Day: 11 February 2008

The art of self-defence – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2008 in divorce, litigants in person, news by sally

“A lawyer who acts for himself has a fool for a client, according to the old saw. If you have no legal qualifications whatsoever, logic suggests that representing yourself in court is even more foolhardy – especially when tens of millions of pounds are at stake. Yet that is what Heather Mills will do today when she steps into the ring at the Royal Courts of Justice in London to confront Paul McCartney’s high-priced, expert legal team. Having parted company with her legal advisers, who hold her IOU for at least £1.5m in costs, she is resolved to fight her own corner from now on in the battle for a share of the ex-Beatle’s fortune.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – OPSI

Posted February 11th, 2008 in legislation by sally

The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Lid Gaskets) (Wales) Regulations 2008

The Police and Justice Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) (Wales) Order 2007

The Social Security (National Insurance Numbers) Amendment Regulations 2008

The Legal Services Act 2007 (Commencement No.1 and Transitory Provisions) Order 2008

The Charity Tribunal Rules 2008

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Levy Ceiling – Earnings Percentage Increase) Order 2008

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (Immigration and Asylum Enforcement Functions) Regulations 2008

The Serious Crime Act 2007 (Commencement No.1) Order 2008

The Guardian’s Allowance Up-rating Order 2008

The Cheshire (Structural Changes) Order 2008

The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (Amendment) (England) Order 2008

The Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (England) (Amendment) Order 2008

The Occupational Pension Schemes (Levy Ceiling) Order 2008

The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (B2007 Vehicles) Exemption Order 2008

Source: www.opsi.gov.uk

Regina (Haase) v Independent Adjudicator – Times Law Reports

Posted February 11th, 2008 in disciplinary procedures, law reports, prison officers by sally

Regina (Haase) v Independent Adjudicator

Queen’s Bench Division

“Prison disciplinary hearings by independent adjudicators, in which the prosecution case was presented by a prison officer who might also be a witness, were not incompatible with the right to a fair trial guaranteed by article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”

The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Maye v Director of Public Prosecutions, Northern Ireland – Times Law Reports

Posted February 11th, 2008 in law reports, proceeds of crime by sally

Maye v Director of Public Prosecutions, Northern Ireland

House of Lords

“An interest in an unadministered intestate estate and an action for damages for false im-prisonment were both ‘things in action’ and therefore ‘property’ when determining the amount that might be realised for the purpose of a confiscation order.”

The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.

Ofulue and Another v Bossert – Times Law Reports

Posted February 11th, 2008 in adverse possession, human rights, law reports by sally

Ofulue and Another v Bossert

Court of Appeal

“Where a party contended that a right to property had been breached, the English court had to apply a margin of appreciation in taking into account the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg.”
The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication. 

Laskar v Laskar – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2008 in cohabitation, law reports, mortgages by sally

Laskar v Laskar; [2008] WLR (D) 39

“The presumption that the legal and beneficial interests of a domestic property conveyed into joint names were, in the absence of an agreement between the parties, joint and equal applied to a family home occupied by cohabitants. The presumption did not apply to commercial properties or to property purchased as an investment even where the purchasers belonged to the same family.”

WLR Daily, 8th February 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

R (Bradley and others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2008 in government departments, law reports, maladministration, pensions by sally

R (Bradley and others) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others; [2008] WLR (D) 38

“Where the Parliamentary Commissioner had found maladministration in a ministerial department, the Secretary of State, although not bound by the Commissioner’s decision, was not entitled to reject the Commissioner’s finding on the basis that he preferred another view which could not be categorised as irrational.”

WLR Daily, 8th February 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Ltd v Dorset County Council – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2008 in commons, evidence, law reports by sally

Betterment Properties (Weymouth) Ltd v Dorset County Council [2008] EWCA Civ 22; [2008] WLR (D) 37

“On an application to the High Court to remove land from the register of town and village greens, the parties could adduce whatever evidence they wished, subject to the court’s exercise of its case management powers.”

WLR Daily, 8th February 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

R (Aweys and others) v Birmingham City Council – WLR Daily

Posted February 11th, 2008 in homelessness, housing, law reports by sally

R (Aweys and others) v Birmingham City Council [2008] EWCA Civ 48; [2008] WLR (D) 36

“In the case of the homeless in priority need it was not lawful, for the purposes of the duty to secure accommodation pursuant to s193 (2) of the Housing Act 1996, for a local housing authority, pending permanent re-housing, to leave those found to be homeless but not on the streets within the very accommodation found to be unsuitable for accommodation.”

WLR Daily, 8th February 2008

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Heather Mills set to question Sir Paul McCartney in court – The Times

Posted February 11th, 2008 in divorce, news by sally

“Heather Mills will be able to cross-examine Sir Paul McCartney personally over his multimillion-pound earnings when the estranged couple go to court today to hammer out a final divorce settlement.”

Full story

The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Coroners resist plans to investigate long-term health threat from vCJD at postmortems – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2008 in CJD, coroners, news by sally

“Coroners are blocking government plans to test tens of thousands of bodies undergoing postmortem examinations each year for signs of variant CJD, the human form of BSE. Their involvement is essential for a research programme, backed by ministers, senior scientific advisers and an independent ethical committee, to establish the long-term public health threat from the incurable disease. Although only 166 people have so far died from vCJD in Britain, scientists are seeking to find out whether many more are unwittingly carrying the long-incubating condition, posing significant risk to others through surgery and blood transfusion.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bugging policeman faces court over leaks – The Times

Posted February 11th, 2008 in investigatory powers, news, police by sally

“Mark Kearney faces eight charges of misconduct in a public office in allegedly leaking police information to a local newspaper journalist and a private detective.”

Full story

The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Number of rapists who escape jail doubles – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2008 in news, rape, sentencing by sally

“The number of convicted rapists who are spared jail has doubled, new figures have revealed, fuelling claims that the criminal justice system is soft on sex offenders.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 11th February 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Bugging of lawyers could overturn convictions – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2008 in investigatory powers, legal profession, news by sally

“A legal precedent has established that deliberate bugging of conversations with lawyers constitutes such an affront to the rule of law that trials should be halted and any convictions obtained overturned.”

Full story

The Guardian, 11th February 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Tighter controls on video games – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 11th, 2008 in children, news, video games by sally

“The classification system that prevents children from playing violent or sexually explicit video games is likely to be extended under recommendations in a report commissioned by the Prime Minister.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 9th February 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Children’s tsar seeks to ban sonic weapon used on hoodies – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2008 in children, news by sally

“A controversial weapon in the war against antisocial behaviour should be banned, the children’s commissioner will warn this week in a move that threatens a new Whitehall battle over ‘hoodies’ rights’.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th February 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Adopting sharia within British law would be ‘disastrous’, Lord Carey tells his successor as Archbishop – The Independent

Posted February 11th, 2008 in islamic law, news by sally

“The Archbishop of Canterbury’s predecessor joined the chorus of criticism against him last night for his comments on Islamic law. George Carey accused Dr Rowan Williams of ‘overstating’ the case for accommodating sharia. But he said that Dr Williams should not be forced to quit over his remarks.”

Full story

The Independent, 10th February 2008

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Top judges in key ruling on sharia marriage – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2008 in islamic law, marriage, news by sally

“Three senior judges are to rule on the legality of an arranged marriage conducted in the UK under sharia law, a judgment that could have profound consequences for British Muslims.”

Full story

The Guardian, 10th February 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal challenge to councils’ mutual – Financial Times

Posted February 11th, 2008 in insurance, local government, London, news by sally

“The private sector will challenge a group of London councils today (11 February) that have banded together to cut insurance costs, in a legal action that could have far-reaching consequences for other public sector bodies in the UK.”

Full story

Financial Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.ft.com

Judge may sit alone in drugs case deemed too dangerous for a jury – The Times

Posted February 11th, 2008 in drug offences, intimidation, juries, news, trial without jury by sally

“Prosecutors plan to apply this week to hold a major criminal trial without a jury for the first time. The step is being taken because of concerns that jurors assigned to the case – which involves members of an organised criminal network – would be vulnerable to intimidation or bribery.”

Full story

The Times, 11th February 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk