Life-support patient who refused stoma allowed to die – BBC News
‘An ill man who did not want to live with a stoma has died after a judged ruled life-support treatment could end.’
BBC News, 10th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Director of Public Prosecutions threatened with legal action over failure to investigate Dominic Cummings – The Guardian
‘The director of public prosecutions, Max Hill, is being threatened with legal action over the failure to investigate Dominic Cummings for alleged breaches of the lockdown rules.’
The Guardian, 10th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Latest on the Lockdown Challenge in the UK courts – UK Human Rights Blog
‘On 26 May, judicial review proceedings were launched in the High Court which not only challenged the lawfulness of the Lockdown Regulations as having been made “ultra vires” under the 1984 Public Health Act, but also claimed that they are disproportionate to the threat posed by Covid-19. Philip Havers QC of 1 Crown Office Row is acting for the claimant.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th June 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
VAT at the opera: deductibility of the theatrical production costs – Monckton Chambers
‘In HMRC v Royal Opera House Covent Garden Foundation [2020] UKUT 132 (TCC), the Upper Tribunal (Morgan J and Judge Timothy Herrington) held that VAT paid on theatre production costs was not recoverable on the basis of an economic link to taxable catering supplies, overruling a decision in the Opera House’s favour at first instance. The ruling will be significant not just for the wider theatre industry, but more generally as regards the relevance of ‘commercial reality’ arguments to questions of input tax deduction.’
Monckton Chambers, 3rd June 2020
Source: www.monckton.com
Clin neg trial could be held remotely “as last resort” – Litigation Futures
‘A clinical negligence hearing is set to begin in person in the High Court today, although the judge ruled last week that it could be conducted remotely if there was no other option.’
Litigation Futures, 8th June 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Telling my brother’s Windrush scandal story as a TV drama – BBC News
‘Anthony Bryan had lived and worked in Britain for 50 years when he was suddenly detained and almost deported.’
BBC News, 8th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Fake casting agent Daniel Berry groomed young girls on Facebook – BBC News
‘A “cunning” paedophile who posed as a casting agent on Facebook to lure young girls into sending indecent videos of themselves has been jailed.’
BBC News, 10th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
MPs call for register to monitor serial domestic abusers and stalkers – The Guardian
‘Serial domestic abusers or stalkers should be registered and monitored in the same way as serious violent and sexual offenders, a group of cross-party MPs have said, as they put forward a proposed change to domestic abuse laws currently passing through parliament.’
The Guardian, 10th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Landlord’s certification conclusive and binding on issues of law? – Hardwicke Chambers
‘This appeal was against the Deputy Master’s refusal in [2019] EWHC 3414 (Ch) to dismiss Blacks, the tenant’s counterclaim or to grant a summary money judgement in relation to S&H, the landlord’s claim for rent for over £400,000. It raised complicated issues concerning the construction and inter-relation between a set-off clause and a certification provision.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 10th June 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
Knowledge test for duty of confidence – what is a sufficient state of mind to make an employer liable for breach of confidence when it receives a client list from a recruited employee? – Employment Blog
‘In the recent case of Trailfinders v Travel Counsellors & Ors [2020] EWHC 591 (IPEC) the court reiterated that the test was not subjective: the recipient of the client list did not have to know the information was confidential. It was objective: in equity the recipient is under a duty of confidence whenever he ought to know that the information received is fairly and reasonably to be regarded as confidential, irrespective of his actual state of mind. Further, this was now also the statutory position because under Art. 4 (4) of Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition: “The acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret shall also be considered unlawful whenever a person, at the time of the acquisition, use or disclosure, knew or ought, under the circumstances, to have known that the trade secret had been obtained directly or indirectly from another person who was using or disclosing the trade secret unlawfully within the meaning of paragraph 3.”’
Employment Blog, 9th June 2020
Source: employment11kbw.com
Criminal justice system failing disabled defendants, EHRC warns – The Guardian
‘The criminal justice system in England and Wales is failing defendants who are disabled or have mental health conditions and needs reform to ensure everyone receives a fair trial, the equalities watchdog has warned.’
The Guardian, 11th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Business Immigration: Coronavirus and the Concession for Entrepreneurs – Garden Court Chambers
‘The Entrepreneur route has always provided more than its fair share of interpretative challenges to business people and their lawyers alike. And it looks like the Covid-19 concession announced for those still in the route (it was replaced for new applicants by the Innovator option in Spring 2019) is no different.’
Garden Court Chambers, 5th June 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
I do declare! Could a test case on remote witnessing wills be brought before death? – Hardwick Chambers
‘In this post, I address the question of whether or not a test case on remote witnessing could be brought now by a testator who has attempted to make a will using videoconferencing technology.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 1st June 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
Family President predicts “very radical reduction” in amount of time that courts afford to each hearing – Local Government Lawyer
‘It is unlikely that anything approaching a return to the normal court working environment will be achieved before the end of 2020 “or even the spring of 2021”, the President of the Family Division has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
The Children’s Guardian – should they ever be removed from or replaced in family proceedings? – KCH Garden Sq
‘IIt is not uncommon for parents in family proceedings to allege that the children’s guardian (guardian) is biased against them, for a variety of reasons. They may suggest that the guardian has taken against them or will not listen, or simply doesn’t believe them. With careful client management this can usually be handled and advised upon.’
KCH Garden Sq, 9th June 2020
Source: kchgardensquare.co.uk
Commercial Court dislikes pre-action disclosure in prof neg claims: even in mega-auditor’s negligence action – Hailsham Chambers
‘In Carillion v KPMG, the liquidators of this once substantial company sought pre-action disclosure from its former auditors. They intend to bring professional negligence proceedings for not detecting that the financial statements were unreliable. The Commercial Court refused the application. One might think that given auditors’ negligence claims in large part turn on professional judgment as to the audit procedures performed, the evidence obtained and the conclusions drawn, clear sight of the materials produced and relied on by the auditors would enable better focussed pleadings. Nonetheless the Commercial Court refused the application (which had admittedly spun into a substantial hearing with apparently more than £500,000 costs on each side). It pointed out that generally such applications were unlikely to succeed in Commercial Court cases and on the facts was not appropriate. The Judge seems to have been most impressed by the fact that Carillion had been able to articulate a detailed case in negligence already, rendering pre-action disclosure perhaps redundant and likely to be duplicated when it came to conventional disclosure.’
Hailsham Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.hailshamchambers.com
Jake Hinks: The Coronavirus Act 2020: An Example of ‘Excessive Executive Dominance’ – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The concept of executive dominance should be split into two: natural and excessive executive dominance. Executive dominance is the executive’s power to control, impede or perform the role of another branch of the constitution. The UK constitution lacks a clear-cut distinction between the three organs of the state and has evolved to achieve a balance between the three branches. The relationship between and the responsibilities of the executive and legislature are overlapping. In this evolved constitutional setup, natural executive dominance is necessary for the executive to carry out its constitutional role and the UK’s constitution to operate efficiently. Natural dominance is a consequence of the working of the UK constitution.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th June 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Mark Duggan police shooting: can forensic tech cast doubt on official report – The Guardian
‘The police shooting of Mark Duggan is a highly contentious case that has been widely cited by Black Lives Matter protesters in the UK.’
The Guardian, 10th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Can a clinical negligence trial be heard remotely? – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Since lockdown the courts (and legal representatives) have been striving to hold remote hearings where possible. This had led to a flurry of new guidance (see for example CPR section AA Guidance for Queen’s Bench Division Court Users) — and the ability to view bookshelves in the studies of judges and legal representatives.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th June 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
