Cash demand over ‘porn downloads’ – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2008 in copyright, internet, news by sally

“Thousands of internet users have been told they’ll be taken to court unless they pay hundreds of pounds for illegally downloading and sharing hardcore porn movies.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th December 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law firm bypasses banks to protect partners’ payouts – The Times

Posted December 5th, 2008 in law firms, news, partnerships, remuneration by sally

“A leading UK law firm has paid its partners £12 million in profits ahead of schedule because it believes that the money will be safer in private rather than corporate bank accounts.”

Full story

The Times, 5th December 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Dog walker receives £2.7 million compensation after being hit by car – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 5th, 2008 in compensation, news, personal injuries, road traffic by sally

“A businesswoman who suffered brain damage after being hit by a car on a zebra crossing has won £2.75 million in compensation.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

DNA murderer in sentence appeal – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2008 in appeals, DNA, murder, news, sentencing by sally

“The first person in the world to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence has been given permission to challenge his sentence.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th December 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Couple fight back after children taken into care in ‘terrible miscarriage of justice’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 5th, 2008 in adoption, child abuse, news by sally

“A couple who had their three children forcibly adopted after being accused of abuse are the victims of a ‘terrible miscarriage of justice’, a court heard.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Police are ordered to destroy all DNA samples taken from innocent people – The Times

Posted December 5th, 2008 in data protection, DNA, human rights, news, police by sally

“More than 1.6 million DNA and fingerprint samples of innocent people on police databases must be destroyed after a court ruled yesterday that keeping them breaches human rights.”

Full story

The Times, 5th December 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Mother’s campaign changes the law – BBC News

Posted December 5th, 2008 in burials and cremation, coroners, news by sally

“A Dorset mother forced to wait 18 months to bury her two-year-old son has been celebrating after her six-year campaign led to a change in the law.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th December 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Held asylum seeker given £38,000 – BBC News

Posted December 4th, 2008 in asylum, detention, news by sally

“An African asylum seeker who fled her homeland after being tortured and raped has been awarded £38,000 after a judge ruled her detention ‘unlawful’.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th December 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mother guilty over Shannon kidnap – BBC News

Posted December 4th, 2008 in false imprisonment, kidnapping, news, perverting the course of justice by sally

“The mother of Shannon Matthews has been found guilty of charges relating to her daughter’s disappearance.”

Full story

BBC News, 4th December 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

DNA database innocents win landmark European court ruling – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 4th, 2008 in data protection, DNA, EC law, human rights, news by sally

“Two men from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, who were previously cleared of criminal charges, have won a major victory after the European Court of Human Rights ruled keeping their DNA on the British police database breached their human rights.”

Full story

Daily Telegrap, 4th December 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted December 4th, 2008 in legislation by sally

The Legal Services Act 2007 (Functions of a Designated Regulator) Order 2008

The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (Commencement No. 10) Order 2008

The Definition of Financial Instrument Order 2008

The Human Tissue Act 2004 (Ethical Approval, Exceptions from Licensing and Supply of Information about Transplants) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Financial Assistance Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Takeover Code (Concert Parties) Regulations 2008

The Occupational Pensions (Revaluation) Order 2008

The Alcoholic Liquor (Surcharge on Spirits Duty) Order 2008

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

BAILII : Recent Decisions

Posted December 4th, 2008 in law reports by sally

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Gorecia & Ors v Somani & Ors [2008] EWHC 2970 (QB) (03 December 2008)

Source: www.bailli.org

R (Barclay and others) v Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and others – WLR Daily

Posted December 4th, 2008 in constitutional law, elections, human rights, judicial review, law reports, Sark by sally

R (Barclay and others) v Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and others [2008] EWCA Civ 1319; [2008] WLR (D) 376

The Reform (Sark) Law 2008, which, inter alia, provided, in relation to the Island of Sark, a Crown Dependency and a part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, for the Seneschal, the senior judge of Sark, to remain as an unelected member and President of the Chief Pleas, the island’s legislature, did not breach art 3 of the First Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.”

WLR Daily, 4th December 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

R (DB) v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust – WLR Daily

Posted December 4th, 2008 in detention, hospital orders, law reports, mental health by sally

R (DB) v Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust [2008] EWCA Civ 1354; [2008] WLR (D) 375

The effect of an order for the admission and detention of an offender in a hospital, within s 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, was limited by s 40 to the period of 28 days from the date of the making of the order. A subsequent amendment of the order did not authorise admission after the 28-day period in the original order.”

WLR Daily, 3rd December 2008

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.

R v A – WLR Daily

Posted December 4th, 2008 in evidence, law reports, rape, retrials by sally

R v A [2008] EWCA Crim 2908; [2008] WLR (D) 374

The expression ‘new and compelling evidence … in relation to the qualifying offence’ in s 78(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was not restricted to further evidence either from an individual who suggested that the defendant had admitted after the trial that he was guilty of the offence or from newly emerging witnesses who said that they had heard or seen something at the time which directly supported the relevant complaint.”

WLR Daily, 3rd December 2008

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.

Kaczmarek v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Times Law Reports

Posted December 4th, 2008 in EC law, law reports, social security by sally

Kaczmarek v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

Court of Appeal

“A citizen of a European Union member state who had no right to live in the United Kingdom under domestic or European law, even though she was lawfully present, was not eligible for income support.”

The Times, 4th December 2008

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.

Attorney-General’s Reference (No 55 of 2008) – Times Law Reports

Posted December 4th, 2008 in dangerous offenders, law reports, sentencing by sally

Attorney-General’s Reference (No 55 of 2008)

Court of Appeal, Criminal Division

“Recent amendments to the assessment of dangerousness provisions allowed the court to exercise its judgment, untrammeled by artificial constraints, as to whether a sentence of imprisonment for public protection should be passed if the necessary criteria were established.”

The Times, 4th December 2008

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.

Costs, targets, paperwork: why the system fails children at risk – The Times

Posted December 4th, 2008 in child abuse, social services, special report by sally

“Ed Balls moved swiftly to remove Sharon Shoesmith from her post, and states that every local council must learn the lessons of Baby P’s death. But in many ways, Shoesmith was the perfect children’s director for the new-look Department for Children, Schools and Families.”

Full story 

The Times, 4th December 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Government cracks down on irresponsible drinking – Home Office

Posted December 4th, 2008 in alcohol abuse, licensed premises, press releases by sally

“A ban on ‘all you can drink’ promotions in pubs and bars has been announced by the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Health Secretary Alan Johnson.”

Full press release

Home Office, 3rd December 2008

Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk

Borders, Immigration and Citizenship Bill – UK Border Agency

Posted December 4th, 2008 in bills, citizenship, immigration, press releases by sally

“A bill will be brought forward to strengthen border controls, by bringing together customs and immigration powers, and to ensure that newcomers to the United Kingdom earn the right to stay”

Full press release

UK Border Agency, 3rd December 2008

Source: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk