Category: news

Grayling’s proposals for environmental and planning judicial review – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 10th, 2014 in Administrative Court, bills, consultations, costs, courts, environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning by sally

‘At first sight, proposals full of sound and fury, and signifying not a great deal for planning and environmental challenges. There are some slippery costs changes which we need to look at, but some of the potentially more concerning proposals do not fully apply to this area, as I shall explain. There are also some perfectly sensible proposals about harmonising planning challenges which lawyers have been advocating for years.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th February 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Use of disclosed documents – Panopticon

Posted February 10th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, closed material, disclosure, documents, injunctions, news by sally

‘The important general principle is of course that a party to whom a document has been disclosed in litigation may use that document only for the purpose of the proceedings in which it is disclosed. There are, nonetheless, three significant exceptions to that principle, set out in CPR r31.22(1).’

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Panopticon, 7th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

What’s in a name? – Court of Appeal gives judgment in Edem – Panopticon

Posted February 10th, 2014 in appeals, data protection, interpretation, names, news, privacy by sally

‘Deciding whether information which arguably relates to an individual amounts to their “personal data” for the purposes of s. 1(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998 is one of the more challenging aspects of the DPA regime. In making the judgment call in any particular case, data controllers have routinely looked to the guidance set out Auld LJ’s judgment in the well known case of Durant v Financial Services Act [2003] EWCA Civ 1746, [2011] 1 Info LR 1. In his judgment, Auld LJ indicated that there were two “notions” likely to be of assistance when it came to determining whether particular data was sufficiently “personal” that if tell within the scope of the DPA.’

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Panopticon, 7th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

High Court to consider Data Protection Act bid to halt reporting of corruption allegations – Panopticon

Posted February 10th, 2014 in corruption, data protection, disclosure, freedom of expression, human rights, news, public interest by sally

‘Can the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) be used to prevent a respected NGO from reporting allegations of corruption by a multi-billion dollar international mining conglomerate? That is the stark question posed by Steinmetz and others v Global Witness Limited, a recently issued High Court DPA Claim.’

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Panopticon, 10th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

CCTV warning notices non-compliant with data protection laws, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 10th, 2014 in closed circuit television, data protection, enforcement, local government, news, ombudsmen, parking, privacy, video recordings by sally

‘The Government must take action to ensure that signs used to warn motorists that CCTV cameras are being used to monitor for parking offences are compliant with UK data protection laws, a watchdog has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th February 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

UNISON’s employment tribunal fees challenge dismissed, but impact of new regime not yet apparent, says High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 10th, 2014 in EC law, employment tribunals, equality, fees, news, proportionality, race discrimination, sex discrimination, trade unions by sally

‘A trade union’s legal challenge to the introduction of fees to bring a case to an employment tribunal has been dismissed by the High Court.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th February 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Deciding without a decision – NearlyLegal

Posted February 10th, 2014 in children, families, homelessness, housing, human rights, judicial review, local government, news, statutory duty by sally

‘R (on the application of PK) v Harrow LBC (2014) QBD Admin 30 January 2014. The Claimants were the children of M. The family was street homeless and destitute following eviction. It appears that Harrow had decided there was no duty to accommodate M, as the family was referred to Social Services.’

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NearlyLegal, 9th February 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

“Mandatory” mediation – not mandatory enough! – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 10th, 2014 in bills, case management, dispute resolution, divorce, domestic violence, legal aid, news by sally

‘In recent weeks there has been widespread reporting of government measures to introduce “mandatory mediation” for separating couples. This will be brought in under the Children and Families Bill, which is due to come into force in April. So, what exactly will the proposals mean? Will they actually result in couples moving away courts, and resolving their disputes through mediation, as the government wants?’

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Halsburys Law Exchange, 10th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Tube strikes – should the law be changed? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted February 10th, 2014 in bills, data protection, industrial action, international law, news, trade unions, transport by sally

‘We asked the business lobbying group CBI, the Institute of Directors (IOD) and Trade Union lawyer Richard Arthur for their views on reform of this prickly area of law.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th February 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Mental capacity ruling over retainer – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in appeals, contracts, costs, Court of Protection, fees, medical treatment, negligence, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that the loss of a client’s mental capacity should not automatically terminate the solicitor’s retainer.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Claimant faces record costs after tribunal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in costs, disclosure, employment tribunals, equality, local government, news by sally

‘An employment tribunal has ordered a claimant who unsuccessfully took a local authority to tribunal to pay record costs for an individual.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Apollo Theatre ceiling collapse family seeks payout – BBC News

Posted February 10th, 2014 in accidents, compensation, health & safety, insurance, news, theatre by sally

‘A family injured when the Apollo Theatre ceiling collapsed is suing the theatre’s owners for compensation.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ex-soldier sues Ministry of Defence for alleged failure to tackle bullying – The Guardian

Posted February 10th, 2014 in armed forces, bullying, compensation, complaints, harassment, news, ombudsmen, standards, statistics by sally

‘A former British private is suing the Ministry of Defence over allegations the army allowed severe bullying which led to him attempting to take his own life five times.’

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The Guardian, 8th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Number of sex offenders in England and Wales rises by more than third in five years – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 10th, 2014 in budgets, news, probation, rehabilitation, sexual offences, statistics by sally

‘The number of registered sex offenders in England and Wales has risen by more than a third in the past five years. More than 40,000 registered sex offenders, including 2,700 judged to pose a serious risk to the public, are living in the community and being monitored by probation services.’

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Daily Telegraph, 9th February 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Derby human traffickers jailed for more than seven years – BBC News

Posted February 7th, 2014 in news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘Two brothers have been jailed for trafficking 12 Czech and Slovak men into the UK to exploit them for wages and benefits.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

England-wide heroin and crack cocaine drugs gang jailed – BBC News

Posted February 7th, 2014 in conspiracy, drug trafficking, news, sentencing by sally

‘Nine people have been sent to prison for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs across England.’

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BBC News, 7th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Loss of capacity does not terminate solicitor’s retainer, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

Posted February 7th, 2014 in contracts, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘A client’s loss of mental capacity in the course of proceedings does not automatically terminate their solicitor’s retainer, the High Court ruled yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th February 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

High Court quashes “irrational” LeO decision against barrister but upholds record SDT fine – Legal Futures

Posted February 7th, 2014 in appeals, barristers, complaints, disciplinary procedures, legal ombudsman, news, solicitors by sally

‘A High Court judge has overturned a Legal Ombudsman (LeO) decision that a barrister had not earned his fee, but separately upheld a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) decision to hand out a record fine.’

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Legal Futures, 7th February 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“Unfair advantage” under the Trade Marks Directive – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted February 7th, 2014 in consumer protection, news, trade marks by sally

‘Readers over the age of 24 do not fall into Jack Wills’ core target market, and may therefore be unfamiliar with the clothing brand’s “Mr Wills” pheasant logo. On the other hand, those readers who are Jack Wills devotees may want to check when you get home that you have not got confused and accidentally purchased, for about the same price, a House of Fraser product adorned with this equally delightful but nonetheless different bird. If you did get confused, it is perfectly understandable. After all, they’re both silhouettes of birds “equipped with accessories associated with an English gentleman”, as Mr Justice Arnold explained last week in Jack Wills Ltd v House of Fraser (Stores) Ltd [2014] EWHC 110 (Ch).’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 4th February 2014

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Barrister who intentionally misled client over appeal to be disbarred – Bar Standards Board

Posted February 7th, 2014 in appeals, barristers, disciplinary procedures, drafting, news, professional conduct by sally

‘A public disciplinary tribunal has this week ordered the disbarment of a barrister for intentionally misleading his client by drafting false grounds of appeal – despite knowing there were none.’

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Bar Standards Board, 5th February 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk