Care Quality Commission: the NHS watchdog – The Guardian
“The body that regulates both NHS and private health and social care services in England is the Care Quality Commission.”
The Guardian, 25th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Category: news
European Court of Human Rights’ respect for democracy: prisoner voting – UK Human Rights Blog
“There has been some discussion on the UK Human Rights Blog about the judgments in the Hirst v UK/Scoppula v Italy cases, the latest of which was given this week. Simply put, the judgments held (taken together) that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoner voting infringed a prisoner’s voting rights; to comply with the Convention, a ban on prisoner voting would have to involve an exercise of discretion. The growing legal discussion has been learned and has dissected the reasons expressed by the ECtHR. However, from the perspective of a non-specialist human rights lawyer, the discussion seems curiously inverted. It is suggested that the non-lawyer would naturally start an analysis of the competing views not by analysing the caselaw of the ECtHR and asking what room to manoeuvre the latest judgment gives the UK government, but by asking what the court had to say about the recent expression of the will of the people, expressed in the vote in Parliament, which supported the continuation of the ban. It is important for lawyers to address these more general issues for the public to maintain confidence in the system of European human rights law.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Millionaire’s daughter jailed for acting as a driver in London riots – The Independent
“A millionaire’s daughter was jailed for two years yesterday after she acted as the driver for a group of armed looters who pillaged shops and robbed people at knifepoint during last summer’s riots.”
The Independent, 26th May 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Detention centre failures contributed to death of asylum seeker, inquest finds – The Guardian
“Neglect by immigration detention centre staff contributed to the death of a Pakistani asylum seeker after he suffered a heart attack, an inquest jury has found.”
The Guardian, 25th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Employers can restrict what pay increases count towards an employee’s pension, court rules – OUT-LAW.com
“Employers are entitled to offer pay increases on the condition that all or part of that increase does not count towards an employee’s future pension entitlement, the High Court has ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 25th May 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Gangmaster licensing plan prompts exploitation fears – BBC News
“Fruit pickers, shellfish gatherers and farm labourers could be at greater risk of exploitation under plans to reduce regulation of gangmasters, unions say.”
BBC News, 25th May 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Litigation funders become big business, enjoying booming market in UK – The Guardian
“Champerty used to be a crime. Now it is known as third-party litigation funding and has developed into an investment industry backed by up to £500m of investor cash looking for lucrative courtroom opportunities.”
The Guardian, 25th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Academies’ refusal to admit pupils with special needs prompts legal battles – The Guardian
“Two of the government’s flagship academy schools are facing legal challenges for refusing to admit children with statements of special needs.”
The Guardian, 24th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ex-soldier jailed for sex attacks – The Independent
” A former soldier who carried out a string of sex attacks has been jailed indefinitely.”
The Independent, 25th May 2012
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Baby Peter social workers lose sacking appeal – BBC News
“Two of Baby Peter’s social workers have lost their appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that they were fairly sacked.”
BBC News, 25th May 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Woolf calls for restrictions on inquiries – The Lawyer
“Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf has called for the length and cost of public inquiries to be limited.”
The Lawyer, 25th May 2012
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Courting publicity? The Supreme Court’s open door policy – Legal Week
“Three things in particular tend to surprise new visitors to the three-year-old Supreme Court. The first is that there are no secret tunnels to Parliament, which comes as a great disappointment to many school groups. The second is that the Justices sit on the same level as the rest of the court, rather than on a raised platform. And the third is that the best rooms in the house are reserved for the lawyers’ meeting spaces. The latter two point to a very conscious effort by the Law Lords to ensure that the building reflected the new institution’s overall approach, enshrined in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, of being ‘accessible, fair and efficient’.”
Legal Week, 24th May 2012
Source: www.legalweek.com
The case for letting prisoners vote – UK Human Rights Blog
“Last Tuesday saw the latest episode in the prisoner voting legal saga with the European Court of Human Rights’ Grand Chamber’s judgment reversing the Chamber judgment which found Italy’s automatic ban on voting for prisoners serving over 3 years in prison (and a lifetime ban with the possibility of future relief for those sentenced to more than 5 years) in breach of Article 3 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 24th May 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Enterprise Bill proposes radically reduced compensation awards and binding shareholder votes on pay – OUT-LAW.com
“A draft Bill designed to reform certain aspects of employment law and encourage ‘strong, sustainable’ economic growth contains a provision which would allow the Government to radically reduce compensation awards for unfair dismissal.”
OUT-LAW.com, 24th May 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Court cases hampered by translation failures – Daily Telegraph
“Up to 50 court cases a day were delayed or postponed because of failures by a translation contractor to provide an adequate service,.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Police recorded 8,500 corruption allegations in three years – The Guardian
“The police watchdog has revealed how more than 8,500 allegations about corruption have been recorded by forces in England and Wales in three years – but only 13 police officers have been prosecuted and found guilty.”
The Guardian, 24th May 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Hospital allowed ‘careless’ surgeon to continue working after ‘potentially fatal’ error – Daily Telegraph
“A Hungarian surgeon with a limited command of English was allowed to continue practising for three years after mistakenly injecting carbolic acid into a small child with ‘potentially fatal’ consequences.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
We must defy Strasbourg on prisoner votes – Daily Telegraph
“The judges in Europe have exceeded their authority by trying to overrule British law – by David Davis and Jack Straw.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Kevin Pietersen fined for Twitter comment on Nick Knight – BBC News
“Pietersen was docked an undisclosed sum for comments aimed at the ex-England opener during the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s.”
BBC News, 23rd May 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
