Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted September 18th, 2017 in legislation by sally

The Nuclear Installations (Excepted Matter) Regulations 2017

The Pensions Act 2014 (Commencement No. 11) and the Pension Schemes Act 2015 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2017

The Motor Vehicles (Tests) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

The Farriers (Registration) Act 2017 (Commencement) Regulations 2017

The Children and Social Work Act 2017 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2017

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Charlie Alliston: Cyclist detained over pedestrian death – BBC News

‘A cyclist who knocked over and killed a 44-year-old woman in east London has been sentenced to 18 months in a young offenders’ institution.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Press regulator censures Mail on Sunday for global warming claims – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2017 in agreements, climate change, codes of practice, complaints, media, news by tracey

‘Claims in the Mail on Sunday that global warming data had been exaggerated in order to secure the Paris climate change agreement have been criticised by the UK’s press regulator.’

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The Guardian, 17th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tax evasion facilitation prevention – The Future of Law

Posted September 18th, 2017 in crime prevention, HM Revenue & Customs, law firms, legislation, news, tax evasion by tracey

‘From 30 September 2017, if someone in your firm facilitates tax evasion and you don’t have reasonable prevention procedures, you could be faced with unlimited fines, not to mention reputational damage.’

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The Future of Law, 15th September 2017

Source: blogs.lexisnexis.co.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted September 18th, 2017 in law reports by tracey

High Court (Administrative Court)

Shirley & Anorl, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWHC 2306 (Admin) (15 September 2017)

Source: www.bailii.org

The Data Protection Bill: some initial observations – Panopticon

Posted September 18th, 2017 in bills, brexit, consent, data protection, EC law, internet, legal language, news, penalties by tracey

‘Parliament on Thursday 14 September. But to digest it in full, one needs time, commitment, and coffee. It is not a straightforward read. It seeks to implement the GDPR in full and in Brexit-proof fashion, to plug the gaps that the GDPR requires member states to fill, and also to apply a GDPR-like regime to areas of data processing that are not covered by the GDPR itself. The Bill is of course liable to change in the coming months, but here are some observations and highlights in the meantime.’

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Panopitcon, 18th September 2017

Source: panopticonblog.com

Why Isn’t Fat Shaming Officially Discrimination in Law? – Rightsinfo

Posted September 18th, 2017 in disability discrimination, EC law, equality, human rights, legislation, news by tracey

‘When people complain about mistreatment at work or school based on their weight, many of us feel great sympathy, so why isn’t weight discrimination unlawful in the same way as racism, for example, or gender discrimination?’

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Rightsinfo, 18th September 2017

Source: rightsinfo.org

Thomas Fairclough: What’s New About the Rule of Law? A Reply to Michal Hain – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘This blog recently published a detailed piece by Michal Hain. He made some very interesting claims that this note will examine. I start by explaining Hain’s arguments and ordering them roughly according to the way they come out in his piece. I then examine each in greater detail giving my own views. Finally, I will conclude with some general points about constitutionalism and individual cases.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th September 2017

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Aarhus costs cap challenge succeeds – UK Human Rights Blog

‘RSPB, Friends of the Earth & Client Earth v. Secretary of State for Justice [2017] EWHC 2309 (Admin), 15 September 2017, Dove J. In my March 2017 post here, I explained that amendments to the costs rules for public law environmental claims threatened to undo much of the certainty that those rules had achieved since 2013. Between 2013 and February 2017, if you, an individual, had an environmental judicial review, then you could pretty much guarantee that your liability to the other side’s costs would be capped at £5,000 (£10,000 for companies) if you lost, and your recovery of your own costs would be limited to £35,000 if you won. In this way, the rules sought to avoid the cost of such claims becoming prohibitively expensive and thus in breach of Art.9(4) of the Aarhus Convention.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th September 2017

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

MPs given early chance to scrutinise discount rate reform legislation – Litigation Futures

‘The justice select committee has accepted an invitation by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to undertake pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft legislation to reform the discount rate.’

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Litigation Futures, 18th September 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Green groups claim ‘important victory’ in challenge to legal costs rules – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2017 in charities, costs, environmental protection, judgments, news, privacy by tracey

‘Conservation and environmental groups have claimed an “important victory” in their high court challenge to new legal costs rules which they say make it much harder to bring cases to protect the environment.’

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The Guardian, 15th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK legal claims grow over exposure at work to toxic diesel fumes – The Guardian

‘Legal claims over exposure to diesel exhaust fumes at work are growing as unions warn toxic air in the workplace is a ticking time bomb on a par with asbestos.’

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The Guardian, 16th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law firm faces £68,000 VAT bill after tribunal rules electronic property search fees are not disbursements – Legal Futures

‘A leading north-west law firm has been ordered to pay £68,000 in VAT for electronic local authority property searches it procured from an agency, after a tribunal ruled that they should not have been treated as disbursements.’

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Legal Futures, 18th September 2017

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Teenagers convicted of homophobic hate crime – Crown Prosecution Service

‘Three teenagers who pleaded guilty to attacking two passengers on a train because of their sexuality have today been jailed. The three male youths, two aged 16 and one aged 17, were each sentenced to six months in prison at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 14 September, after admitting violent disorder and, in one case, possession of an offensive weapon.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 14th September 2017

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Paedophile has sentenced doubled under ULS scheme – Attorney General’s Office

Posted September 18th, 2017 in appeals, child abuse, news, sentencing, sexual offences by tracey

‘A “House Parent” Stephen Joyce who sexually abused children while working at a boarding school in Torrington, Devon has sentence increased.’

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Attorney General's Office, 15th September 2017

Source: www.gov.uk

McKenzie ban back to drawing board – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 18th, 2017 in codes of practice, consultations, fees, judiciary, Law Society, McKenzie friends, news by tracey

‘HM Judiciary is set to reassess some of its proposals for regulating the fast-expanding “McKenzie friend” sector after a consultation on banning fee recovery received “large numbers of responses”.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th September 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘They funked it’ – LCJ’s dismay at inaction on older recorders – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 18th, 2017 in judges, judiciary, Ministry of Justice, news, recruitment, retirement, select committees by tracey

‘The lord chief justice has urged the government to deal with the thorny issue of forcing retirement upon part-time recorders believed to be clogging up the judicial system.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th September 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Up to a quarter of secondary schools break the law by failing to teach religious education, survey finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 18th, 2017 in education, freedom of information, news, statistics by tracey

‘Up to a quarter of secondary schools are breaking the law by failing to teach religious education, a new survey has shown, as one expert said the subject can be seen as an “easy loss” amid financial pressure.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Police ‘may work with paedophile hunters’ – BBC News

‘Police have admitted they may have to work with “paedophile hunters” after research revealed a rise in their evidence being used in court. Figures obtained by the BBC show 11% of court cases in 2014 for the crime of meeting a child following sexual grooming used vigilante evidence, rising to 44% in 2016.’

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BBC News, 18th September 2017

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Secret Millionaire property developer jailed for manslaughter after carpenter fell through ceiling – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 18th, 2017 in costs, fines, health & safety, homicide, imprisonment, negligence, news, sentencing by tracey

‘A property developer who appeared on The Secret Millionaire has been jailed for manslaughter after a carpenter fell through the ceiling of a development a year after safety warnings.’

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Daily Telegraph, 17th September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk