Ex-prison officer jailed for selling Jon Venables story – BBC News
‘An ex-prison officer has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for selling details about James Bulger’s killer to a journalist.’
BBC News, 11th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Legal Voice conference report: Innovation in the delivery of legal services – LegalVoice
‘Roger Smith OBE made the case for 1% of the legal aid budget to be directed towards an ‘innovation fund’ to promote access to justice online. The former director of JUSTICE, who was delivering the keynote speech earlier this week at the 2014 Legal Voice conference, called upon Chris Grayling to ‘re-evaluate’ priorities and to deploy online help for initial advice.’
LegalVoice, 11th December 2014
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Government blames High Court for denying mesothelioma victims damages uplift –
‘The High Court’s decision to block the abolition of recoverability for mesothelioma claims has denied victims the 10% uplift in damages they would otherwise have received, justice minister Lord Faulks has said.’
Litgation Futures, 11th December 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Body parts killer Nathan Robinson sentenced to life in prison for father’s death – BBC News
‘A son who killed his father and put his dismembered body into storage boxes he was using as a TV stand, has been jailed for life.’
BBC News, 10th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Human rights – have they gone too far? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘Type the words “have human rights …” into Google and it automatically suggests “… gone too far[?]”.
This isn’t a surprise: for many people human rights, as set out in the Human Rights Act 1998, are a byword for reckless absurdity. It is a villains’ charter which cares not a jot for law-abiding citizens.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th December 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Reforming electoral law across the UK – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In a consultation opening today the Law Commissions of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland set out provisional proposals for reforming the law that governs the conduct of elections and referendums across the UK.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 12th December 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
Supreme Court finds third way between Strasbourg and House of Lords – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Indeterminate sentences and the inadequate funding of rehabilitation during them has posed problems since Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences hamstrung the system. The courts here and in Strasbourg have been in two minds what to do about cases where prisoners have not received the assistance they ought to have received – and hence are not, by domestic standards, ready for release.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Court of Appeal urges lawyers to get “back to basics” on pleadings – Litigation Futures
‘It is time for pleadings to get “back to basics”, the Court of Appeal said yesterday after suggesting that “practitioners have, on occasion, lost sight” that their aim is to help the court and the parties.’
Litigation Futures, 12th December 2014
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
George Galloway attacker jailed for 16 months – The Guardian
‘A man who attacked the Respect MP George Galloway in the street while calling him an “antisemitic little man” has been jailed for 16 months.’
The Guardain, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Stage manager is awarded £3.7m compensation after being left paralysed – The Guardian
‘A stage manager for an award-winning theatre company, left paralysed after walking through an unmarked backstage door into “thin air” and falling three metres, has been awarded £3.7m in compensation, in one of the biggest payouts in the UK entertainment sector.’
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
London councils group approves spitting fines – BBC News
‘The transport and environment committee of umbrella group London Councils has approved £80 fines for spitting in public places.’
BBC News, 11th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Man who imprisoned his wife at home is forbidden from seeing his daughters – The Guardian
‘A man who imprisoned his wife in their home and expected her to be a servant cannot be allowed to see his two daughters, senior judges have ruled.’
Full story
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Food allergy laws enforced in restaurants and takeaways – BBC News
‘Restaurants and takeaways across Europe will be required by law to tell customers if their food contains ingredients known to trigger allergies.’
BBC News, 12th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Deaf couple and their son face jail after conning taxpayers out of £900,000 – Daily Telegraph
‘The couple are said to have funded a luxury lifestyle of holidays and jewellery with ‘scandalous ease’.’
Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Mother jailed for promoting terrorism on Facebook – The Guardian
‘An “extremist” mother-of-six who took pictures of her toddler son holding a toy gun and daydreamed about sending his eight-year-old brother to fight jihad when he grows up has been jailed for five years and three months for promoting terrorism on social media.’
The Guardian, 11th December 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Managing mental health issues – Hardwicke Chambers
‘In 2006, it was estimated that 35% of all GP consultations involved a mental health problem and by 2011 stress had become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual workers. If these figures are not reason enough for employers to address their employees’ mental health issues, there are plenty more statistics that may convince them:
It is estimated that three in ten people will experience a mental health problem in any one year, and this figure is likely to increase.
Work-related stress costs Britain 10.4 million working days per annum, with a disconcerting 91 million days per year lost to mental health problems generally.
The Centre for Mental Health estimates that the total cost of mental health problems at work is over £30 billion a year.
When working long hours, more than a quarter of employees feel depressed (27%), one third feel anxious (34%) and more than half feel irritable (58%).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Restrictions on books in prisons declared unlawful by the High Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Contrary to what some media reports would have us believe, Prison Service Instruction (“PSI”) 30/2013 did not impose an absolute ban on books in prisons. It did, however, impose severe restrictions on the possession or acquisition of books which a prisoner can treat as his or her own. The High Court has found that those restrictions could not be justified by the limited provision of prison library services and are therefore unlawful.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Sponging the blot on the law – Hardwicke Chambers
‘Having your home repossessed by your mortgagee is not, one imagines, a happy experience, and not one which would incline you to act charitably towards your bank. Few are the defaulting borrowers who treat their houses to a spring clean on their final day before the order for possession is executed, apologising to the bailiffs that they don’t seem able to put their hands on any tea bags. Or indeed the kettle. It’s all been packed, you see. A commoner experience is to find that at least some belongings have been left behind. A bin bag here, a wonky shelving unit there. There’s nothing like losing your home to make you reassess the stuff which surrounds you, and decide whether now might be a good time to de-clutter your life. And why go to the expense of hiring a skip when you can leave your mortgagee with the cost of doing it for you?’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Signing a New Contract Does Not Mean Restrictive Covenants Are Binding Absent Proper Consideration – Littleton Chambers
‘Many large employers (particularly those who acquire other businesses over time) are faced with employees (often senior and important employees) on ‘old’ contracts with unenforceable, inappropriate or even no restrictive covenants. Quite aside from the potential difficulties posed by TUPE, remedying that problem often proves difficult in practice, and requires careful management.’
Littleton Chambers, 8th December 2014
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
