Dad Elliott Appleyard who treated daughter as ‘wife’ jailed – BBC News
‘A father who repeatedly raped and abused his teenage daughter has been jailed for 20 years.’
BBC News, 25th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Closed judgments: security, accountability and court processes – UK Human Rights Blog
‘A new practice direction reveals some valuable progress in the management of closed judgments, but leaves uncertainty and, very worryingly, indicates that some judgments will be destroyed.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th January 2019
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Review proposes enhancements to Modern Slavery Act reporting – OUT-LAW.com
‘More clarity is needed over which organisations are required to comply with modern slavery reporting requirements, while the reports themselves need a consistent structure and far stronger enforcement, an independent review has recommended.’
OUT-LAW.com, 25th January 2019
Source: www.out-law.com
Lay users “must be at heart of court process”, says think tank – Litigation Futures
‘Greater efforts need to be made to put lay court users at the centre of the legal system so they understand the process, know what to expect, and can therefore participate fully, according to an influential justice think tank.’
Litigation Futures, 28th January 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Family courts next to test video hearings – Legal Futures
‘A test in the family courts will be the next step in exploring fully video hearings, against a backdrop of widespread concern about the technology among judges, it has emerged.’
Legal Futures, 28th January 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
No order for costs following withdrawn forfeiture application – UK Police Law Blog
‘In Bennett v Chief Constable of Merseyside [2018] EWHC 3591 (Admin), the High Court confirmed that a district judge was correct to make no order for costs against the police after it withdrew its Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’) s.298 application for cash forfeiture. In considering the decision of the district judge, the High Court reaffirmed three points: the starting point is that no order for costs should be made provided that the public authority has acted reasonably and properly; in determining whether the police acted reasonably and properly, the court should scrutinise the behaviour of the police with care; and it may be justifiable to award costs against the police, particularly where the successful private party would suffer substantial hardship if no order for costs were made in their favour.’
UK Police Law Blog, 27th January 2019
Source: ukpolicelawblog.com
Melania Trump: Telegraph apologises and pays damages – BBC News
‘The Daily Telegraph has apologised “unreservedly” to Melania Trump and agreed to pay her “substantial damages” for an article it published last week.’
BBC News, 26th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Half of magistrates courts in England and Wales closed since 2010 – The Guardian
‘More than half of all magistrates courts in England and Wales have closed since 2010, forcing defendants, witnesses, police, lawyers and justices of the peace to travel sometimes more than 50 miles to access local justice.’
The Guardian, 27th January 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Driver jailed after mother lost unborn baby in Somerton crash – BBC News
‘A driver who caused a crash in which a mother lost her unborn child has been jailed for more than three years.’
BBC News, 25th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Sports coach sexual relations law criticised over delay – BBC News
‘A proposed law to make it illegal for sports coaches to have sexual relations with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care has been “bogged down in bureaucracy”, an ex-sports minister has said.’
BBC News, 28th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Women still have to use their frozen eggs in 10 years – or lose them. Why? – The Guardian
‘The original legal time limit may have been related to technology, but that has changed now, and so should the law.’
The Guardian, 28th January 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Church statements on Bishop George Bell – Law & Religion UK
‘Today, 24 January 2019, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the National Safeguarding Team issued statements following a ruling by Timothy Briden, a senior ecclesiastical lawyer, relating to fresh information received about the late Bishop George Bell. The core group took the view that there were no safeguarding issues arising out of the fresh information and Mr Briden concluded that the allegations presented to him were unfounded.’
Law & Religion UK, 24th January 2019
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
HMRC statutory demand upheld against guarantor – OUT-LAW.com
‘The High Court in England has ruled that a statutory demand based on a judgment debt is valid, despite the judgment debt arising from a guarantee which prohibited the creditor from enforcing the guarantee in bankruptcy proceedings. The High Court also clarified that judgment interest and costs do not form part of the debt and can be enforced separately.’
OUT-LAW.com, 24th January 2019
Source: www.out-law.com
Court of Appeal quashes convictions for unlawfully obtaining personal data – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of a defendant for unlawfully obtaining personal data. At issue in Shepherd v The Information Commissioner [2019] EWCA Crim 2 was whether s.55 (2) of the Data Protection Act 1998 imposes a legal or evidential burden of proof on a defendant; and, if the former, whether the outcome is compatible with Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to a fair trial).’
Local Government Lawyer, 25th January 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Top judge urges family lawyers to curb late emails for sake of wellbeing – Legal Futures
‘Limits on how early or late lawyers can email each may be needed to avoid burn-out given the “remorseless” pressure the system is under, the president of the Family Division has suggested.’
Legal Futures, 25th January 2019
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Quan v Bray: Joint lives maintenance orders and deferred capital claims in financial remedy proceeding – Family Law
‘Antonia Barker, senior associate at Vardags, who acted for the wife in this case, comments on Quan v Bray, which involved long-running financial remedy proceedings in which the court made findings of gross litigation misconduct and that the husband had earning capacity that could be inferred.’
Family Law, 25th January 2019
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Gascoigne Halman Ltd v Agents’ Mutual Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 24 (24 January 2019)
Powell v Dacorum Borough Council [2019] EWCA Civ 23 (24 January 2019)
Asiweh v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2019] EWCA Civ 13 (23 January 2019)
High Court (Administrative Court)
British Transport Police v Police Appeals Tribunal [2019] EWHC 73 (Admin) (24 January 2019)
Maitland-Hudson v Solicitors Regulation Authority [2019] EWHC 67 (Admin) (24 January 2019)
Stannard v The Crown Prosecution Service [2019] EWHC 84 (Admin) (23 January 2019)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Northampton Borough Council v Cardoza & Ors [2019] EWHC 26 (Ch) (24 January 2019)
Punjab National Bank (International) Ltd v Srinivasan & Ors [2019] EWHC 89 (Ch) (24 January 2019)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Arcadia Group Ltd & Ors v Telegraph Media Group Ltd [2019] EWHC 96 (QB) (23 January 2019)
Source: www.bailii.org
Pregnant women to get more job protection – BBC News
‘Pregnant women and parents returning to work will receive greater protection from redundancy under new plans. The government proposes extending legal protection against redundancy for pregnant women for six months after they return to work.’
BBC News, 24th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
