Current Awareness

‘The Right to Resist: Privilege for Employment Lawyers’ – 11 KBW

Posted January 21st, 2013 in barristers, confidentiality, disclosure, employment, news, privilege by sally

“There are may aspects to the law of privilege, but what they have in common is a right to resist the compulsory disclosure of information. The law of privilege is, at least in part, a manifestation of the law of confidentiality. However, the underlying principle is one of public policy: where privilege applies, the law treats the benefits of full and transparent disclosure of information in the context of litigation as being outweighed by the benefits of giving litigants the right to keep information private.”

Full story (PDF)

11 KBW, 18th January 2013

Source: www.11kbw.com

Oxford college sued over using ‘selection by wealth’ for admissions – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2013 in fees, guarantees, news, universities by sally

“An Oxford college is being sued for discriminating against poorer students applying to study for postgraduate courses. St Hugh’s, which was founded in 1886, is being taken to court for choosing applicants not just on academic merit, but also on their ability to prove they can pay tens of thousands of pounds for tuition fees and living expenses.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Wrong priorities – NearlyLegal

Posted January 21st, 2013 in complaints, housing, local government, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Every now and again, there is a Local Government Ombudsman report that seems to go beyond individual instances of maladministration and instead capture something of the zeitgeist. The LGO decision summarised here may well be one of the latter (certainly the Guardian thinks so), as arguably what it shows is a Local Authority prioritising its own administrative concerns over its legal duties in both its policy and the operation of policy. There is also a routine failure to ask the kind of questions that might have meant it had to do more. This on top of a series of administrative failures.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 20th January 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Amazon Marketplace purchases not covered by Consumer Credit Act – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2013 in consumer credit, consumer protection, electronic commerce, joint liability, news, sale of goods by sally

“If you pay Amazon and it passes the money on to the retailer, a loophole could leave you without redress.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prisoners win big payouts for parole delays – The Independent

Posted January 21st, 2013 in compensation, delay, freedom of information, human rights, news, parole, prisons by sally

“Murderers, rapists and kidnappers have received compensation totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds from the Government after complaining that delays in their parole hearings breached their human rights.”

Full story

The Independent, 20th January 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

RBS awaits hefty fines for Libor rigging – The Guardian

Posted January 21st, 2013 in banking, financial services ombudsman, fines, hedge funds, interest, news by sally

“Stephen Hester lays groundwork for penalties expected to be £500m or more.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Article 8 success in the County Court – NearlyLegal

Posted January 18th, 2013 in housing, human rights, news, proportionality, succession, time limits by sally

“This was a failed succession case where an article 8 proportionality defence was, at least in part successful.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 17th January 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Stephensons: on becoming an ABS – LegalVoice

Posted January 18th, 2013 in alternative business structures, law firms, news by sally

“Stephensons Solicitors, a leading legal aid firm in the north-west, secured approval as an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) early in the new year, and has already appointed its first non-lawyer partner.”

Full story

LegalVoice, 17th January 2013

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Wear What You Like – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted January 18th, 2013 in employment, human rights, news, religious discrimination by sally

“Following today’s European Court of Human Rights judgment in Eweida and Others v the United Kingdom, David Renton analyses the how the fine balance between religious freedom and avoiding discrimination can be struck.”

Full story

Garden Court Chambers Blog. 15th January 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

Public sector equality duty – planning permission for school – Education Law Blog

Posted January 18th, 2013 in education, equality, local government, news, planning by sally

“In R. (on the application of Coleman) v Barnet LBC [2012] EWHC 3725 (Admin) , the High Court has held that the local authority had discharged its public sector equality duty (under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010) when granting planning permission for the development of a school on land on which a garden centre had been situated.”

Full story

Education Law Blog, 15th January 2013

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk

Posted January 18th, 2013 in parliamentary papers by sally

Fitness for work: Government response to ‘Health at Work – an independent review of sickness absence’, Cm 8476 (PDF)

Standards matter: a review of best practice in promoting good behaviour in public life thirteenth report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Cm 8519 (PDF)

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

LSB responds to OFT report which outlines the changes to the regulation of legal services brought about by the Legal Services Act 2007 – Legal Services Board

Posted January 18th, 2013 in legal ombudsman, legal services, Legal Services Board, press releases by sally

“LSB responds to OFT report which outlines the changes to the regulation of legal services brought about by the Legal Services Act 2007.”

Full press release

Legal Services Board, 18th January 2013

Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted January 18th, 2013 in law reports by sally

High Court (Administrative Court)

Powierza v District Court, Warszawa, Poland [2013] EWHC 36 (Admin) (17 January 2013)

Source: www.bailii.org

Patel v General Medical Council – WLR Daily

Posted January 18th, 2013 in conspiracy, doctors, fraud, law reports, proportionality, public interest by sally

Patel v General Medical Council: [2012] EWHC 3688 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 12

“When considering an application under section 41(A) of the Medical Act 1983 to terminate an 18 months’ suspension order imposed by an Interim Orders Panel, the court was required to give the panel’s decision such weight as in the circumstances of the case it thought fit but was entitled to examine the panel’s reasons with some rigour.”

WLR Daily, 20th December 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Swift (trading as A Swift Move) v Robertson – WLR Daily

Posted January 18th, 2013 in consumer protection, contracts, deposits, law reports, ultra vires by sally

Swift (trading as A Swift Move) v Robertson: [2012] EWCA Civ 1794; [2013] WLR (D) 11

“Where a contract between a consumer and a trader for the supply of goods or services was made during a visit to the consumer’s home the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s Home or Place of Work etc Regulations 2008 applied, irrespective of whether there had been earlier negotiations between the parties at the consumer’s home.”

WLR Daily, 15th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted January 18th, 2013 in legislation by sally

The Non-Domestic Rating (Small Business Rate Relief) (England) (Amendment) Order 2013

The Social Security (Information-sharing in relation to Welfare Services etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2013

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Appeals Under Part 2) (Amendment) Order 2013

The Plant Health (England) (Amendment) Order 2013

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Religious Marriages: Staying a decree absolute in order to increase the chances of obtaining a religious divorce – Family Law Week

Posted January 18th, 2013 in divorce, islamic law, Judaism, marriage, news by sally

“Charlotte Rachael Proudman, a barrister at 1 Mitre Court Buildings, provides legal guidance on the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, Section 10A, used in religious marital cases to speed up the process of obtaining religious divorces.”

Full story

Family Law Week, 17th January 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Met police launch inquiry into historic child sex abuse claims – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2013 in child abuse, evidence, indecent photographs of children, news by sally

“The Metropolitan police have launched an official investigation into historic claims of child abuse after an MP alleged that a ‘senior aide of a former prime minister’ had links to a member of a paedophile ring.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th January 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk