Man, 81, sexually assaulted girl, 3, in Honiton supermarket – BBC News
‘An 81-year-old “predatory paedophile” has been jailed for sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl in a supermarket.’
BBC News, 9th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
MPs oppose ‘bedroom tax’ being applied to domestic abuse survivors – BBC News
‘The government must stop applying the so-called “bedroom tax” to domestic abuse survivors fleeing their partners, 44 MPs have written in a letter seen by the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show.’
BBC News, 10th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Police warned about ‘insider threat’ from extremists inside their own forces – The Independent
‘Police have been warned about the threat from extremists inside their own forces. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that while officers’ work through the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme was broadly good, few considered the possibility that their own colleagues could be radicalised.’
The Independent, 9th March 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Against Consistency as a Ground of Review – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘Equal treatment, the principle that like cases should be treated alike, occupies a paradoxically ambivalent place within moral and legal discussion of equality. In one sense, it is an essential feature of justice that similarly situated persons be afforded similar treatment and that differences in treatment be adequately justified. This principle is informed by and presupposes the moral equality of persons, without which the demand for justification of departures from consistent treatment would be unintelligible. However, in another sense, equalisation of treatment, purely for the sake of equalisation, gives rise to the now well established “levelling-down” objection: a requirement of equalisation can be satisfied either by treating people equally badly or by replicating wrongful forms of treatment, even when we are aware that the treatment in question is wrongful. The levelling-down objection indicates that equalisation for its own sake is unlikely to be intrinsically valuable, even if there may be some instrumental reasons to do so.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th March 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Depp II v News Group Newspapers Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 505 (QB) (06 March 2020)
Source: www.bailii.org
Is a Section 8 notice on rent arrears a demand for rent? – Nearly Legal
‘I have kindly been sent a couple of county court Circuit Judge decisions on the issue of whether section 8 notices (where the ground is rent arrears) have to comply with the requirements of section 47 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 by the inclusion of the landlord’s name and address. They reach contradictory conclusions, leaving open an issue to be resolved by a higher court, and a further issue for first instance courts.’
Nearly Legal, 8th March 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Case highlights need for certainty in out of hours administration appointments – OUT-LAW.com
‘The High Court ruled that it is not permissible for a notice of appointment of administrators by the directors of a company to be e-filed out of court hours. The court ruled that the defect was curable and that the appointment took effect at the time the court opened for business the next working day. This judgment adds to the growing number of conflicting cases about the validity and time of the appointment when notices are e-filed out of hours.
OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2020
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Welsh council wins Court of Appeal battle over scope of duty to secure improvement – Local Government Lawyer
‘A requirement on councils to consult on service improvements is not so wide as to mean consultations must be held on every decision, the Court Of Appeal has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Failure to spend budget “not a good reason to depart” – Litigation Futures
‘A failure to spend the totality of a budgeted figure for a phase because of settlement is not in itself a good reason to depart from a costs budget, a regional costs judge has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 6th March 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Religious leaders jailed for multiple counts of rape and child sexual abuse – Crown Prosecution Service
‘A church pastor has been jailed today (6 March 2020) for multiple (24) counts of child sexual abuse and rapes.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 6th March 2020
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Court approval needed to start CoP litigation, says judge – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Deputies acting for incapacitated clients should seek permission from the court if they want to start litigation on their behalf, a judge has indicated.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
High Court to rule on access to full adoption file – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The High Court has been asked to make an unprecedented order to allow a journalist to see all court papers in a flawed adoption case. The application comes as the family justice system faces heightened pressure to be more transparent.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Domestic abuser police officers ‘protected’, campaigners claim – BBC News
‘Some police officers accused of domestic abuse are being protected from facing justice, campaigners claim.’
BBC News, 9th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
DWP employees with disabilities paid almost £1m in discrimination cases across four years – The Independent
‘The Department for Work and Pensions has had to pay out almost £1m to employees with disabilities in discrimination cases in the space of four years.’
The Independent, 9th March 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Defamation: judge backs publisher over article meaning – OUT-LAW.com
‘Associated Newspapers has won the first round of a legal battle with property owners over the meaning of an article published on Mail Online.’
OUT-LAW.com, 6th March 2016
Source: www.pinsentmasons.com
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Civil Service (Other Crown Servants) Pension Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2020
The Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions (Amendment) Regulations 2020
The Superannuation (Admission to Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Act 1972) Order 2020
The Insolvency Act 1986 (Prescribed Part) (Amendment) Order 2020
The Social Security Revaluation of Earnings Factors Order 2020
The Environment Act 1995 (Commencement No. 26) Order 2020
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
C Spencer Ltd v M W High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 331 (06 March 2020)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Ngoie v R [2020] EWCA Crim 292 (05 March 2020)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Source: www.bailii.org.uk
The role of judicial review applications in the CIL regime – Local Government Lawyer
‘A recent decision of Mr Justice Swift in the Planning Court will have a significant impact on the manner in which a Community Infrastructure Levy (“CIL”) is challenged and the stance taken by authorities in rebutting such challenges, writes Christopher Cant.’
Local Government Lawyer , 6th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
