‘The head of a drug smuggling gang, which hid £5 million-worth of cocaine in children’s presents, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.’
The Independent, 23rd May 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The case considered whether Mr Rhodes could be prevented from publishing his memoir on the basis that to do so would constitute the tort of intentionally causing harm. Those acting on behalf of Mr Rhodes’ son were particularly concerned about the effect upon him of learning of details of his father’s sexual abuse as a child.’
Full story
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘So we finally we have some clarity. Of the many statements, quasi-proposals and rumours affecting constitutional reform which had been swirling around during the term of the last coalition government, we now know which will see the light of day as official government policy. With the surprise Conservative majority government, it is now clear that the Human Rights Act will be repealed and replaced with a British Bill of Rights and there will be a referendum on EU membership by 2017 at the latest. Given that many of these issues had already been touted by one part of the coalition, many, if not most, of the constitutional and political implications, and particularly the difficulties, of these proposals have already been thrashed out in different forums such as the recent report co-edited by my colleague Tobias Lock, as well as, of course, on the pages of this blog. I have read and benefited from these excellent insights and so have nothing to add here to the substance of these issues.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 25th May 2015
Source: http://ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Sajid Javid’s reported objections to the Government’s pre-election proposals on countering extremist ideas uncover just how controversial the new laws will be. He had objected, it seems, to a mooted expansion of Ofcom’s powers to take pre-emptive action to prevent the broadcast of programmes with ‘extremist content’ before they are transmitted.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The legislative backdrop to both cases featured the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) and the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA 2004), the latter being legislation enacted by Parliament to enable persons who have changed gender to have their acquired gender recognised and certified. GRA 2004 was Parliament’s response to the decision in Strasbourg in Goodwin v United Kingdom (Application No. 65723/01) [2008] All ER (D) 113 (Jan), in which it was held that the UK had failed to comply with its positive obligation to ensure the right of a transsexual to respect for her private life, in particular by affording legal recognition to her acquired gender.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 26th May 2015
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
‘Eight people who pretended to be lawyers have been sentenced after scamming elderly people out of more than £500,000 in return for bogus asset protection trusts, with carrying out a reserved legal activity when not authorised one of the charges half of them faced.’
Legal Futures, 26th May 2015
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Hampshire Constabulary are the latest in a long line of police forces obliged to apologise to a victim of crime for failing to investigate an allegation properly. In this case, a young woman accused a man of rape. She was not believed; forensic examination of clothing was delayed; in the meanwhile, the complainant was threatened with arrest for ‘perverting the course of justice’ and she attempted suicide. Eventually, following belated forensic analysis, the man was arrested and has since then been convicted.’
OUP Blog, 22nd May 2015
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘It is very widely believed that the Human Rights Act stops the UK from deporting foreign criminals whence they came. To a limited extent, there is some truth in this. Some appeals against deportation decisions do succeed on human rights grounds. Not many, though, and none succeed because of the Human Rights Act as distinct from the European Convention on Human Rights. Other appeals against deportation succeed under EU law or the Refugee Convention.’
Free Movement, 26th May 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
‘With legal aid in crisis, CrowdJustice selects public interest cases and invites the public to fund them. But it faces many obstacles to enacting real change.’
The Guardian, 25th May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Every few months, a new report announces the breakdown of the British immigration system. In January, the Committee of Public Accounts issued a searing review of the Home Office’s migration policy. Three months earlier, the National Audit Office released a near-identical critique. Each publication invokes a now-familiar folk devil – the ‘foreign criminal’ – and demands better coordination between immigration enforcers and prison managers. Four times a year, we are told that governments that do not deport ‘foreign offenders’ are fundamentally unfit.’
OUP Blog, 26th May 2015
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘Sir Brian Leveson, the judge most famous for his report into press ethics, has said he does not consider himself “crushed by the European jackboot” when it comes to applying the European convention of human rights in British courts.’
The Guardian, 24th May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Queen’s Speech marks the start of this session of parliament. The address, written by government ministers, is delivered by the Queen and lays out the Government’s agenda for the next year.’
The Independent, 26th May 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Health ministers want to introduce an airline-style error reporting system for the UK’s high street pharmacies.’
BBC News, 24th May 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Parents of a child diagnosed with a serious illness are immediately required to make decisions about their child’s medical treatment which, in order to save life, may cause pain, unpleasant side-effects and risk damaging their child’s future quality of life. The actions, last summer, of the parents of five year old Ashya King offer just one example of the lengths to which parents will go to secure the best possible treatment for their child; researching alternative treatments, securing second opinions, finding a treatment centre offering innovative or experimental treatment, travelling abroad, selling belongings or otherwise raising funds for treatment. The Internet provides access to a host of information about the side effects and risks of conventional treatment, alternative treatments available across the world – if you can pay for them – and stories of their success.’
OUP Blog, 22nd May 2015
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘Judge speaks of frustration at only being able to jail a stalker, who drove female GP to a mental breakdown, for five years.’
Daily Telegraph, 26th May 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Convictions for crimes under a law used to prosecute internet trolls have increased nearly eight-fold in a decade, official figures reveal. Last year, 1,209 people were found guilty of offences under Section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 compared with 143 in 2004.’
The Independent, 24th May 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘An alliance of prominent academics have signed a letter to the government warning against any expansions of state surveillance without the full involvement of parliament and the public.’
The Guardian, 26th May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Jeremy Hutchinson was the greatest criminal barrister of the 1960s, 70s and 80s and his cases through that period changed society forever. From the sex and spying scandals that brought down Macmillan’s government, to his defence of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger talks to Jeremy about the cases that defined an era.’
Date: 8th June 2015, 7.00-8.30pm
Location: Kings Place, London N1 9AG
Charge: £25
More information can be found here.
‘That most time-consuming of the traditional rituals surrounding the UK Parliament, the swearing in of all the MPs, has become an emblem of the changing shape of British society. A ceremony originally designed for exclusion – to keep out religious and political undesirables – has become a display of diversity, writes Stephen Tomkins.’
BBC News, 20th May 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Phone hacking at the tabloid publisher Trinity Mirror was “widespread and frequent” for a decade, a high court judge has ruled as he ordered the company to pay a record £1.2m in privacy damages to eight victims, including the actor Sadie Frost and ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne.’
The Guardian, 21st May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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