clad dancers, ruling that it objectified women.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Choice of Sir John Thomas as lord chief justice sees tradition prevail – The Guardian

Posted July 16th, 2013 in judges, judicial appointments commission, judiciary, news, women by sally

“Non-selection of Lady Justice Hallett shows panel was not swayed by idea that it would be good to have a woman at the top.”

Full story

The Guardian, 15th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Women offenders ‘afterthought’ in rehabilitation plans – BBC News

“Women offenders are being ignored in plans to overhaul rehabilitation services, a committee of MPs has said.”

Full story

BBC News, 15th July 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Too many women prisoners, MPs say – The Independent

“The Government is ignoring the needs of women offenders with its probation reforms, a group of MPs has warned.”

Full story

The Independent, 15th July 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Women being imprisoned unnecessarily, reformers say – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 10th, 2013 in imprisonment, magistrates, news, sentencing, women by sally

“Magistrates’ courts are sending fewer women to prison than in previous years but some courts are four times more likely to jail women than others, according to figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 9th July 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Treatment of women in British courts varies widely – The Guardian

Posted July 9th, 2013 in bills, criminal justice, detention, magistrates, news, sentencing, women by sally

“Some magistrates’ courts are four times more likely to send women to prison than others, according to figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform.”

Full story

The Guardian, 9th July 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judicial Appointments Commission performance in improving judicial diversity regarding women and BAME candidates: evidence pack – Judicial Appointments Commission

“This evidence-pack reports on the diversity of recommendations made by the JAC along gender and ethnicity for the court and tribunal judiciary. It compares this diversity against different standards, including the eligible pool and recommendations made prior to the formation of the JAC. It also looks at the change in diversity among the sitting judiciary since the formation of the JAC and shows how much work there is left to do before we have a truly representative judiciary.”

Evidence pack (Powerpoint)

Judicial Appointments Commission, 13th June 2013

Source: www.jac.judiciary.gov.uk

The sexual behaviour of undercover police fits the definition of rape – The Guardian

Posted June 28th, 2013 in consent, deceit, investigatory powers, news, police, rape, women by tracey

“The case law shows that undercover police officers who slept with protesters are on dangerous legal ground.”

Full story

The Guardian, 28th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Riežniece v Zemkopības ministrija and another – WLR Daily

Posted June 25th, 2013 in EC law, employment, law reports, parental rights, sex discrimination, women by sally

Riežniece v Zemkopības ministrija and another (Case C-7/12); [2013] WLR (D) 247

“In circumstances where a much higher number of women than men took parental leave, Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 (as amended) and the Framework Agreement on Parental Leave, contained in the Annex to Council Direction 96/34/EC precluded a situation where (1) as part of an assessment of workers in the context of abolishment of officials’ posts due to national economic difficulties, a worker who had taken parental leave was assessed in his or her absence on the basis of assessment principles and criteria which placed the worker who had taken leave in a less favourable position compared to workers who did not take parental leave; and (2) a female worker who had been transferred to another post at the end of her parental leave following that assessment was dismissed due to the abolishment of that new post, where it was not impossible for the employer to allow her to return to her former post or where the work assigned to her was not equivalent or similar and consistent with her employment contract or employment relationship because, at the time of the transfer, the employer was informed that the new post was due to be abolished.”

WLR Daily, 20th June 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

UNISON applies for judicial review of employment tribunal fees – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 25th, 2013 in employment tribunals, judicial review, news, trade unions, tribunals, women by sally

“UNISON has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to introduce employment tribunal fees from the end of next month, it has announced.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 25th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Lady Hale becomes most senior female judge in British legal history – The Guardian

Posted June 24th, 2013 in diversity, judges, news, Supreme Court, women by sally

“Lady Hale has become the most senior female judge in British legal history with her appointment as deputy president of the UK’s supreme court.”

Full story

The Guardian, 24th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Help us unmask more violent men, police urge women after low take-up of ‘Clare’s Law’ scheme – The Independent

Posted June 24th, 2013 in domestic violence, news, pilot schemes, police, statistics, women by sally

“Women worried about potentially violent partners are being urged to contact the police following the low take-up of a scheme designed to reveal the histories of domestic abusers.”

Full story

The Independent, 24th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The Neuberger Experiment – BBC Law in Action

Posted June 19th, 2013 in equality, judiciary, news, women by sally

“There are 12 judges in the Supreme Court and only one, Lady Hale, is a woman. Last March on Law in Action, Lord Neuberger – the president of the court – told us it was unfair that there are so few women in the senior judiciary. But, he wondered, do women judge differently from men?

Lord Neuberger wasn’t sure – and he set us a little challenge, one we have called the ‘Neuberger Experiment’. With the help of law students at Durham University, we attempt to discover whether male and female judges really do judge differently. Then we put our findings to Lady Hale.”

Listen

BBC Law in Action, 18th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Part-time partners: why the legal profession is changing – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2013 in law firms, legal profession, news, part-time work, partnerships, women by sally

“Only 9.4% of equity partners in law firms are women, despite equal numbers of men and women entering the profession.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Why are vulnerable women still being jailed? – The Guardian

Posted June 17th, 2013 in inquests, mental health, news, prisons, suicide, women by sally

“Suicide case highlights dangers of unsafe prisons, say campaigners.”

Full story

The Guardian, 16th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal aid cuts will deny vulnerable women justice – The Guardian

“Campaigners warn that proposals to slash the legal aid budget will price trafficked women and victims of domestic violence out of the justice system.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Helen Fenwick: Article 8 ECHR, the ‘Feminist Article’, Women and a Conservative Bill of Rights – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted June 6th, 2013 in bills, courts, families, human rights, news, reports, women by sally

“There has been a lot of commentary on the Report of the Bill of Rights’ Commission, and the ‘damp squib’ analysis of the Report (see Mark Elliott) as a whole is one most commentators appear to assent to (see eg Joshua Rozenberg for the Guardian here). My view in general is that the squib could reignite post-2015 if a Conservative government is elected, not in relation to the very hesitant ideas as to the possible future content of a Bill of Rights that the Report put forward, but in relation to its majority recommendation that there should be one (see further my previous post on the Commission Report here). If a BoR was to emerge under a Conservative government post-2015 I suggest that it would reflect the ideas of the Conservative nominees on the Commission which assumed a far more concrete form in the Report than the majority recommendations did (eg see here at p 192). This blog post due to its length is not intended to examine the probable nature of such a BoR based on those ideas in general, but to focus only on two aspects: the idea of curtailing the effects of an equivalent to Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private and family life), and of requiring domestic courts to disapply Strasbourg jurisprudence under a BoR in a wider range of situations than at present under s2HRA (see Roger Masterman’s post on s2 on this blog here). In respect of the latter issue the potential impact of so doing will only be linked to selected aspects of Article 8 jurisprudence of especial actual and potential benefit to women.”

Full story

UK Constitutional Law Group, 5th June 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Pamela Anderson TV ad banned for being ‘sexist and degrading to women’ – The Guardian

Posted June 5th, 2013 in advertising, complaints, news, ombudsmen, women by sally

“A raunchy TV ad featuring ex-Baywatch star Pamela Anderson has been banned for being sexist and degrading to women.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Law firms have ‘unconscious bias’ that stops women from getting promoted, says senior City lawyer – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 28th, 2013 in employment, equality, law firms, news, sex discrimination, women by sally

“As Lady Justice Hallett, a senior woman judge, warns the ‘frenetic’ pace of life holds women back, a leading lawyer and diversity consultant to the top legal institutions says there is an ‘unconscious bias’ against women in the legal profession.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Succession to the Crown Act 2013 – legislation.gov.uk

Full text of Act

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk