Foreign prisoners ‘will be let out early’ under agreement they leave UK – Daily Telegraph
‘The new plans have surfaced among fears that tension is mounting in overcrowded prisons.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Austerity and Public Law: Alexander Latham: Defending Rights in the Face of Austerity: Is the Supreme Court Calling Time on Social Housing Managerialism? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In cases involving social housing, English courts have traditionally taken what we might call a “managerial” approach: their starting-point for analysis has not been the tenant or applicant for housing as a rights-holder, but the need of local authorities to distribute their scarce resources effectively. In Burrows v Brent LBC [1996] 1 WLR 1448, for example, where a tenant who was permitted to remain after a possession order was held not to have been impliedly granted a new tenancy, Lord Browne-Wilkinson said that “housing authorities try to conduct their housing functions as humane and reasonable landlords” (at 1455). The tenant might be forgiven for wondering why this should count against him, but clearly the implication is that as ‘humane and reasonable landlords’ local authorities should be left to manage their housing stock with as little interference from the courts as possible. More recently this attitude led to the courts’ extreme reluctance to enable a public sector tenant to rely on article 8 ECHR in possession proceedings. When the Supreme Court finally acceded to pressure from Strasbourg, it nevertheless drew the teeth from the human rights defence by agreeing with the Secretary of State’s submission that “a local authority’s aim in wanting possession should be a ‘given’ ” (Manchester CC v Pinnock [2011] UKSC 6, per Lord Neuberger at [53]), so that “there will be no need, in the overwhelming majority of cases, for the local authority to explain and justify its reasons for seeking a possession order” (Hounslow LBC v Powell [2011] UKSC 8, per Lord Hope at [37]). The local authority is simply assumed to be acting in a way which benefits the general welfare; this assumption is then taken to justify the effect of its actions on individuals in all but the most extreme of cases.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th December 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Judicial system should be “more ready to accommodate academics”, Lord Neuberger says – Litigation Futures
‘The judicial system should be “more ready to accommodate academics” who were “more notable for their quality than for their quantity”, Lord Neuberger has said.’
Litigation Futures, 9th December 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Teacher clears name after being wrongly convicted of clipping unruly pupil – Daily Telegraph
‘Maths and German teacher Regina Hungerford, 54, overturns her conviction for hitting a pupil on appeal.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Rules on whether transgender prisoners go to male or female jails to be reviewed – The Guardian
‘The rules governing how transgender prisoners are treated – and whether they are sent to male or female prisons – are to be reviewed, the Ministry of Justice has announced.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Dave Lee Travis: Disgraced DJ has sex assault conviction challenge rejected – The Independent
‘Former Radio 1 star Dave Lee Travis has lost a challenge against his conviction for indecent assault.’
The Independent, 8th December 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Prison officer who ‘caught TB from inmates’ wins five-figure payout – Daily Telegraph
‘Fiona Murphy in out-of-court settlement from Ministry of Justice amid claims she was unknowingly exposed to disease at HMP Wakefield.’
Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Estranged lesbian couple’s fight over child goes to supreme court – The Guardian
‘The question of whether a seven-year-old girl, caught up in an international dispute between her estranged lesbian mothers, should be subject to British justice is to be decided by the supreme court.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Couple jailed after keeping man as slave for 24 years – The Guardian
‘A couple who kept a man in servitude for almost a quarter of a century after illegally bringing him to Britain have been jailed for six years each.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
High Court: no litigation privilege for recordings of meetings where witnesses “deliberately deceived” – Litigation Futures
‘A Manchester-based property developer cannot claim litigation privilege for secret recordings of meetings where witnesses were “deliberately deceived”, the High Court has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 8th December 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Peter Miller murder: 170 exhibits destroyed, returned or lost – BBC News
‘The brother of a man murdered 31 years ago is to complain to a police force after it emerged 170 case exhibits had been destroyed, returned or lost.’
BBC News, 8th December 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Serbian Forum Shopper in Breach of his Duty of Full and Frank Disclosure has his Privacy and Libel Action Struck Out – RPC Data and Privacy Law
‘On 23 November 2015 Sir Michael Tugendhat set aside an order for service out of the jurisdiction of proceedings for the misuse of private information and libel which had been made by Master Roberts on 31 March 2015 in respect of an article in Politika, a Serbian language newspaper circulating in Serbia and neighbouring countries in hard copy and available in this country only on the internet. Sir Michael held that the Claimant was in breach of his duty of full and frank disclosure and the case is a significant reminder of the duty of candour that rests upon a claimant when seeking permission to serve outside the jurisdiction under CPR 6.36 and of the perils of over-enthusiastic attempts to squeeze foreign claims into this jurisdiction. The case is also important on the question of how section 9(2) Defamation Act 2013 requiring evidence that England and Wales is “clearly the most appropriate place in which to bring an action in respect of the statement” is to be interpreted and the burden it places on a Claimant which the judge decided had not been discharged in this case.’
RPC Data and Privacy Law, 7th December 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
‘Dark ages’ warning issued over freedom of information changes – The Guardian
‘Exempting advice given to ministers from freedom of information requests risks returning the UK to the “dark ages” of “private government”, the information commissioner has warned. Christopher Graham told a review into the legislation that changes to FoI being considered by a government commission could lead to a blanket ban on all advice being made available to the public.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Professional negligence warning over PI, commercial and family work – Legal Futures
‘Personal injury, commercial and family work will all fuel negligence claims against lawyers, insurance specialist BLM has warned in a white paper.’
Legal Futures, 8th December 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Refusal of citizenship to wife and children of Islamist extremist declared unlawful – Free Movement
‘The Secretary of State for the Home Department refused the citizenship applications of the wife and two minor children of an Islamist extremist on good character grounds. The refusal was justified by the Home Office as punishment by proxy which would have the effect of deterring other extremists. The High Court has declared that unlawful in the case of MM & GY & TY v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2015] EWHC 3513 (Admin).’
Free Movement, 8th December 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
Semelia Campbell: Company fined £50,000 after six-year-old girl killed by automated gate – The Independent
‘A company has been fined £50,000 after a six-year-old girl died when she became trapped in an automated gate outside her new home.’
The Independent, 7th December 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
How to build better prisons: New designs and a new look at their purpose – The Independent
‘The Government’s plans to close Victorian gaols in towns isn’t just a chance for urban redevelopment, it’s an opportunity to build prisons on a more human scale, with natural light and better facilities. It’s happening across Europe, but could a new generation of nicks become the norm here? Oliver Bennett gives his verdict.’
The Independent, 7th December 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The dirty tricks of the Shrewsbury trials expose the dark heart of the radical 1970s – The Guardian
‘The trials of 24 trade unionists, including Ricky Tomlinson, seem to have been unduly influenced by Edward Heath. The more we learn about that decade, the more its injustices will haunt us.’
The Guardian, 7th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Hospital sorry for ‘do not resuscitate’ order on Down’s syndrome patient – BBC News
‘A hospital trust has apologised for placing a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) order on a patient with Down’s Syndrome – and listing his learning difficulties among the reasons for doing so.’
BBC News, 8th December 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
