Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted September 1st, 2008 in legislation by sally

The Zoonoses and Animal By-Products (Fees) (England) Regulations 2008

The Gas and Electricity Regulated Providers (Redress Scheme) Order 2008

The Postal Services Regulated Providers (Redress Scheme) Order 2008

The Social Fund (Applications and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2008

The Tonnage Tax (Training Requirement) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Town and Country Planning (Trees) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2008

The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order 2008

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

US to hand over papers supporting Binyam Mohamed’s torture claim – The Times

Posted September 1st, 2008 in disclosure, news, terrorism, torture by sally

“The United States has agreed to hand over evidence that may support a British resident’s claim that he was tortured into confessing that he was an al-Qaeda terrorist.”

Full story

The Times, 30th August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

‘Alarming’ rise in self-harming at detention centres – The Independent

Posted September 1st, 2008 in asylum, detention, mental health, news, self-harm by sally

“Incidences of self-harm in immigration detention centres rose 73 per cent in the first six months of this year, Home Office figures have revealed. The sharp increase has provoked calls for the Government to re-examine its policy of treating asylum-seekers as prisoners.”

Full story

The Independent, 31st August 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Families sue ‘negligent’ MoD for Nimrod explosion deaths in Afghanistan – The Times

Posted September 1st, 2008 in aircraft, armed forces, negligence, news by sally

“Two of the families who lost sons in the RAF Nimrod that burst into flames over Afghanistan two years ago, killing all 14 people on board, will begin a landmark damages suit against the Ministry of Defence in the High Court today. ”

Full story

The Times, 1st September 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Record numbers of ex-soldiers in UK jails as combat trauma blamed – The Guardian

Posted September 1st, 2008 in armed forces, news, prisons, violent offenders by sally

“The number of soldiers who end up in prison for violent offences has increased dramatically in the past four years, according to a report that has raised concerns about the mental health of military personnel returning from war zones. Compiled by probation officers, the report estimates that at least 8,500 former soldiers are in custody – 9 per cent of the UK prison population and nearly double the estimate of a previous study by the Home Office in 2004, which put the figure at 5 per cent.”

Full story

The Guardian, 31st August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Relatives will be able to challenge coroner – The Times

Posted September 1st, 2008 in appeals, coroners, inquests, news by sally

“Bereaved relatives are to have a new right of appeal regarding inquest rulings, under an extensive reform of the coroners’ system.”

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The Times, 1st September 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Titan prisons to be rebranded as ‘cluser jails’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 1st, 2008 in news, prisons by sally

“Controversial ‘Titan prisons’ proposed by the Government to ease jail overcrowding have met with such widespread opposition that ministers are considering changing their name in a ‘rebranding’ exercise.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 31st August 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Immigration: High court to rule on incarceration of boy, eight, in detention centre – The Guardian

Posted September 1st, 2008 in children, detention, immigration, news by sally

“Lawyers acting on behalf of an eight-year-old boy detained in an immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire are to challenge the legality of his incarceration this week in the high court.”

Full story

The Guardian, 1st September 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Rhys Jones trial may be held up by legal pay row – The Times

Posted September 1st, 2008 in legal aid, murder, news by sally

“The trial of a teenager accused of murdering the Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones could be delayed after he was left without a senior barrister because of a government limit on legal aid.”

Full story

The Times, 30th August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

UK considers Guantanamo man move – BBC News

Posted August 29th, 2008 in detention, disclosure, news, torture by sally

“The government is given a further week by the High Court to consider its refusal to disclose material in case of a UK resident held in Guantanamo Bay.”

Full story

BBC News, 29th August 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

College of Law hits out at SRA proposals – Legal Week

Posted August 29th, 2008 in legal education, news, solicitors by sally

“The College of Law has hit out at the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after the regulatory body proposed scrapping compulsory higher rights qualifications for solicitor advocates in favour of a voluntary accreditation process.”

Full story

Legal Week, 29th August 2008

Source: www.legalweek.com

Prison for BNP activist’s killer – BBC News

Posted August 29th, 2008 in homicide, news, sentencing by sally

“An Asian man who killed his BNP activist neighbour in a dispute has been jailed for eight years.”

Full story

BBC News, 29th August 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Divorce rate at its lowest for 26 years – The Guardian

Posted August 29th, 2008 in divorce, news by sally

“The divorce rate in England and Wales fell to a 26-year low last year, government figures show today.”

Full story

The Guardian, 29th August 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ofcom begins inquiry into mobile telephone charges – The Times

Posted August 29th, 2008 in competition, news, telecommunications by sally

“Ofcom, the communications regulator, has begun its first full-scale inquiry into the mobile phone industry in a move that could revolutionise charging for mobile calls.”

Full story

The Times, 29th August 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted August 29th, 2008 in legislation by sally

The African Development Bank (Eleventh Replenishment of the African Development Fund) Order 2008

The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Consequential Amendments and Transitory Provisions) Order 2008

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Attorney-General’s Reference (No 29 of 2008) (Jon Peter Dixon) – Times Law Reports

Posted August 29th, 2008 in children, consent, law reports, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

Attorney-General’s Reference (No 29 of 2008) (Jon Peter Dixon)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“A non-custodial sentence for sexual offences against a child under 13 where the child had been a willing participant did not meet the essential fact that the law was there not only to protect children from the baleful influence of adults with an inappropriate interest in children but was also designed to protect children from themselves.”

The Times, 29th August 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.

Joyce v Secretary of State for Health – Times Law Reports

Posted August 29th, 2008 in appeals, care workers, law reports, tribunals by sally

Joyce v Secretary of State for Health

Queen’s Bench Division

“Where a care worker challenged a finding of misconduct which had resulted in her being placed by the Secretary of State for Health on a list of those considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults, the Care Standards Tribunal was entitled, on appeal, to consider allegations of misconduct not entertained by the secretary of state, provided it acted fairly.”

The Times, 29th August 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.

In re R (Family dispute: Evidence) – Times Law Reports

Posted August 29th, 2008 in domestic violence, family courts, law reports, no case to answer by sally

In re R (Family dispute: Evidence)

Court of Appeal

“Judges conducting preliminary fact-finding hearings in family proceedings involving serious allegations of domestic violence should never terminate the case without hearing all the available evidence.”

The Times, 29th August 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.

R (Binyan Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – WLR Daily

Posted August 29th, 2008 in disclosure, law reports, terrorism, torture by sally

R (Binyan Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2008] EWHC 2048 (Admin); [2008] WLR (D) 295

“The principles set out by the House of Lords in Norwich Pharmacal Co v Customs and Excise Commissioners [1974] AC 133 could be applied in novel circumstances to require the Foreign Secretary to disclose information, specific to the claimant and essential to his defence to serious charges which might carry the death penalty, in confidence to lawyers representing him in proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, given that the conduct of the security service of the United Kingdom had amounted to being involved in arguable wrongdoing by facilitating interviews of the claimant by or on behalf of the United States of America while the claimant had been held unlawfully in incommunicado detention and on his case had been subject to alleged torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at the hands of the detaining authorities.”

WLR Daily, 22nd August 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.

Review of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act will cut police bureaucracy – Home Office

Posted August 29th, 2008 in evidence, police, press releases by sally

“A review of plans to streamline police powers in order to cut red tape, improve efficiency, and protect the rights of the public was set out today by Home Office Minister Tony McNulty.”

Full story

Home Office, 28th August 2008

Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk