‘Government plans to raise £300m by increasing probate fees – payable when claiming inheritances – may not be legally enforceable, a parliamentary committee has said. A report by the joint committee on statutory instruments has suggested that the Ministry of Justice may not have the authority to introduce the charges of up to £20,000 per estate.’
The Guardian, 6th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Rape victims are routinely denied compensation because they have convictions for minor offences such as failing to pay a TV licence, according to a new study.’
The Independent, 5th April 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Sir David Eady J delivered a judgment on 30 March in the case of Mohamed Ali Harrath v Stand for Peace Limited and Samuel Westrop [2017] EWHC 653 (QB) (available here) in which he held that a claimant is entitled to recover damages that exceed the statement of value included in the claim form.’
4 KBW, 30th March 2017
Source: www.4kbw.net
‘Black immigration officers struggled to pass promotion exams because the tests were racist, a court has heard. A group of 49 Home Office employees is now set to sue the Government over claims that the exams are discriminatory.’
Daily Telegraph, 5th April 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Experts, including employment lawyers, HR professionals and campaigners, are warning that the Government’s new rules on gender pay reporting won’t do enough to tackle considerable financial inequality still overshadowing a multitude of industries.’
The Independent, 5th April 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In the recent case of Global Asset Capital Inc and another v Aabar Block S.A.R.L and others [2017] EWCA Civ 37, the Court of Appeal held that the High Court was wrong to find that following a ‘subject to contract’ offer letter, a contract was concluded during a telephone call which was inconsistent with subsequent communications.’
4 KBW, 31st March 2017
Source: www.4kbw.net
‘In the 21st century commercial practitioners often approach the question of whether the court will hear evidence by video link as one of practicality. Questions they will commonly ask themselves include the following: will the witness be in London during the trial timetable? Will the witness be able to find time (and obtain consent from a current employer) to fly to London? Where physically could the video evidence be given and is that a suitable location? How sure can the court be that the witness is not receiving clandestine assistance “off-camera”? How secure is the video link and what is the sound and picture quality? Indeed in preparing a case that involves a number of witnesses who live and work overseas the possibility of live video evidence may well feature in trial preparation as a necessity rather than an option.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 27th March 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Every time we think the courts might have given defendants in adjudication enforcement proceedings slightly more latitude in raising their dissatisfaction with an adjudicator’s decision, the court brings us back down to earth with a bump and reminds us that, in fact, no matter how hard done by our clients feel, they will have to “pay now and argue later”, save in the rarest of cases.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 27th March 2017
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘S 43 Education (No. 2) Act 1986 (Freedom of speech in universities, polytechnics and colleges) requires “Every individual and body of persons concerned in the government” of further and higher education institutions to “take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured” for staff, students and visiting speakers. The institutions must ensure, “so far as is reasonably practicable”, that use of the premises is not denied to anyone on any ground connected with their beliefs, views, policy or objectives. On the other hand, the Prevent duty in s 26 Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 requires specified authorities – including relevant higher education bodies – to have due regard in the exercise of their functions to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism.’
Law & Religion UK, 5th April 2017
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
‘Eleven charities have been fined by the UK’s data watchdog for misusing information about millions of past donors to seek further funds.’
BBC News, 5th April 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collected an additional £705 million in tax from investigations into companies’ payroll taxes last year, almost half of which was collected from small or medium-sized businesses (SMEs), according to new figures.’
OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘By 2:1, the Administrative Court has dismissed the application of Mr Noel Conway for a declaration that s 2(1) of the Suicide Act 1961 breached his human rights under Articles 8(1) and 14 ECHR.’
Law & Religion UK, 3rd April 2017
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has rejected strenuous attempts to dismiss the first application to certify an opt-out class action under the new collective proceedings procedure.’
Litigation Futures, 5th April 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The likelihood of successfully challenging parking fines varies widely depending on where drivers get a ticket, research has shown.’
BBC News, 5th April 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Large UK employers will begin publishing their gender pay gaps over the coming months, based on the pay which their employees receive within the pay period in which today’s date falls.’
OUT-LAW.com, 5th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A practice where all public procurement claims are being marked on the court file as “private”, so that access to the court file in such cases is being routinely denied, is wrong in principle, the judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th April 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Revenge porn victims have complained police treated their abuser ‘like the victim’ after he was given police protection at court and was not sent to jail.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th April 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Men who inflict terrible violence on their partners are walking free from courts that treat their crimes lightly.’
The Guardian, 2nd April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘One cold, dull January morning (at about 8am) C and a friend, R, were riding their bicycles on a single carriageway road. They were both overtaking a stationary line of traffic on their nearside. There was an area of the road which had flooded and C cycled onto the opposing carriageway in an attempt to avoid a large puddle. In doing so, he collided with D’s car travelling on the opposite side of road. R had managed to cycle through the puddle and avoided going onto the opposing carriageway.’
Zenith PI Blog, 4th April 2017
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
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