Granting alterations licence discharged guarantor from liability, High Court rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 18th, 2013 in landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

“Granting a licence for alterations without the consent of the guarantor can be enough to discharge the guarantor’s liability under the lease, the High Court has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 18th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

New CCTV Code of Practice: surveillance and the protection of freedoms – Panopticon

“Surveillance of the covert and digital variety has been dominating the news of late. The legal contours of the practices leaked by Edward Snowden (the NSA’s obtaining of internet metadata) and covered by The Guardian (most recently, GCHQ’s monitoring of certain communications of ‘friendly’ foreign allies) may be matters of some debate.”

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Panopticon, 17th June 2013

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Consumer codes scheme aims to improve customer confidence – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2013 in codes of practice, consumer protection, news by sally

“Rogue traders who break the law by ripping off customers with sub-standard work and shoddy services face unlimited fines and even imprisonment under a UK-wide scheme to improve industry self-regulation.”

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The Guardian, 18th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Costs budgets – now with sharp teeth. If you want more than your budget, apply – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 18th, 2013 in budgets, costs, news by sally

“The Jackson reforms, which are designed to stop lawyers spending too much of their clients’ or their opponents’ money, are still but young, and therefore not yielding much in the way of decided cases. But there were some pilot schemes which are very similar, and this case about one such scheme (in the Technology & Construction Court) is an interesting, and tough, example of why costs budgets must be taken seriously.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Benefits of Early Plea Discussions – CrimeLine

Posted June 18th, 2013 in fraud, news, plea bargaining, sentencing by sally

“Last month marked the fourth anniversary of the Attorney-General’s Guidelines on Plea Discussions in Cases of Serious or Complex Fraud (‘the Guidelines’)[1]. They set out the process by which a prosecutor in cases of serious or complex fraud can discuss and agree a basis of plea and joint sentencing submissions with a defendant. When they were promulgated, Baroness Scotland, the then AG said that the Guidelines were designed to help prosecutors resolve fraud cases more effectively to the benefit of the public.”

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CrimeLine, 18th June 2013

Source: www.crimeline.info

Teaching assistant wins case after being sacked over contact with her paedophile son – Daily Telegraph

“A teaching assistant who was sacked from a primary school after refusing to sever ties with her sex offender son has been awarded £28,300 in compensation.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A gray new world – LegalVoice

“‘This is a derisory document’. Thus, Professor Roger Smith described the MoJ’s paper on Transforming Legal Aid, when he gave evidence to the Select Committee for Justice last Tuesday. The most senior members of the legal profession gave evidence about the potential impact of the proposals. The President of the Law Society, and the chairs of the Bar Council, Criminal Bar Association, and Criminal Law Solicitors Association all agreed that, if the Minister has his way, the criminal justice system will be irreparably harmed. The MoJ plans to introduce these changes by secondary legislation, although more than 90,000 signatories to an e-petition (Save UK Justice) have now called for a full debate in Parliament.”

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LegalVoice, 17th June 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

High Court rejects post-trial bid to double costs budget – Litigation Futures

Posted June 18th, 2013 in amendments, budgets, costs, news by sally

“The High Court has rejected a bid by a successful defendant to nearly double its approved £270,000 costs budget after the case had concluded.”

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Litigation Futures, 17th June 2013

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Call centres in BBC Three programme fined £225,000 – BBC News

Posted June 18th, 2013 in complaints, fines, news, nuisance, telecommunications by sally

“Two companies which appear in BBC Three series The Call Centre have been issued with fines related to nuisance calls.”

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BBC News, 18th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Newham Council loses fight to stop spread of betting shops as court upholds appeal by Paddy Power – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2013 in appeals, gambling, licensed premises, local government, news by sally

“A council has accused the Gambling Commission of ‘refusing to act as a regulator’ and called for Government action as it loses its battle to curb the spread of betting shops in poorer areas.”

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The Independent, 17th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Ofcom resolves BBC boat race swearing case – BBC News

Posted June 18th, 2013 in BBC, codes of practice, complaints, news, obscenity by sally

“Ofcom has resolved a complaints case against the BBC over offensive language broadcast live during the 2013 Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race.”

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BBC News, 17th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Cybercrime needs to be better defined in order to protect privacy rights, says watchdog – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 18th, 2013 in computer crime, data protection, drafting, EC law, news, privacy by sally

“The European Commission should more clearly define what is meant by ‘cybercrime’ in order to prevent personal data from being processed in cases where it cannot be legally justified, an EU privacy watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Moors murderer Ian Brady appears in public at ‘right-to-die’ hearing – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2013 in assisted suicide, mental health, news, prisons, tribunals by sally

“Moors murderer Ian Brady began a legal attempt to prove that he is sane in the hope that he will be discharged from the secure psychiatric hospital where he is incarcerated and sent to a high security jail so he can starve himself to death.”

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The Guardian, 17th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BBC breached code after airing ‘offensive’ word on Today programme – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 18th, 2013 in BBC, codes of practice, complaints, news, obscenity by sally

“BBC Radio 4’s flagship Today programme breached the broadcasting code when it aired an offensive word describing people with learning difficulties, watchdog Ofcom has ruled.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Legal aid cuts: What has changed? – BBC News

“Significant changes to civil legal aid in England and Wales came into effect on 1 April 2013, as part of a plan to reform the system and save £350m a year.”

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BBC News, 18th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Wales child abuse: Mrs Justice Macur holds Wrexham meetings – BBC News

Posted June 18th, 2013 in child abuse, inquiries, news, Wales by sally

“The judge leading a review of the Waterhouse inquiry into abuse at children’s homes in north Wales will hold public meetings later on Tuesday.”

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BBC News, 18th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Surveyor on £60,000 a year jailed after secret life as graffiti vandal exposed – Daily Telegraph

“A surveyor who had a secret life as a graffiti vandal has been jailed for three and a half years.”

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Daily Telegraph, 18th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Attorney General to investigate if sentence ‘too lenient’ after veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall gets 15 months for indecently assaulting 13 girls – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2013 in guilty pleas, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

“The Attorney General is to examine whether disgraced former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall’s 15-month sentence for indecent assault was ‘unduly lenient’, as politicians and charities said it should be extended.”

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The Independent, 17th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Charles Saatchi case: what is a police caution? – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2013 in assault, cautions, news by sally

“Police cautions are given to save the expense and logistical difficulty of a full court hearing and happen when someone admits what is usually a relatively minor offence.”

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The Guardian, 18th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Defamation on social media – Law Society’s Gazette

“On 24 May Mr Justice Tugendhat handed down the judgment in McAlpine v Bercow [2013] EWHC 1342 (QB), finding that Mrs Bercow’s tweet carried a defamatory meaning. Following the judgment it was announced that Bercow had accepted an earlier settlement offer, saying that ‘today’s ruling should be seen as a warning to all social media users’. Although Twitter litigation is no longer new (the site has been the form of publication in a number of cases, most notably Cairns v Modi [2012] EWHC 756 (QB)), McAlpine is the first to really tackle the peculiar nature of this social media genre and could mark a key moment in social media use.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 17th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk