Human Rights Insight Project – Ministry of Justice
“The report presents the findings from the Human Rights Insight Project, which set out to establish whether human rights could be used empirically as a tool to improve the public’s experience of public services and if so, how we in government could encourage and facilitate this.”
Full Report (PDF)
Ministry of Justice, 10th January 2008
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
Legal aid problems emerge – Law Society’s Gazette
“The year started badly for legal aid lawyers, with the prospect of the general civil contract being terminated and confusion over whether police station fixed fees include VAT.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 10th January 2008
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Solicitor-advocates finally put on wigs in court – Law Society’s Gazette
“A Yorkshire criminal law specialist has laid claim to being the first solicitor-advocate to wear a wig in court after appearing at 10am last Wednesday at Doncaster Crown Court.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 10th January 2008
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Kostic v Chaplin and Others – Times Law Reports
Chancery
“When deciding costs in a contentious probate action, the two long-established exceptions to the normal rule that costs followed the event that survived the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules were: (i) where a testator had been the cause of the litigation, costs should come out of the estate; and (ii) where the circumstances led reasonably to an investigation of the matter, costs should be borne by both sides.”
The Times, 11th January 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.
Kingdom of Sweden v Commission of the European Communities Case – Times Law Reports
Kingdom of Sweden v Commission of the European Communities Case C-64/05P
Court of Justice of the European Communities
“A request by an EU member state to a Community institution not to disclose to a third party documents originating from that state and held by the institution was to be regarded not as instruction with which the institution was bound to comply but as the first step in a process of inquiry as to whether one of the exceptions to disclosure set out in the Community regulation on access to documents applied.”
The Times, 11th January 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.
Pressure grows to raise ‘lenient’ 4½ -year term given to terrorist – The Times
“The Government is facing pressure from police and prosecutors to challenge the perceived leniency of a jail term imposed on a terrorist who planned to kill British troops in Afghanistan.”
The Times, 11th January 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Gordon Brown ditches Respect agenda on youth crime – The Times
“Tony Blair’s drive against antisocial behaviour has been scrapped by the Government.”
The Times, 11th January 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Government piles file-sharing pressure on UK ISPs – OUT-LAW.com
“The government turned up the heat on internet providers today, warning that laws to force disconnection of illegal filesharers are already being drafted for a parliamentary debut in November.”
OUT-LAW.com, 10th January 2008
Source: www.out-law.com
Baby death blamed on government – BBC News
“An inquest jury has blamed government failures for the death of a baby who was scalded when a water tank burst above her cot.”
BBC News, 10th January 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Smith meets parents and promises to ban deactivated guns – The Guardian
“The home secretary, Jacqui Smith, yesterday announced plans to ban the possession of deactivated guns by the end of the year during a visit to Liverpool, where she met the parents of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, who was shot dead near his home last summer. Smith said the weapons, which can be converted back into lethal use, were ‘turning up more and more’ in gun-related crime.”
The Guardian, 11th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lottery winner who took holiday instead of giving evidence is jailed – The Guardian
“A chip shop worker who won £1m on a national lottery scratchcard in October has been jailed for contempt of court after she flew off on holiday instead of appearing as a witness in a criminal trial.”
The Guardian, 11th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
SRA ponders test for non-lawyer partners – Legal Week
“The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is to consult on plans for a ‘suitability test’ for non-lawyer partners in law firms in the wake of the Legal Services Act.”
Legal Week, 10th January 2008
Source: www.legalweek.com
MPs may lose right to set own pay – The Guardian
“Ministers want to strip MPs of the right to set their own salaries, the leader of the Commons, Harriet Harman, said today.”
The Guardian, 10th January 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
666 church motion doomed – The Independent
“A motion calling for the disestablishment of the Church of England appeared on the House of Commons order paper today – bizarrely numbered 666, the number associated with the Antichrist.”
The Independent, 10th January 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Barclays chairman loses £10,000 in identity scam – The Times
“The high-profile chairman of Barclays Bank has become the latest victim of identity fraud after a conman stole £10,000 from his personal account in a credit card scam.”
The Times, 10th January 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI
The Education (School Performance Information) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2007
The Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (Wales) Regulations 2007
The Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2007
The Courts-Martial (Royal Navy) Rules 2007
The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 (Commencement No. 7) (Amendment) Order 2007The Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008
Source: www.opsi.gov.uk
Practice Direction (Court Dress) (No 4) – WLR Daily
Practice Direction (Court Dress) (No 4): [2007] WLR (D) 347
“Solicitors and other advocates with rights of audience have the option to wear wigs in circumstances where they would be worn by members of the Bar.”
WLR Daily, 8th January 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 Miell – WLR Daily
R v Miell [2007] EWCA Crim 3130; [2007] WLR(D) 346
“In deciding whether to quash an acquittal, the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) had to form its own view as to whether the acquitted person’s subsequent guilty plea to perjury at his trial constituted compelling evidence that he had committed the offence charged.”
WLR Daily, 8th January 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.
Charter plc and another v City Index Ltd (Gawler and others, Pt 20 defendants) – WLR Daily
Charter plc and another v City Index Ltd (Gawler and others, Pt 20 defendants) [2007] EWCA Civ 1382
“The liability of a knowing recipient of money transferred in breach of trust did not depend solely on such receipt in breach of trust but on his retaining the money or paying it away in circumstances where it was unconscionable to do so; therefore, adopting a wide view of s 1 of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, the liability to make good the loss could properly be referred to as liability to compensate the party defrauded, and came within the scope of the Act. There was no rule of law or practice that the knowing recipient should bear 100% of the loss; that would impose an unjustified restriction on the discretion conferred by the wide scope of s 2 of the 1978 Act. The matter would depend on the facts of the particular case, which could only be assessed at trial.”
WLR Daily, 8th January 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.
