‘The last couple of weeks have seen a raft of new legislation in the United Kingdom, hurriedly passed to deal urgently with the coronavirus situation. It has clearly been drafted quickly, with guidance that goes well beyond the legislation, and so this has led to some confusion as to what exactly the law now says.’
OUP Blog, 21st April 2020
Source: blog.oup.com
‘Military analogies have been deployed with vigour in the early weeks of the United Kingdom’s battle against COVID-19. Initially the government told the public to ‘keep calm and carry on’. When the lockdown came, the Prime Minister ‘enlisted’ us all to slow its spread. A ‘war cabinet’ was formed and those in the health and social care sectors, who would be most regularly exposed to the virus, were referred to as being on the ‘frontline’ of the battle.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 21st April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘We find ourselves in unprecedented times, daily life as we know it brought to a standstill. Professionally we are all looking at work in a different light, attempting to predict the impact Covid-19 will have on our respective areas of practice.’
Park Square Barristers, 6th April 2020
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘In this post I argue, with reference to Privacy International, that the nature of legislation as a speech act entails that the tension between parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law is not as profound as is often thought.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is interpreting a text’s meaning in accordance with the author’s context and discoverable meaning. Eisegesis is when a reader imposes their own subjective interpretation on a text. Both have more than a passing similarity to the common law doctrine of precedent and the techniques of statutory interpretation.’
Ropewalk Chambers, 17th April 2020
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘It is to be expected that the current pandemic will result in employers seeking to rely on economic hard times with a view to curtailing employees’ claims for loss of earnings and financial benefits. This will typically be through reliance on the contention that the employees would have been dismissed in any event and any compensation for loss of remuneration should therefore, be extinguished or reduced. In some cases, there will be genuine grounds for such a stance, whilst opportunism could be the driver in others. Thus far, there is no indication that significant job losses are predicted in central and local government and in public services sector. What is said hereafter is applicable principally to employment outside the public sector. This article deals both with ordinary unfair dismissal claim and claims in Great Britain based on protected status where there is no cap on compensation.’
Parklane Plowden, 7th April 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘An employment tribunal has expressed its “incredulity” at the way a solicitor’s former secretary befriended one of his clients and ended up in the client’s will.’
Legal Futures, 21st April 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A second appeal on a homelessness review, where a finding of intentional homelessness had been upheld, raising an important point on whether events or factors post-dating the decision or action that led to eviction need to be considered on review.’
Nearly Legal, 19th April 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The judgment Re Carluccio’s Ltd [2020] EWHC 886 (Ch) provides some much-needed clarity on the interrelation of the Furlough Scheme and the requirements of insolvency legislation. It is to be commended for its clarity and for the fact that it had to construe the workings of the Furlough Scheme in the absence of any statutory guidance as to its implementation. It is to be hoped that, when the Government comes to enact the necessary legislative measures (including perhaps amendments to Schedule B1 and IR 2016), that it does so with this judgment very firmly in mind.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 14th April 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘In the final part of our three-part mini-series: Civil Procedure, Human Rights and the Coronavirus, we consider how litigators may use the civil procedure rules to drive litigation forward in the time of coronavirus.’
Blackstone Chambers, 14th April 2020
‘An Upper Tribunal judge has set aside a decision by a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that upheld – after a freedom of information request – the withholding of an agent’s advice to a local authority on the tactics it should apply in negotiations with Tesco over a proposed development.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Force majeure is a continental law (Civil Code) concept addressing, in very general terms, some event or circumstance that causes the inability to perform obligations under a contract.’
3PB, 3rd April 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘Two fee-earners are not needed for attending a witness or client – and you cannot charge for solicitors travelling to clients.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Employers looking to make 20 or more employees redundant must comply with rigorous procedural safeguards under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (“TULRCA”). Although the disruption caused by Covid-19 may force many employers to suddenly and unexpectedly consider a collective redundancy exercise, these safeguards remain unchanged by HM Government’s recent emergency legislation. Failure to follow the correct procedure can expose employers to liability for protective awards, although the current pandemic may well assist in establishing a defence of “special circumstances”.’
Thomas More Chambers, 16th April 2020
Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk
‘We have heard a lot about how the courts are responding to the coronavirus pandemic by conducting hearings online instead of in a physical court room. But while hearings by Skype and Zoom enable participants to maintain social distancing and avoid the risks of contagion, they may not work for everyone. Is there another way of delivering justice to the digitally excluded?’
Transparency Project, 19th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The protocol aimed at cutting out opportunistic tactics by either claimants or defendants in personal injury (PI) cases during the Covid-19 pandemic has been extended to at least 20 May.’
Litigation Futures, 20th April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘In these strange and confusing times, every aspect of our legal system has been touched by delays, adjournments, revision and fundamental change. The management of housing, so reliant on face-to-face contact at all stages, has been subject to significant amendment.’
Park Square Barristers, 14th April 2020
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘Society is experiencing the biggest Government led restriction of movement since the Second World War, instigated by The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 which came into force at 1pm on 26th March 2020.’
St John's Buildings, 15th April 2020
Source: stjohnsbuildings.com
‘Many will no doubt pore over the Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Elgizouli v Secretary of State for the Home Department to evaluate its significance for the common law constraint of prerogative power. Ultimately, however, the Supreme Court held that it was not the common law but rather a failure by the Home Secretary to consider his duties under the Data Protection Act 2018 that rendered the decision in question unlawful. This post considers the significance of the Data Protection Act 2018 for protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects. Although the narrow ground upon which the judgment was decided will offer some procedural protections for fundamental rights and freedoms, the case’s significance lies in its suggestion as to how data protection law might offer some scope for extending the extraterritorial application of human rights beyond the limits of the European Convention on Human Rights.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 17th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
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