Current Awareness

Local Authority and Children’s Guardian fail in appeal against judge’s refusal to support a plan of adoption for children aged 2 and 3: T and R (Refusal of Placement Order) [2021] EWCA Civ 71 – Transparency Project

Posted February 16th, 2021 in adoption, appeals, care orders, child abuse, domestic violence, local government, news, placement orders, travellers by sally

‘T & R involved an appeal against a decision to refuse to approve a plan of adoption in respect of two children, T (a 3 year old boy) and R (a 2 year old girl) and accordingly, refuse to make placement orders.’

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Transparency Project, 15th February 2021

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Proposed free speech law will make English universities liable for breaches – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2021 in freedom of expression, news, statutory duty, universities by sally

‘The government is to introduce legislation that will enable academics, students or visiting speakers who are no-platformed to sue universities for compensation where they feel they have suffered because of free speech infringements.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Equalities watchdog urged to investigate UK’s pandemic response – BBC News

Posted February 16th, 2021 in coronavirus, equality, ministers' powers and duties, news, women by sally

‘Unions, women’s groups and charities have asked the UK’s equalities watchdog to investigate whether the government broke the law in its pandemic response.’

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BBC News, 15th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court Shell ruling “big step forward” for access to justice – Litigation Futures

Posted February 16th, 2021 in choice of forum, class actions, news, oil wells, pollution, Supreme Court by sally

‘Campaigners have welcomed Friday’s Supreme Court ruling on claims brought by the victims of oil pollution in the Niger Delta as a major step forward for those seeking access to justice for corporate abuses.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Pensioner cleared of murdering wife during first lockdown in Wales – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2021 in coronavirus, domestic violence, guilty pleas, mental health, murder, news, Wales by sally

‘A man who killed his wife five days into the first lockdown last year in Wales has been cleared of her murder.’

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The Guardian, 15th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court’s village green ruling leaves uncertainties – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 16th, 2021 in commons, land registration, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A Supreme Court ruling on the status of privately owned land classified as a town or village green (TVG) does not clear up a fundamental general principle, a planning expert has said. The ruling in T W Logistics Ltd v Essex County Council and Ian Tucker, rejected a landowner’s appeal against the registration of a piece of land.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th February 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Police officer given misconduct notice over Mohamud Hassan’s death – The Guardian

Posted February 16th, 2021 in complaints, death in custody, disciplinary procedures, news, police by sally

‘A police officer has been served with a misconduct notice as part of an investigation into the sudden death of a 24-year-old shortly after he was released from custody.’

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The Guardian, 15th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Radical change needed in handling of rape cases, says England and Wales police lead – The Guardian

Posted February 15th, 2021 in criminal justice, Crown Prosecution Service, news, police, prosecutions, rape, sexual offences, victims by sally

‘Crack teams of specialist police officers are needed to bring rapists to justice and prevent a wholesale collapse of public confidence in the criminal justice system, according to the police lead for rape in England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 14th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: Okpabi & Ors v Royal Dutch Shell Plc & Anor [2021] UKSC 3 – UKSC Blog

Posted February 15th, 2021 in appeals, civil procedure rules, class actions, damages, duty of care, environmental health, environmental protection, health, jurisdiction, negligence, news, personal injuries, proportionality by sally

‘Royal Dutch Shell Plc (‘RDS’) is the parent company of the Shell group of companies, incorporated in the UK. The Shell Petroleum Company of Nigeria Limited (‘SPDC’, the other Respondent) is an exploration and production company incorporated in Nigeria and is a subsidiary of RDS.’

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UKSC Blog, 12th February 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Law firm ordered to pay £1m for registration error – Legal Futures

Posted February 15th, 2021 in appeals, consent, damages, housing, inheritance tax, land registration, law firms, negligence, news, trusts by sally

‘The High Court has ordered a defunct Manchester law firm which failed to register a restriction against a house at the Land Registry to pay over £985,000 in damages for professional negligence.’

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Legal Futures, 15th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Substantial debts are not substantial arrears – Nearly Legal

Posted February 15th, 2021 in coronavirus, debts, housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, news, rent, repossession by sally

‘The decision of Master Dagnall in The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity of the Brotherhood of the Most Glorious and Undivided Trinity and St Clement in the Parish of Deptford Strond, commonly called the Corporation of the Trinity House of Deptford Strond v (1) Prescott (2) Byrne (2021) EWHC 283 (Ch), was, until Saturday night, at risk of being a footnote in housing law history, but, with the extension of the ban on (most) evictions in England being extended until the end of March (here, and see below), it’s now a bit more important.’

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Nearly Legal, 14th February 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

DWP uses excessive surveillance on suspected fraudsters, report finds – The Guardian

Posted February 15th, 2021 in benefits, charities, closed circuit television, fraud, government departments, investigatory powers, news, privacy, proportionality, spying by sally

‘Suspected benefit fraudsters in the UK are being subjected to excessive surveillance techniques such as being tailed by government officers or identified in CCTV footage, according to a report.’

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The Guardian, 14th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge hits out at lack of regulated placement for vulnerable, suicidal 16 year old, despite 11 High Court hearings and sending series of judgments to ministers – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 15th, 2021 in care orders, children, detention, families, family courts, government departments, housing, judges, judgments, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘An exasperated High Court judge has sent a fourth judgment to ministers over the continuing unavailability of a regulated placement for a vulnerable 16 year old with multifaceted difficulties and at a high risk of serious self-harm or suicide.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Markle judgment warns against ‘Micawber’ tactics – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 15th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, copyright, damages, data protection, media, news, privacy, public interest by sally

‘The High Court has sounded a new warning about “Micawber tactics” in a summary judgment in the high-profile action brought by the Duchess of Sussex (Meghan Markle) against the Mail newspaper. Lord Justice Warby, sitting as a judge in the Chancery Division, found that the duchess had a reasonable expectation of privacy when she wrote a personal letter to her father, even though she feared it might be leaked to the press.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th February 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court upholds registration of land in working port as town and village green – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 15th, 2021 in appeals, commons, health & safety, land registration, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘An area of concrete in a working commercial port was validly registered by a county council as a town and village green, the Supreme Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Covid: HSE refuses to close workplaces that are putting employees at risk – The Guardian

Posted February 15th, 2021 in coronavirus, employment, enforcement, government departments, health & safety, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The government’s health and safety watchdog has failed to shut down any workplaces that put employees at risk of coronavirus even though there have been over 3,500 outbreaks at work since the start of the pandemic, the Observer has discovered.’

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The Guardian, 14th February 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: TW Logistics Ltd v Essex County Council & Anor [2021] UKSC 4 – UKSC Blog

Posted February 15th, 2021 in appeals, commons, health & safety, land registration, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘This case concerns the registration of land as a town and village green. The use of the phrase “town or village green” (“TVG”) conjures up a bucolic image of an area of grass where local inhabitants can walk and play. However, the land in this case is an area of concrete (the “Land”) in a working commercial port. The question for the Supreme Court is, has the Land been validly registered as a TVG?’

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UKSC Blog, 12th February 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Ronan Cormacain: Queen’s Consent and the Crown’s exemption from lockdown rules – are we all in this together? – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 15th, 2021 in bills, constitutional law, coronavirus, enforcement, freedom of movement, local government, news, parliament, royal family, statutory interpretation by sally

‘There have been recent revelations about the use of the Queen’s consent procedure in relation to Government Bills. At the heart of the issue is the role of the Queen and the Prince of Wales, in vetting Acts of Parliament before they are made. With that background, this paper examines the applicability of some of the coronavirus lockdown rules to Crown land. My conclusion is that the Crown has special and unjustified privileges in the both the content of legislation and the procedure for making it.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th February 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org