Gurkhas ask High Court for pension parity – The Times

Posted March 14th, 2008 in armed forces, news, pensions by sally

“They have fought and died in the British Army over centuries and taken part in every significant conflict since 1947 including the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq. But today the Gurkhas are embroiled in a new battle — this time with the Ministry of Defence.”

Full story

The Times, 13th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Jurors acquit ‘cat confession’ man – then hug him – The Times

Posted March 14th, 2008 in murder, news, trials by sally

“A pensioner who was accused of killing his partner and then confessing to his pet cats was cleared of murder and manslaughter today – and then hugged by members of the jury before leaving the courtroom.”

Full story

The Times, 14th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted March 14th, 2008 in legislation by sally

The Brucellosis (England) (Amendment) Order 2008

The Accounting Standards (Prescribed Body) Regulations 2008

The National Assistance (Sums for Personal Requirements and Assessment of Resources) Amendment (England) Regulations 2008

The Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (Penalty Charge Notices, Enforcement and Adjudication) (Wales) Regulations 2008

The Rice Products from the United States of America (Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations 2008

The Defence Aviation Repair Agency Trading Fund (Amendment) Order 2008

The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Application to the Armed Forces) Order 2008

The Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No. 3) Regulations 2008

The Gangmasters (Licensing Conditions) (No.2) (Amendment) Rules 2008

The Export Control (Security and Para-military Goods) Order 2008

The Fostering Services (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Disability Discrimination (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Farriers’ Qualifications (European Recognition) Regulations 2008

The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Internal Dispute Resolution Procedures Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2008

The Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) (Fees) (England) Order 2008

The Community Legal Service (Financial) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2008

The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Income Tax (Indexation) Order 2008

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2008

The Social Security (Contributions) (Re-rating) Consequential Amendment Regulations 2008

The Individual Savings Account (Amendment) Regulations 2008

The Income Tax (Limits for Enterprise Management Incentives) Order 2008

The Value Added Tax (Increase of Registration Limits) Order 2008

The Pensions Increase (Review) Order 2008

Cash fears of authority which holds legal purse strings – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted March 14th, 2008 in costs, negligence, news by sally

“Paul Rogerson looks at the recurring controversy surrounding costs in clinical negligence claims.”

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 13th March 2008

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Calvert v William Hill Credit Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted March 14th, 2008 in duty of care, gambling, law reports by sally

Calvert v William Hill Credit Ltd [2008] EWHC 454 (Ch); [2008] WLR (D) 87

Although a bookmaker was not liable in negligence in respect of the gambling losses of a customer who was, and who was known by the bookmaker to be, a problem gambler, a bookmaker who had, at the customer’s request, undertaken to prohibit the customer from gambling for a specified period owed the customer a duty to take reasonable care to enforce that prohibition, so as to protect the customer from the risk of gambling losses during the specified period.”

WLR Daily, 12th March 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

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

Casewell v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – WLR Daily

Posted March 14th, 2008 in benefits, disabled persons, law reports, social security by sally

Casewell v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; [2008] WLR (D) 86

A direct payment of carer’s allowance made to a disabled person for securing the provision of care by her husband formed part of the husband’s earnings for the purposes of assessing his entitlement to income support.”

WLR Daily, 12th March 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 (Rayner) v Secretary of State for Justice – WLR Daily

Posted March 14th, 2008 in human rights, law reports, mental health, tribunals by sally

R (Rayner) v Secretary of State for Justice [2008] EWCA Civ 176; [2008] WLR (D) 85

The statutory scheme dealing with the referral of the case a recalled mental patient to a mental health review tribunal was not incompatible with the patient’s rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, whether because of the timescale envisaged or for lack of a right of direct access to a court.”

WLR Daily, 12th March 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 (Kelly) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Bailey) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Gibson) v Governor of Wymott Prison – WLR Daily

Posted March 14th, 2008 in law reports, prisons, probation by sally

R (Kelly) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Bailey) v Secretary of State for Justice; R (Gibson) v Governor of Wymott Prison [2008] EWCA Civ 177; [2008] WLR (D) 84

Long-term prisoners who had been convicted of offences committed after 29 September 1998 and before 4 April 2005, and who after 4 April 2005 had been released on licence, recalled and then re-released having served three-quarters of their sentences, remained subject to licence conditions for the remainder of their sentences.”

WLR Daily, 12th March 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.

Regina v Cockburn – Times Law Reports

Posted March 14th, 2008 in grievous bodily harm, law reports, setting traps by sally

Regina v Cockburn

Court of Appeal, Criminal Division

“An anti-intruder device driven by gravity and triggered by pressure on a wire was capable of amounting to an engine calculated to inflict grievous bodily harm, under the Offences against the Person Act 1861.”

The Times, 14th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Norris v Government of the United States of America – Times Law Reports

Posted March 14th, 2008 in extradition, law reports, price fixing by sally

Norris v Government of the United States of America

House of Lords

“A person could not be extradited to the United States of America to stand trial on charges brought under US legislation which declared cartels to be illegal, to stand trial for price-fixing offences alleged to have been committed from 1989 to 2000 because during that period price-fixing agreements and cartels were not illegal under English law, unless there were other aggravating features such as dishonesty or deception.”

The Times, 14th March 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.

“Lax standards” on data security – BBC News

Posted March 14th, 2008 in data protection, government departments, news by sally

“The government has persistently failed to take data protection ‘sufficiently seriously’ the Joint Committee on Human Rights has warned.”

Full story

BBC News, 14th March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Doctor ‘gave 17 women with cancer all-clear’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 14th, 2008 in doctors, negligence, news by sally

“A doctor made ‘barn door-sized errors’ in reading breast scans that led him to wrongly tell 17 women with cancer that they were healthy, a tribunal heard yesterday.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 14th March 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

UK Poles attack Daily Mail ‘bias’ – The Guardian

Posted March 14th, 2008 in defamation, media, news by sally

“The Federation of Poles in Great Britain has ‘reluctantly’ filed a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission accusing the Daily Mail of defaming Polish residents in the UK.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Canoe man facing long prison sentence after admitting fraud – The Guardian

Posted March 14th, 2008 in fraud, news by sally

“John Darwin, the former prison officer accused of staging a canoeing accident at sea to fake his death, was yesterday facing a long prison sentence after admitting to a string of fraud charges totalling nearly £250,000.”

Full story

The Guardian, 14th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Reprieve for gay Iranian who fears he will be killed – The Times

Posted March 14th, 2008 in asylum, homosexuality, Iran, news by sally

“A gay Iranian teenager is to be allowed to stay in Britain because his case is now so notorious that it would be dangerous to deport him to Tehran.”

Full story

The Times, 14th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Brain-damaged woman clears way for victims to sue over baby scandal – The Times

Posted March 14th, 2008 in birth, hospitals, negligence, news by sally

“Families of patients with severe brain damage after heart surgery as children are preparing to sue the NHS after a profoundly disabled woman won her case for compensation in the wake of the Bristol heart babies scandal.”

Full story

The Times, 14th March 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

‘Happy slap’ teenagers sentenced – BBC News

Posted March 13th, 2008 in murder, news, sentencing, young offenders by sally

“Two teenagers who beat a man to death in a ‘revolting’ attack, while a 15-year-old girl filmed it on her mobile phone, have been sentenced.”

Full story

BBC News, 13th March 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Wannabe gangster’ jailed for 30 years for doorstep shooting – The Guardian

Posted March 13th, 2008 in murder, news, sentencing by sally

“A ‘wannabe gangster’ was jailed for life today after being convicted of shooting dead a pregnant neighbour in a cold-blooded execution after a doorstep row.”

Full story

The Guardian, 13th March 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

McCartney decision due on Monday – Reuters

Posted March 13th, 2008 in divorce, news by sally

“Paul McCartney is expected to find out on Monday how much of his fortune he must hand over to estranged wife Heather Mills when a judge rules on their acrimonious and highly public divorce.”

Full story

Reuters, 13th March 2008

Source: www.reuters.com

New code for watchdog’s public sector data mining – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 13th, 2008 in codes of practice, consultations, data protection, fraud, news by sally

“The Audit Commission has published a revised code of practice which will govern its extended powers to obtain and search data from public sector bodies.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 13th March 2008

Source: www.out-law.com