Regina (Youssef) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – WLR Daily

Posted October 31st, 2013 in appeals, evidence, judicial review, law reports, ministers' powers and duties, terrorism, torture, United Nations by michael

Regina (Youssef) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2013] EWCA Civ 1302 ;   [2013] WLR (D)  412

“The Foreign Secretary had acted lawfully by applying a test of reasonable grounds for suspecting that the claimant met the criteria for designation on a UN Security Council’s consolidated list of persons to be treated as associated with an Islamic terrorist group . The law did not require the Foreign Secretary to stymie the designation because other states relied on evidence obtained by torture. That any review by the court of the designation decision was by way of the conventional rationality test.”

WLR Daily, 29th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Mary Roberts murder trial: Andrew Ratcliffe jailed for life – BBC News

Posted October 31st, 2013 in assault, murder, news, sentencing, sexual offences by michael

“A ‘sexually obsessed’ man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for murdering a woman at a Bury St Edmunds pub.”

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BBC News, 30th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Hundreds of Italian couples accused of fraudulently getting ‘quickie divorces’ in UK – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 31st, 2013 in divorce, fraud, news by michael

“Britain’s top family judge has been asked to cancel 180 divorces after being told the UK courts have been exploited in a massive ‘fraud’ by Italians seeking a quick end to their marriages.”

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Daily Telegraph, 30th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Tyseley ‘honour killing’ father jailed for blaze murder – BBC News

Posted October 31st, 2013 in arson, attempted murder, attempts, families, murder, news, sentencing by michael

“A man who killed his wife and injured three daughters by setting his house on fire in a so-called honour killing plot has been jailed for life.”

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BBC News, 30th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Press regulation royal charter given go-ahead by the Queen – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2013 in appeals, charters, media, news, Privy Council by michael

“A landmark reform of press regulation, enshrined in a royal charter, was finally sealed by the privy council on Wednesday [30th October] in a brief private ceremony, hours after the high court had quickly dismissed a last-minute legal attempt to block it by most
newspaper groups.”

Full story

The Guardian, 30th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Police ethics ‘fall well short’, warns report – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 31st, 2013 in news, police, professional conduct, reports by michael

“Police have ‘fallen well short’ on standards of behaviour and ethics, warns report commissioned by Police Federation in wake of Plebgate affair.”

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Daily Telegraph, 30th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Televising of court of appeal proceedings starts this week – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2013 in appeals, courts, media, news, trials by michael

“Proceedings in the court of appeal are due to be televised from Thursday [31st October], casting aside decades of judicial suspicion about the impact of cameras in the courtroom.”

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The Guardian, 30th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government fail to overturn Poundland work scheme ruling – BBC News

Posted October 31st, 2013 in appeals, employment, human rights, news, social security, Supreme Court by michael

“The government has lost a Supreme Court appeal over a ruling its flagship ‘back to work’ schemes were legally flawed.”

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BBC News, 30th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Four admit to phone-hacking plots in Coulson and Brooks eras – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2013 in conspiracy, corruption, interception, media, news, telecommunications by michael

“Three former news editors from the News of the World have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hack mobile phones during a six-year period when Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson were editing the Sunday title, it was disclosed in court.”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Football fans who sang Stephen Lawrence abuse song jailed – The Guardian

Posted October 31st, 2013 in costs, disqualification, news, racism, sentencing, sport, suspended sentences by michael

“Six Charlton Athletic supporters received prison sentences for causing racially aggravated fear of violence on train.”

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The Guardian, 31st October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Breathing a sigh of relief…? – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, enforcement, news, practice directions by sally

“By the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 CPR r. 3.9 was substantially amended with effect from 1st April 2013. The ‘new’ rule reads as follows:
‘3.9 (1) On an application for relief from any sanction imposed for a failure to comply with any rule, practice direction or court order, the court will consider all the circumstances of the case, so as to enable it to deal justly with the application, including the need –
(a) for litigation to be conducted efficiently and at proportionate cost; and
(b) to enforce compliance with rules, practice directions and orders.
(2) An application for relief must be supported by evidence.'”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Solicitors’ indemnity insurance: Is the withdrawal of insurers creating a black hole for policyholders? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in disclosure, indemnities, insurance, Law Society, news, solicitors by sally

“Professional indemnity insurance (‘PII’) cover for solicitors is notoriously forgiving to policyholders on the issue of non-disclosure.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 18th October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The Relevance of Health and Safety Regulations After the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in accidents, compensation, duty of care, employment, health & safety, negligence, news, regulations by sally

“As a result of EERA 2013 there is no civil liability for breach of the Regulations made
under the Health and Safety at Work Act in accidents that occur on or after the 1st October 2013. However the Regulations remain in force. The key question for all practitioners is how far do they remain relevant to issues of civil liability?”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

‘Cash for crash’ fraud – sentencing in the criminal courts by Bronia Hartley – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in accidents, appeals, conspiracy, consultations, fraud, insurance, news, road traffic, sentencing by sally

“The Court of Appeal in the recent case of McKenzie [2013] EWCA Crim 1544 dismissed the Defendant’s appeal against the sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment imposed by the Crown Court following his conviction after trial for a fraud committed in the context of false insurance claims in the form of ‘cash for crash’ incidents.”

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Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Commercial Court upholds worldwide freezing order in support of English arbitration against foreign nonarbitrating parties – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in arbitration, Commercial Court, freezing injunctions, jurisdiction, news by sally

“In PJSC Vseukrainskyi Aktsionernyi Bank v Sergey Maksimov and others [2013] EWHC 3203 (Comm), Blair J dismissed an application to discharge a worldwide freezing order made against non-arbitrating parties in support of an LCIA arbitration in long-running commercial court proceedings. Charles Samek QC lists three reasons why the case is of importance.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

In Too Deep – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, compensation, duty of care, health & safety, local government, news, personal injuries, school children, Supreme Court by sally

“Kate Mckinlay considers the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision in Woodland v Essex County Council UKSC 2013.”

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Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Mediation: No duty to put meat on the bones – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, dispute resolution, duty of care, news, solicitors by sally

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a mediation can be nauseating at three in the morning, as Ian Fleming might have written had he declined a successful career as a thriller writer in favour of the less glamorous life of a commercial litigator. It is a sentiment which clearly resonates even in the Court of Appeal, as revealed in the Court’s judgment in Frost v Wake Smith & Tofields [2013] EWCA Civ 772 last month.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 17th October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Where now for mediation? Extending the Halsey guidelines – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, costs, dispute resolution, news, penalties by sally

“Since the case of Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] 1 WLR 3002, the manner in which the Court may encourage parties to settle their disputes by mediation has been largely settled. Thus, the court should not compel parties to mediatebut it may engage in robust encouragement. Importantly, a successful party may be deprived of some or all of its costs if it unreasonably refuses to mediate. The burden is on the unsuccessful party to demonstrate unreasonableness.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Jackson: 6 months on – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, claims management, costs, news, time limits by sally

“It is now almost 6 months since the Brave New World of Jackson. This article considers the impact of the reforms and stated ‘culture change’.”

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Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Green v RBS: Lessons in Interest-Rate Hedge Products Litigation – Littleton Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, consumer protection, duty of care, interest, limitations, news, statutory duty by sally

“Interest- Rate Hedge Products (‘IRHPs’) include a variety of different products sold to customers to help protect them against interest rate risk. The down side is that such products are often complex and structured to produce adverse financial effects for the customer if the Bank of England Base Rate (‘Base Rate’) goes down. And we all know that is exactly what has happened in recent years. This has given rise to a wave of IRHP mis-selling claims.”

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.littletonchambers.com