Stash and grab – The Lawyer

Posted June 19th, 2007 in confiscation, special report by sally

“The confiscation penalties under the Proceeds of Crime Act highlight the UK Government’s commitment to tackling organised crime. By Gareth Rees QC and Jason Mansell.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 18th June 2007

Source: www.thelawyer.com

UK firms beat US rivals for best workplaces – The Lawyer

Posted June 19th, 2007 in law firms, news by sally

“UK firms could be winning the battle for talent, as exclusive research by The Lawyer reveals that only 7 per cent of associates found US firms to be the most attractive employers.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 18th June 2007

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Mother loses child maintenance battle – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2007 in child support, news by sally

“A divorced mother failed today in her legal battle with the Child Support Agency (CSA) over maintenance payments for her three children.”

Full story

The Times, 19th June 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Commission of the European Communities v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – WLR Daily

Posted June 19th, 2007 in EC law, health & safety, law reports by sally

Commission of the European Communities v. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Case C-127/05) 

“Because, inter alia, the provision in art 5(1) of Directive 89/391 imposing a duty on employers to ensure the safety and health of workers did not require employers to be subject to no-fault liability, the Commission of the European Communities had not established that, by restricting the duty on employers to ensure the safety and health of workers in all aspects related to work to a duty to do that only ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’, the UK had failed to fulfil its obligations under art 5(1) and (4) of the Directive.”

WLR Daily, 14th June 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.

Early jail release plan expected – BBC News

Posted June 19th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Non-violent offenders could be let out of jail early in a bid to ease prison overcrowding in England and Wales.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th June 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law on consent in rape cases is clear enough – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2007 in news, rape by sally

“The Government has dropped plans to clarify the law on consent in rape cases, a senior source confirmed yesterday.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dando’s killer wins second appeal hearing – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 19th, 2007 in appeals, murder, news by sally

“Barry George, the disturbed loner who is serving life for the murder of the television presenter Jill Dando, has won the right to a new appeal, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 19th June 2007

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lesbian partners ‘should be recognised as parents’ – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2007 in homosexuality, news, parental rights by sally

“Britain’s most senior woman judge has called for same-sex couples who have children by artificial insemination to be legally recognised as the parents.”

Full story

The Times, 19th June 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Children’s jail staff given wider powers of restraint – The Guardian

Posted June 19th, 2007 in news, young offenders by sally

“The rules governing the use of restraint techniques based on inflicting pain in privately-run children’s jails are to be widened to allow staff to use them to enforce everyday discipline, the Ministry of Justice confirmed yesterday.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

OFT raises threshold for merger probes – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2007 in competition, news by sally

“Mergers and acquisitions in industries worth less than £10 million will escape competition investigations in most cases according to new proposals from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).”

Full story

The Times, 18th June 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk  

The deadly ending to a ‘melodrama’ – The Times

Posted June 19th, 2007 in domestic violence, Islam, news, women by sally

“The murder of Banaz Mahmod, a Kurdish Muslim woman, by her father and uncle, has brought the practice of honour killings to the attention of the public and has again emphasised the plight of Asian women caught between traditional religious customs and modern Western values. Moreover, the death of Miss Mahmod, 20, forces us to examine how such crimes are treated by the criminal courts and raises a question about the quality of policing in such cases.”

Full story

The Times, 19th June 2007

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Spotlight on jury room pressures – BBC News

Posted June 18th, 2007 in juries, special report by sally

“Two men – Patrick Smith and Joseph Merceica – have been cleared of luring a businesman into a trap and killing him, following the conclusion of their fourth trial.

The House of Lords had initially ordered the men’s retrial after a juror at their second trial complained of being ‘badgered and intimidated’ by other jurors into delivering a guilty verdict. So what are the rules of the jury room?”

Full story

BBC News, 18th June 2007

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

R (Pereira) v. HM Coroner for Inner South London and others – WLR Daily

Posted June 18th, 2007 in coroners, inquests, law reports by sally

R (Pereira) v. HM Coroner for Inner South London and others

“A coroner’s power to adjourn an inquest under s 16(1)(b) of the Coroner’s Act 1988 was discretionary. Where a reason not to adjourn had been established, a decision to do so made in the exercise of that discretion could not be impugned by way of judicial review provided that the decision had been made rationally, taking into account all relevant matters and in the light of the state’s duty to investigate a death under art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”

WLR Daily, 14th June 2007

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Goldsmith to face MPs over BAE – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2007 in corruption, fraud, news, Saudi Arabia by sally

“The attorney general is to face a Commons select committee over his role in the BAE corruption controversy, the Guardian has learned. Lord Goldsmith will be questioned by the constitutional affairs committee over the decision to halt a Serious Fraud Office investigation into allegations the firm paid bribes to secure arms deals with Saudi Arabia.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

330,000 users to have access to database on England’s children – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2007 in children, data protection, news by sally

“A giant electronic database containing sensitive information on all 11 million children in England will be open to at least 330,000 users when it launches next year, according to government guidance.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Fingerprinting and eye scans for children as young as five – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2007 in data protection, fingerprints, news, school children by sally

“Schools are to get the go-ahead to fingerprint pupils as young as five, in new measures to be approved by the Government.”

Full story

The Independent, 17th June 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Rush to find spare cells as prison population spirals to new record – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2007 in news, prisons by sally

“Urgent talks between Ministry of Justice officials and chief constables are under way to use hundreds more police cells as emergency prison accommodation as the jail crisis intensifies.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ministers in U-turn on shock therapy – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2007 in mental health, news by sally

“A government U-turn tomorrow will herald huge improvements in mental health treatment for young people. In a series of compromise changes to its controversial Mental Health Bill, the Government will curb the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on teenagers and ensure they do not have to share wards with adults, who are often disturbed and dangerous.”

Full story

The Independent, 17th June 2007

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Lords to look at legality of Iraq war – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2007 in armed forces, Iraq, news, war by sally

“Britain’s highest court is to hear a case which could force the government to hold an independent inquiry into the way the attorney general reached his conclusion that the war in Iraq would be lawful. The law lords have agreed to hear an appeal by the mothers of two soldiers killed in Iraq, who argue that the government violated their sons’ right to life by rushing into war on inadequate legal grounds.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Ministers defy judges on rape law reforms – The Guardian

Posted June 18th, 2007 in news, rape by sally

“The government is to press ahead with plans to reform the rape laws in an attempt to increase the low conviction rate, despite strong opposition from the judges who will have to put them into effect, the Guardian has learned.”

Full story

The Guardian, 18th June 2007

Source: www.guardian.co.uk