BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Chancery Division)
Brake & Ors v Swift & Ors [2020] EWHC 1071 (Ch) (04 May 2020)
Source: www.bailii.org
Down’s Syndrome student wins compensation after school sent letter to parents detailing violent behaviour – Daily Telegraph
‘The family of a child with Down’s Syndrome has been awarded compensation after a primary school sent a letter to parents detailing her violent behaviour and disability.’
Daily Telegraph, 4th May 2020
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Optimism of the will, pessimism of the intellect – Nearly Legal
‘According to this Inside Housing report of a Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee meeting today (4 May), the Housing Minister Robert Jenrick announced prospective measures to avoid a deluge of eviction proceedings at the expiry of the PD51Z stay.’
Nearly Legal, 4th May 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
PPE & sex discrimination claims – Cloisters
‘The media is currently saturated with reports concerning the absence of adequate Personal Protective Equipment (‘PPE’) in clinical settings. To date, commentators have understandably focused on the extent to which employers may be breaching health and safety legislation by failing to provide staff with PPE and whether staff are protected under whistleblowing legislation if they speak out. Moreover, this month two doctors launched an urgent legal challenge to guidance by NHS England on PPE. In this blog, Dee Masters and Jen Danvers look at a different aspect to the PPE debate, namely whether there is scope for sex discrimination claims arising from equipment which has been designed to fit the average man rather than their female colleagues.’
Cloisters, 29th April 2020
Source: www.cloisters.com
Coronavirus: Draft post-lockdown workplace rules contain ‘huge gaps’ – TUC – BBC News
‘Draft guidance for getting people back to work during the coronavirus pandemic could compromise worker safety, the head of the TUC has warned.’
BBC News, 4th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Insolvent FC – 3 Hare Court
‘Football insolvencies are different than others. In their community impact, yes, but, to some extent at
least, legally as well. They may also be becoming more common.’
3 Hare Court, 4th May 2020
Source: 3harecourt.com
Court hearings running at half pre-virus level – Legal Futures
‘The courts and tribunals in England and Wales are now conducting almost half as many civil and criminal hearings as they did before the coronavirus crisis, a justice minister said yesterday.’
Legal Futures, 5th April 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Specialist support centre for female offenders to open in Wales – The Guardian
‘A specialist centre providing accommodation and support to female offenders is to open in Wales as part of the government’s strategy to send fewer women to prison, the Ministry of Justice has said.’
The Guardian, 5th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Defining the Prerogative: The story of the Case of Proclamations – Falcon Chambers
‘I am going to talk about some of the great politico-legal battles in the 17th Century which established the conceptual framework for what we call the Rule of Law. English constitutional history is no longer taught in our schools or as part of training for the Bar and so you may be unfamiliar with these three stories, all of which played a vital part in the development of our law and legal system.’
Falcon Chambers, April 2020
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
Barton and Booth – note on the Court of Appeal decision on Ivey and Ghosh – Exchange Chambers
‘In Barton and Booth v R [2020] EWCA Crim 575, the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal considered the correct approach to be taken to dishonesty as it applies to the criminal law. In doing so, the Court confirmed that the test for dishonesty articulated in the Supreme Court decision of Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) (trading as Crockfords Club) [2017] UKSC 67 displaced the test for dishonesty that had been laid down in R v Ghosh [1982] QB 1053 and which had applied in the criminal courts for 35 years.’
Exchange Chambers, 1st May 2020
Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk
An Insight into Business Interruption Insurance: Causation & Quantum – Hailsham Chambers
‘This article is the second in a series from Hailsham Chambers addressing insurance implications from the current Covid-19 situation. It explores various causation, mitigation and quantum issues that are likely to arise in that litigation.’
Hailsham Chambers, April 2020
Source: www.hailshamchambers.com
COVID-19 Deaths and PPE – The Coroner’s Role – Parklane Plowden Chambers
‘Inevitably the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a significant increase in the workload of coroners and the number of inquests being heard. Cases where the virus may have been contracted in the workplace setting including frontline workers because of the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) may be one significant area of potential inquiry.’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 4th May 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
Re A (Children) (Remote Hearing: Care and Placement Orders)[2020] EWCA Civ 583 – Broadway House Chambers
‘This is the first appeal in a case relating to the welfare of children to reach the Court of Appeal on the issue of remote hearings during the Covid-19 crisis.’
Broadway House Chambers, 1st May 2020
Source: broadwayhouse.co.uk
Covid-19 deaths and Inquests – Doughty Street Chambers
‘An Inquest is not a foregone conclusion, since death by prevalent disease will not necessarily be considered “unnatural”. There is new guidance issued today (28 April 2020) by the Chief Coroner as to the circumstances in which in Inquest will be appropriate.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 28th April 2020
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
What are the data privacy considerations of Contact Tracing Apps? – UK Human Rights Blog
‘Coronavirus presents a serious threat to society, legitimising the collection of public health data under Article 9:2 (g) of GDPR regulations, which allows the processing of such data if “necessary for reasons of substantial public interest”. Some of this collection will take the form of contact tracing apps, which have been used in containing the spread of coronavirus in countries such as Singapore.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 1st May 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Comply with ADR duty or risk costs sanction – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The recent decision of DSN v Blackpool Football Club Limited [2020] EWHC 670 (QB) illustrates the need for litigating parties to consider and engage with alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures in trying to resolve their disputes.’
Law Society's Gazette, 4th May 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
UK Supreme Court Relaxes the Test for Establishing a Breach of Article 3 in Medical Removal Cases – Oxford Human Rights Hub
‘On 29 April 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the case of AM(Zimbabwe) v SSHD [2020] UKSC. This completes the domestic line of authority grappling with the ECtHR’s Grand Chamber’s judgment in Paposhvili v Belgium, which reformulated the applicable test where appellants allege that their proposed removal to a third country would be in breach of Article 3 ECHR as exposing them to inhuman or degrading treatment as a result of the unavailability of medical treatment there.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 3rd May 2020
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
EP 110: Should the NHS be liable for commercial surrogacy expenses? – William Edis QC – Law Pod UK
‘Rosalind English discusses with William Edis QC a recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman could claim against the NHS damages that covered a commercial surrogacy arrangement that would be illegal in this country. The principle is now clear, and there is no parliamentary appetite to overturn it. You can get compensation to make a commercial surrogacy arrangements abroad, if negligence has deprived you of the ability of bearing your own children.’
Law Pod UK, 1st May 2020
Source: audioboom.com
Nyasha Weinberg: Parliament must legislate on the government’s plans for contact tracing apps – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘ Today the Joint Committee on Human Rights will take evidence from the Information Commissioner, academics and the CEO of NHSX on the risks to the right to privacy (Article 8 ECHR) if a contact tracing app is introduced to track and slow the spread of the coronavirus. This is helpful scrutiny of the government’s plans. Yet if the government goes ahead with its proposed contact-tracing application it is essential that the processing of large amounts of personal data by the state, even if done in the public interest, needs a clear legal basis in the form of specific legislation.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th May 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
Children’s Commissioner for England calls for revocation of “unnecessary” regulations relaxing children’s social care protections – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, has sharply criticised the government’s relaxation of regulations relating to children’s social care, saying she does not believe that they are necessary except in one limited case.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
