Neath Port Talbot: Mathew Pickering jailed for life for murder – BBC News
‘A man who murdered his on-off girlfriend has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 17-and-a-half years.’
BBC News, 5th February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Court discretion and dispute resolution clauses – Law Society’s Gazette
‘In Lancashire Schools SPC Phase 2 Ltd v Lendlease Construction (Europe) Ltd and others [2024] EWHC 37 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court considered whether a dispute resolution clause (DR clause) which required the parties to engage with adjudication before proceeding to litigation, ousted the jurisdiction of the court.’
Law Society's Gazette, 2nd February 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Supreme Court to hear appeal in challenge concerning standing orders and committee voting – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Supreme Court has granted permission for an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of a challenge concerning the lawfulness of Tower Hamlets Council’s standing orders requiring councillors to be present for the whole of a committee’s consideration of an item to vote on it.’
Local Government Lawyer, February 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘I feel rejected’: Windrush Scandal victim granted judicial review after Home Office refused compensation – The Independent
‘A member of the Windrush generation who was wrongly denied entry to the UK and sent to Jamaica has been granted a judicial review of his case.’
The Independent, 4th February 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Unmanaged illegal migration brings rule of law into disrepute – Chalk – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Unmanaged illegal migration risks bringing the rule of law into disrepute, the lord chancellor said last night. In a speech to legislators and lawyers during a visit to the US, Alex Chalk MP said such migration “disregards borders and is putting undue pressure on the national systems of rules-based countries like ours and is a fundamental challenge to our democracies.”‘
Law Society's Gazette, 1st February 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Police forced to run background checks on sex abuse suspects or face sack under proposed ‘Gaia’s Law’ – The Independent
‘Police officers who fail to run background checks on sex offence suspects will face being fired under new measures proposed to parliament to crackdown on sexual predators.’
The Independent, 1st February 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Supreme Court rules on “shock” in clinical negligence cases – Law Pod UK
‘The Supreme Court has ruled out claims for physicatric harm suffered by family members witnessing death or serious injury as a result of medical negligence. Rosalind English talks to Judith Rogerson of 1 Crown Office Row about the implication of this ruling.’
Law Pod UK, 1st February 2024
Source: audioboom.com
Joint enterprise law: MP’s bill seeks to stop innocent bystanders being jailed – The Guardian
‘A proposed amendment to English law could stop innocent people being imprisoned under the controversial joint enterprise doctrine.’
The Guardian, 1st February 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Brianna Ghey: Why teenagers who killed her can be named – BBC News
‘Two teenagers who murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey after devising a “kill list” of children to target will be named for the first time today.’
BBC News, 2nd February 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Lawyers raise alarm at struggle to tackle UK local government corruption – The Guardian
‘Lawyers have raised alarm at the lack of oversight in local government, as a Guardian analysis found almost one in 10 councils in the UK have been subject to a corruption investigation in the past decade.’
The Guardian, 2nd February 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
I’ve fought for years to report what really goes on in family courts. At last, journalists can – Louise Tickle – The Guardian
‘Allowing journalists to report on hearings is welcome. Now editors need to give them the resources to be able to tell these complex stories properly.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
The legality of the new minimum income requirement – EIN Blog
‘The recently announced plan to increase the minimum income requirement (MIR) to £38,700 led to widespread criticism, with the government appearing to exclude all but the affluent from establishing family life in the UK. This has led to a partial policy shift, with it now announced that the threshold to sponsor a spouse will not rise to this amount until 2025, with an interim rise to £29,000 taking place in the Spring. Nonetheless, even this lower amount will be unaffordable to many families, raising questions about the compatibility of the rise with Convention rights. In R (MM) Lebanon v SSHD [2017] UKSC 10 the Supreme Court found that the initial MIR, set at £18,600, was lawful. In this post, I will highlight two key problems with the judgment, along with the failure of the MIR to restrict the social security entitlement of many affected families: the MIR’s primary justification.’
EIN Blog, 31st January 2024
Source: www.ein.org.uk
DPP appeals to supreme court in case of protesters who called MP ‘Tory scum’ – The Guardian
‘The director of public prosecutions is appealing to the supreme court in an ongoing and expensive battle to overturn the acquittal of two protesters found to have acted reasonably in calling Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum”.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Kenneth Armstrong: The First Statutory Report on Retained EU Law – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Successive UK Governments have promised to regulate less, better or smarter to promote economic growth and competitiveness while protecting consumers, workers and the environment. Relatively low visibility reviews and reports – recast and relaunched over time – have belied the public politics of “burning red tape”. But as the fireworks faded over Westminster as 2024 began, you could be forgiven for thinking that the lingering smoke was from the incineration of swathes of regulation produced during EU membership and revoked by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023. Quite how big this bonfire really is, and how much is smoke and mirrors, is quantified in the first six-monthly statutory report to Parliament under section 17 of the Act and published on 22 January 2024. This post examines what we do and do not learn from this report about what is really changing in UK regulatory policy.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 29th January 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Builder jailed for killing Dudley woman who hired him for extension – The Guardian
‘A builder who killed a customer in a brutal hammer attack after “chronic” delays in building an extension to her home has been jailed for life.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
Criminal legal aid “coming apart at the seams”, High Court says – Legal Futures
‘Two High Court judges have described the system of criminal legal aid as “slowly coming apart at the seams” and reliant on solicitors’ goodwill and sense of public duty.’
Legal Futures, 1st February 2024
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Supreme Court
Potanina v Potanin [2024] UKSC 3 (31 January 2024)
High Court (Administrative Court)
Imani v General Dental Council [2024] EWHC 132 (Admin) (31 January 2024)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Baldudak v Matteo [2024] EWHC 167 (Ch) (31 January 2024)
High Court (King’s Bench Division)
Santander Consumer (UK) PLC v Chaudhry [2024] EWHC 170 (KB) (31 January 2024)
Nightingale & Anor v Bromford Housing Association Ltd [2024] EWHC 136 (KB) (31 January 2024)
Source: www.bailii.org
Legal action launched against ‘rip-off’ secret commissions on UK firms’ energy bills – The Guardian
‘Businesses across the UK have been forced to pay an extra 10% on average for their gas and electricity because suppliers routinely add third-party broker commissions to their bills, according to a leading litigation law firm.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
