Jehovah’s Witnesses lose appeal to block New Moston inquiry – Law & Religion UK
‘In Tayo & Ors (Trustees of Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses) v Charity Commission for England and Wales [2017] UKUT 134 (TCC), the trustees of Manchester New Moston Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses lost their appeal against the First Tier Tribunal’s refusal in 2015 – which we noted at the time – to review the Charity Commission’s decision to open a statutory inquiry into the charity under s 46 Charities Act 2011.’
Law & Religion UK, 5th April 2017
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
Tribunal judge overturns listing of allotment site as an asset of community value – OUT-LAW.com
‘A tribunal has overturned the listing of an allotment site in Lancashire as an asset of community value (ACV), on the grounds that nearby housing development makes it “highly unrealistic” that the site will ever be used as allotments again.’
OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
Man who torched dream home after row with building society is jailed – The Guardian
‘A man who set fire to his dream rural retreat after a bitter dispute with a building society was found strumming a guitar and cooking on a barbecue next to the burning building by firefighters who arrived to help.’
The Guardian, 10th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Somebody else’s money – Nearly Legal
‘Ms Oliver was the long leaseholder in a block of flats on the Lansdowne Estate, which was owned by the Council. The Council carried out city wide major works, which included works on the Lansdown Estate. Some of the works were eligible for a contribution from a commercial energy company as part of the Community Energy Savings Programme (“CESP”). In total 15 of the 25 blocks on the Lansdowne Estate were eligible to receive CESP funding. The contribution to Ms Oliver’s block was £43,570.44. The Council decided not to pass the CESP directly to the leaseholders as a set off against their service charge contributions. Rather, the Council decided to attribute the money to the funding of works to its city-wide housing stock. The effect of this was that every leaseholder’s service charge was reduced irrespective of whether their block had been entitled to CESP funding.’
Nearly Legal, 10th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Court of Appeal warns judges against interrupting witness evidence too much – Litigation Futures
‘The Chancellor of the High Court has urged judges to “temper eagerness with restraint” in the way they conduct trials, after a circuit judge was found to have made excessive interventions while witnesses were giving evidence.’
Litigation Futures, 10th April 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Shared legal service terminated after requirements of partner councils change – Local Government Lawyer
‘The shared legal service between Spelthorne Borough Council and Reigate & Banstead Borough Council came to an end last month after three years, it has emerged.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th April 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Blood contamination tore my family apart’ – BBC News
‘Thousands of people with haemophilia were infected with HIV and hepatitis as a result of NHS treatments in the 1970s and 80s. But their families are still seeking a public inquiry into the scandal.’
BBC News, 10th April 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
BREXIT: Banks told to show Brexit plans to PRA – OUT-LAW.com
‘The Bank of England has written to UK financial services firms asking them to send a summary of their contingency plans for Brexit to the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) by July.’
OUT-LAW.com, 10th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
Cuts to legal aid for prisoners ruled unlawful – The Guardian
‘The government has lost a key court of appeal battle over access to legal aid for prisoners in a ruling that campaigners have called a groundbreaking victory.’
The Guardian, 10th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
EVENT: Gresham College – Expert Witnesses: A Zero-Sum Game?
‘The use of experts in the family courts can make a significant difference to outcomes. The debate about the use of experts in court cases reflects the conflicted stance society takes on the emotive issue of child protection. It is a gross injustice to the child and parent for social workers, backed by ‘expert’ opinion, to wrongly remove children but it is equally unacceptable for vulnerable children to be left at home to suffer abuse.’
Date: 12th April 2017, 6.00-7.00pm
Location: Barnard’s Inn Hall
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
Whistleblowing: Would you blow the whistle on your boss? What protections do you get? – The Independent
‘Some people may prefer the quiet life choosing not to rock the boat unless they really have to. Others could feel that the only correct thing to do is to spill the beans.’
The Independent, 10th April 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Death at immigration detention centre comes under investigation – The Guardian
‘An investigation has been launched into the death of a 43-year-old man in an immigration removal centre on Sunday, the Home Office has confirmed.’
The Guardian, 10th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Drink-driver who crashed with son in car jailed – The Guardian
‘A drink-driver who smashed into a concrete roundabout island and launched her car 14ft into the air while her child was in the back has been jailed.’
The Guardian, 10th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
EVENT: UCL – Dangerous Speech
‘Freedom of expression is once again under fire. We live in an era in which YouTube clips can inspire hatred and terrorism thousands of miles away from their creators; in which “fake news” and internet echo chambers hijack public deliberation; and in which universities that suppress illiberal speech are condemned as illiberal themselves. This day-long philosophical conversation will interrogate how we should defend, or otherwise qualify, the ideal of free speech in the face of the charge that it objectionably protects dangerous expression.’
Date: 12th May 2017, 9.00am-6.00pm
Location: UCL Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
Charge: free, registration required
More information can be found here.
EVENT: UCL – FinTech and the Law
‘Less than a decade after the Financial Crisis, innovations in finance have radically reshaped the modern economy. The rapid application of technology, big data and algorithms on banking, lending and investing has led to the emergence of a new industry, the so-called FinTech industry. FinTech companies compete in the marketplace of traditional financial institutions and intermediaries in the delivery of financial services. Furthermore, the rise of peer-to-peer lending platforms and solutions over social networks and email as well as robo-advice challenge the traditional banking model and more generally the financial services industry.’
Date: 24th April 2017, 3.00-7.00pm
Location: UCL Events Pavillion, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT
Charge: See website for details
More information can be found here.
EVENT: Birkbeck – Relationships Beyond the Couple: Queering Family Law
‘Family laws around the world generally confine the legal recognition of voluntary relationships between adults to formations fitting the mould of the ‘Sexual Family’: a cohabiting sexual couple not related by blood or law. Personal life nonetheless comprises various queer formations which do not meet the standards of cohabitation (e.g. LAT-relationships, friendship), dyad (e.g. polyamory) or sexuality (e.g. co-housing of related or unrelated adults). Those formations remain invisible before the law and are not recognized substantively or symbolically. Whereas queer approaches have been proposed from both social theoretical, empirical and legal perspectives, those proposals generally remain empirically uninformed on the legal consciousness, practices and expectations of the adults concerned. Possible socio-legal methods strategies to gain insight in, and theorize on, the desirable legal protection beyond the couple will be discussed during this seminar. This Seminar aims at active participation from socio-legal scholars, some of which will present their own experiences after the introductory paper.’
Date: 26th April 2017, 1.00-2.30
Location: Birkbeck, University of London. Room 101, 30 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DQ
Charge: free, booking required
More information can be found here.
EVENT: IALS – Legislation and Brexit
‘Speaker: Professor Sionaidh Douglas-Scott, Queen Mary, University of London’
Date: 8th May 2017, 6.00-7.00pm
Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR
Charge: free, booking required
More information can be found here.
EVENT: IALS – Ways of seeing law: What can art history tell lawyers about their discipline?
‘Lawyers love the word. When we teach our students it is primarily through the lens of written judgements and textual analysis. Engagements between law and art tend to focus on the ways in which authoritative legal texts facilitate the commodification of creativity or seek to impose discipline on the sensual realm. This paper will focus on the implications of us moving beyond the law of art to the more complex territory of law and art. In doing so it will explore the value of the image as a source of information about law and legal phenomena which is otherwise lacking or marginalised in the legal canon.’
Date: 24th April 2017, 5.30-7.30pm
Location: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR
Charge: free, booking required
More information can be found here.
