Right or Wrong? The Court of Appeal causes controversy by finding ‘good reasons’s for Claimant to be allowed to depart from its own costs budget – Zenith Chambers

Posted March 7th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, costs, news, reasons by sally

“On the eve of costs budgeting becoming an integral aspect of multi-track case management, the Court of Appeal has caused controversy by reversing Senior Costs Judge Hirst’s tough decision in Henry v News Group Newspapers (SCCO) 28th May 2012).”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 12th February 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted March 7th, 2013 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Goodman v Faber Prest Steel [2013] EWCA Civ 153 (05 March 2013)

Tesla Motors Ltd & Anor v British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) [2013] EWCA Civ 152 (05 March 2013)

Iqbal v Dean Manson Solicitors & Ors (No 2) [2013] EWCA Civ 149 (05 March 2013)

Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) v Petromec Inc [2013] EWCA Civ 150 (05 March 2013)

Chilab v King’s College London [2013] EWCA Civ 147 (28 February 2013)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Garwood v Bank of Scotland Plc [2012] EWHC 415 (Ch) (04 March 2013)

Stichting BDO & Ors v BDO Unibank, Inc & Ors [2013] EWHC 418 (Ch) (04 March 2013)

High Court (Family Division)

GB v RNB [2013] EWHC 414 (Fam) (27 February 2013)

High Court (Commercial Court)

Lisnave Estaleiros Navais SA v Chemikalien Seetransport GmbH [2013] EWHC 338 (Comm) (27 February 2013)

Al Sulaiman v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd & Anor [2013] EWHC 400 (Comm) (01 March 2013)

Source: www.bailii.org

Top Gear up before Top Judges – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 7th, 2013 in appeals, BBC, damages, defamation, malicious falsehood, news, striking out by sally

“The Court of Appeal has refused an appeal against the strike out of a libel claim against the BBC in relation to a review of an electric sports car by the ‘Top Gear’ programme. The judge below had been correct in concluding that there was no sufficient prospect of the manufacturer recovering a substantial sum of damages such as to justify continuing the case to trial.”

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 6th March 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Man jailed for murder of woman and death of unborn child – The Guardian

Posted March 7th, 2013 in children, murder, news, sentencing by sally

“A man who beat his pregnant former fiancee to death causing the death of their unborn baby has been jailed for at least 27 years.”

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The Guardian, 6th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Keighley rape trial: Bilal Hussain and Shazad Rehman jailed – BBC News

Posted March 7th, 2013 in children, conspiracy, drug trafficking, news, rape, sentencing by sally

“Two men have been jailed for drugging and raping vulnerable under-age girls they found walking the streets.”

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BBC News, 6th March 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Government to legislate for plain cigarette packaging this year – The Guardian

Posted March 7th, 2013 in advertising, children, health, news, smoking by sally

“Ministers are to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes along the Australian model with legislation this year, after becoming convinced that the branding is a key factor in why young people start to smoke.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Settling the case – what about costs? – Zenith Chambers

Posted March 6th, 2013 in costs, news by sally

“After prolonged negotiations the case is settled – or so it seems. When acting for the Claimant you may say, ‘We haven’t got all we wanted but at least we’ve succeeded.’ For the Defendant you may say, ‘We’ve cut the Claimant down very considerably.’ Very often what then is said is ‘We’ve reached a compromise, no order as to costs’. That is altogether too simplistic a view of the situation.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 14th February 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Lord Neuberger to the executive: get your tanks off the judicial lawn – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 6th, 2013 in human rights, judiciary, legal aid, news, United Nations by sally

“In a rare public intervention Lord Neuberger, President of the UK Supreme Court, has flagged three important issues that should be of concern to us all.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th March 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Silence is not necessarily golden: the consequences of failing to adduce evidence in rebuttal in civil trials – Zenith Chambers

Posted March 6th, 2013 in burden of proof, evidence, news, witnesses by sally

“Gordon Exall considers the practical issues that arise from the principle that a court can draw adverse inferences from a party’s failure to adduce evidence on an issue.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 12th February 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Children and same sex families: known biological fathers and contact: the decision in S v D and E / T v X and Y [2013] EWHC – Zenith Chambers

“Where do parents and prospective parents stand after the very recent decision in the case of S v D and E? What can parenting lesbian mothers and the men who donate sperm to enable them to have children expect if there is a disagreement between them as to the role of biological fathers in their children’s lives?”

Full story

Zenith Chambers, 14th February 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Criminal legal aid scheme of the future must be based on quality and public interest, not just price – The Bar Council

Posted March 6th, 2013 in advocacy, competition, criminal justice, legal aid, news by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has today responded to the Ministry of Justice’s announcement that its consultation and implementation of a new scheme for criminal legal aid will be brought forward, with price competition put forward as one key proposal.”

Full story

The Bar Council, 5th March 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Prosecutor demands overhaul of sexual abuse investigations – The Guardian

Posted March 6th, 2013 in child abuse, news, prosecutions, sexual offences by sally

“Sweeping changes to the way alleged sex offenders in England and Wales are investigated must be introduced in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal and other child exploitation cases, Keir Starmer, the director of public prosecutions, has said.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council calls for proportionate regulation in response to LSBs Business Plan – The Bar Council

Posted March 6th, 2013 in budgets, legal aid, news, public interest, regulations by sally

“The Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, has called for proportionate and financially responsible regulation in its response to the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) draft business plan for 2013-14.”

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The Bar Council, 4th March 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Children and Families Bill 2013 – 11 KBW

Posted March 6th, 2013 in bills, children, local government, news, special educational needs by sally

“Part 3 of the Children and Families Bill 2013 (‘the Bill’) was intended to deliver ‘the biggest
reforms for 30 years’ for children and young people with SEN.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 5th March 2013

Source: www.11kbw.com

Serious Fraud Office investigation reports published – Attorney General’s Office

Posted March 6th, 2013 in news, reports, Serious Fraud Office, whistleblowers by sally

“The Attorney General has sent two reports dealing with allegations of misconduct at the SFO to a parliamentary committee.”

Full story

Attorney General’s Office, 4th March 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/ago

Related links: Sir Alex Allan report (PDF) and report by Tim Hurdle (PDF)

Post-adoption support should be a legal right, say Lords – BBC News

Posted March 6th, 2013 in adoption, local government, news, reports, social services by sally

“Adoptive parents in England should have a legal right to support, a House of Lords report argues.”

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BBC News, 6th March 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Related link: Adoption: Post-Legislative Scrutiny Report (PDF)

Important changes to the restricted certificates of sponsorship (RCoS) application process from 6 March 2013 – UK Border Agency

Posted March 6th, 2013 in codes of practice, employment, news, sponsored immigrants by sally

“We are making changes to the codes of practice for skilled employers. This includes updating the list of skilled occupations to reflect the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) 2010 system.”

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UK Border Agency, 5th March 2013

Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Finance and Divorce Update – Family Law Week

Posted March 6th, 2013 in bills, civil partnerships, divorce, jurisdiction, news, ombudsmen, statistics by sally

“Anna Heenan, solicitor and David Salter, Joint Head of Family Law at Mills & Reeve LLP analyse February’s financial remedies and divorce news and cases.”

Full story

Family Law Week, 5th March 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.com

The Children and Families Bill – the new SEN provisions – 11 KBW

Posted March 6th, 2013 in bills, children, local government, news, special educational needs by sally

“The legislative framework governing the approach to children with special educational needs (‘SEN’) in England has remained broadly the same since the coming into force of Part 4 of the Education Act 1996 on 1st November 1996. However, on 18 March 2012, the Department for Education published a Green Paper, Support and Aspiration: A New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability, signalling an intention to review that framework. The intention to legislate in this field was reiterated in the Queen’s Speech on 9th May 2012, which was swiftly followed by the follow-up to the Green Paper, Progress and Next Steps, on 15 May 2012.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 5th March 2013

Source: www.11kbw.com

Payday lenders face advertising restrictions – The Guardian

Posted March 6th, 2013 in advertising, consumer credit, consumer protection, loans, news, regulations by sally

“Ministers are to announce a clampdown on adverts for payday loans, but have rejected a cap on the cost of loans despite a report due to be published on Wednesday from the Office of Fair Trading showing widespread malpractice across the controversial industry.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th March 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk