‘HHJ Everett DL sitting in Chester Crown Court has ordered the HSE to pay total Defence costs of £587,382.76 pursuant to s.19(1) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 and Regulation 3 of the Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986 on the basis that the fact and manner in which the prosecution was brought constituted an unnecessary or improper act or omission by the HSE. Counsel were instructed by Richard Crockford of FSW Law (formerly of Clyde & Co).’

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Henderson Chambers, 15th May 2025

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

The Law Commission last week produced its final report on its consultation on the law of wills – the first comprehensive review of the law in this area in nearly 200 years. The project has been an ambitious and lengthy undertaking and proposes to modernise the law in a significant way. The accompanying Bill, if enacted, would aim to do following:

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Farrar's Building, 19th May 2025

Source: www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk

‘New sentencing guidelines came into force on the 1 st of April 2025 for the offence of Blackmail. This followed research into judges’ sentencing remarks, and small-scale qualitative research to gauge how the guidelines would work in practice.’

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Devon Chambers, May 2025

Source: devonchambers.co.uk

‘The Sentencing Children and Young People guideline is now a widely utilised mechanism for approaching youth offenders. However, this guideline is also essential to consider when an adult is being tried for historic sex offences, carried out in his or her childhood. In approaching sentence for these individuals, counsel must consider the overarching Sentencing Children and Young People guideline and review useful authorities offering guidance on how to address historic offending perpetrated when the Defendant was a youth.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 21st May 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

‘This blog provides a brief overview of orders that can be made under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989. It will then consider prohibited steps orders in greater detail – what they are, what they can do, what they can’t do and who can apply for one.’

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Five Pump Court Chambers, 20th May 2025

Source: www.5pumpcourt.com

‘In 56 Westbourne Terrace RTM Company Limited v Polturak and Ors [2025] UKUT 88 (LC), the Upper Tribunal provided much needed guidance on the approach to be taken when determining applications for a lease variation under section 35, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 19th May 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘The High Court has provided important clarification on the circumstances in which Article 2 of the ECHR is automatically engaged following a death involving police contact.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 16th May 2025

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

‘The Court of Appeal in Canatar [2025] EWCA Crim 611 exposed a series of procedural irregularities where Crown Court judges had exercised powers reserved to the Magistrates’ Court. Lord Justice Lewis’ judgment serves as a cautionary tale on the proper boundaries between judicial roles in our layered court system.’

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Mountford Chambers, 21st May 2025

Source: www.mountfordchambers.com

‘Britain’s ailing courts system now has trials scheduled to open no sooner than 2029 – almost four years away – as the government struggles to tackle the lengthening backlog of cases, The Independent can reveal.’

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The Independent, 21st May 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘If you record a meeting or conversation about your children, without people being aware you’re recording them, can you then produce and rely on that recording as part of your evidence to a family court?’

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Transparency Project, 22nd May 2025

Source: transparencyproject.org.uk

‘Leading experts on the use of chemical castration for managing sexual offenders have said they would refuse to be part of any programme in the UK that makes the intervention compulsory.’

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The Guaridan, 22nd May 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Enfield Council has successfully appealed against a district judge’s decision to quash a noise abatement notice issued pursuant to section 80(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 over the “production of noisy music”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘An official report on the deaths and unexplained collapses of babies at a hospital where nurse Lucy Letby worked will be published early next year, months later than originally planned.’

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The Guardian, 22nd May 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Plans to allow thousands more criminals in England and Wales to serve their sentence in the community risk “catastrophic consequences” unless the Probation Service is overhauled, a watchdog has told the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 21st May 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Complex accountability arrangements and limited information on the biggest causes of delays in care proceedings make it difficult to target improvements to where they will have best effect, the National Audit Office has warned.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st May 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘HHJ Tindal (sitting as a Judge of the High Court) dismissed a claim by a leaseholder based upon allegedly negligent advice given to her in connection with forfeiture proceedings in 2012–13. Her claim was advanced against the law clinic and barrister who represented her in those forfeiture proceedings.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 19th May 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, is considering mandatory chemical castration for the most serious sex offenders, according to government sources.’

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The Guardian, 22nd May 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘In a judgment handed down on 20 May 2025, Dove J has affirmed the decision of the Secretaries of State for Transport and for Levelling-Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government that works associated with an extended Bromford Tunnel are authorised by and enjoy the benefit of deemed planning permission under the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act 2017.’

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Landmark Chambers, 21st May 2025

Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk

‘This judgment serves as a sobering reminder that decisions about life and death are not purely medical. They are, at their core, human judgments—rooted in respect for the individual’s voice, their beliefs, and their dignity as they define it.’

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Park Square Barristers, 20th May 2025

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk