Record £130,000 child data error fine for Powys council – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2011 in data protection, fines, local government, news, social services by sally

“A council which sent details of a child protection case to the wrong person has received a record £130,000 fine for breaching the Data Protection Act.”

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BBC News, 6th December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Couple who used Indian surrogates can bring children up as their own rules judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 7th, 2011 in embryology, news, parental rights, surrogacy by sally

“An English couple who paid Indian women to have their babies can keep them and bring them up as their own ruled one of Britain’s top judges, Sir Nicholas Wall ruled today (6 December).”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th December 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pro bono cannot plug the gap left by legal aid cuts – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2011 in budgets, legal aid, news, pro bono work by sally

“Without decrying the achievements of voluntary legal work, let’s keep a sense of proportion.”

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The Guardian, 7th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers ‘should end Downton Abbey-style succession rules’ – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2011 in news, parliament, peerages & dignities, succession by sally

“The House of Lords is being urged to end rules which deny most hereditary peerages to women.”

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BBC News, 7th December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Groupon breaches ASA code for 49th and 50th time in 2011 – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2011 in advertising, complaints, news, ombudsmen by sally

“Groupon is in trouble with regulators again after a promotion for breast enhancement failed to deliver the boost promised, and a discount deal on an Ocado product which never existed.”

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The Guardian, 7th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judges warned against straying into politics – by top judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 7th, 2011 in courts, judiciary, local government, murder, news, sentencing by sally

“Judges are straying too far in the world of politics and should stay within their ‘proper function’, the head of the judiciary, Lord Judge, has said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th December 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Charities and universities to benefit from VAT exemption for shared services – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 7th, 2011 in bills, charities, EC law, news, universities, VAT by sally

“The Government will implement EU proposals that will allow charities and universities to share services without charging each other VAT, according to proposals published in today’s Finance Bill 2012.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Laws on deferred prosecution agreements to be consulted on next year – OUT-LAW.com

“The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has backed plans to introduce plea bargaining in fraud cases in a bid to reduce the cost of investigations and encourage businesses to self-report. It has said that it supports the passing of new laws to make that process possible.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 6th December 2011

Source: www.out-law.com

Legal advice for migrants and refugees is already patchy – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2011 in immigration, law centres, legal aid, legal services, news, refugees by sally

“Local authority cuts have hit some areas of London hard, and further cuts would have disastrous consequences.”

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The Guardian, 6th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ban on referral fees is looming but enforcement could prove tricky – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2011 in bills, enforcement, fees, insurance, news, personal injuries by sally

“There is a crucial get-out clause that means referral fees in personal injury claims may continue to be paid in disguise.”

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The Guardian, 6th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted December 6th, 2011 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

R v A Local Authority & Ors [2011] EWCA Civ 1451 (06 December 2011)

Leeds Group Plc v Leeds City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 1447 (02 December 2011)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Farnon v Devonshires Solicitors (a firm) [2011] EWHC 3167 (QB) (06 December 2011)

McKay (t/a Mckay Law Solicitors And Advocates) v Centurion Credit Resources LLC [2011] EWHC 3198 (QB) (06 December 2011)

High Court (Family Division)

X And Y (Children), Re [2011] EWHC 3147 (Fam) (06 December 2011)

H v S [2011] EWHC B23 (Fam) (18 November 2011)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Sprunt Ltd v London Borough of Camden [2011] EWHC 3191 (TCC) (06 December 2011)

Source: www.bailii.org

Draft tax legislation gives greater predictability and clarity – HM Treasury

“Following Budget 2011, the Government has today published responses to a number of tax policy consultations, alongside draft clauses for legislation to be included in Finance Bill 2012.”

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HM Treasury, 6th December 2011

Source: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk

Barristers plan escrow scheme for holding client money – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 6th, 2011 in barristers, client accounts, news, speeches by sally

“The bar is looking into a scheme to allow barristers to hold client money through proxies, the incoming head of the bar said in his inaugural speech last night.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 6th December 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Wife jailed for fatal TV row attack – The Independent

Posted December 6th, 2011 in domestic violence, homicide, news, sentencing by sally

“A dental nurse was jailed for 10 years today for killing her husband in a row over what to watch on television.”

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The Independent, 6th December 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sir Christopher Rose’s Report Published into Ratcliffe-on-Soar cases – Crown Prosecution Service

“Ratcliffe-on-Soar report finds that CPS did not delibrately withold information in prosecution case.”

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Crown Prosecution Service, 6th December 2011

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v Lucheng Meijing Industrial Co Ltd and others; Nokia Corpn v Revenue and Customs Comrs (Internationak Trademark Association intervening) (Joined Cases C-446/09 and C-495/09) – WLR Daily

Posted December 6th, 2011 in copyright, counterfeiting, EC law, law reports, sale of goods by sally

Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV v Lucheng Meijing Industrial Co Ltd and others; Nokia Corpn v Revenue and Customs Comrs (Internationak Trademark Association intervening) (Joined Cases C-446/09 and C-495/09); [2011] WLR (D) 349

“Goods coming from a non-EU state which were imitations of goods protected in the European Union by a trade mark or copies of goods protected in the EU by copyright could not be classified as “counterfeit goods” within the meaning of Council Regulation 3295/94/EC (as amended) merely on the basis that they had been brought into the customs territory of the EU under suspensive procedure. However, if it was proved that those goods were intended to be put on sale in the EU, they were classified as ‘counterfeit’.”

WLR Daily, 1st December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Rodríguez and Others v Air France SA (Case C-83/10) – WLR Daily

Posted December 6th, 2011 in aircraft, airlines, compensation, EC law, interpretation, law reports by sally

Rodríguez and Others v Air France SA (Case C-83/10); [2011] WLR (D) 348

“‘Cancellation’, in article 2(1) of Parliament and Council Regulation 261/2004/EC was not limited to the situation in which an aeroplane failed to take off at all, but also covered the case in which it took off but, for whatever reason, was subsequently forced to return to the airport of departure where the passengers were transferred to other flights. ‘Further compensation’ in article 12 of the Regulation allowed the national court to award compensation under the Montreal Convention for damage arising from breach of the contract of carriage by air. However that meaning was not the legal basis for the national court to order an air carrier to reimburse to passengers whose flight had been delayed or cancelled the expenses the latter had incurred because of the failure of that carrier to fulfil its obligations to assist and provide care under articles 8 and 9 of the Regulation.”

WLR Daily, 13th October 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Leeds Group plc v Leeds City Council (No 2) Regina (Leeds Group plc) v Leeds City Council (No 2) – WLR Daily

Leeds Group plc v Leeds City Council (No 2); Regina (Leeds Group plc) v Leeds City Council (No 2) [2011] EWCA Civ 1447; [2011] WLR (D) 347

“Sections 98 and 103(2) of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, which inserted subsection (1A) into section 22 of the Commons Registration Act 1965, thereby amending the definition of town or village green, were clear and unambiguous and the new policy in subsection (1A) applied in its entirety to all applications to register land as a town or village green made on or after 30 January 2001. If the impact of the new policy as a whole was considered it had been prospective, not retrospective, in its effect when enacted on 30 November 2000.”

WLR Daily, 2nd December 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Incoming Bar Chairman: Invest in the Future – The Bar Council

Posted December 6th, 2011 in barristers, legal aid, news, pro bono work, speeches by sally

“In his inaugural address this evening to the Bar Council, which represents barristers in England and Wales, Michael Todd QC, who becomes Chairman of the Bar on 1 January 2012, called on the Government and the Bar to invest in the future.”

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The Bar Council, 5th December 2011

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

By-law plan to remove Parliament Square tent protest – BBC News

Posted December 6th, 2011 in byelaws, demonstrations, fines, local government, London, news by sally

“Westminster City Council has said it intends to introduce a by-law to remove tents from Parliament Square.”

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BBC News, 5th December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk