BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted July 20th, 2009 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Dallah Estate & Tourism Holding Company v Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan [2009] EWCA Civ 755 (20 July 2009)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Bown v Bristol City Council [2009] EWHC 1747 (Admin) (20 July 2009)

Elvington Park Ltd & Anor v City of York Council [2009] EWHC 1805 (Admin) (20 July 2009)

The Cheesecake Shop Ltd (Or Masuka the Cheesecake Shop (UK) Ltd) v Secretary of State for Communities & Local Government & Anor [2009] EWHC 1748 (Admin) (20 July 2009)

Barwick & Anor v Bridgend County Borough Council [2009] EWHC 1723 (Admin) (10 July 2009)

Source: www.bailii.org

Ex-boyfriend jailed for double shooting – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2009 in firearms, grievous bodily harm, murder, news, sentencing by sally

“A jilted boyfriend was jailed for lifetoday today for gunning down his girlfriend’s parents, after blaming them for breaking up their relationship.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Google cleared of responsibility for indexing defamatory comments – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 20th, 2009 in defamation, internet, news by sally

“A landmark ruling in the High Court has cleared Google of all responsibility for indexing defamatory comments that appear in blogs, news articles and forums.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 20th July 2009

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Widow sues over Iraq ambush death – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2009 in compensation, duty of care, Iraq, news by sally

“A widow whose security consultant husband died during an ambush in Iraq has begun a High Court claim for about £300,000 compensation over his death.”

Full story

BBC News, 20th July 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Oligarch challenges court ruling – The Independent

Posted July 20th, 2009 in contracts, jurisdiction, news, Russia by sally

“Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska today challenged a court ruling that a £2 billion-plus lawsuit launched against him by a former friend should be tried in England rather than Russia.”

Full story

The Independent, 20th July 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Police pay £3,000 to sex offender – BBC News

Posted July 20th, 2009 in damages, miscarriage of justice, news, sexual offences, wrongful arrest by sally

“A convicted paedophile has won more than £3,000 in damages from North Yorkshire Police for wrongful arrest.”

Full story

BBC News, 20th July 2009

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Lawyers will launch £50m ‘litigation fund’ – The Times

Posted July 20th, 2009 in costs, law firms, news by sally

“Three lawyers are planning the flotation of a £50m fund that will make money by financing legal disputes and sharing in any damages awarded.”

Full story

The Times, 19th July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Criminal justice system ‘broken’, says thinktank – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2009 in criminal justice, inquiries, local government, news by sally

“The criminal justice system is ‘broken’ and ‘failing’ because decision-making is excessively centralised, according to a thinktank report published today.”

Full story

The Guardian, 20th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Access to justice: hope springs eternal – Speech by Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony

Posted July 20th, 2009 in civil justice, rule of law, speeches by sally

Access to justice: hope springs eternal (PDF)

Speech by Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, Master of the Rolls

The Mary Ward Legal Advice Centre Annual Lecture, 15th July 2009

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Management of Broadmoor high security hospital criticised after deaths – The Times

Posted July 20th, 2009 in death in custody, news, secure hospitals by sally

“Deaths at Broadmoor high security hospital and other institutions will be linked to management failures in a highly critical report this week.”

Full story

The Times, 20th July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Gutridge and others v Sodexo Ltd and another – WLR Daily

Posted July 20th, 2009 in employment, equal pay, law reports, sex discrimination, time limits by sally

Gutridge and others v Sodexo Ltd and another [2009] EWCA Civ 729; [2009] WLR (D) 246

WLR Daily, 17th July 2009

“An employee whose employment contract had been transferred under contracting-out arrangements to another employer could not have any greater rights against the transferee than she had against the transferor by virtue of reg 5 of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981. Although the right to bring proceedings under the Equal Pay Act 1970 was against the transferee, the right was, pursuant to ss 2(4) and 2ZA, time limited to six months after the termination of the employee’s employment with the transferor, which was six months after the date of the transfer.”

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.

Hutchison 3G UK Ltd v Office of Communications (British Telecommunications plc and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted July 20th, 2009 in competition, law reports, telecommunications by sally

Hutchison 3G UK Ltd v Office of Communications (British Telecommunications plc and another intervening) [2009] EWCA Civ 683; [2009] WLR (D) 245

“Where the relevant regulator was considering whether a mobile telecommunications company had ‘significant market power’ under the governing statutory regime the dispute resolution powers of the regulator were properly to be disregarded.”

WLR Daily, 17th July 2009

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.

Regina v Stewart (James) – Times Law Reports

Posted July 20th, 2009 in alcoholism, diminished responsibility, jury directions, law reports by sally

Regina v Stewart (James)

Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

“Further guidance should be given to juries in murder trials as to the defence of diminished responsibility where the only basis for the alleged abnormality of mind arose from alcohol dependency syndrome without discernible brain damage.”

The Times, 20th July 2009

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

MoJ launches schools legal education project – The Lawyer

Posted July 20th, 2009 in legal education, news, school children by sally

“School pupils are to be taught how the justice ­system works as part of a national curriculum change unveiled by justice minister Bridget Prentice and ­Attorney General Baroness Scotland QC.”

Full story

The Lawyer, 20th July 2009

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Metropolitan police’s ‘kettling’ tactic challenged in European court – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2009 in demonstrations, human rights, news, police by sally

“The Metropolitan police’s controversial tactic of containing large numbers of protesters against their will, known as ‘kettling’, will be challenged in a case lodged tomorrow with the European Court of Human Rights that claims the practice is a fundamental breach of liberty.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers line up to block House of Lords reforms – The Independent

Posted July 20th, 2009 in constitutional reform, news, parliament, peerages & dignities by sally

“Plans to turn the House of Lords into an elected chamber could be blocked by overwhelming opposition among peers, research for The Independent has revealed.”

Full story

The Independent, 20th July 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Attorney general survives shake-up unscathed – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2009 in attorney general, constitutional reform, news by sally

“Plans to make the role of attorney general independent of government have been ditched by ministers, despite a two-year battle by constitutional reformers. They had wanted the role to be depoliticised, a move aimed at preventing criticism over a number of highly sensitive cases, including the advice given to government over the war in Iraq, and the decision to abandon the inquiry into BAE Systems.”

Full story

The Guardian, 17th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Pakistani students launch legal action over arrests – The Independent

Posted July 20th, 2009 in detention, news, terrorism by sally

“Janas Khan, one of two Pakistani students released from prison yesterday months after terrorism charges against them were dropped, has told The Independent on Sunday he was ‘shocked and angry’ at his treatment by the UK Government. Lawyers acting for the remaining seven Pakistani students still held in prison have also announced they will launch a legal challenge against the Government this week.”

Full story

The Independent, 19th July 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Falsely jailed man gets £60,000 – The Indepedent

“A High Court judge has condemned the Home Office’s ‘unforgivable’ treatment of a Dutch national falsely imprisoned for 128 days, supposedly in a case of mistaken identity.”

Full story

The Independent, 18th July 2009

Source: www.independent.co.uk

* News * Politics * DNA database DNA database plans based on ‘flawed science’, warn experts – The Guardian

Posted July 20th, 2009 in data protection, DNA, human rights, news by sally

“‘Flawed scientific thinking’ in the government’s proposed changes to the DNA database will leave it open to further challenges by the courts, experts have said, in a stark attack on Home Office plans to overhaul the current system.”

Full story

The Guardian, 19th July 2009

Source: www.guardian.co.uk