Birdbrained new law could make feeding pigeons a criminal offence – The Independent

Posted March 30th, 2015 in alcohol abuse, crime, local government, news, nuisance, public order by sally

‘A new law that allows councils to ban activities in public spaces is leading to “bizarre new criminal offences”, which could see homeless people, buskers and people who feed pigeons prosecuted.’

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The Independent, 30th March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Convicted murderers become first gay couple to marry in prison – The Guardian

Posted March 30th, 2015 in equality, homosexuality, marriage, married persons, murder, news, prisons by sally

‘Two convicted murderers detained in one of Britain’s toughest prisons have become the first gay couple to marry behind bars.’

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The Guardian, 28th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina (Forge Care Homes Ltd) and others v Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and others – WLR Daily

Posted March 27th, 2015 in budgets, care homes, judicial review, law reports, news, nurses by sally

Regina (Forge Care Homes Ltd) and others v Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and others [2015] EWHC 601 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 134

‘The definition of “nursing care by a registered nurse” in section 49 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 was not a task based definition which restricted “services” to the tasks which only a registered nurse could perform.’

WLR Daily, 11th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (NE) v Birmingham Magistrates’ Court; Regina (NM) v Birmingham Magistrates’ Court – WLR Daily

Regina (NE) v Birmingham Magistrates’ Court; Regina (NM) v Birmingham Magistrates’ Court [2015] EWHC 688 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 135

‘An appeal by way of case stated to the High Court pursuant to section 111 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, rather than a challenge by way of judicial review, was generally the appropriate way in which to challenge a decision of a magistrates’ court dismissing an appeal under section 91E of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 against an unsuccessful review of an order requiring a sexual offender to comply with the notification requirements under the Act indefinitely.’

WLR Daily, 20th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Littlejohns and another) v Devon County Council – WLR Daily

Regina (Littlejohns and another) v Devon County Council [2015] EWHC 730 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 136

‘The transitional provisions in Schedule 3 to the Commons Act 2006 provided a brief window within which the commons register could be updated and corrected by incorporating any registrations which could have been, but were not, made under the Commons Registration Act 1965. Thereafter, any unregistered rights would be extinguished under paragraph 3 to the Schedule, repeating the legislative approach adopted in section 1(2)(b) of the 1965 Act.’

WLR Daily, 24th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Heron Bros Ltd v Central Bedfordshire Council – WLR Daily

Heron Bros Ltd v Central Bedfordshire Council [2015] EWHC 604 (TCC); [2015] WLR (D) 137

‘The term “service in accordance with rules of court” in regulation 47F(5) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, as amended, meant that valid service was achieved when the relevant step for service of a claim form, set out in CPR r 7.5(1), was completed within the seven-day time limit prescribed by regulation 47F(1).’

WLR Daily, 20th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Court charge of up to £1,200 for criminals revealed – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2015 in costs, criminal courts charge, guilty pleas, news, trials by sally

‘Convicted criminals in England and Wales will have to pay up to £1,200 towards the cost of their court case under new rules, it has been revealed.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

FCA plans to ban ‘opt-out’ sales of add-on insurance products –

Posted March 27th, 2015 in consumer protection, financial regulation, insurance, internet by sally

‘UK financial services firms will be banned from using pre-ticked boxes and other methods to sell customers additional ‘add-on’ products when they are purchasing regulated financial products under plans published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Secret trial: Six unanswered questions – BBC News

‘An important principle in the British legal system is that “not only must justice be done, it must also be seen to be done”.’

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Secret trial clears man of plotting to kill Tony Blair – The Independent

‘A British law student has been cleared of targeting Tony Blair and his wife Cherie as part of a terrorist plot, following the UK’s first secret terror case.’

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The Independent, 26th March 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Are too few convictions overturned? – BBC News

‘There is room for argument over whether the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is too cautious in referring suspected miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal, as the Commons Justice Committee has said.’

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BBC News, 27th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why Evans gets the spiders – Panopticon

‘The Supreme Court’s judgment in R (Evans) v Attorney General [2015] UKSC 21 has received vast amounts of media coverage – more in a single day than everything else about FOI has received in ten years, I reckon. No need to explain what the case was about – the upshot is that Rob Evans gets Prince Charles’ ‘black spider’ letters. Here’s why.’

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Panopticon, 26th March 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Buying web addresses best protection for brands in light of expansion of domains – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 27th, 2015 in domain names, internet, news, trade marks, trade names by sally

‘Businesses should respond to the growing number of domains by buying up the web addresses that pose a risk to their brands.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Struck off and now disbarred: lawyer who defrauded the Law Society – Legal Futures

‘A former solicitor and non-practising barrister who was convicted of a string of offences – including assaulting two police officers and defrauding the Law Society of £23,000 while a member of its council – has been disbarred two months after she was struck off the roll of solicitors.’

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Legal Futures, 27th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

LSB: regulators better on diversity but barristers still coy about backgrounds – Legal Futures

Posted March 27th, 2015 in barristers, diversity, news, statistics by sally

‘More than 80% of barristers have declined to disclose information about their socio-economic backgrounds when asked to do so by their professional regulator, it has emerged.’

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Legal Futures, 27th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ian Watkins: Misconduct case for two police officers – BBC News

Posted March 27th, 2015 in child abuse, misfeasance in public office, news, police by sally

‘Two detectives who worked on the Ian Watkins child abuse investigation have cases to answer for misconduct, a police watchdog has recommended.

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BBC News, 26th March 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme court clears way for release of secret Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, documents, news, royal family, Supreme Court, veto by sally

‘The UK supreme court has cleared the way for the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles to British government ministers, declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 26th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Do not-so smart pension reforms mean FCA wants pensioners to be ScamSmart? – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted March 26th, 2015 in consumer protection, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘Less than two weeks after Martin Wheatley’s speech identifying April’s ‘big bang’ pension reforms as “[t]he defining challenge of our time”, the FCA has launched a website called ‘ScamSmart’ dedicated to helping retail investors identify fraudulent investment scams. Martin Wheatley’s keynote speech and the launch of the ScamSmart website indicate the level of concern in the FCA about the impact of the reforms on UK pensioners. The strength of these concerns is confirmed in today’s Business Plan which includes plans for the FCA to carry out a thematic review (with, presumably, intense supervisory and enforcement work to follow) into the suitability of pensions and retail investment advice.’

Full story

RPC Financial Services Blog, 24th March 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Save Legal Aid, Save Lives – Family Law Week

Posted March 26th, 2015 in domestic violence, evidence, legal aid, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Ruth Tweedale, a law lecturer at the University of Roehampton and former solicitor at Rights of Women, describes recent developments in the campaign to preserve family law legal aid for victims of domestic violence.’

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Family Law Week, 24th March 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on publishing Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos’ – The Guardian

‘The supreme court will rule on Thursday on whether highly sensitive secret correspondence between Prince Charles and government ministers should at last be released in the public interest.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk