Homicide rate in England and Wales highest since 2008 – The Guardian
‘The murder and manslaughter rate in England and Wales has risen to the highest in a decade, official figures show.’
The Guardian, 18th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Drunk’ women face harsher sentences than men, research claims – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Women are twice as likely as men to receive harsher sentences for assault offences when alcohol is a contributory factor, according to a new study.’
Law Society's Gazette, 19th October 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Home Office ordered to pay damages to sex-trafficking victim – The Guardian
‘A woman who was trafficked into Britain for prostitution and later locked up in an immigration centre is entitled to substantial damages from the Home Office for unlawful detention, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 18th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
SRA prosecutes solicitor for second time over same case – Legal Futures
‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is taking the unusual step of prosecuting a solicitor for the second time over the same issue.’
Legal Futures, 19th October 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Research launched to assess whether biased advice is distorting access to justice – Family Law
‘A new research project will examine whether vulnerable people representing themselves in child court cases find themselves and their children put at risk by misinformed or biased online legal advice.’
Family Law, 18th October 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Fred and Rosemary West of Barry’ jailed for abusing girls – The Guardian
‘A husband and wife nicknamed Fred and Rosemary West in their south Wales town have been jailed for grooming and raping teenage girls over three decades.’
The Guardian, 18th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Anurag Deb and Conor McCormick: Lee v Ashers: A Recipe for Jurisdictional Confusion? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘On 10 October 2018, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd [2018] UKSC 49, sparking much debate and commentary. The judgment is legally important for how it conceptualises freedom of expression, and for the surprising evidence of judicial overreaching it contains. Given that others have already considered the former issue in some depth (see Chandrachud and Rowbottom on this blog alone), we focus on the latter in this post.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th October 2018
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
MPs call for review of ‘patchwork’ laws on dangerous dogs – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A patchwork of dog control laws, including some that date back 150 years, is causing unnecessary confusion about liability, MPs have warned. The House of Commons select committee on environment, food and rural affairs has told the government to consolidate the ‘disparate pieces’ of legislation into a ‘single coherent’ Dog Control Act.’
Law Society's Gazette, 17th October 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Feed-in Tariffs and Contracts for Difference (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
The Chemical Weapons (Asset-Freezing) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2018
The Environmental Noise (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
The Social Security (Updating of EU References) (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2018
The Social Security (Updating of EU References) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
The Public Lending Right Scheme 1982 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
Highway Code to promote ‘Dutch reach’ to protect cyclists – The Guardian
‘Measures to protect cyclists are to be introduced in the Highway Code, including a new recommendation on how to get out of a vehicle without “dooring” a passing rider.’
The Guardian, 18th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
UK government reveals transition from EU to UK law for financial instruments – OUT-LAW.com
‘The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be given a set of temporary powers giving it flexibility over the operation of the transparency regime for the EU’s second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) after Brexit.’
OUT-LAW.com, 16th October 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
Land Registry aims for first digital property transfer – Legal Futures
‘The Land Registry has set itself the target of completing the first fully digital transfer of a property in the coming year to prove the value of smart contracts.’
Legal Futures, 17th October 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Munby troubled by Court of Protection cases being ‘transferred up’ – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Desperate parents are persuading less senior judges to transfer Court of Protection cases higher to force public authorities to act – a practice that the former president of the family division finds ‘deeply troubling’.’
Law Society's Gazette, 16th October 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Supreme Court
Warner v Scapa Flow Charters (Scotland) [2018] UKSC 52 (17 October 2018)
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Apple Retail UK Ltd & Ors v Qualcomm (UK) Ltd & Ors [2018] EWHC 2711 (Ch) (16 October 2018)
Quinn v IG Index Ltd [2018] EWHC 2478 (Ch) (12 October 2018)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Bates v The Post Office No.2 (strike out application) [2018] EWHC 2698 (QB) (17 October 2018)
Source: www.bailii.org
Fracking protesters walk free after court quashes ‘excessive’ sentences – The Guardian
‘Three protesters jailed for blocking access to a fracking site have walked free after the court of appeal quashed their sentences, calling them “manifestly excessive”.’
The Guardian, 17th October 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Duty to care for student mental health has legal implications for universities – OUT-LAW.com
‘Universities have a duty to support students with mental health issues, but there are a series of legal issues that they need to consider which should shape how they do so.’
OUT-LAW.com, 17th October 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
Split Court of Appeal rules detention of asylum seekers unlawful — Part 1 – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The Court of Appeal has concluded, by a 2-1 majority, that the detention of five asylum seekers pending their removal to another country where they should first have claimed asylum had been unlawful, and that they were entitled to damages. This article (the first of two) will unpick the reasons behind this legally complex appeal.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 17th October 2018
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Short Cuts – London Review of Books
‘If you want to appeal against a guilty verdict given by a crown court jury you first have to seek permission from the Court of Appeal. For permission to be granted, a judge has to be satisfied there is an ‘arguable case’ that the conviction was ‘unsafe’. If so, the appeal is heard in full by a panel of three judges. The latest figures show that in 2016-17 the court received 1305 applications for permission to appeal, and dealt with 850, refusing permission to 695 (82 per cent). It heard 215 appeals, and allowed 78 – 36 per cent of those heard.’
London Review of Books, 11th October 2018
Source: www.lrb.co.uk
