Assisted dying law ‘lacks compassion’, Lord Falconer says – BBC News
‘A terminally ill man who campaigned to change the law on assisted dying has won the support of the former head of the judiciary.’
BBC News, 16th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Court of Appeal to live-stream family cases – Ministry of Justice
‘Family hearings at the Court of Appeal will be live-streamed under a joint initiative by the judiciary and government to boost transparency in the justice system.’
Ministry of Justice, 12th March 2020
Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice
Amendment of LA Plan, post final orders – what can parents do? – Local Government Lawyer
‘Natalie Cross looks at what needs to happen where parents seek to challenge a change to a care plan where the earlier plan (i.e. remaining at home) has already been approved by the court when the final order was made.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Valid or not valid? – Local Government Lawyer
‘Does an obvious mistake in a Notice of Seeking Possession invalidate it…or not? Steven Eccles reports on the lessons for housing associations and local authorities from an important recent ruling.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Islamic Nikah ceremony and marriage validity – Family Law
‘The case of Khan v Akhter has now been decided by the Court of Appeal. It received a huge amount of coverage in the legal press and beyond. In simple terms, the court has ruled that a couple who went through a religious-only wedding ceremony in the UK are neither validly married nor parties to a void marriage, overturning an earlier decision of the High Court.’
Family Law, 12th March 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Care worker sentenced for misconduct in public office – Crown Prosecution Service
‘A care worker, who had a sexual relationship with a vulnerable young adult and manipulated her colleagues to cover up her actions, has been imprisoned today (12 March 2020).’
Crown Prosecution Service, 12th March 2020
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (Alteration of Coroner Areas) Order 2020
The Capital Allowances Act 2001 (Amendment of Section 45K) Order 2020
The Recovery of Costs (Remand to Youth Detention Accommodation) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
The Housing Benefit (Transitional Provision) (Amendment) Regulations 2020
The Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2020
The Magistrates’ Courts (Functions of Authorised Persons – Civil Proceedings) Rules 2020
The Inspectors of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (No. 2) Order 2020
The Child Abduction and Custody (Parties to Conventions) (Amendment) Order 2020
The Employment Allowance (Increase of Maximum Amount) Regulations 2020
The Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2020
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2020
The Child Trust Funds (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2020
The Extradition Act 2003 (Amendments to Designations) Order 2020
The Individual Savings Account (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2020
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Uddin v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWCA Civ 338 (12 March 2020)
Parveen, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Redbridge [2020] EWCA Civ 194 (12 March 2020)
UK Learning Academy Ltd v Secretary of State for Education [2020] EWCA Civ 370 (11 March 2020)
Dawson-Damer v Taylor Wessing LLP [2020] EWCA Civ 352 (11 March 2020)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Attorney General v Gordon [2020] EWCA Crim 360 (11 March 2020)
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Oyesanya v Jackson [2020] EWHC 542 (Ch) (12 March 2020)
Horsford v Horsford [2020] EWHC 584 (Ch) (12 March 2020)
Poste Hotels Ltd v Cousins [2020] EWHC 582 (Ch) (12 March 2020)
High Court (Commercial Court)
Integral Petroleum SA v Petrogat FZE & Anor [2020] EWHC 558 (Comm) (12 March 2020)
High Court (Family Division)
A Healthcare B NHS Trust v CC [2020] EWHC 574 (Fam) (11 March 2020)
K (A Child), Re [2020] EWHC 488 (Fam) (28 February 2020)
High Court (Patents Court)
Evalve Inc & Ors Edwards Lifesciences Ltd [2020] EWHC 513 (Pat) (12 March 2020)
Evalve Inc & Ors Edwards Lifesciences Ltd [2020] EWHC 514 (Pat) (12 March 2020)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Hayden v Associated Newspapers Ltd [2020] EWHC 540 (QB) (11 March 2020)
Source: www.bailii.org
Question of Incompatibility – Deprivation of Children’s Liberty Without Court Order? – Family Law Week
‘Helen Crowell, Pupil Barrister and Shaun Spencer, Barrister, of St Johns Buildings discuss Deprivation of Liberty and the Children’s Home Regulations 2015.’
Family Law Week, 12th March 2020
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
How the net closed on Oxford’s grooming gang – BBC News
‘Nearly a decade after the abuse of vulnerable girls in Oxford began to be addressed, following years of negligence by police and social services, the last of the so-called Operation Bullfinch trials has ended. How did the sex offenders at the centre of the city’s depraved underworld finally come to face justice?’
BBC News, 13th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Met Police criticised for response to VIP abuse inquiry review – BBC News
‘A watchdog has criticised the Met Police for being slow to learn lessons from a damning review of its probe into a Westminster paedophile ring.’
BBC News, 13th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Manchester officers face investigations into death of unarmed man – The Guardian
‘Six officers including the former assistant chief constable of Greater Manchester police will be investigated for misconduct following an inquiry into the death of a man shot by armed police.’
The Guardian, 12th March 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Gambling firm Betway hit with record £11.6m penalty – BBC News
‘Online betting firm Betway has been hit with a record penalty of £11.6m for failings over customer protection and money-laundering checks.’
BBC news, 12th March 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Lacklustre’ response to suicides at London jail despite warnings, report finds – The Independent
‘A prison in London has shown a “lacklustre” response to self-inflicted deaths despite major warnings that it must improve and widespread concerns over failures across the penal estate to respond to inmate suicides.’
The Independent, 12th March 2020
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Lack of gender neutral option on passport forms: no breach of human rights – UK Human Rights Blog
‘R (on the application of Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department with Human Rights Watch intervening [2020] EWCA Civ 363. When we apply for a passport, we are generally asked to state on the form whether we are a man or a woman, and this is generally reflected in our passports. However, in our modern day and age, there are now more than two genders – some people can choose to define as gender neutral, essentially meaning that they don’t like to describe themselves using the normal terms of “man” or “woman”. MX Elan-Cane is one of those individuals. They sued the Home Office because there was no “X” (as in, no gender neutral) option on the passport form as it was a breach of their Human Rights. The High Court said that yes, this engaged Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention (the right to private and family life), but the current passport policy did not breach that right. The Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court, both that this engaged Article 8, but that the rights to a private life were not breached here.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 12th March 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Appeal judge hits out at “all-too-prevalent attitude” that in judicial review applications it is always possible to “have another go” – Local Government Lawyer
‘A Court of Appeal judge has criticised the way a case was brought that sought to challenge a ruling over a development in Wakefield.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th March 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Email blocked by tribunal’s firewall not validly served – Litigation Futures
‘An email blocked by a firewall at the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) did not constitute valid service of an appeal, a judge has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 12th March 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Co-ownership and declarations of trust – Family Law
‘Where a client owns or plans on owning a property jointly with someone else, there are a number of things that should be considered.’
Family Law, 11th March 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Wife in one of Britain’s largest-ever divorce cases succeeds in latest enforcement action against her former husband – Family Law
‘In this article, we look at the recent decision in the ongoing and highly publicised divorce case of Akhmedova v Akhmedov. This decision is the latest in a long run of enforcement cases brought by the wife against her former husband, who, in 2016, was ordered to pay her one of the largest reported financial settlements in England. While the judge was critical of the husband’s reorganisation of his assets to put and keep them beyond the wife’s reach, this is not the end of the road for this case. This judgment is simply another stepping-stone towards the wife realising the award she is entitled to.’
Family Law, 11th March 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Commercial Court clamps down on lengthy witness statements – Law Society’s Gazette
‘The Commercial Court is cracking down on excessively long witness statements, introducing a new set of rules for documents more than 30 pages long.’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
