R (on the application of Edwards and another (Appellant) v Environment Agency and others (Respondents) – Supreme Court
Supreme Court, 11th December 2013
Mass Surveillance and Freedom of the Press: A Conversation with Glenn Greenwald – UCL
‘Last June, Glenn Greenwald broke the story of the mass surveillance government programs disclosed in the leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. In August Mr. Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, was detained by police at Heathrow Airport for 9 hours under schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000. Mr. Greenwald has continued to release and comment on similar leaks since then and recently announced his departure from the Guardian to launch a new journalism venture with eBay co-founder Pierre Omidyar.
Our moderator led a conversation with Mr. Greenwald via Skype on the range of legal and political questions raised by his recent efforts. These include the lack of safeguards on government surveillance programs, the individual’s right to privacy, the freedom of the press to publish such information and any alleged threats these exposures pose to national security.’
UCL, November 2013
Source: www.ucl.ac.uk
UK set for first Scientology Church wedding after Supreme Court rules it a ‘place of worship’ – The Independent
‘Scientologist Louisa Hodkin had brought legal action after the registrar general refused to allow her wedding service to be held at the organisation’s London chapel.’
The Independent, 11th December 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Abdullahi v Bundesasylamt – WLR Daily
Abdullahi v Bundesasylamt (Case C-394/12); [2013] WLR (D) 481
‘According to article 19(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 343/2003 of 18 February 2003 (establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the member state responsible for examining an asylum application lodged in one of the member states by a third-country national (OJ 2003 L50, p 1)), in circumstances where a member state had agreed to take charge of an applicant for asylum on the basis of the criterion laid down in article 10(1) of the Regulation—namely, as the member state of the first entry of the applicant for asylum into the European Union—the only way in which the applicant could call into question the choice of that criterion was by pleading systemic deficiencies in the asylum procedure and in the conditions for the reception of applicants for asylum in that member state, which provided substantial grounds for believing that the applicant for asylum would face a real risk of being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment within the meaning of article 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.’
WLR Daily, 10th December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Regina (Kaiyam) v Secretary of State for Justice; Regina (Haney) v Same – WLR Daily
‘Where, in a case involving alleged breaches of rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Court of Appeal was faced with a conflict between decisions of the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights, the court could in appropriate circumstances dismiss the appeal and grant permission to appeal to the Supreme Court to resolve the conflict between the domestic law and that of the European Court, without hearing argument or expressing its views on the case.’
WLR Daily, 9th December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Wife escapes jail after mowing husband of 50 years down – Daily Telegraph
‘Couple, who have three children, showed a united front in court and claim they still love each other and want to put the crash behind them.’
Daily Telegraph, 10th December 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
What use is a Zambrano right of residence? – NearlyLegal
‘A couple of years ago a lot of lawyers practising in housing, immigration and welfare benefits got very excited by the case of Ruiz Zambrano (European citizenship) [2011] EUECJ C-34/09. The reason for this excitement was that the ECJ said that art.20, of the Treaty, required member states to grant a right of residence to a third country national, who was the primary carer of an EU national, if a refusal to would result in the EU national being forced to leave the EU..More excitingly, this applied to EU nationals who had not left their member state, i.e. it would apply to the parents of British nationals.’
NearlyLegal, 9th December 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Reforming the law on walking naked – a lanyard’s length between Convention rights and the English common law – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘I can’t help but smile at the thought of the furore that would ensue if (or when) the European Court of Human Rights were to decide that we English are far too uptight and ought not to be offended by nudity.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th December 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Same-sex weddings to begin in March – BBC News
‘The first same-sex weddings in England and Wales will be able to take place from 29 March 2014, Equalities Minister Maria Miller says.’
BBC News, 10th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Supreme Court to rule on whether couple can marry at Scientologist chapel – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court is expected to rule tomorrow (11 December) on whether a couple can marry at a scientologist chapel.’
Local Government Lawyer, 10th December 2013
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Gay discrimination and Christian belief: Analysis of Bull v. Hall in the Supreme Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The recent confirmation by the Supreme Court that it was unlawful discrimination for Christian hotel owners to refuse a double-bedded room to a same-sex couple was of considerable interest as the latest in a string of high-profile cases involving religious belief and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (and the first such judgment involving the highest court in the land). We have already provided a summary of the facts and judgment here, and our post on the Court of Appeal ruling can be found here.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Burglar jailed after victim speaks of ‘cold feeling of fear, which I keep reliving’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Heroin addict had more than 50 previous convictions and stole a church collection among other things from a pensioner’s home.’
Daily Telegraph, 10th December 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Yorkshire Regiment soldiers jailed for sit-in protest – BBC News
‘Fifteen soldiers have been jailed after a court martial for staging a “sit-in” in protest at being “led by muppets”.’
BBC News, 10th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Secret courts: couple tell of their struggle to adopt granddaughter – Daily Telegraph
‘Grandparents of child taken into care by Essex County Council tell of their anguish at not having legal rights to be her guardian.’
Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
A tale of three murderers – BBC News
‘Three murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment on one day. The minimum terms set were 18, 27 and 40 years. Why were they so different?’
BBC News, 11th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Three Sikh men and one woman jailed for attack on retired Indian general – The Guardian
“Three Sikh men and a woman have received lengthy jail sentences after being convicted of slashing an elderly Indian general in the neck.”
The Guardian, 10th December 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Court is “ultimate arbiter of best interests” in child’s bone marrow transplant – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘In an emergency ruling in the Family Division of the High Court, Mr Justice Mostyn has ordered that a three-year-old boy undergo a bone marrow transplant against the wishes of the father.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th December 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Geoffrey Counsell cleared over M5 fireworks deaths – BBC News
‘A man in charge of a fireworks display held on the night of a motorway crash in which seven people died has been cleared of breaching health and safety laws.’
BBC News, 10th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
