Ban on ‘ex-gay, post-gay and proud’ bus advert criticised but lawful – UK Human Rights Blog
“In a judgment which is sure to provoke heated debate, the High Court has today ruled that the banning of an advert which read ‘NOT GAY! EX-GAY, POST-GAY AND PROUD. GET OVER IT!’ from appearing on London buses was handled very badly by Transport for London (‘TfL’) but was not unlawful or in breach of the human rights of the group behind the advert.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 23rd March 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Bar Council working party calls for end to witness statements in Rolls Building litigation – Litigation Futures
“The involvement of solicitors and barristers in crafting witness statements in big-ticket litigation has neutered the current regime and it should be replaced by a system of witness summaries and live evidence-in-chief, a Bar Council working party has recommended.”
Litigation Futures, 26th March 2013
Source: www.litigationfutures.co.uk
Vicky Pryce prison photographs may have breached PCC code of conduct – The Guardian
“The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has begun an investigation into whether newspaper photographs showing Vicky Pryce serving her prison sentence might have breached its code of conduct.”
The Guardian, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Post-Leveson press regulation clauses in the crime and courts bill – The Guardian
“The Guardian analyses the controversial clauses that have sparked a heated debate over the cross-party plan for a new press regulation regime.”
The Guardian, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Tell me a storey – NearlyLegal
“This is an interesting appeal in relation to the counting of storeys for HMO licensing purposes. It actually repeats an argument dealt with in an appeal in a criminal prosecution of a Mr Williams by Cotswold District Council from way back in 2008 although the result here was different (see ‘Recount Your Storeys’ (2009) 12 JHL 1).”
NearlyLegal, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Legal education: bespoke courses – Law Society’s Gazette
“News that Oxford Brookes University is discontinuing its legal practice course (LPC) because a drop in applications means it is no longer viable has sent a shock wave through the legal education market, as we await publication of the much-anticipated Legal Education and Training Review (LETR).”
Law Society’s Gazette, 25th March 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
The Application of the Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules – Speech by Master of the Rolls
The Application of the Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (PDF)
Speech by Master of the Rolls
District Judges’ Annual Seminar, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
In the teeth of it … – NearlyLegal
“In El-Dinnaoui v Westminster CC [2013] EWCA Civ 231, the Court of Appeal found that the offer of a flat on the 16th floor of a block to a household which contained a person with fear of heights was perverse. The offer of accommodation was ‘in the teeth’ of the medical evidence. How could the case have got this far, one might well ask? At heart in this case, there is something interesting about the reception by homelessness officers about medical evidence (see comments at the end). The final point by way of introduction is a hat-tip to Debra Wilson at Anthony Gold who, I’m told, took Mr El-Dinnaoui’s appeal pro bono (and won).”
NearlyLegal, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Should prison be reserved for dangerous criminals? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
“This month we saw eight-month sentences handed out to Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce for perverting the course of justice. Both had been warned to ‘be under no illusion as to the likely sentence’ – the judicial way of saying, ‘expect a custodial sentence’. Of course, the lawyers would tell you that this was inevitable as the courts treat such crimes severely.”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Will the Public Sector Equality Duty survive the Red Tape Challenge? – UK Human Rights Blog
“In May 2012, the Home Secretary announced a review of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), which came into force a year earlier in April 2011, as an outcome of the Red Tape Challenge. The review is focusing in particular on levels of understanding of the PSED and guidance, the costs and benefits of the duty, how organisations are managing legal risk and ensuring compliance with the duty and what changes, if any, would secure better equality outcomes. It is being overseen by a steering group, appointed by Government Ministers, largely drawn from public authorities.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Law Commissions call for consumer protections to be extended to end user licence agreements – OUT-LAW.com
“Legal protections preventing the inclusion of unfair contract terms in consumer contracts should be extended to apply to less formal notices, such as those included as part of software end user licence agreements (EULA), law reform bodies have said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 25th March 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
The Justice Committee and the Information Commissioner – Panopticon
“On 21st March 2013 the House of Commons Justice Committee published a report (HC 962) on the functions, powers and resources of the Information Commissioner. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the current role and future prospects of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).”
Panopticon, 25th March 2013
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
Justice and Security Bill: The “Secret Courts” Endgame? – UK Human Rights Blog
“Today we will see the beginning of the end of the passage of the Justice and Security Bill through Parliament: the process commonly known as parliamentary ‘ping-pong’.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 26th March 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Targeted support for women offenders – Ministry of Justice
“Female offenders should receive more targeted support to break the cycle of crime and abuse many of them face, Justice Minister Helen Grant said today.”
Ministry of Justice, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Human Rights and Family Law Spring Update – Family Law Week
“Deirdre Fottrell, barrister of Coram Chambers, reviews recent cases involving human rights issues which are of significance to family lawyers.”
Family Law Week, 22nd March 2013
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Master of the Rolls hits out at “media-created perception” of a compensation culture – Litigation Futures
“The courts are ‘very aware’ of the dangers of feeding media perceptions of a compensation culture, the Master of the Rolls has said.”
Litigation Futures, 25th March 2013
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Wandsworth jail criticised over prisoner death – The Guardian
“An inquest jury has criticised procedures and practice at the UK’s biggest jail following the death of a prisoner, jailed for stealing a gingerbread man in the 2011 riots.”
The Guardian, 26th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Taylor and another v A Novo (UK) Ltd – WLR Daily
Taylor and another v A Novo (UK) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 194; [2013] WLR (D) 119
“A person who suffered psychiatric illness (post-traumatic stress disorder), after witnessing the sudden collapse and death of her mother who had been injured at work by the admitted negligence of the defendant employer some three weeks earlier, did not have a right of action as a secondary victim for damages against the defendant, since there was an insufficient relationship of proximity between the person suffering the psychiatric illness and the defendant.”
WLR Daily, 18th March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Swift v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily
Swift v Secretary of State for Justice [2013] EWCA Civ 193; [2013] WLR (D) 118
“The exclusion of a person, cohabiting for less than two years with another who had subsequently died, from the classes of family members entitled to claim damages for loss of dependency under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976, as amended, was a proportionate means of pursuing the legitimate legislative aim of confining the right to recovery to those who had relationships of some degree of permanence and dependence. Accordingly, section 1(3)(b) of the 1976 Act, as substituted by section 3(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1982, was not incompatible with article 14, in conjunction with article 8, of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the choice made by the legislature was not manifestly without foundation and was one Parliament was entitled to make. And even if the section amounted to an interference with the right to respect for family life in breach of article 8.1, the interference was justified under article 8.2.”
WLR Daily, 18th March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
