Police officer Christopher Semak jailed for sexual activity with girl, 14 – BBC News
‘A police officer who engaged in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl has been jailed for six years.’
BBC News, 9th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
16-year legal battle over laptop reaches UK supreme court – The Guardian
‘All Richard Durkin wanted was a laptop with an inbuilt modem. But what he ended up with was an epic 16-year legal tussle, a £250,000 bill for legal fees and, now, a date at the supreme court. The 44-year-old married father of two has been engaged in a David-and-Goliath battle against the bank that he says “annihilated” his credit rating after he walked into his local PC World to buy a £1,500 laptop in 1998.’
The Guardian, 9th January 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Bedroom tax loophole could exempt 40,000 wrongly identified as liable – The Guardian
‘Thousands of people have been wrongly identified as liable for the bedroom tax, including some who now face eviction or have been forced to move to a smaller property, as a result of an error by Department of Work and Pensions. Housing experts believe as many as 40,000 people could be affected by the mistake. The DWP says it believes only a “small number” of tenants are affected, which it estimates number 5,000.’
Full story
The Guardian, 9th January 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Illegal tobacco seller Roger Gerrey sold cigarettes to children – BBC News
‘A man who turned his Devon home into a shop selling illegal cigarettes to school children has been spared a jail sentence.’
BBC News, 9th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Drug-dealing father of 22 spared jail to care for son – Daily Telegraph
‘Drug-dealing father who has 22 children with 11 women has sentence suspended after judge ruled he needed to help his girlfriend look after their seven-month-old baby.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th January 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Life terms plan for terrorists in training – Daily Telegraph
‘Maximum sentences for a range of terrorism offences including weapons training will be upgraded from 14 years to life, the Telegraph can reveal.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th January 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Parkside Nursing Home deaths: Police to review evidence – BBC News
‘Police are to review evidence given at a tribunal after five “severely” neglected patients died in two weeks at a Northampton home.’
BBC News, 9th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Metropolitan police corruption report prompts call for inquiry – The Guardian
‘The head of the Metropolitan police will be asked to ensure corruption no longer exists in the force after a confidential report into organised crime infiltrating Scotland Yard was leaked to a newspaper. The report said organised criminals “were able to infiltrate Scotland Yard at will by bribing corrupt officers”, according to the results of the secret internal report written in 2002.’
The Guardian, 10th January 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Corman-Collins SA v La Maison du Whisky SA – WLR Daily
Corman-Collins SA v La Maison du Whisky SA (Case C-9/12); [2013] WLR (D) 513
‘The rule of jurisdiction laid down in the second indent of article 5(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 for disputes relating to contracts for the supply of services was applicable in the case of a legal action by which a claimant established in one member state claimed, against a defendant established in another member state, rights arising from an exclusive distribution agreement, which required the contract binding the parties to contain specific terms concerning the distribution by the distributor of goods sold by the grantor. It was for the national court to ascertain whether that was the case in the before it.’
WLR Daily, 19th December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
MacLennan v Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure) plc – WLR Daily
MacLennan v Morgan Sindall (Infrastructure) plc [2013] EWHC 4044 (QB); [2013] WLR (D) 509
‘The power to prohibit the calling of witnesses under CPR r 32.2(3) sat towards the more extreme end of the court’s powers and was a power to be considered after less intrusive measures had been considered and rejected.’
WLR Daily, 17th December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Jack Alaric Simson Caird: A Code of Constitutional Standards – UK Constitutional Law Group
‘The Constitution Unit of University College London is today publishing a report which sets out a code of constitutional standards based on the reports of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Constitution. Since 2001 the Committee has made many recommendations in its reports, and the goal of this report was to codify these recommendations in order to make the Committee’s analysis of the constitution more accessible. The report, by Robert Hazell, Dawn Oliver and myself, contains a code of 126 constitutional standards, each of which is relevant to the legislative process, and each of which has been extracted from the 149 reports of the Constitution Committee that were reviewed. The standards are organised into five sections: the rule of law; delegated powers, delegated legislation and Henry VIII clauses; the separation of powers; individual rights; and parliamentary procedure.’
UK Constitutional Law Group, 8th January 2014
Source: www.ukconstitutionalgroup.org
Putting it off – NearlyLegal
‘Before I come to the facts of Scriven and others v Calthorpe Estates [2013] UKUT 469 (LC), I need, I think, to give a fair bit of background. Even by the comprehensive standards of NL, this is pretty obscure.’
NearlyLegal, 8th January 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Reporting restrictions at courts martial: the need for a structured approach – UK Human Rights Blog
‘On 15 September 2011 a patrol of Royal Marine Commandos were involved in an incident, which resulted in one of them, referred to as “Soldier A”, shooting dead an armed but seriously wounded Taliban fighter. Evidence of the shooting emerged later and five members of the patrol were eventually charged with murder. The charges against two of them were later dropped but the three remaining marines were tried for murder before the Court Martial. On 8 November 2013, Soldier A was found guilty of murder.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 8th January 2014
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Smacking: what is the law and should it be changed? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘In an interview with the Independent, the Children’s Commissioner for England, Maggie Atkinson, has expressed her view that smacking should be banned. “Because in law you are forbidden from striking another adult, and from physically chastising your pets”, she said, “but somehow there is a loophole around the fact that you can physically chastise your child.”’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 8th January 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Ministers respond to ruling on ‘life means life’ sentences – Daily Telegraph
‘Government will send Europe initial response to controversial Strasbourg ruling which said “whole life” tariffs are a breach of human rights.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th January 2014
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Sentencing: Who’s soft? – BBC News
‘It is the moment that the convicted criminal cares about most: how long are they going to get?’
BBC News, 8th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Mark Duggan inquest key evidence: Was he really armed? Were the police under threat? – The Independent
‘To the police on the job, it started with a “textbook” stop of a minicab carrying a dangerous gangster. Three police cars forced Mark Duggan’s vehicle to pull over following intelligence that he had picked up a gun from a criminal associate.’
The Independent, 9th January 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Jail for man who wore Ku Klux Klan outfit and posed with lynched golliwog – The Guardian
‘A university graduate who posted footage of himself online dressed in a Ku Klux Klan costume hanging a life-sized golliwog doll has been jailed for 12 months.’
The Guardian, 8th January 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Mark Duggan killing lawful, says jury – BBC News
‘Mark Duggan, whose death sparked riots in England in 2011, was lawfully killed by police, an inquest jury has said by a majority of 8 to 2.’
BBC News, 8th January 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
