Detainees win torture claims test case – BBC News
“Hundreds of people who were tortured before seeking asylum in the UK could seek compensation and release from immigration detention.”
BBC News, 17th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Damages under section 13 DPA: Court of Appeal’s judgment in Halliday – Panopticon
“I blogged a while ago about the ex tempore judgment from the Court of Appeal in a potentially groundbreaking case on damages under section 13 of the DPA, namely Halliday v Creation Consumer Finance [2013] EWCA Civ 333. The point of potential importance was that ‘nominal damages’ appeared to suffice for the purposes of section 13(1), thereby opening up section 13(2). In short, the point is that claimants under the DPA cannot be compensated for distress unless they have also suffered financial harm. A ‘nominal damages’ approach to the concept of financial harm threatened to make the DPA’s compensation regime dramatically more claimant-friendly.”
Panopticon, 17th May 2013
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
New Asbo laws could infringe freedom, think tank warns – Daily Telegraph
“New laws to curb anti-social behaviour could be used by councils to interfere with law abiding citizens, a think tank has warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 19th May 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Button Moon creator Ian Allen wins court copyright fight – BBC News
“The creator of children’s TV show Button Moon has won a damages claim against a businessman he said copied his designs on T-shirts and mugs.”
BBC News, 17th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Fair inquest for Litvinenko impossible, judge warns – The Independent
“Hearing in danger of collapse after British Government’s accused of evidence cover-up.”
The Independent, 17th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Trainee lawyer was denied permanent contract when she became pregnant – The Guardian
“A trainee lawyer is in line for compensation from a top City law firm after winning her case for discrimination after she missed out on a job because she was pregnant.”
The Guardian, 19th May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Oxfordshire beheading: Jonathan Limani’s appeal rejected – BBC News
“A man who beheaded a restaurant manager will not have his 19-year sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal.”
BBC News, 17th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Abu Qatada launches fresh bid to be released from prison – The Independent
“Radical cleric Abu Qatada will launch a fresh bid for freedom today as he seeks to be released from prison at an immigration tribunal.”
The Independent, 20th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘I think I’ve killed Colin – he was getting on my nerves’: Gran who smothered terminally ill former partner escapes jail term – The Indpendent
A grandmother has been given a suspended sentence for killing her terminally ill former partner.
The Independent, 17th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Solicitor General welcomes guidance on sentencing complex frauds – Attorney General’s Office
“Court of Appeal issues a judgment on sentences for the most serious commercial frauds and increases the sentences of two men.”
Attorney General’s Office, 16th May 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
Traffic courts in every area – Ministry of Justice
“Local areas are being urged to work with the judiciary to set up the courts as part of proposals to reduce delays and focus more on serious and contested cases. This forms part of the Government’s vision for a more efficient and effective criminal justice system that meet the needs of victims, witnesses and communities.”
Ministry of Justice, 17th May 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Your views wanted for EU review on civil and family justice – Ministry of Justice
“Lawyers, business groups and the public are all being asked to submit their views on the balance of competences between the UK and the European Union on civil judicial cooperation (including family matters).”
Ministry of Justice, 16th May 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Preston (formerly Moore) v President of the Methodist Conference – WLR Daily
Preston (formerly Moore) v President of the Methodist Conference [2013 UKSC 29; [2013] WLR (D) 179
“The basis for the rights and duties of an ordained minister of the Methodist Church were to be found in the constitutional provisions of the church and not in any arrangement of a kind which could amount to a contract. Therefore a Methodist minister was not an ’employee’ of the church for the purposes of section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and was not entitled to bring proceedings for unfair dismissal against the church.”
WLR Daily, 15th May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Crime and Courts Act 2013: Consultation on the application of the equal merit provision – Judicial Appointments Commission
“The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is interested in views on potential approaches to the application of the provisions in Part 2 of Schedule 13 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (CCA) relating to diversity considerations where candidates for judicial office are of equal merit. The provisions in the CCA clarify that the JAC’s duty to make selections ‘solely on merit’ (S63(2) Constitutional Reform Act 2005) does not prevent it from selecting one candidate over another for the purpose of increasing judicial diversity where there are two candidates of equal merit.”
Judicial Appointments Commission, 17th May 2013
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Special traffic courts to deal with motoring cases under ministers’ plans – The Guardian
“Traffic-light jumpers and speeding motorists are to be dealt with in special traffic courts in a bid to free up time for more serious cases, the government has announced.”
The Guardian, 17th May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Will the new criminal legal aid reforms breach the right to a fair trial? – UK Human Rights Blog
“One of the most contentious proposals in the Consultation Paper on the transforming legal aid is the removal of client choice in criminal cases. Under the proposals contracts for the provision of legal aid will be awarded to a limited number of firms in an area. The areas are similar to the existing CPS areas. The Green Paper anticipates that there will be four or five such providers in each area. Thus the county of Kent, for example, will have four or five providers in an area currently served by fifty or so legal aid firms. Each area will have a limited number providers that will offer it is argued economies of scale.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 16th May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
