How will we even know a closed judgment exists? – The Guardian
“What proposals for closed hearings would mean for press freedom.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Automatic porn censorship legislation proposed – OUT-LAW.com
“Internet service providers (ISPs) would be required to prevent customers accessing pornographic images unless those customers actively notify the ISPs that they want to access the material if draft new UK legislation being proposed receives backing.”
OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Secret court hearings: Q&A – Daily Telegraph
“Ken Clarke wants to allow evidence to be heard in secret where it would compromise national security. Here we explain why there is such controversy over the Government’s plan to hold some court cases and inquests behind closed doors.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Chancery Division)
Public Trustee v Butler & Anor [2012] EWHC 858 (Ch) (03 April 2012)
DKH Retail Ltd v Republic (Retail) Ltd [2012] EWHC 877 (Ch) (03 April 2012)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
J Preston & Sons Ltd [2012] EWHC 870 (QB) (03 April 2012)
Letts v Royal Sun Alliance Plc [2012] EWHC 875 (QB) (03 April 2012)
The Serious Organised Crime Agency v Robb [2012] EWHC 803 (QB) (30 March 2012)
Sharif, R. v [2012] EWHC 868 (QB) (03 April 2012)
Dr A v HTX [2012] EWHC 857 (QB) (03 April 2012)
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Commercial Court)
Ghanem Al -Thani Holdings WLL v Jaguar Cars Exports Ltd [2012] EWHC 856 (Comm) (03 April 2012)
Ferrexpo AG v Gilson Investments Ltd & Ors [2012] EWHC 721 (Comm) (03 April 2012)
High Court (Patents Court)
Innovia Films Ltd v Frito -Lay North America, Inc [2012] EWHC 790 (Pat) (30 March 2012)
Source: www.bailii.org
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Offshore (Oil and Gas) Installation and Pipeline Abandonment Fees Regulations 2012
The Licensing Act 2003 (Permitted Temporary Activities) (Notices) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
The Alternative Provision Academies (Consequential Amendments to Acts) (England) Order 2012
The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Temporary Class Drug) Order 2012
The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2012
The Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Wales) Regulations 2012
The Diocese of Leicester (Educational Endowments) (Old School Thurcaston) Order 2012
The Diocese of St. Albans (Educational Endowments) (No. 2) Order 1998 (Amendment) Order 2012
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
Watchdog criticises police over Mark Kennedy’s undercover tapes – The Guardian
“Police have been criticised for their role in withholding crucial surveillance recordings made by undercover policeman Mark Kennedy. The tapes were kept from activists who were being prosecuted for planning to occupy one of Britain’s largest power stations. The contents contained vital evidence for the activists’ defence.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Daft’ FoI requests can be ignored – Law Society’s Gazette
“Public bodies can safely ignore requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FoI) for their plans to deal with zombie invasions. Graham Smith, deputy information commissioner, told the Solicitors in Local Government annual weekend school last week that ‘silly and daft’ requests would be covered by existing guidance on vexatious requests.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 5th April 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
IPCC investigates arrest of man at centre of Met police race row – The Guardian
“The police watchdog is investigating why a black man who used his mobile phone to record an officer racially insulting him was arrested for a crime he said he did not commit, less than six hours after complaining about his treatment.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ken Clarke defends secret courts plans after Nick Clegg criticisms – The Guardian
“The justice secretary, Ken Clarke, has defended proposals to create a new generation of secret courts in the face of criticism from Nick Clegg and parliament’s human rights committee, saying the plans will make the system more accountable and more conducive to intelligence sharing with other countries.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Gratuitous’ American Apparel ads banned – The Guardian
“The advertising watchdog has banned an ad campaign by American Apparel featuring semi-naked young women, after investigating a complaint that it is ‘pornographic and exploitative’.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
1215 and All That -Speech by the Rt Hon Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
1215 and All That (PDF)
Speech by the Rt Hon Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Irish Legal History Society Lecture, 26th March 2012
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
Secret trials: ‘explore alternatives’ – Law Society’s Gazette
“Government proposals to extend the use of secret hearings in cases where evidence might compromise national security are a radical departure from the UK’s ‘traditions of open justice and fairness’, MPs and peers said today.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 4th April 2012
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Details of names and roles of senior council officials involved in recruitment subject to disclosure under FOI, Tribunal rules – OUT-LAW.com
“Councils should be prepared to disclose the names of senior staff members involved in recruiting senior councillors or officials as well as details of the role they played in that recruitment, an Information Rights Tribunal has ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 4th April 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Market Trends in Legal Services – Legal Services Board
“The Legal Services Board – the independent body overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales – is today releasing its Interim Baseline Report on the Market Impact of the Legal Services Act 2007.”
Full story (PDF)
Legal Services Board, 4th April 2012
Source: www.legalservicesboard.org.uk
Related links:
Market impacts of the Legal Services Act – Interim Baseline Report (PDF)
Sainsbury’s ‘feed your family for £50’ ads banned – The Guardian
“Sainsbury’s £10m ‘feed your family for £50’ advertising campaign has been banned because its meal plans failed to provide enough calories and cost more than advertised.”
The Guardian, 4th April 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
19th Statute Law Repeals Report – Law Commission
19th Statute Law Repeals Report (PDF)
Law Commission, 4th April 2012
“Hugely important” 1996 Hague Convention anticipated to come into force on 1st August this year – Family Law Week
“The Annual Report of the Office of the Head of International Family Justice for England and Wales has just been published. Lord Justice Thorpe, Head of International Justice for England and Wales reports on the activities of ‘the Office’ during the period January-December 2011.”
Family Law Week, 3rd April 2012
Source: www.familylawweek.com
AH (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – WLR Daily
AH (Algeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 395; [2012] WLR (D) 106
“In looking to the question whether an asylum seeker, who had been a member of a terrorist organisation and convicted of a crime outside the country of refuge, fell to be excluded from the Refugee Convention pursuant to article 1F(b) and (c) thereof, one had to avoid applying a presumption of individual liability; and in asking whether the crime in question was sufficiently ‘serious’ one also had to set the applicable threshold with care.”
WLR Daily, 2nd April 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Secret justice: do we have a compromise? – UK Human Rights Blog
“The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has now responded to the Government’s consultation on the proposals set out in their Justice and Security Green Paper Cm 8194. The idea is to extend ‘closed material procedures’ so as to be available in all civil proceedings, i.e. not just in some highly restricted national security contexts such as deportation appeals before SIAC (the Special Immigration Appeals Commission), control orders, and their successor regime known as TPIMs.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 4th April 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
Judge was wrong to stop terror suspects’ case to save money, Appeal Court rules – Daily Telegraph
“A judge who stopped a case brought by two terror suspects in order to save money was in the wrong, the Appeal Court has ruled.”
Daily Telegraph, 4th April 2012
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
