Gloucester hospital killer Ryan Matthews given whole life order – BBC News
‘A convicted murderer who stabbed to death a worker at a mental health unit has been sentenced to a whole life order.’
BBC News, 9th December 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Call for publication of review into man who killed himself after benefits cut – The Guardian
‘The sister of a partially sighted man who killed himself after his benefits were cut is calling on the UK government to publish details of its review into his case, one of 60 internal investigations of suicides linked to benefit changes it has carried out since 2012.’
The Guardian, 11th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Peers seek to limit law on assisted dying – The Independent
‘A coalition of cross-party peers has moved to water down proposed legislation that would let the terminally ill request and receive help to end their lives.’
The Independent, 11th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
An avalanche of reform – New Law Journal
‘Geraldine Morris reviews the family law changes in 2014 & makes predictions for the year ahead.’
New Law Journal, 8th January 2015
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
EVENT: UCL – Constitutionalising Labour Rights
Advocates of labour rights argue that constitutional protection of the freedom of association should be interpreted to include the rights to bargain collectively and to strike. They invoke international and transnational human rights instruments, as well as the observations of the International Labour Organization’s supervisory bodies, as normative resources that can be used by constitutional courts to advance such an interpretation.
Date: 22nd January 2015, 6.00-7.00pm
Location: UCL Laws, Bentham House, WC1H 0EG
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
High Court judge disagrees on whether creditors can access bankrupt’s pension savings where pension not in payment – OUT-LAW.com
‘Trustees in bankruptcy should not be able to access a bankrupt pension scheme member’s savings for the purposes of paying off debts, a High Court judge has ruled, contradicting a 2012 decision of the same court.’
OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
Good character citizenship criteria quietly tightened up – Free Movement
‘The Home Office has quietly tightened up the criteria for granting British citizenship under the good character test. This had passed me by so I thought it useful to flag up – and many thanks to Alex Moran for point it out. A number of undesirable behaviours have been added to the list of disqualifying behaviour, including illegal entry, assisting illegal migration and evasion of immigration control. The changes seem to have been made on 11 December 2014. The previous version of the guidance can be seen here and the new version here.’
Free Movement, 8th January 2015
Source: www.freemovement.org.uk
Immigrant children still being detained, figures show – The Independent
‘More than 600 children, the majority under 12 years old, have been put in detention under immigration rules in the four years since the Government claimed to have ended the controversial practice.’
The Independent, 8th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Supreme Court to hear landmark licensing fees battle next week – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court will next week hear a case with major implications for local authorities and other regulators’ ability to charge fees for licences.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th January 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Time for a fry-up – patent claims reinterpreted in Jarden v SEB – Technology Law Update
‘In a surprise end-of-year appeal success Jarden has escaped the heat of SEB’s ‘dry fryer’ patent. The apparatus claimed by the patent allows a user to produce crispy chips without needing a pan full of hot fat.’
Technology Law Update, 8th January 2015
Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk
Ofcom deals blow to Greens’ election debate hopes – but boosts Ukip’s – The Guardian
‘Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, has declared that the Green party does not have sufficient support to qualify for “major party status” in the general election, but Ukip may have.’
The Guardian, 8th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teaching assistant who tied 7-year-old child to a chair sentenced to 12-month community service – The Independent
‘The “cruel” teaching assistant who “humiliated” a seven-year-old girl over five months at a West Yorkshire school has been given a 12-month community service order.’
The Independent, 8th January 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Pilot jailed for flying while drunk – The Guardian
‘A pilot who flew an executive jet from Spain while hungover after a three-day drinking binge has been jailed for nine months.’
The Guardian, 8th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
EVENT: UCL – Proportionate Defense in Morality and Law
‘Jeff McMahan is White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He completed a BA degree in English literature at the University of the South (Sewanee), followed by graduate work in philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Professor McMahan then studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was a research fellow of St. John’s College from 1983 to 1986 and received his doctorate in 1986. He has written extensively on normative and applied ethics. His publications include The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life (Oxford University Press, 2002), Killing in War (OUP, 2009), which argues against foundational elements of the traditional theory of the just war, The Morality of Nationalism (co-edited with Robert McKim, OUP, 1997), and Ethics and Humanity (co-edited with Ann Davis and Richard Keshen, OUP, 2010).’
Date: 11th February 2015, 4.00-7.00pm
Location: Moot Court, UCL Laws, Bentham House, WC1H 0EG
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
A landmark decision for brand owners: Court rules ISP blocking orders extend to trademark rights – RPC IP Hub
‘The High Court has recently granted Richemont a blocking order requiring the five largest ISPs in the UK to prevent access to various third party websites from advertising and selling goods which infringe Richemont’s trade mark rights. This was the first time that such a blocking order had been sought against ISPs on the basis of trade mark infringement anywhere in the EU (other than, perhaps, in the Danish case of Home v Telenor).’
Full story
RPC IP Hub, 8th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
Complaint trends for 2015 – RPC Financial Services Blog
‘The FOS yesterday published its 2015/16 budget consultation. In short, we can expect more of the same.’
RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
Chickens coming home to roost: SFO’s first conviction of a company for bribery after contested trial – RPC Financial Services Blog
‘Hot on the heels of the SFO’s first conviction under the Bribery Act 2010, discussed in George’s post, and just as some of us were disappearing for a Christmas break, the SFO announced its first conviction of a company for bribery of foreign public officials after a contested trial. (Regular SFO-watchers will recall that in Mabey & Johnson (2009) and Innospec (2010), both companies pleaded guilty by agreement to offences involving bribery of foreign public officials.) This prosecution was not in fact under the much-trumpeted Bribery Act 2010, but under s1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.’
RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015
Source: www.rpc.co.uk
EVENT: UCL – No interest in Human Rights?
‘Dr. Meckled-Garcia is the founder of the Human Rights programme at the School of Public Policy, having designed and launched the MA in Human Rights in 2003. He is also co-founder and Director of the new UCL Institute for Human Rights. His research focuses on the ethical foundations of human rights, and on theories of international justice. This work emphasises the link between adopting specific theories of human rights, justice and criminal liability, and clear practical/policy consequences.’
Date: 28th January 2015, 4.00-7.00pm
Location: Moot Court, UCL Laws, Bentham House, WC1H 0EG
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
‘Deport first, appeal later’ measures start to bite – Home Office
‘Nearly 800 foreign criminals are being kicked out of the country as tough new ‘deport first, appeal later’ measures start to have an impact.’
Home Office, 6th January 2015
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
The Law and Artificial Intelligence – BBC Unreliable Evidence
‘Clive Anderson ask how our legal system will cope in a fast-approaching world of autonomous cars, care-bots and other machines using artificial intelligence to make judgments normally made by humans.’
BBC Unreliable Evidence, 7th January 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
