Current Awareness

EVENT: Law Commission – Scarman Lecture 2015

Posted January 27th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘We are delighted that Sir Geoffrey Palmer KCMG AC QC has agreed to deliver the 2015 Scarman Lecture on 24 March.
2015 is the Law Commission’s 50th anniversary. Sir Geoffrey’s lecture – The Law Reform Enterprise: Evaluating the Past and Charting the Future – will be a timely opportunity to look back at past achievements, as well as considering what might lie ahead.’

Date: 24th March 2015, 6.00-8.00pm

Location: Middle Temple Hall, Middle Temple Lane, London EC4Y 9AT

Charge: Free, registration required

More information can be found here.

Broni v Ministry of Defence; Woof v Ministry of Defence; Barbour v Ministry of Defence – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in armed forces, civil procedure rules, costs, employment, fees, law reports by sally

Broni v Ministry of Defence; Woof v Ministry of Defence; Barbour v Ministry of Defence [2015] EWHC 66 (QB); [2015] WLR (D) 24

‘The words “contract of service” in section 2(1) of the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 Act were not to be given a construction broader than their usual meaning. It followed that the claimants, as members of the armed forces, were not “employees” for the purposes of section 2(1) the 1969 Act and the fixed success fee regime for employer’s liability claims, as set out in Section IV of CPR Pt 45 (pre 1 April 2013), did not apply to their claims against the defendant ministry.’

WLR Daily, 20th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Hussain v Waltham Forest London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government, London, psychiatric damage by sally

Hussain v Waltham Forest London Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 14; [2015] WLR (D) 21

‘The phrase “other violence” in section 177(1) of the Housing Act 1996 covered not only physical violence (actual or threatened) but other threatening or intimidating behaviour or abuse, if of such seriousness that it might give rise to psychological harm.’

WLR Daily, 20th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Elashmawy v Court of Brescia, Italy – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, extradition, foreign jurisdictions, human rights, law reports, prisons by sally

Elashmawy v Court of Brescia, Italy [2015] EWHC 28 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 15

‘Italian prison conditions were compliant with article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.’

WLR Daily, 16th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Savoye and another v Spicers Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, enforcement, law reports by sally

Savoye and another v Spicers Ltd [2014] EWHC 4195 (TCC); [2015] WLR (D) 17

‘The factual test of whether something formed “part of the land” for the purposes of section 105(1) of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 was informed, but not circumscribed, by principles to be found in the law of real property and fixtures and ultimately was a question of fact and degree, looking at the purpose of the object or installation and having regard to the installation as a whole, rather than each individual element.’

WLR Daily, 15th December 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v Chinegwundoh – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, disabled persons, harassment, law reports, mental health, restraining orders by sally

Regina v Chinegwundoh [2014] EWCA Crim 2649; [2015] WLR (D) 18

‘A finding that a person under a disability had done the acts charged against him was not an acquittal and did not therefore give the court the power to make a restraining order under section 5A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.’

WLR Daily, 20th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Phonepayplus Ltd v Ashraf and another – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in codes of practice, enforcement, fines, law reports, telecommunications, tribunals by sally

Phonepayplus Ltd v Ashraf and another [2014] EWHC 4303 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 16

‘OFCOM had the power to delegate to the relevant “enforcement authority” under section 120 of the Communications Act 2003 all powers of enforcement of the provisions of the Code of Practice under the Act. It was implicit in the code that the provisions in it for imposing sanctions upon premium rate service providers for breach of the code were subject to the limitations set out in section 123(2) of the Act.’

WLR Daily, 19th December 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Premature service of Claim Form – avoiding disaster – Zenith PI Blog

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, case management, civil procedure rules, documents, news, service by sally

‘A problem frequently arises when, for one reason or another – most frequently the late arrival of the client in a solicitor’s office – the limitation period is nearly up, but one has not got the medical report or one has not got the materials needed for the drafting of the Particulars of Claim or indeed has grave doubts about whether the claim is viable, but plainly proceedings need to be commenced notwithstanding. In those circumstances, it is recognised as the best practice, following CPR 6.4(1)(b), to issue a claim form but to notify the court that the Claimant wishes to serve the Claim Form. If one does not do that, the court will serve the Claim Form automatically, whereas if you undertake to serve it yourself, you will have up to four months within which to serve the Claim Form. During that time, one can ensure that what needs to be done in order to present a coherent and correctly presented claim can be done.’

Full story

Zenith PI Blog, 26th January 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

‘Innovation in the delivery of legal services’ report – LegalVoice

Posted January 27th, 2015 in law firms, legal services, news, reports, speeches by sally

‘Legal aid firms and advice agencies are being encouraged to embrace new technologies to survive in the post-LASPO world. A new report by LV director David Gilmore and Matthew Howgate, following on from the 2014 Innovation in the delivery of legal services conference, provides examples of what firms and not-for-profit agencies are doing to survive in the wake of the legal aid cuts. The authors conclude that it is ‘impossible to see the LASPO cuts as anything but an absolute disaster’. However, they argue that across the advice sector there are ‘strong ideas’ emerging.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 26th January 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

CAT power to issue cost-capped injunctions will improve competition law enforcement, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, bills, competition, costs, injunctions, news, small businesses, tribunals by sally

‘FOCUS: Proposed changes to the workings of the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) will make it more likely that competition law is enforced and will give some smaller companies a boost in pursuing competition claims.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 23rd January 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

EVENT: The Inner Temple – Gandhi: Constitutionalism and the Legacy of Non Viotent Direct Action in Sub-Saharan Africa

Posted January 27th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘The theme for the 2015 Lecture Series is “Inner Templars who have Helped Change the World.”

Gandhi: Constitutionalism and the Legacy of Non Viotent Direct Action in Sub-Saharan Africa
Speaker: The Rt Hon The Lord Boateng.’

Date: 16th February 2015

Location: The Inner Temple

Charge: See website for details

More information can be found here.

Law Commission to codify sentencing procedure – Law Commission

Posted January 27th, 2015 in consultations, Law Commission, news, sentencing by sally

‘Modern sentencing procedure is complex, and the law that governs it is unclear and difficult to understand.’

Full story

Law Commission, 26th January 2015

Source: www.lawcommission.justice.gov.uk

Abortion doctor will appear in court – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 27th, 2015 in abortion, doctors, news, private prosecutions, sex discrimination by sally

‘Telegraph investigation leads Christian campaigner to mount private prosecution against doctor accused of offering gender-based abortion.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 26th January 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Legal highs and prescription drugs face ban in English and Welsh prisons – The Guardian

Posted January 27th, 2015 in bills, drug abuse, medicines, news, prisons by sally

‘The justice secretary will be able to ban any legal drug inside prisons, including prescription drugs and “legal highs”, under a crackdown to start this week.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Applications to allow service of Claim Form by alternative method/place – Explain your “Good Reason” – Zenith PI Blog

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, civil procedure rules, claims management, documents, news, service by sally

‘The principles to apply when considering whether to allow an application under 6.15 (service of the CF by alternative method or at an alternative place). The evidence in support must explain the failure to serve.’

Full story

Zenith PI Blog, 26th January 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

David Hart QC: TTIP – more ‘foreign’ judges critising ‘our’ laws? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 27th, 2015 in foreign companies, human rights, news, treaties, tribunals by sally

‘TTIP stands for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a proposed trade agreement between the US, the EU, and various members of the EU including the UK. A sober account of its history and scope was produced for the HoC debate (here), and a rather less polite view is here from George Monbiot. ‘

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd January 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Profession unites in opposition to “disastrous” court fee rises – Litigation Futures

Posted January 27th, 2015 in consultations, courts, fees, Law Society, news by sally

‘The Law Society has pledged to challenge the government’s decision to introduce enhanced court fees from April and said it will strenuously oppose more planned hikes.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 27th January 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Qualification criteria and allocations: An outlier? – NearlyLegal

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, housing, local government, news, time limits by sally

‘In R(Hillsden) v Epping Forest DC [2015] EWHC 98 (Admin), McCloskey J held the council’s allocation scheme valid in circumstances which, I must say, did not seem propitious to the council. The council’s new allocation scheme, which came in to force in September 2013, had a qualification criterion which required applicants to have a continuous residence for three years and, for those already registered, to have two and a half years. It was argued by the council that there was no “exceptional circumstances” get-out clause, because, apparently, the council “wanted clear rules that left no room for doubt about whether an individual qualified in the first place”. Now, like Ms Hillsden’s counsel (Jan Luba and Bethan Harris), I would have said that whole criterion was a real problem – indeed, our past notes on this precise issue have argued this too. So, fair play to Epping – how did they win? Will it survive an appeal?’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 24th January 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk