Parties to civil litigation need more guidance on costs, says expert, as High Court declines to approve “disproportionate” budgets – OUT-LAW.com

“Parties to litigation in the civil courts need more guidance about what constitutes an ‘appropriate’ costs budget and the consequences of not meeting the requirements of the new costs management regime, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

LSB sparks fresh independence row with call for regulators to have lay chairs – Legal Futures

“The frontline regulators need lay chairs at the helm so as to cut the ‘overly strong ties’ that still exist with their branches of the profession and have held back change, the Legal Services Board (LSB) said yesterday.”

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Legal Futures, 9th October 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Failure to respond to FOI request more promptly than ‘long stop’ 20 days deadline needs to be justified, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

“Public authorities may need to maintain a record to justify why they are unable to respond to freedom of information (FOI) requests more promptly than within 20 working days after the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) released new guidance.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Watchdog warning over ‘unnecessary’ gagging clauses – BBC News

“The use of ‘gagging clauses’ risks stopping employees from speaking out about failures in the public sector, the National Audit Office has warned.”

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BBC News, 8th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why Mrs Litvinenko did not get her PCO – but what if it had been an environmental claim? – UK Human Rights Blog

“An extraordinary story which would have raised our eyebrows at its implausibility had it come from our spy novelists. In late 2006, Alexander Litvinenko was murdered by polonium-210 given to him in London. He was an ex-Russian Federation FSB agent, but by then was a UK citizen. He had accused Putin of the murder of the journalist Anna Politovskaya. He may or may not have been working for MI6 at the time of his death. The prime suspects for the killing are in Russia, not willing to help the UK with its inquiries. But rightly, in one form or another, we want to know what really happened.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 9th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Refusal of relief from sanctions also highlights negligence risk for solicitors, warns QC – Litigation Futures

Posted October 9th, 2013 in disclosure, negligence, news, sanctions, solicitors, time limits by sally

“The latest High Court decision refusing relief from sanctions shows how tough the courts are becoming in implementing the Jackson reforms, a QC has warned.”

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Litigation Futures, 9th October 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Wife of Gurkha soldier murdered by serial sex attacker on hunt for woman to rape – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2013 in murder, news, rape, sentencing by sally

“A serial sex attacker, who went looking for a woman to rape before murdering the wife of a Gurkha soldier, has been jailed for life by a judge who described him as a ‘very dangerous man’.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

House of Lords reform – time for evolution rather than revolution? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 9th, 2013 in bills, news, parliament, peerages & dignities, statistics by sally

“When the House of Lords returns from recess in October, they will begin to welcome the 30 new peers announced at the beginning of August, including such diverse figures as paralympian Chris Holmes, racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence and Ministry of Sound co-founder James Palumbo. These 30 new peers (14 Conservative, ten Liberal Democrats, five Labour and one Green) will see the Conservatives again become the biggest bloc (with 222 peers, one ahead of Labour) and take the number of currently eligible sitting peers to 783. While such a size led to many comments about the ballooning size of the House (such as ‘New faces push the supersized House of Lords towards 1,000’ The Times August 2, 2013), this figure – which excludes those on leave of absence and those ineligible due to offices held – is actually lower than the figures as at March 2011 and March 2012. However, the annual reports of the House do show average attendance has increased by over a third in the last decade (from the mid-300s to the high 400s) and reflecting changing party balance in the House of Commons through creations is undoubtedly set to increase the size of the House of Lords (particularly if the parties fortunes ebb and flow; on this point see, eg, Michael White (Guardian, 17/5/2010) and the Electoral Reform Society 2013 report ‘The Super-Sized Second Chamber’). Thus among the Bills set to be scrutinised in the remainder of this session are no fewer than three House of Lords Reform Private Members’ Bills (PMBs) which seek to restrict the size of the House, Nick Clegg’s revolutionary – and much criticised – reform having been abandoned last year (at least until the next election).”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 8th October 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Who, what, why: What’s behind the idea of banning 10-packs of cigarettes? – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in EC law, news, regulations, sale of goods, smoking by sally

“Euro MPs have voted to ban the sale of packs of 10 cigarettes as part of a general tightening of the law. Why?”

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BBC News, 8th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Criminal law – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 9th, 2013 in appeals, barristers, criminal justice, defence, incitement, judges, news, sentencing, terrorism by sally

“Defendants being charged with a number of terrorism-related offences – First defendant’s trial counsel’s conduct at trial being criticised by judge and prosecution counsel on numerous occasions during trial.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 8th October 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Baby P’s mother Tracey Connelly to be released from prison – The Guardian

“The mother of Peter Connelly, the toddler known as Baby P who died with more than 50 injuries despite being on the at-risk register, has been recommended for release from prison by the Parole Board.”

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The Guardian, 8th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court of Appeal upholds CPO by council of site of famous amusement park – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 9th, 2013 in appeals, compulsory purchase, inquiries, local government, news by sally

“A district council’s compulsory purchase of the site of a famous amusement park has today been upheld by the Court of Appeal.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th October 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Significant changes to corporate crime regime on the way as National Crime Agency launches – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 9th, 2013 in bribery, corruption, fraud, news, ombudsmen, penalties, whistleblowers by sally

“US-style incentives for whistleblowers against corporate fraud, bribery and corruption offences could be introduced in the UK following the launch of the new National Crime Agency (NCA), an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 8th October 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Michael Moss killing: Ex-partner Collette Booth arranged attack – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in assault, evidence, homicide, news, sentencing, telecommunications, video recordings by sally

“A woman who arranged for two men to attack her former partner has been jailed for manslaughter.”

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BBC News, 8th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Charity chiefs back ‘once-in-a-generation’ change to fostering law – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2013 in bills, charities, children, education, fostering, local government, news, statistics by sally

“An alliance of 40 charity chiefs and experts is today urging members of the Lords to seize a ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to change the law to give young people in foster care the same start in adult life as their peers.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Robin Thicke advert ruled ‘too sexual’ for early showing – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in advertising, children, complaints, media, news, video recordings, women by sally

“An advert featuring singer Robin Thicke performing his number one hit Blurred Lines must not be shown before 19:30 as it is too sexual, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has said.”

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BBC News, 9th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Victim suing police for taking too long to arrive – Daily Telegraph

“A crime victim who was beaten almost to death by a baseball bat-wielding gang of thugs is fighting a landmark battle for compensation from Humberside police.”

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Daily Telegraph, 8th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Bwlchyllan lake battle set to end after 20 years – BBC News

Posted October 9th, 2013 in enforcement notices, fines, health & safety, local government, news, planning, water by sally

“A farmer is set to win a 20-year-long legal battle for planning permission for a large lake on his land.”

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BBC News, 9th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Christian owners of Chymorvah Hotel who refused to allow gay couple to stay in double room take legal fight to Supreme Court – The Independent

“The Christian owners of a guesthouse who refused to allow a gay couple to stay in a double-bedded room have said they want to avoid a ‘collision’ between two different lifestyles as they prepare to take their case to the Supreme Court.”

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The Independent, 8th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Hundreds of criminals, including knife offenders, spared jail under Coalition – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 9th, 2013 in community service, news, prisons, sentencing, statistics, weapons by sally

“Hundreds of criminals who commit multiple crimes are being spared jail, new figures have revealed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th October 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk