‘It is a fundamental principle of criminal law that a person should not be criminalised unless they have the capacity and a fair opportunity to comply with the law. Recognising that children, particularly younger ones, undergo rapidly evolving neurodevelopmental processes during which their criminal capacity remains underdeveloped, many jurisdictions have adopted a minimum age of criminal responsibility. Furthermore, the presumption of doli incapax is available in some jurisdictions to protect children who fail to understand the wrongfulness of their acts from being criminalised. While both protections are useful, this article argues that they are insufficient in fully protecting unblameworthy children from criminalisation. It is proposed that, from both neuroscientific and criminal law perspectives, a child immaturity defence should be introduced to protect children who (i) lack the capacity to appreciate the nature or consequences of their criminal conduct or (ii) are unable to exercise adequate control over that conduct. The potential challenges in enacting the defence will also be examined.’

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Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 30th June 2026

Source: doi.org

‘Criminal investigators in the UK say they have uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault in which victims are sedated before being raped and sexually assaulted.’

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The Guardian, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Two 15-year-old boys who were spared custody for raping two girls have been sentenced to four years’ detention after the court of appeal ruled their sentences were “unduly lenient”.’

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The Guardian, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘On 14 November 2025, the High Court of England and Wales handed down judgment in the largest environmental mass tort in UK history: the group claim by more than 600,000 Brazilian victims of the 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam against the mining giant BHP Group. In Município de Mariana v BHP Group, the Court found BHP (through its UK and Australian-listed parent companies) liable on both strict liability and negligence grounds under Brazilian law.’

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Legal Studies, 15th June 2026

Source: www.cambridge.org

‘The Crown Prosecution Service may face further action over an inaccurate press release issued after the first sentencing hearing of three boys over the rape of two girls in Fordingbridge.’

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The Independent, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘The right not to be unfairly dismissed has been a remarkably constant force in employment law since its introduction over 50 years ago. Unfair dismissal law was therefore overdue for some attention when the incoming Government was planning a major overhaul of employment rights, described as the ‘biggest single upgrade of employment rights in a generation’ and now implemented in the Employment Rights Act 2025. After strong opposition in the House of Lords, the Government moved to provide an amendedpackage, retaining a six-month qualifying period of employment and removing the upper limit on the compensatory award. In this contribution, I discuss the likely effects of these changes to the law, analysing the human rights implications of the Act and placing the amendments in a wider comparative context. I conclude that, although the Act holds great significance, particularly for those who would previously have been excluded from making any claim before the Employment Tribunal, they do not amount to the generational upgrade that may be seen in other areas of labour law. Severe deficiencies in the standard to which working people are protected from unjust dismissal decisions remain untouched by the new legislation. The Act is, perhaps, a once-in-a-generation opportunity missed.’

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Industrial Law Journal, 17th June 2026

Source: doi.org

‘A man who knocked a pedestrian unconscious with an electric motorbike and fled the scene has received a 12-month suspended sentence.’

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BBC News, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘It has been a decade since the decision in Montgomery v Lanarkshire Health Board [2015] UKSC 11 was delivered, which definitively established a patient-focused test for deciding whether a healthcare professional (HCP) is under a duty to warn their patient of inherent risks. Given the significant cadre of cases since, it is an appropriate juncture to assess Montgomery’s implications for HCPs and for their advisers in two important respects, so as to develop a ‘Montgomery map’ or guide. First, in the ‘consultation phase’ between diagnosis and treatment—and in which the duty to warn is nestled—the Bolam test (as modified by the Bolitho ‘gloss’) remains the governing test of breach to a much greater extent than may have been anticipated when Montgomery’s patient-centric approach was affirmed, courtesy of McCulloch v Forth Valley Health Board [2023] UKSC 26. It is argued that Montgomery and McCulloch are entirely reconcilable within the nuanced landscape that the ‘consultation phase’ entails. Secondly, after a decade’s worth of case law, it is now possible to provide a detailed multi-factorial framework as to what, really, renders a risk so ‘material’ that it ought to be disclosed in order to comply with the Montgomery duty.’

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Medical Law Review, 11th June 2026

Source: doi.org

‘A potential client has used AI to abuse a partner at a Bristol law firm, accusing her of being a “greedy solicitor” and a “loathsome criminal” for wanting to charge for a consultation.’

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Legal futures, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Clients receiving free consumer legal advice from agencies funded by the Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) recover £10.40 in direct financial benefit for every pound invested, a report has found.’

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Legal futures, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Today the Bar Council has launched its new report: Reviewing the minimum age of criminal responsibility. The report recommends the current threshold should change from age 10 to 14.’

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Bar Council, 28th June 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘The Bar Council is highlighting new official court backlog figures which show the backlog of cases in the Crown Court has reduced slightly while the open caseload in the magistrates’ court has increased to an unprecedented high. The new data casts serious doubts over the government’s plans to move cases from the Crown Court to the magistrates’ court under its proposals to restrict jury trials.’

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Bar Council, 25th June 2026

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

‘“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”. This line is credited to Mark Twain, but the thought is older. Jonathan Swift complained three centuries ago that falsehood flies while truth comes limping after. What has changed since Swift is not human credulity but infrastructure. The most comprehensive study of online diffusion yet conducted found that false news travels significantly farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth, and it does so through ordinary human sharing rather than automated accounts. The question here is as to what extent the state owes its citizens a duty against misinformation; cannot be resolved at the level of content alone. This post will argue that the state holds a duty that is real but narrow. It is a positive obligation to protect the conditions of safe and autonomous citizenship by regulating the architecture of virality, in the confined circumstances where amplified falsehood foreseeably threatens serious, rights-harming consequences, above all, violence.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 2nd July 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

‘Paul Newman KC considers a very recent High Court decision on a rectification application in which particular reliance was placed on the explanatory guides prepared for the trustees and employer on the adoption of a new deed and rules.’

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Pensions Barrister, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

‘In our appositely-titled post Burial of unknown ashes without documentation (26 June 2026), we reviewed Re St. Mary the Virgin Greenham [2026] ECC Oxf 11. The dilemma faced by the PCC was that a cremation urn had been left at Newbury Racecourse following a race meeting and despite extensive efforts by the racecourse, police and crematoria to trace relatives or the owner, no next of kin could be identified. Although the police thought they knew the family, they were said to have denied any link to the urn.

The Daily Telegraph has now reported that the urn wasn’t filled with human ashes and that it was taken to the races last year as part of an elaborate joke, The burger van, the fake ashes and the burial no one could stop (1 July 2026).’

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Law & Religion UK, 2nd July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘In February 2022, we issued a post on a Bishop’s Disciplinary Tribunal in the Diocese of Southwark which addressed issues arising from a priest’s use of the “Like” function on his Twitter account. In this case the Complainant was the Archdeacon of Reigate, Diocese of Southwark, and after serving a “Respondent’s answer to a Complaint” in the appropriate format, the Respondent did not engage any further with the process.’

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Law & Religion UK, 2nd July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘A High Court judge, employment judges and a district judge sitting in the magistrates’ court have all been sanctioned over delays in their judicial work.’

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Law Society Gazette, 2nd July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Claimant lawyers have hailed what they call a landmark victory after appeal judges allowed mis-sold car finance cases to be grouped together as one class action. The Court of Appeal today upheld the High Court’s decision that thousands of claims can be conveniently dealt with under eight ‘omnibus’ claim forms.’

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Law Society Gazette, 1st July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Unrepresented parties using generative AI to craft claims threaten to inundate courts with a tide of slop. Solicitors as well as judges need to learn quickly how to respond.’

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Law Society Gazette, 30th June 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk