Kneecap advert ‘banned’ on London Tube network – BBC News
‘Belfast rap trio Kneecap have said they are “banned” from advertising one of their posters on the London Underground.’
BBC News, 10th July 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Praying in private and Article 9 ECHR: Rafiyev – Law & Religion UK
‘In Rafiyev v Azerbaijan [2025] ECHR 171, Mr Rafiyev was a follower of the Nurism sect of Islam [5]. In 2017, after attending a funeral, he and others visited a friend, TA, at his house and, at around 1 pm, several police officers raided the house and arrested Mr Rafiyev and twenty-one others. They were ultimately charged with violating the rules on holding religious meetings, contrary to Article 515.0.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences [6&7]. He was found guilty; the court accepted the police evidence that, following the funeral ceremony, he had gone to TA’s house and had prayed, though he had not known that praying at TA’s house had constituted “a religious meeting” [9]. His appeal was unsuccessful [10&11]. Before the ECtHR, he complained of breaches of Article 5 (liberty and security), Article 6 (fair trial) and Article 9 (thought, conscience and religion).’
Law & Religion UK, 10th July 2025
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
Focus on sections 90 and 91of Law of Property Act 1925 – Falcon Chambers
‘Where a creditor seeks to enforce a charging order, or other equitable charge made without a deed, by sale of the property, they must apply to the court for an order for sale. Sections 90 and 91 of the Law of Property Act 1925 provide a means for that to take place through the legal mechanism of vesting a term of years in the mortgagee/charge.’
Falcon Chambers, 18th June 2025
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
George Peretz: The Labour Case for the ECHR – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘In a series of posts on this blog, the legal historian Sanjit Nagi has outlined both a history of Labour scepticism about the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR”) (and in particular about the role of the European Court of Human Rights (“ECtHR”)) dating back to the Attlee government and a set of theoretical objections that have informed the strand of Labour Party thinking that continues to share that scepticism – most obviously in the case of Lord Glasman, who has called for the UK to leave the ECHR and “scrap” the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”).’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 10th July 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Leveson report: diversion welcome but no need to curtail trial by jury, warns Bar Council – The Bar Council
‘The Bar Council has welcomed the focus on diversion from the criminal justice system in the new report by Sir Brian Leveson but warned against proposals to remove jury trials.’
The Bar Council, 9th July 2025
Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk
Man found guilty of ‘Good Samaritan’ murder – BBC News
‘A man who killed a passer-by when he drove his car into a crowd of people at his sister’s wedding reception has been found guilty of murder.’
BBC News, 9th July 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Specialist policing units as a pathway towards procedural justice for domestic abuse victims – Policing and Society
‘The available research on specialist policing responses to violence against women and girls highlights multiple benefits. However, there is limited evidence about the key features of specialist units, the specific mechanisms that lead to improved outcomes, and the extent to which procedural justice theory can be seen to underpin specialist alternatives to “business as usual” policing approaches. This paper advances knowledge on the topic of specialist policing units designed to improve the response to VAWG, with a specific focus on domestic abuse, by reporting findings from two interlinked mixed-methods research projects that took place in Wales during 2023–2024, including workshops with representatives from the four police forces and a case study from one police force. Several types of data were collected and analysed: focus groups with police (n = 10 participants), interviews with police and partner agencies (n = 10), domestic abuse cases referred to a specialist unit over a 9-month period (n = 387), and survey feedback from domestic abuse victims (n = 413). The workshops revealed strong consensus around specialist units having a defined remit and a clear mission of being victim-led, with dedicated time and resources including specialist knowledge and expertise and arrangements in place for working in close collaboration with partner agencies. The Operation Diogel case study demonstrated how these underlying mechanisms generated a range of improvements when put into practice, including higher victim satisfaction, better safeguarding and criminal justice outcomes, and enhanced tradecraft, teamworking and morale amongst the officers involved.’
Policing and Society, 1st July 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
The developing domestic debate about the ECHR: Navigating two extremes – Public Law for Everyone
‘Calls for withdrawal and kneejerk defences of the status quo each risk oversimplifying the UK’s developing political debate about the European Convention on Human Rights. The implications of each position must at least be properly understood if the debate is to be a meaningful one.’
Public Law for Everyone, 9th July 2025
Source: publiclawforeveryone.com
High Court ‘draws amendment line’ applicable to insolvency claims – OUT-LAW.com
‘Insolvency practitioners in England and Wales have been served a timely reminder about the importance of ensuring investigations are promptly carried out so that claims can be properly advanced and issued before the limitation period expires.’
OUT-LAW.com, 9th July 2025
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Judge sets out learning from positive Deprivation of Liberty case involving young woman turning 18 – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has outlined what can be learned from matters going well in a Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) case involving a 17-year-old woman who has now turned 18.’
Local Government Lawyer, 10th July 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Ting Xu: The Legal Fiction of State Neutrality: Rethinking Accountability in Disability Home Adaptations – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘How should the state be held to account when it funds and organises essential services—but then denies responsibility for their failure? This post examines that question through the lens of disability-related home adaptations in the UK. It explores how the legal and administrative structures surrounding the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) scheme allow local authorities to exert control while evading public law responsibility. Drawing on a real-life case, the analysis raises wider constitutional concerns about the limits of state accountability, the legal fictions that shield public bodies, and the consequences of governance frameworks that prioritise autonomy and cost-efficiency over care and justice.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th July 2025
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
The Building Services Act and the presumption against retrospectivity – Administrative Court Blog
‘The facts of Adriatic Land 5 Limited v Long Leaseholders at Hippersley Point [2025] EWCA Civ 856 are straightforward enough. The applicant landlord owned a large building. That building needed significant works to restore and update its cladding and other materials to meet relevant safety standards. These works were carried out in 2020. In 2022 the Building Safety Act (BSA) was passed by Parliament. That Act contained a section (paragraph 9 to Schedule 8 of the Act) which states that “no service charge is payable” in respect to the services undertaken by the applicant.’
Administrative Court Blog, 9th July 2025
Infected blood inquiry urges SRA to crack down on ‘no win, no fee’ offers – Legal Futures
‘The head of the infected blood inquiry yesterday called on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to tell solicitors that they should not be charging clients making a claim for compensation.’
Legal Futures, 10th July 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Man guilty of murdering woman walking dog – BBC News
‘A wanted man who was on the run for two years has been found guilty of murdering a woman who was walking her dog last summer.’
BBC News, 9th July 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Adriatic Land 5 Ltd v Long Leaseholders At Hippersley Point [2025] EWCA Civ 856 (08 July 2025)
Lutz v Ryanair DAC & Anor [2025] EWCA Civ 849 (08 July 2025)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
ANZ, R. v [2025] EWCA Crim 778 (09 July 2025)
Osmond v R. [2025] EWCA Crim 835 (04 July 2025)
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Commercial Court)
The Kingdom of Sweden v Serwin & Ors [2025] EWHC 1620 (Comm) (08 July 2025)
High Court (King’s Bench Division)
Mex Group Worldwide Ltd v Duthie & Anor (No. 2: Costs) [2025] EWHC 1725 (KB) (09 July 2025)
Source: www.bailii.org
Intersectional inequalities in trust in the police in England – Policing and Society
‘This study investigates intersectional inequalities in trust in the police in England using multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) for the first time. We find that those who are non-White, from lower social classes, and reside in London show lower predicted trust levels than other people. While older people show higher predicted trust levels, younger people, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, have the lowest predicted levels of trust in the police. We also find intersectional effects. While middle-aged White males from lower social classes and living outside of London have lower than-expected trust in the police, older White females from lower social classes and living outside of London have higher than-expected trust in the police. We argue that ground-level, community engagement, coupled with extensive officer training on engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds, are key to developing higher levels of trust in the police.’
Policing and Society, 7th July 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
The Gauke Review – 2 Hare Court
‘David Gauke’s Independent Sentencing Review was published on 22 May 2025 in response to what was described as a “crisis in prison capacity”. The aim of the report’s recommendations is to reduce the prison population. In broad terms it does so by transferring the burden from the prison service to the probation service.’
2 Hare Court, 11th June 2025
Source: www.2harecourt.com
How can the coroner service be improved? – Exchange Chambers
‘Last year’s general election prevented the Justice Committee from publishing its long-awaited report into the coroner service for England and Wales.’
Exchange Chambers, 17th June 2025
Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk
PINS to roll out new online appeals service to all local planning authorities by December 2025 – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Planning Inspectorate has announced that it will roll out its new digital appeals service nationally following a successful pilot with five London boroughs.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th July 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Government backs MP’s bill to extend use of remote hearings – Legal Futures
‘The government has given its “wholehearted support” to a private member’s bill that gives judges the power to hold remote hearing for breaches of some injunctions.’
Legal Futures, 9th July 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
