‘The High Court has insisted that there must be a “level playing field” when it comes to recording medical examinations.’
Litigation Futures, 21st April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘There have been two recent thought-provoking articles on whether documents which require a signature to be witnessed (that is, wills and deeds) can be witnessed either “virtually” in real-time (with attestation[1] by the witness on a separate counterpart simultaneously, with the execution being observed online) or after the event (with the execution being witnessed online, and the document then being posted to and subsequently attested by the witness).’
Falcon Chambers, April 2020
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
‘With the courts shutting their doors to the majority of litigants following the outbreak of Coronavirus, now more than ever parties and their lawyers are turning their minds to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). From virtual mediations to remote ENEs and arbitrations, there are plenty of forms of ADR which can be conducted effectively during this crisis. ADR remains a powerful tool for concluding cases swiftly and at comparatively minimal cost which in this time of economic uncertainty is crucial. In this blog we would look at the different forms of ADR and how to they might continue to operate practically during the lockdown and social distancing measures associated with the pandemic.’
Pump Court Chambers, 14th April 2020
Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com
‘Perhaps the first significant issue arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic to come before the Administrative Court has been the question of the continued legality of immigration detention in the face of the risks and practical difficulties arising from the crisis. The pandemic raises two stark issues affecting the legality of immigration detention; on the one hand, that detainees may face an increased risk of infection by reason of the “congregate” setting of detention centres, and on the other that removals in the short term will be impossible and that the prospects of removal are at best uncertain even in the medium term.’
Landmark Chambers, 15th April 2020
Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal addressed in this case the interesting question of when it might be possible to exclude the right of a disclosed principal from enforcing and/or relying on the terms of a contract which does not expressly exclude such a principal from its remedies. The court considered the rare circumstances in which that might be a possibility, noting that they are rare indeed, as there is a strong presumption against finding that a disclosed but unnamed principal has given up their contractual remedies. Written by Adam Heppinstall, barrister, Henderson Chambers.’
Henderson Chambers, 17th April 2020
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘On March 28, 2020 the government announced emergency insolvency initiatives to assist businesses through the CV19 lockdown and its aftermath. With UK SME’s (i.e. under 250 employees) facing an unprecedented existential threat from CV19, it is clear that help is needed to enable them to keep trading if they possibly can. The Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will clearly help in the short term with employees but what of the underlying business structures? What help is there to keep companies away from the insolvency courts?’
Thomas More Chambers, 14th April 2020
Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk
‘The last couple of weeks have seen a raft of new legislation in the United Kingdom, hurriedly passed to deal urgently with the coronavirus situation. It has clearly been drafted quickly, with guidance that goes well beyond the legislation, and so this has led to some confusion as to what exactly the law now says.’
OUP Blog, 21st April 2020
Source: blog.oup.com
‘Military analogies have been deployed with vigour in the early weeks of the United Kingdom’s battle against COVID-19. Initially the government told the public to ‘keep calm and carry on’. When the lockdown came, the Prime Minister ‘enlisted’ us all to slow its spread. A ‘war cabinet’ was formed and those in the health and social care sectors, who would be most regularly exposed to the virus, were referred to as being on the ‘frontline’ of the battle.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 21st April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘We find ourselves in unprecedented times, daily life as we know it brought to a standstill. Professionally we are all looking at work in a different light, attempting to predict the impact Covid-19 will have on our respective areas of practice.’
Park Square Barristers, 6th April 2020
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
‘In this post I argue, with reference to Privacy International, that the nature of legislation as a speech act entails that the tension between parliamentary sovereignty and the rule of law is not as profound as is often thought.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Exegesis and eisegesis. Exegesis is interpreting a text’s meaning in accordance with the author’s context and discoverable meaning. Eisegesis is when a reader imposes their own subjective interpretation on a text. Both have more than a passing similarity to the common law doctrine of precedent and the techniques of statutory interpretation.’
Ropewalk Chambers, 17th April 2020
Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk
‘It is to be expected that the current pandemic will result in employers seeking to rely on economic hard times with a view to curtailing employees’ claims for loss of earnings and financial benefits. This will typically be through reliance on the contention that the employees would have been dismissed in any event and any compensation for loss of remuneration should therefore, be extinguished or reduced. In some cases, there will be genuine grounds for such a stance, whilst opportunism could be the driver in others. Thus far, there is no indication that significant job losses are predicted in central and local government and in public services sector. What is said hereafter is applicable principally to employment outside the public sector. This article deals both with ordinary unfair dismissal claim and claims in Great Britain based on protected status where there is no cap on compensation.’
Parklane Plowden, 7th April 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘An employment tribunal has expressed its “incredulity” at the way a solicitor’s former secretary befriended one of his clients and ended up in the client’s will.’
Legal Futures, 21st April 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A second appeal on a homelessness review, where a finding of intentional homelessness had been upheld, raising an important point on whether events or factors post-dating the decision or action that led to eviction need to be considered on review.’
Nearly Legal, 19th April 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The judgment Re Carluccio’s Ltd [2020] EWHC 886 (Ch) provides some much-needed clarity on the interrelation of the Furlough Scheme and the requirements of insolvency legislation. It is to be commended for its clarity and for the fact that it had to construe the workings of the Furlough Scheme in the absence of any statutory guidance as to its implementation. It is to be hoped that, when the Government comes to enact the necessary legislative measures (including perhaps amendments to Schedule B1 and IR 2016), that it does so with this judgment very firmly in mind.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 14th April 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
‘In the final part of our three-part mini-series: Civil Procedure, Human Rights and the Coronavirus, we consider how litigators may use the civil procedure rules to drive litigation forward in the time of coronavirus.’
Blackstone Chambers, 14th April 2020
‘An Upper Tribunal judge has set aside a decision by a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that upheld – after a freedom of information request – the withholding of an agent’s advice to a local authority on the tactics it should apply in negotiations with Tesco over a proposed development.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Force majeure is a continental law (Civil Code) concept addressing, in very general terms, some event or circumstance that causes the inability to perform obligations under a contract.’
3PB, 3rd April 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘Two fee-earners are not needed for attending a witness or client – and you cannot charge for solicitors travelling to clients.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
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