Seventy is far too early for a supreme court judge to retire . . . – The Times

Posted March 26th, 2009 in judiciary, news, retirement, Supreme Court by sally

“The Lord Chancellor will soon be announcing who will fill the vacancies on the new supreme court, which begins work in October when the law lords move across Parliament Square to Middlesex Guildhall. There is a very strong case for increasing the retirement age for supreme court justices from 70 to 75. In 1916 the Earl of Halsbury heard a case on the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords at 92. The Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 now provides that judges must retire at 70. There is an exception for those first appointed to a judicial office before March 31, 1995. They can continue working until 75.”

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The Times, 26th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

New law sought to assist families of missing people – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2009 in missing persons, news, presumption of death orders by sally

“… a private member’s bill being debated by MPs tomorrow would allow relatives to apply to the high court for a declaration that someone is missing and presumed dead before seven years has expired, making it easier to deal with issues like the dissolution of a marriage and the disposal of property and insurance claims.”

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The Guardian, 25th March 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bringing barristers into harmony with the times – The Times

Posted March 26th, 2009 in barristers, news by sally

“Deech, 65, looks unlikely to do anything faintly. As chairwoman of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), the body in charge of education, training and standards of barristers, she is next week launching research on public trust in the profession, plus a reformed system for handling complaints against barristers — a telephone complaints line; improved plain English leaflets; and a more streamlined system to resolve disputes. Two weeks ago the board outlined a more user-friendly draft code of conduct for the 14,000 barristers in England and Wales.”

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The Times, 26th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Extent of council spying revealed – BBC News

Posted March 26th, 2009 in investigatory powers, local government, news by sally

“Councils in England and Wales have used controversial spying laws 10,000 times in the past five years, figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show.”

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BBC News, 26th March 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Jackson review triggers debate over costs in top-end litigation – Legal Week

Posted March 26th, 2009 in costs, news by sally

“Concerns have been raised about whether Lord Justice Rupert Jackson’s review into the high cost of civil litigation should apply to large-scale commercial disputes.”

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Legal Week, 26th March 2009

Source: www.legalweek.com

Family courts: the poor and most vulnerable are paying dearly – The Times

Posted March 26th, 2009 in family courts, news by sally

“Happily most people will never meet a family law barrister professionally. Those who do, however, will almost certainly be at a time of great crisis in their life. From an acrimonious breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership to the State intervening to remove children who medical or social work professionals believe (rightly or wrongly) to have been abused, any family from any background may find themselves litigating before the family courts. I remember one week when I represented both a prostitute and a peer of the realm (not, on this occasion, in the same case).”

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The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

LSB reviews independence of law watchdogs – Legal Week

Posted March 25th, 2009 in legal services, Legal Services Board, news by sally

“The Legal Services Board (LSB) has launched a review of regulatory independence in the profession as the oversight body moves to flesh out the framework governing the business of law.”

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Legal Week, 25th March 2009

Source: www.legalweek.com

Businesses are not always free to change lawyers, rules tribunal – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 25th, 2009 in news, transfer of undertakings by sally

“Companies may begin to use complex commercial services contracts when engaging law firms after a case underlined the rights of workers whose jobs are transferred to another firm.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th March 2009

Source: www.out-law.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted March 25th, 2009 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Burdett & Anor, R. v [2009] EWCA Crim 543 (12 February 2009)

Seddon, R. v [2009] EWCA Crim 483 (10 March 2009)

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Breckland District Council & Ors, R (on the application of) v The Boundary Committee & Ors [2009] EWHC Civ 239 (25 March 2009)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Kellogg Brown & Root Holdings (UK) Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2009] EWHC 584 (Ch) (24 March 2009)

Crosstown Music Company 1, Llc v Rive Droite Music Ltd & Ors [2009] EWHC 600 (Ch) (25 March 2009)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Hughes v Borodex Ltd [2009] EWHC 565 (Admin) (25 March 2009)

Yuen v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 573 (Admin) (25 March 2009)

Gray, R (on the application of) v Crown Prosecution Service [2009] EWHC 239 (Admin) (14 January 2009)

High Court (Commercial Court)

Lansat Shipping Co Ltd v Glencore Grain BV [2009] EWHC 551 (Comm) (25 March 2009)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

AMEC Group Ltd. v Universal Steels (Scotland) Ltd [2009] EWHC 560 (TCC) (25 March 2009)

Source: www.bailii.org

Judges group attack sentence plan – BBC News

Posted March 25th, 2009 in judiciary, news, sentencing by sally

“The body which represents 652 judges in England and Wales has attacked government proposals to introduce compulsory guidelines on sentences.”

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BBC News, 25th March 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Peers call for independent inquiry into allegations of UK role in torture – The Guardian

Posted March 25th, 2009 in intelligence services, news, torture by sally

“Thirteen peers today added their voices to the calls for an independent inquiry into allegations about Britain’s role in torture and extraordinary rendition.”

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The Guardian, 25th March 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jack Straw unveils tougher corruption laws – The Times

Posted March 25th, 2009 in bribery, news by sally

“Offering bribes to foreign public officials will be made illegal under long-awaited reforms to the UK’s bribery laws published today.”

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The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted March 25th, 2009 in legislation by sally

The A6 and A5111 Trunk Roads (Raynesway Park Junction Improvement) Order 2009

The Western Sussex Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Establishment) and the Royal West Sussex National Health Service Trust and the Worthing and Southlands Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 2009

The Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution (Interim Amendment) Order 2009

The European Communities (Designation) (No. 2) Order 2009

The Child Support (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2009

The Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers’ Compensation) (Payment of Claims) (Amendment) Regulations 2009

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Ministers win vote on gay hatred – BBC News

Posted March 25th, 2009 in freedom of expression, homosexuality, incitement, news by sally

“An attempt to insert a defence of ‘free speech’ into a bill designed to criminalise incitement to hatred over sexual orientation has failed.”

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BBC News, 24th March 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Barnett v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another – WLR Daily

Posted March 25th, 2009 in change of use, law reports, planning by sally

Barnett v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another; [2009] WLR(D) 107

“The general rule in construing planning permission which was clear and unambiguous, to have regard only to the permission unless the planning application had been expressly incorporated, applied to outline planning permission. Where full planning permission was granted for the construction of buildings, the grant approved the application plans and drawings unless the grant expressly stated otherwise.”

WLR Daily, 24th March 2009

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Hazel Blears’ standoff with Muslim Council overshadows new anti-terror launch

Posted March 25th, 2009 in Islam, news, terrorism by sally

“A standoff between the communities secretary, Hazel Blears, and the Muslim Council of Britain was said last night to ‘cut to the heart’ of the government’s revised counter-terror strategy to challenge those who defend terrorism and violent extremism.”

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The Guardian, 25th March 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina v Kousar – Times Law Reports

Posted March 25th, 2009 in counterfeiting, law reports, married persons, no case to answer, trade marks by sally

Regina v Kousar

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“A wife who knew her husband was storing business merchandise in the matrimonial home, acquiesced in it being there and did not demand its removal, was not in control or possession of the goods.”

The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Regina (Oriel Support Ltd) v Commissioners for Revenue and Customs – Times Law Reports

Posted March 25th, 2009 in agency, contracting out, income tax, law reports, taxation by sally

Regina (Oriel Support Ltd) v Commissioners for Revenue and Customs

Court of Appeal

“An outsourcing company responsible for calculating and paying the wages of workers employed by a labour provider to work for other businesses was not entitled to use its own employer reference when accounting for the tax on the workers’ wages because it was not the workers’ employer.”

The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Regina v Billingham (Mark) Regina v Billingham (Justin) – Times Law Reports

Posted March 25th, 2009 in evidence, jury directions, law reports by sally

Regina v Billingham (Mark) Regina v Billingham (Justin)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“While the present Judicial Studies Board direction in respect of previous inconsistent statements required the jury to be sure that a previous statement exculpatory of a defendant was true, it was sufficient for the jury to conclude that it might be true.”

The Times, 25th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Senior judge warns that changes will not open up family courts – The Times

Posted March 25th, 2009 in family courts, media, news by sally

“Ministers’ plans to open the family courts to the media have been hailed as a signifiant reform. But is all as it seems? The proposals are coming under fire — and not just from disgruntled members of the public who will still be denied access to the hearings. ”

Full story

The Times, 24th March 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk