‘Squatters are not home stealers’ – The Guardian
“On 26 September, Alex Haigh became the first person to be jailed under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. His crime was one of which countless thousands of people could now be guilty: squatting. A 21-year-old from Plymouth, Haigh was arrested for living in a house in Pimlico that had been empty for over a year. He had come to London seeking work as a bricklayer; now he has a criminal record.”
The Guardian, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
The inherent jurisdiction: where are we now? – Thirty Nine Essex Street
“That very significant vestiges of the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction to grant declaratory and injunctive relief have survived the implementation of the MCA 2005 is now clear. However, what is very much less clear is precisely: (1) how far the inherent jurisdiction has survived; and (2) how the High Court can or should exercise its powers under the inherent jurisdiction in respect of those who can only be afforded protection by way of its exercise. Cases decided since the beginning of the year have perhaps made the answers less rather than more clear, and this note seeks to draw together some of the threads, as much to provoke discussion as to offer solutions. It concludes with a brief discussion of the prospects for statutory reform in the area in the shape of the draft Care and Support Bill.”
Full story (PDF)
Thirty Nine Essex Street, December 2012
Source: www.39essex.com
Triumph of substance over form – Hardwicke Chambers
“In Pieretti v. LB Enfield [2011] 2 All ER 642 the Court of Appeal held that a local authority in exercising its powers under Part VII Housing Act 1996 (Homelessness) was carrying out a ‘function’ for the purposes of s.49A. It was therefore an obligation on the Local Authority to have ‘due regard’ to the factors set out in the section and, in the case of homelessness, in particular to have ‘due regard’ to ‘the need to take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities’. Moreover, this duty arose irrespective of whether or not the applicant, or their advisers, had raised disability as an issue.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 30th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Housing and the CPR: A Factual and Speculative Account of Amendments Past and Present – Zenith Chambers
“The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2012 came into force on 1st October 2012. These Amendments cover many aspects of the CPR. This article only considers those amendments which a housing practitioner is likely to encounter.”
Full story (PDF)
Zenith Chambers, 27th November 2012
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
Arbitration update: Tang v Grant Thornton – provisions for conciliation or mediation of disputes prior to arbitration or court proceedings examined – Hardwicke Chambers
“Tang Chung Wah and others v Grant Thornton and others [2012] EWHC 3198 (Ch)
In Tang, the Honourable Mr Justice Hildyard dismissed a claim under s. 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 that a final LCIA Award should be found to be of no effect on grounds that the Tribunal had lacked substantive jurisdiction to determine the dispute in question.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Philosophy, theology and service provision change – Hardwicke Chambers
“As employment lawyers will know, in order to determine whether there is going to be (or has been) a service provision change (SPC) under Regulation 3 of TUPE Regulations 2006 it is necessary to subject the material facts to a number of tests. These should be carried out in a logical order starting with an examination of the relevant activities to decide whether those activities to be carried out after any SPC are fundamentally or essentially the same as those carried out before. Then one must check whether the conditions in Reg 3(3) are satisfied.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
An Analysis of Employment Injunctions in 2011/12: are applicants slipping on their own banana skins? – Littleton Chambers
“Although there is no data available to establish the actual figures, it is a truism that only a small proportion of cases in which applications are made for interim employment injunctions culminate in a trial.”
Full story (PDF)
Littleton Chambers, December 2012
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
Drawing the Fault Line: Multiple Tortfeasors and Intervening Acts – Cloisters
“It is not uncommon for a potential personal injury or clinical negligence claimant to have been subjected to a series of events that may all be linked to causation of his injury – we’ve all met the unfortunate client for whom nothing seems to go right. Sometimes the events will be the acts of third parties, which
may or may not be tortious; at other times, the individual’s own actions may have played a part in the causation of his injuries. The third party acts may involve personal injury, or clinical negligence, or even assault. In such circumstances, there may be multiple potential defendants to any legal claim
and serious thought needs to be given to the question of whom to claim against, to avoid potential adverse costs consequences from bringing proceedings against the wrong, or too many, defendant(s) or – worse – failing to sue the tortfeasor ultimately found to be primarily or even solely responsible for the claimant’s losses.”
Full story (PDF)
Cloisters, November 2012
Source: www.cloisters.com
Privacy in the 21st Century – Lord Neuberger
Privacy in the 21st Century (PDF)
Lord Neuberger
UK Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists’ Lecture, 28th November 2012
Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk
SodaStream to seek legal advice after ad ban appeal fails – The Guardian
“SodaStream is to seek legal advice after failing to get its £11m ad campaign on UK television, with the regulator understood to have rejected its appeal against a ruling it ‘denigrates’ the bottled drinks industry.”
The Guardian, 4th December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
School teaching assistant Emma Webb jailed for pupil sex offences – BBC News
“A school teaching assistant who had sex with teenage pupils after grooming them on Facebook and sending them indecent text messages has been jailed.”
BBC News, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Abu Qatada appeal launched by home secretary – The Guardian
“The home secretary has launched a legal challenge against the decision to allow the radical preacher Abu Qatada to stay in the UK.”
The Guardian, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ashfield teenage prisoners to begin legal battle – BBC News
“Seven teenagers who claim they were punished unlawfully will begin a legal battle against a Bristol prison later.”
BBC News, 4th December 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Norwich Castle rhino horn theft bid: Man jailed – BBC News
“A 29-year-old man from east London has been jailed for 18 months over the attempted theft of a rhino horn from Norwich Castle Museum.”
BBC News, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Mengi v Hermitage [2012] EWHC 3445 (QB) (30 November 2012)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Chauvidul- AW v Phongphongsavat & Anor [2012] EWHC 3224 (Ch) (23 November 2012)
Arnold v Britton & Ors [2012] EWHC 3451 (Ch) (03 December 2012)
Source: www.bailii.org
Leveson isn’t a threat to human rights – not adopting his proposals would be – The Guardian
“Comments attributed to Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty are the kind of nonsense that give human rights a bad name.”
The Guardian, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Command Papers – official-documents.gov.uk
Annual Energy Statement 2012, Cm 8456 (PDF)
Energy Security Strategy, Cm 8466 (PDF)
Electricity Market Reform: policy overview, Cm 8498 (PDF)
Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk
The 1996 Hague Convention: The Fourth Dimension – Family Law Week
“Eleri Jones barrister at 1 Garden Court, and Anne-Marie Hutchinson OBE and Richard Kwan both of Dawson Cornwell solicitors consider the impact of the 1996 Hague Convention in England and Wales.”
Family Law Week, 30th November 2012
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Couple sue for IVF in landmark ‘age discrimination’ case – Daily Telegraph
“A childless couple who have been refused NHS fertility treatment are suing Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, for age discrimination in a landmark legal case.”
Daily Telegraph, 1st December 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
