Month: June 2013
Surveillance camera code of conduct comes into force – Home Office
“New guidance in place over police and local authority use of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition.”
Home Office, 4th June 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
Not in my court – NearlyLegal
“Forfeiture is, for the most part, beloved by landlords and hated/feared by tenants. For what might be relatively minor breaches of covenant, you can lose your lease and the landlord make an enormous windfall. The legislative trend is (slowly) in favour of restricting (and possibly even abolishing) forfeiture as demonstrated by s.168, Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. By s.168, Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, a landlord may not serve a notice under s.146, Law of Property Act 1925, or otherwise exercise a right of re-entry (i.e. forfeiture) in respect of a breach of a covenant (other than one to pay rent – which is unaffected by s.146, see s.146(11); or service/administration charges, which are dealt with under s.81, Housing Act 1996), unless the breach has been admitted by the tenant or determined by a court, LVT or arbitral tribunal.”
NearlyLegal, 3rd June 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
PCT: incredible alternatives – LegalVoice
“Otterburn Consulting recently completed a survey to inform the Law Society’s response to the government’s consultation ‘Transforming legal aid: delivering a more credible and efficient system on price competitive tendering (PCT).’ The aim was to find out what the impact on firms would be, based on hard evidence and to evaluate whether the proposed system was likely to work in practice.”
LegalVoice, 7th June 2013
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Ofgem widens investigation into alleged rigging of gas and power markets – The Guardian
“The energy watchdog, Ofgem, has widened its investigation into alleged manipulation of gas and power markets and warned that doubts over price-setting could lead to higher household bills.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Met crackdown on foreign suspects raises fears justice will be denied – The Guardian
“Lawyers say police could ‘circumvent criminal justice’ by using intelligence in civil immigration courts to increase deportations.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Soft’ sentences for knife crime despite Chris Grayling pledge – Daily Telegraph
“Knife-wielding criminals are being handed soft sentences by the courts despite a pledge by the Government to introduce tough new measures.”
Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m’ – Daily Telegraph
“Woman sues lawyer whose failure to change a relative’s will ‘cost her £1m.’ ”
Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Men jailed over rape of boy, 14, in Manchester Debenhams – BBC News
“Two men have been jailed for 15 years for raping a boy, 14, in the toilets of a Manchester department store.”
BBC News, 6th June 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Crown court judges oppose legal aid changes – The Guardian
“Crown court judges have delivered a damning response to government plans to prevent defendants from choosing their solicitor and slice a further £220m off the legal aid budget.”
The Guaridan, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Purpose of social networking will determine whether businesses have data protection responsibilities, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com
“Businesses that encourage staff to use social networks for commercial purposes are subject to UK data protection laws, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.”
OUT-LAW.com, 6th June 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
EVENTS: Birkbeck – Law on Trial 2013
“What can legal education offer to the present and the future? In the midst of attempts to transform legal education into a commodity for the privileged few, our 2013 season of Law on Trial asks whether it is possible to engage the current climate of professionalization, vocational training and the narrowing of law as an education on citizenship and political imagination from more creative and alternative perspectives.”
Date: 17th – 21st June 2013
Location: Room B34, Malet Street Building, Birkbeck, University of London
Charge: Free
More information can be found here.
Attorney general joins calls for police to confirm names in ‘secret arrests’ – The Guardian
“The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has intervened in the debate over so-called secret arrests and said police should confirm the name of a suspect if they have been correctly identified by the media.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Lawyers block road outside Ministry of Justice in protest against legal aid cuts – The Guardian
“Lawyers waving placards and chanting blocked the road outside the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday evening in protest over proposals to slice a further £220m out of criminal legal aid and remove defendants’ ability to choose a solicitor.”
The Guardian, 4th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Appeal of artist paedophile Graham Ovenden’s ‘unduly lenient’ sentence mooted to Attorney General – The Independent
“The Attorney General is considering referring the sentence of an internationally renowned artist from Cornwall to the Court of Appeal to see if it was ‘unduly lenient’.”
The Independent, 6th June 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Newbold and others v Coal Authority – WLR Daily
Newbold and others v Coal Authority [2013] EWCA Civ 584 ; [2013] WLR (D) 216
“Where damage notices relating to subsidence said to have been caused by coal mining contained ostensibly inaccurate particulars, the effect of the failure to comply strictly with the applicable statutory requirements had to be considered by construing the statutory or contractual requirement in question and then asking whether strict or adequate compliance was required, bearing in mind that even non-compliance with a requirement might not be fatal to the notice’s validity.”
WLR Daily, 23rd May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Regina v Hobson – WLR Daily
Regina v Hobson [2013] EWCA Crim 819 ; [2013] WLR (D) 215
“Where specimen counts were charged but complainants described in their evidence particular incidents, the trial judge should direct the jury of the necessity to be sure that the offence had been committed on the same occasion, either on an occasion in the course of the unspecified pattern of offending, or on one of the particular occasions identified in the evidence.”
WLR Daily, 23rd May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
