Ofcom deals blow to Greens’ election debate hopes – but boosts Ukip’s – The Guardian

Posted January 9th, 2015 in elections, media, news, political parties by sally

‘Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, has declared that the Green party does not have sufficient support to qualify for “major party status” in the general election, but Ukip may have.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Teaching assistant who tied 7-year-old child to a chair sentenced to 12-month community service – The Independent

Posted January 9th, 2015 in child cruelty, community service, news, sentencing, teachers by sally

‘The “cruel” teaching assistant who “humiliated” a seven-year-old girl over five months at a West Yorkshire school has been given a 12-month community service order.’

Full story

The Independent, 8th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Pilot jailed for flying while drunk – The Guardian

Posted January 9th, 2015 in aircraft, alcohol abuse, drunk in charge, news, sentencing by sally

‘A pilot who flew an executive jet from Spain while hungover after a three-day drinking binge has been jailed for nine months.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

EVENT: UCL – Proportionate Defense in Morality and Law

Posted January 9th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘Jeff McMahan is White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford. He completed a BA degree in English literature at the University of the South (Sewanee), followed by graduate work in philosophy at Corpus Christi College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. Professor McMahan then studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was a research fellow of St. John’s College from 1983 to 1986 and received his doctorate in 1986. He has written extensively on normative and applied ethics. His publications include The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life (Oxford University Press, 2002), Killing in War (OUP, 2009), which argues against foundational elements of the traditional theory of the just war, The Morality of Nationalism (co-edited with Robert McKim, OUP, 1997), and Ethics and Humanity (co-edited with Ann Davis and Richard Keshen, OUP, 2010).’

Date: 11th February 2015, 4.00-7.00pm

Location: Moot Court, UCL Laws, Bentham House, WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

A landmark decision for brand owners: Court rules ISP blocking orders extend to trademark rights – RPC IP Hub

‘The High Court has recently granted Richemont a blocking order requiring the five largest ISPs in the UK to prevent access to various third party websites from advertising and selling goods which infringe Richemont’s trade mark rights. This was the first time that such a blocking order had been sought against ISPs on the basis of trade mark infringement anywhere in the EU (other than, perhaps, in the Danish case of Home v Telenor).’

Full story

RPC IP Hub, 8th January 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Complaint trends for 2015 – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted January 8th, 2015 in complaints, financial advice, financial regulation, news, pensions by sally

‘The FOS yesterday published its 2015/16 budget consultation.  In short, we can expect more of the same.’

Full story

RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Chickens coming home to roost: SFO’s first conviction of a company for bribery after contested trial – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted January 8th, 2015 in bribery, company directors, corruption, news, Serious Fraud Office by sally

‘Hot on the heels of the SFO’s first conviction under the Bribery Act 2010, discussed in George’s post, and just as some of us were disappearing for a Christmas break, the SFO announced its first conviction of a company for bribery of foreign public officials after a contested trial. (Regular SFO-watchers will recall that in Mabey & Johnson (2009) and Innospec (2010), both companies pleaded guilty by agreement to offences involving bribery of foreign public officials.) This prosecution was not in fact under the much-trumpeted Bribery Act 2010, but under s1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.’

Full story

RPC Financial Services Blog, 7th January 2015

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

EVENT: UCL – No interest in Human Rights?

Posted January 8th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘Dr. Meckled-Garcia is the founder of the Human Rights programme at the School of Public Policy, having designed and launched the MA in Human Rights in 2003. He is also co-founder and Director of the new UCL Institute for Human Rights. His research focuses on the ethical foundations of human rights, and on theories of international justice. This work emphasises the link between adopting specific theories of human rights, justice and criminal liability, and clear practical/policy consequences.’

Date: 28th January 2015, 4.00-7.00pm

Location: Moot Court, UCL Laws, Bentham House, WC1H 0EG

Charge: Free

More information can be found here.

‘Deport first, appeal later’ measures start to bite – Home Office

Posted January 8th, 2015 in appeals, deportation, immigration, news by sally

‘Nearly 800 foreign criminals are being kicked out of the country as tough new ‘deport first, appeal later’ measures start to have an impact.’

Full story

Home Office, 6th January 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

The Law and Artificial Intelligence – BBC Unreliable Evidence

‘Clive Anderson ask how our legal system will cope in a fast-approaching world of autonomous cars, care-bots and other machines using artificial intelligence to make judgments normally made by humans.’

Listen

BBC Unreliable Evidence, 7th January 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EVENT: UCL – Reforming Offences Against the Person

Posted January 8th, 2015 in Forthcoming events by sally

‘This lecture will discuss the Law Commission’s recent scoping consultation paper, Reform of Offences Against the Person. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 is in daily use in the criminal courts in England and Wales, but there have been many calls over the years for its replacement. The scoping paper examines the case for reform and present numerous important questions for consultation.’

Date: 19th January 2015, 6.00-7.30pm

Location: UCL Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building, UCL Main Quad, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT

Charge: See website for details

More information can be found here.

Monitoring of sex offenders by home visits does not breach human rights – Court of Appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 8th, 2015 in appeals, human rights, news, police, sexual offences by sally

‘The law governing the monitoring of sex offenders, allowing police officers to visit the homes of registered offenders, did not constitute an unlawful interference with the offenders’ privacy rights under Article 8 of the ECHR.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 7th January 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Munby: legal aid system ‘neither compassionate nor humane’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 8th, 2015 in adoption, delay, judges, learning difficulties, legal aid, news by sally

‘The president of the Family Division has described as ‘unconscionable’ delays over legal aid funding which have held up a case concerning the removal of a child from his parents.’

Full story

7th January 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judgment published where court rejected attack on conduct of ward election – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 8th, 2015 in appeals, elections, news by sally

‘The written judgment has been published this week setting out why an Election Court dismissed a challenge to the validity of an election for a ward in the London Borough of Hackney.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 7th January 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Pro bono – what lies ahead in 2015? – The Future of Law

Posted January 8th, 2015 in law centres, law firms, legal aid, news, pro bono work by sally

‘2015 looks set to be a critical year for the pro bono movement and its uneasy relationship with legal aid. The well-worn pro bono mantra – that pro bono is “an adjunct to and not a replacement for legal aid” – has been challenged in recent years. The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) effectively scrapped public funding for much of social welfare law advice in April 2013 and the legal profession is finally beginning to rethink the formula. Legal aid lawyers are rightly sceptical about ministers trying to co-opt pro bono – but LASPO 2012 is a game-changer.’

Full story

The Future of Law, 7th January 2015

Source: http://blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk

Ched Evans: the legal issues – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘The “innocent man wrongly imprisoned who fights a valiant struggle to secure his freedom” is a long used trope in our culture. The hero is normally a sympathetic figure, heroically taking on the establishment.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 7th January 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Woman brings boyfriend to justice after remembering attack with hypnosis – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 8th, 2015 in assault, domestic violence, news, psychiatric damage by sally

‘Zoe Dronfield only remembers brutal attack by Jason Smith in Coventry, West Midlands, after she was hypnotised into reliving traumatic ordeal.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 6th January 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Parents’ legal aid wait to fight enforced adoption of son inhumane, says judge – The Guardian

Posted January 8th, 2015 in adoption, delay, learning difficulties, legal aid, legal representation, news by sally

‘A couple left in “agony” to fight against the enforced adoption of their three-year-old son could be forgiven for thinking they are trapped in a system which is “neither compassionate nor even humane,” the most senior family court judge in England and Wales has said.’

Full story

The Guardian, 7th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Detention: the black hole at the heart of British justice – The Independent

Posted January 8th, 2015 in asylum, bills, detention, immigration, news, time limits by sally

‘It has been described as the “black hole at the heart of British justice”. Thousands of people, most of whom have been convicted of no crime, detained for as long as government officials wish.’

Full story

The Independent, 6th January 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Rape trials rise by 30% as courts fight to clear caseload – The Guardian

Posted January 8th, 2015 in Crown Prosecution Service, news, police, prosecutions, rape, victims by sally

‘Prosecutors are experiencing a 30% surge in the number of rape trials as courts struggle to cope with a backlog of historical allegations and fresh cases.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th January 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk