BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Benkharbouche v Embassy of the Republic of Sudan (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and others intervening); Janah v Libya (Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and others intervening) – WLR Daily
‘Domestic workers employed as members of the service staff of foreign diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom were entitled to bring proceedings asserting their employment rights against the employer state, in claims including unfair dismissal and breach of working time provisions, and such claims were not barred by the doctrine of state immunity pursuant to provisions in the State Immunity Act 1978.’
WLR Daily, 5th February 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Regina v McDowell; Regina v Singh – WLR Daily
Regina v McDowell; Regina v Singh [2015] EWCA Crim 173; [2015] WLR (D) 84
‘Where trading receipts were obtained as a result of lawful trading activity rather than a failure to register particulars with the local authority under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 1964 before carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer, the trading activity was not criminal conduct from which benefit accrued, and the trading receipts were excluded from the criminal lifestyle provisions under section 75(2) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.’
WLR Daily, 19th February 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
JSC Bank of Moscow v Kekhman and others – WLR Daily
JSC Bank of Moscow v Kekhman and others [2015] EWHC 396 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 82
‘When considering whether to exercise its discretion to make a bankruptcy order on a debtor’s petition, the court was to have regard to whether the petitioner could show (1) that he had a sufficiently close connection with England and Wales; (2) that there was a reasonable possibility of benefit resulting from the making of a bankruptcy order; and (3) that one or more persons interested in the distribution of assets were persons over whom the English court could exercise jurisdiction.’
WLR Daily, 20th February 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Regina v Gurpinar; Regina v Kojo-Smith and another – WLR Daily
Regina v Gurpinar; Regina v Kojo-Smith and another [2015] EWCA Crim 178; [2015] WLR (D) 80
Where a defendant was charged with murder and the issue arose as to whether the partial defence of loss of self-control should be left to the jury the trial judge had to undertake a much more rigorous evaluation of the evidence before that defence could be left to the jury than had been required under the former law of provocation.
WLR Daily, 20th February 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“Keep our kids safe from predators” FB page on the rampage again – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The plaintiff was a former sex offender who had been identified on a Facebook page run by the second defendant called “Keep Our Kids Safe From Predators 2″. He had been released on licence and he was apprehensive about his safety upon his return to the community.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th February 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Facing justice: judgment against Facebook in privacy/data protection case – Panopticon
‘The extent to which privacy and data protection rights can effectively resonate within the online environment is an acutely important issue for all information law practitioners. Moreover, it is an issue which seems to be gaining ever increasing traction in the litigation context, as is illustrated not least by the following developments.’
Panopticon, 25th February 2015
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
EVENT: The Trial of Macbeth
‘What if everything you knew about Macbeth was challenged?
Could a line-up of top QCs change his fate?
Following the 2011 sell-out Trial of Romeo, Shakespeare Schools Festival return to the courtroom putting a killer cast of actors – including Christopher Eccleston, Haydn Gwynne and David Oakes – in the box to be questioned by the stars of the bar – John Kelsey-Fry QC, Jonathan Laidlaw QC, Dinah Rose QC, and Ian Winter QC.
Jeremy Paxman chairs the jury and High Court judge Sir Michael Burton keeps order during this unforgettable fundraising event.’
Date: 8th March 2015, 7.00pm
Location: Noel Coward Theatre
Charge: see website for details
More information can be found here.
Attorney General defends government’s record on rule of law, including JR reform – Litigation Futures
The government has “stood up for the rule of law” and should be proud of its record, the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright QC, has argued, in a strongly-worded speech on the last day of the Global Law Summit.
Litigation Futures, 26th February 2015
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Lords inflict government defeat over visa laws – BBC News
‘The government has suffered a narrow defeat in the House of Lords over its Modern Slavery Bill.’
BBC News, 25th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Prison officer Mark Blake ‘justified’ leaks to The Sun – BBC News
‘An officer at a Serco-run immigration centre justified leaking stories to The Sun by claiming the firm turned a blind eye to corruption, a court has heard.’
BBC News, 25th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Why is the immigration tribunal so uniquely impervious to modernity? – Free Movement
‘In a recent determination, the President of the Upper Tribunal suggested that documents and submissions could be sent electronically to the tribunal in order to facilitate efficient justice:
“…parties and their representatives are strongly encouraged to communicate electronically with the Tribunal and, further, to seek confirmation that important communications and/or attachments have been received.”‘
Free Movement, 26th February 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
TV ad for ‘world’s slimmest phone’ banned for objectifying women – The Guardian
‘A TV ad for the “world’s slimmest phone” has been banned for objectifying women.’
The Guardian, 25th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Jimmy Savile: Stoke Mandeville abuse report to be published – The Guardian
‘A key report into the sexual abuse by Jimmy Savile of patients at Stoke Mandeville hospital is to be published on Thursday.’
The Guardian, 26th February 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Eirian Davies wins £1.3m of family farm in Carmarthenshire – BBC News
‘A farmer’s daughter has won £1.3m after working on her parents’ farm for nothing as a teenager while her sisters were having fun.’
BBC News, 25th February 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Teacher gets life-long ban from profession after admitting affair with student – The Independent
‘A 26-year-old teacher has been disqualified from the profession for life after she admitted to an affair with a student.’
The Independent, 25th February 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Inner Temple Strategic Review
Open Session Meeting – Thursday 26th February 2015 from 5pm in the Parliament Chamber
There is an Open Session meeting for all members of the Inner Temple on Thursday 26th February at 5pm for 5.30pm at which the initial findings of the Strategic Review Group will be presented, followed by an opportunity for members of the Inn to have their say.
www.innertemple.org.uk/strategic-review/33-news-events/563-strategic-review-open-session
No entitlement to human rights damages after ‘caste discrimination’ case collapse – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The High Court has ruled that when long-running employment tribunal hearing collapsed as the result of the judge’s recusal due to apparent bias the claimants in the action could not obtain damages for wasted costs under section 6 of the Human Rights Act (HRA) 1998 (specifically Article 6, the right to a fair trial) or the EU Charter.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th February 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Benefits to be withdrawn from EEA jobseekers previously unaffected by the January 2014 changes – Free Movement
‘In January 2014, the Government introduced a number of measures aimed at restricting EEA migrants’ access to income-based JSA. A key change was the introduction of a statutory presumption that entitlement to income-based JSA (‘JSA(IB)’) would be limited to a period of three months (or six months for EEA nationals with retained worker status) unless the jobseeker could pass a Genuine Prospect of Work (GPoW) assessment.’
Free Movement, 24th February 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
