Judge concerned at council tax enforcement and Valuation Tribunal appeals uncertainty – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 20th, 2016 in bankruptcy, council tax, enforcement, news, tribunals, valuation by sally

‘A High Court judge has expressed concern at “the substantial degree of uncertainty that exists” in relation to how the courts, both magistrates and the bankruptcy county court, should deal with the enforcement of domestic council tax liability orders in the context of the availability of the remedy by way of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th April 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court to hear British expats’ Brexit case today – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 20th, 2016 in brexit, domicile, EC law, freedom of movement, news, referendums, time limits by sally

‘British expats living in Europe are today heading to the High Court in the hope of forcing the Government to let millions of them vote in the EU referendum.’

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Daily Telegraph,

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Peers change draft legislation on starter homes and sale of high value council houses – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 20th, 2016 in bills, housing, local government, news, planning, sale of land by sally

‘Changes made to the UK government’s Housing and Planning Bill will confine the sale of starter homes to those aged 23 or over and require a proportion of the discount on their purchase price be repaid if the homes are sold on within 20 years.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th April 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Down the Rabbit Hole of Genetic Testing – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted April 20th, 2016 in duty of care, genetic testing, hospitals, news, personal injuries, third parties by sally

‘The explosion of genetic testing in the last half century has produced unquantifiable benefits, allowing scientists to understand the constitution of genetic disorders and dramatically improve disease diagnosis, avoidance and treatment. Consider the near-eradication of Tay-Sachs, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, since the introduction of screening in the 1970s; the standardisation of newborn testing; and the introduction of BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing for inherited cancer genes.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th April 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The criminal review system is failing innocent prisoners – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in compensation, Criminal Cases Review Commission, miscarriage of justice, news by sally

‘The Criminal Cases Review Commission was supposed to provide a safety net for those wrongly convicted, but it hasn’t shone a light on miscarriages of justice.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lower-than-expected court fee income contributes to Ministry of Justice funding black hole – Legal Futures

Posted April 20th, 2016 in budgets, courts, fees, Ministry of Justice, news by sally

‘Lower-than-expected court fees from high-value cases and increased demand in the criminal justice system are behind the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) request for £427m extra funding over and above its designated department spending limit for 2015-16, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 20th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

We have a stalking law – so why don’t the police use it? – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in harassment, news, police, prosecutions, stalking by sally

‘Lily Allen’s awful experience – being stalked, then failed by the criminal justice system – is sadly all too common.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Payments to wrongly held detainees top £4m each year – BBC News

Posted April 20th, 2016 in compensation, detention, freedom of information, immigration, news by sally

‘The government is paying more than £4m each year in compensation to people who were held unlawfully in immigration detention centres, figures show.’

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BBC News, 20th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Man who urinated on Manchester Cenotaph told to clean memorials – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in community service, monuments, news, public order, sentencing by sally

‘A man who urinated on the Manchester Cenotaph has been ordered to spend 200 hours cleaning war memorials across the city as part of his punishment.’

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The Guardian, 20th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Boy aged eight among known potential victims of forced marriage in UK – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in children, forced marriages, Islam, news, prosecutions, statistics by sally

‘A boy as young as eight is among scores of children feared by judges to be at risk of forced marriage as official figures reveal police are struggling to bring cases to court.’

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The Guardian, 20th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge offers to pay court fine of abuse victim who stabbed her abuser on his doorstep after he avoided jail – The Independent

Posted April 20th, 2016 in assault, child abuse, fines, judges, news, victims, young offenders by sally

‘A judge has offered to pay the court fine of a Bradford teenager who stabbed a paedophile on his doorstep after he avoided jail for abusing her when she was just eight-years-old.’

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The Independent, 19th April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CA says huge solicitor-own client costs assessment can be held in private – Litigation Futures

Posted April 20th, 2016 in costs, news, private hearings, privilege, solicitors by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision to conduct a solicitor-own client assessment in private so as to protect legal professional privilege (LPP), even though the client had given a waiver to enable international law firm Dechert to defend its multi-million pound bills.’

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Litigation Futures, 20th April 2016

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Misc on taxes – council and bedroom – Nearly Legal

Posted April 20th, 2016 in benefits, council tax, housing, news by sally

‘Council tax – how do you go about setting aside and/or appealing a council tax liability order? It turns out to be far from straightforward (you might already have known this. I didn’t!). In Okon v London Borough Of Lewisham [2016] EWHC 864 (Ch) – quite astonishingly, an appeal against a making of a bankruptcy order – Mr. Robin Hollington QC addressed the issue. The bankruptcy petition was founded on a number of council tax liability orders and the efforts of Ms Okon to set aside those orders were at issue.’

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Nearly Legal, 19th April 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Ministers back down on rule ‘gagging’ scientists – The Guardian

Posted April 20th, 2016 in freedom of expression, government departments, lobbying, news by sally

‘Ministers have exempted thousands of scientists from a controversial “gagging clause” that would have prevented the academics from trying to influence government on public policy matters.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ben Butler murder trial: Ellie ‘killed after conviction quashed’ – BBC News

Posted April 20th, 2016 in child abuse, children, murder, trials by sally

‘A “hot-tempered” father accused of killing his six-year-old daughter had a conviction for assaulting her as a baby quashed, a court has heard.’

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BBC News, 19th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rape Acquittal: A Case Study – 6 Pump Court

Posted April 19th, 2016 in drug abuse, news, rape by sally

‘‘D’ was a 21-year old university maths student. Born and brought up in Bristol, he had no convictions, cautions or reprimands and was of previous good character. He was charged with a single offence of rape. The complainant, ‘C’, was a fellow student. The rape was alleged to have happened on campus.’

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6 Pump Court, 15th April 2016

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Court of Appeal orders retrial over aggregation of claims against solicitors – Legal Futures

Posted April 19th, 2016 in appeals, insurance, law firms, news, retrials, solicitors by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that had protected law firms from financial risk through restricting the way professional indemnity insurers could aggregate multiple claims.’

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Legal Futures, 14th April 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Muslim man loses high court bid to have sons circumcised – The Guardian

Posted April 19th, 2016 in children, Islam, news, parental rights by sally

‘A devout Muslim has failed to persuade a high court judge to rule that his sons should be circumcised.’

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The Guardian, 19th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Don’t Assume you can Serve the Solicitors! – Zenith PI Blog

Posted April 19th, 2016 in appeals, civil procedure rules, news, service, solicitors by sally

‘The Defendants appealed against a master’s order that service of a claim form by the Claimants on their solicitors amounted to good service. The Claimants applied for service by an alternative method under CPR 6.15.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 19th April 2016

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

Celebrity injunction should be lifted, Court of Appeal rules – BBC News

Posted April 19th, 2016 in appeals, human rights, injunctions, media, news, privacy by sally

‘An injunction banning the media in England and Wales from reporting the identity of a married celebrity who allegedly took part in a threesome has been lifted.’

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BBC News, 18th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk