OFT challenges banks on “misleading” overdraft charges – The Independent

Posted November 16th, 2007 in banking, news by sally

“The Office of Fair Trading yesterday warned Britain’s banks it intended to take them to task over unauthorised overdraft charges whatever the outcome of a High Court test case on the fees that is scheduled to begin in January.”

Full story

The Independent, 16th November 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

BA offers £430 to strike-hit passengers – The Times

Posted November 16th, 2007 in airlines, compensation, news by sally

“British Airways is facing a multi-million-pound compensation bill after failing to keep secret a deal in which it has agreed to pay passengers £430 each for cancelling their flights.”

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The Times, 16th November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk  

BBC admits error over bogus crying in film of quintuplets – The Times

Posted November 16th, 2007 in news by sally

“The BBC added its own soundtrack of babies gurgling to a news report about the birth of quintuplets, the corporation admitted. BBC News was at the centre of another ‘fakery’ allegation after admitting that producers manipulated the soundtrack of footage received from John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Full story

The Times, 16th November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Diabetic in coma shot with Taser out of fear he was suicide bomber – The Times

Posted November 16th, 2007 in news, police, terrorism, weapons by sally

“A man who slipped into a diabetic coma on a bus was shot twice with a Taser gun because police mistook him for an Arab suicide bomber.”

Full story 

The Times, 16th November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

MoD sued over “36 hours of hell” in Basra – The Times

Posted November 16th, 2007 in armed forces, Iraq, news, torture by sally

“Iraqi prisoners held by British troops at a detention centre in Basra were forced to dance ‘like Michael Jackson’ during 36 hours of alleged beatings and sleep-deprivation, according to a High Court writ against the Ministry of Defence.”

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The Times, 16th November 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Bill could ban tax exiles from House of Lords – The Guardian

Posted November 16th, 2007 in constitutional reform, news, parliament, taxation by sally

“A forthcoming constitutional reform bill could include measures to stop tax exiles from sitting in the House of Lords, the cabinet secretary said yesterday amid further questions about the tax status of the millionaire Tory donor Lord Ashcroft.”

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The Guardian, 16th November 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Suspected Atlantic airline plotter faces deportation – The Guardian

Posted November 16th, 2007 in extradition, news, Pakistan, terrorism by sally

“A key suspect behind an alleged plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic appeared last night to be a step closer to being extradited to Britain after a court in Pakistan dropped charges against him there.”

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The Guardian, 16th November 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Longer sentences have led to jail crisis says top judge – The Guardian

Posted November 16th, 2007 in news, prisons, sentencing by sally

“The prison system is in a ‘critical situation’ and there must be a debate on linking sentencing to the resources available for punishing offenders the most senior judge in England and Wales, the lord chief justice, said last night.”

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The Guardian, 16th November 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Judge ordered off divorce case after ‘flying carpet’ jibe – The Guardian

Posted November 15th, 2007 in bias, judges, news, race discrimination by sally

“A high court judge who made allegedly mocking remarks about a sheikh involved in a multi-million pound divorce was today ordered to step down from the case.”

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The Guardian, 15th November 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Employers should take care with demands for experience, warns expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 15th, 2007 in age discrimination, employment, news by sally

“Employers must curb their demands for fixed amounts of experience from job applicants to avoid falling foul of discrimination legislation, an employment law specialist has warned.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th November 2007

Source: www.out-law.com

Manning murder conviction quashed – BBC News

Posted November 15th, 2007 in murder, news, retrials by sally

“A man jailed after the murder of an 18-year-old woman has won his appeal against conviction at the High Court.”

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BBC News, 15th Novemebr 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk  

George granted retrial in Dando murder case – The Guardian

Posted November 15th, 2007 in murder, news, retrials by sally

“Barry George today won his challenge against his conviction for the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando, after the court of appeal ordered a retrial.”

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The Guardian, 15th November 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cleric Abu Hamza cleared for US extradition – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 15th, 2007 in extradition, news, terrorism by sally

“The radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza can be extradited to the US to face terror charges, a court has ruled.”

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Daily Telegraph, 15th November 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted November 15th, 2007 in legislation by sally

The Police Reform Act 2002 (Standard Powers and Duties of Community Support Officers) Order 2007

The Asylum (Procedures) Regulations 2007

The Official Feed and Food Controls (England) Regulations 2007

The Traffic Management Act 2004 (Commencement No.6) (England) Order 2007

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Call for Pakistan to Respect the Rule of Law – The Bar Council

Posted November 15th, 2007 in Pakistan, rule of law by sally

“The Heads of the Four Bars in England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland, North and South, have called for Pakistan’s leaders to reinstate the Rule of Law.”

Letter from Heads of the Four Bars

The Bar Council, 15th November 2007

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

R (O’Connell) v Parole Board and another – WLR Daily

Posted November 15th, 2007 in human rights, law reports, oral hearings, parole by sally

R (O’Connell) v Parole Board and another [2007] EWHC 2591 (Admin)

“A decision by the Parole Board as to whether to direct the release on licence of a prisoner serving an extended sentence under s 227 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 who had not yet finished the custodial part of the imposed term, engaged the right not to be arbitrarily detained under art 5(4) of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, art 5(4) did not require an oral hearing in every case where the question was the assessment of risk to the public, and whether or not an oral hearing was necessary would depend upon the facts.”

WLR Daily, 13th November 2007

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.

AH and Others (Sudan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – Times Law Reports

Posted November 15th, 2007 in asylum, deportation, law reports, Sudan by sally

AH and Others (Sudan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

House of Lords

“In determining whether it would be unduly harsh to expect an asylum seeker to relocate to a safe haven in another part of his country, there was no requirement that consideration of conditions in the place of habitual residence had to be the starting point of the assessment. It was for the decision-maker to determine what weight was to be given to that, and all other relevant factors, in the context of the particular facts of the case.”

The Times, 15th November 2007

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.

House of Lords Judgments: What’s new?

Posted November 15th, 2007 in law reports by sally

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) v. AH (Sudan) and others (FC) (Respondents) [2007] UKHL 49 (14 November 2007)

Source: www.parliament.uk

Daily Telegraph Law Reports, 15th November 2007

Posted November 15th, 2007 in law reports by sally

Raglan Housing Association Ltd. v. Fairclough

R (Independent Police Complaints Commission) v. Chief Constable of West Midlands Police

Moody v. General Osteopathic Council

Wandsworth LBC v. Randall

Ellis v. William Cook Leeds Ltd.

Conn v. Sunderland CC

Daily Telegraph, 15th November 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Please note the Daily Telegraph Law Reports are available free online for one week only.

Paul Lasok: EU referendum would clear air – Legal Week

Posted November 15th, 2007 in EC law, referendums, special report, treaties by sally

“In the UK, treaty-making is a matter for the Crown acting in conjunction with Parliament. The few instances of referendums and the like are insufficient to give rise to a constitutional convention saying that a referendum must be held if a treaty such as the European Union (EU) Reform Treaty is to be ratified. Whether or not there should be a referendum on the EU Reform Treaty is therefore a political rather than a legal question. This is except for the idea once floated by the Conservative Party of holding a referendum after ratification with a view to backing out of the Reform Treaty if it found against it, which does have legal implications. The professed purpose of such a post-ratification referendum is to engineer a breach by the UK of a legally binding promise that it had entered into freely and in accordance with domestic procedures and processes.”

Full story

Legal Week, 15th November 2007

Source: www.legalweek.com