Industrial disease victims central to changes – Ministry of Justice
‘Sufferers of a deadly industrial disease are central to new plans to improve the way they claim compensation, Courts Minister Shailesh Vara announced today.’
Ministry of Justice, 4th December 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Government backtracks on mesothelioma reforms but moves to end recoverability – Litigation Futures
‘The government has responded to widespread pressure and scrapped plans to impose an insurance industry-devised mesothelioma pre-action protocol (PAP) and the fixed recoverable costs regime (FRC) that underpinned it.’
Litigtaiton Futures, 5th December 2013
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Social media users warned over court case comments – BBC News
‘The attorney general is to publish guidance on Twitter to help prevent social media users from committing contempt of court when commenting on legal cases.’
BBC News, 4th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Government proposes higher court fees for commercial cases – OUT-LAW.com
‘Companies seeking to recover large sums through the civil courts could be charged up to £20,000 in fees under proposals put forward by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
Mba, Article 9 and Indirect Discrimination – Employment Law Blog
‘Ms Eweida, you may recall, is the British Airways employee who wanted to wear a cross on a necklace over her uniform so that others could see it. She considered that that was a religious belief. Over-simplifying, doing what she wanted to do meant a breach of her employer’s dress code. Ms Eweida complained that, amongst other things, she was the victim of an act of indirect discrimination.’
Employment Law Blog, 5th December 2013
Source: www.employment11kbw.com
HTC Corpn v Nokia Corpn – WLR Daily
HTC Corpn v Nokia Corpn: [2013] EWHC 3778 (Pat); [2013] WLR (D) 468
‘The criteria to be applied in deciding whether or not to grant an injunction for infringement of intellectual property rights were those of efficacy, proportionality, dissuasiveness, the avoidance of creating barriers to legitimate trade and the provision of safeguards against abuse as set out in article 3(2) of Parliament and Council Directive 2004/48/EC.’
WLR Daily, 3rd December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Rayner v Legal Services Commission – WLR Daily
Rayner v Legal Services Commission: [2013] WLR (D) 467
‘On a proper reading of the words “attributable to” in paragraph 5(4) of the Community Legal Service (Cost Protection) Regulations 2000 the non-funded party could recover costs outside the funded period, provided that the causal link was established.’
WLR Daily, 2nd December 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd – WLR Daily
Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd: [2013] EWCA Civ 1537; [2013] WLR (D) 466
‘In the context of the court’s case management powers in respect of a party’s claim, the failure by the party to file a costs budget on time would not normally attract relief from the sanction imposed by CPR r 3.14 unless the default were trivial or there were a good reason for it.’
WLR Daily, 27th November 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Supreme Court
KL (A Child), Re [2013] UKSC 75 (4 December 2013)
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Pokhriyal v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWCA Civ 1568 (05 December 2013)
IM (Nigeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2013] EWCA Civ 1561 (05 December 2013)
Chandra & Anor v Brooke North (a firm) & Anor [2013] EWCA Civ 1559 (05 December 2013)
Smith v Secretary of State for Energy And Climate Change [2013] EWCA Civ 1585 (05 December 2013)
MBA v London Borough of Merton [2013] EWCA Civ 1562 (05 December 2013)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
J & Ors, R. v [2013] EWCA Crim 2287 (05 December 2013)
G & Anor, R. v [2013] EWCA Crim 2237 (05 December 2013)
Scully, R. v [2013] EWCA Crim 2288 (05 December 2013)
Matthews, R. v [2013] EWCA Crim 2238 (05 December 2013)
High Court (Administrative Court)
Lee & Ors v Solihull Magistrates Court & Anor [2013] EWHC 3779 (Admin) (05 December 2013)
Hussain v General Medical Council [2013] EWHC 3865 (Admin) (05 December 2013)
High Court (Chancery Division)
WH Newson Holding Ltd & Ors v IMI Plc & Ors [2013] EWHC 3788 (Ch) (04 December 2013)
High Court (Commercial Court)
High Court (Family Division)
Asaad v Kurter [2013] EWHC 3852 (Fam) (05 December 2013)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Source: www.bailii.org
Suspension ordered for ‘win at all costs’ Times solicitor – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The Times newspaper’s former legal director is to be suspended from practising for six months from 16 December after a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing ruled that he had knowingly allowed a court to be misled through his “win at all costs” approach.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 6th December 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
National Security trumps disclosure of Litvinenko secret documents, rules High Court – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Inner North London [2013] EWHC 3724 (Admin). The Foreign Secretary successfully appealed against an order for disclosure of secret documents to the Inquest for the death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 5th December 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Isa Muaza granted more time in UK – The Guardian
‘Asylum seeker who was returned to UK in a failed deportation attempt will stay in the country pending judicial review.’
The Guardian, 5th December 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Teacher who molested pupils has sentence increased by court of appeal – The Guardian
‘A primary school teacher who molested his pupils and filmed children’s genitals as they changed for swimming lessons has seen his six-month jail sentence more than doubled.’
The Guardian, 5th December 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Escort Michael Brennan jailed for Paul Simons murder – BBC News
‘A male escort has been jailed for life for the “cold and calculated” murder of an antiques dealer.’
BBC News, 5th December 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
The mother, the C-section baby and ‘secret British court’: a secrecy scandal – or the birth of a scare story? – The Independent
‘The first grim details published about Alessandra Pacchieri’s brief stay in Britain were, as one commentator put it, “the stuff of nightmares”.
Over the past few days, however, a different story has emerged. Transcripts of judgments relating to the case have now been made public and they reveal the nuances behind the apparently callous decisions of judges.’
The Independent, 6th December 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Christian care worker loses Sunday working discrimination appeal – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Mba v London Borough Of Merton [2013] EWCA Civ 1562. The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a Christian care worker against the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that a requirement that she work on Sundays indirectly discriminated against her on the grounds of religion or belief.’
Uk Human Rights Blog, 5th December 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
EVENT: UCL – Lunch Hour Lecture: Should we trust lawyers?
‘Public trust in lawyers is on the decline. Some of this is inevitable: Hackgate, the financial scandal and Hillsborough have all involved lawyers at pivotal moments. But are lawyers just doing their jobs in these cases or crossing ethical boundaries? An analysis of professional rules, lawyer psychology and economics suggest lawyers need to do some work to rebuild trust and behave more professionally.’
Date: 4th February 2014, 13.15-13.55pm
Location: Darwin Lecture Theatre, Darwin Building, Gower St, London WC1E 6BT
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
EVENT: Gresham College – Criminal Minds
‘What makes a criminal? Are they born or made? How do personality, social deprivation and upbringing affect criminality? Is crime due to economic need, a failure of conscience or a need for excitement?’
Date: 21st January 2014, 6:00pm
Location: Museum of London
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
EVENT: UCL CLP – Exploring Solutions to a Persistent Legal Problem: Conceptualising the Rights of Children in Detention
‘Children in detention are one of the most vulnerable groups in society, and their removal from the community and into the secure estate compounds the disadvantages that many of them have previously experienced. Rights can therefore take on even greater significance for this group. Over the past 15 years, children and their advocates have sought to use the law in an attempt to protect those rights and to bring about improvements in how children deprived of their liberty are treated. But there are limits to what has been achieved and the proposed changes to legal aid, judicial review and the possible repeal of the Human Rights Act are likely to present even greater hurdles for the realisation of the rights of detained children. This lecture will examine the developing law in this area and explore the extent to which the concepts of vulnerability and best interests have shaped the legal and human rights of children in custody. It will then go on to consider whether other concepts – including home, care and responsibility – could be better used in order to understand and secure the rights of children deprived of their liberty.’
Date: Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 6:00 PM
Location: UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG
Charge: Free, registration required
More information can be found here.
