Day: 10 April 2025

‘The High Court has confirmed that duties in section 189A of the Housing Act 1996 apply to homelessness applications under its Part 7 even when made before the section came into force in April 2018, lawyers involved in a case brought against the London Borough of Hillingdon have said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘In recent years, Wales and England have introduced so-called ‘opt out’ organ donation systems with the passing of the Human Transplantation (Wales) Act 2013 and Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019, respectively. Both Acts stipulate various excepted persons, including based on age, residency, and mental capacity. The mental capacity exception raises concerns as it is, we argue, at odds with our ordinary understanding of mental capacity per the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Whilst the Mental Capacity Act 2005 commits to a functionalist approach, the same cannot be said for the opt out legislation. Rather, both the opt out Acts create mental capacity exceptions that tacitly require the adoption of a status-based approach, which is reinforced by the accompanying Codes of Practice. This article therefore contributes to a body of literature that questions the supposed legal commitment to functionalism and to an aspect of the organ donation debate that has been neglected. We argue that the move to a status-based approach is a significant deviation and requires a clear supporting argument that remains absent. There is a short-term need, then, for the Codes of Practice relating to both the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and both opt out Acts to be revised and reduce the risk of confusion and error.’

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Medical Law International, 28th February 2025

Source: doi.org

‘Birmingham City Council’s financial turmoil meant it was entitled not to reduce its charges for adult social care and the local authority did not breach the public sector equality duty, the Court of Appeal has found, declining to overturn a ruling last year by Mrs Justice Collins Rice.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Re C (Surrogacy: Consent) and Re Z (Surrogacy: Step-Parent Adoption) recount one non-traditional family’s struggle for formal legal recognition. The subject child was born pursuant to a surrogacy arrangement entered into in the UK by a male couple and a woman. Post-birth, the surrogate maintained her agreement to the couple raising the child as their own but wanted more involvement in his life than the intended parents would support. Relations soured, and when the intended parents applied to be formally legally recognised as the child’s parents, the surrogate refused to give her consent – which is required by statute. In Re C (Surrogacy: Consent), the intended parents brought a human rights challenge to the statutory scheme for surrogacy, arguing that its absolute requirement for a surrogate’s consent interfered with theirs and the child’s rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. This being unsuccessful, in Re Z (Surrogacy: Step-Parent Adoption) they made a second bid to become their child’s legal parents, this time through adoption. Again, their application was unsuccessful. Taken together, these case outcomes and their ratio decidendi reveal the tenacious hold of motherhood on the legal imagination, and the problems this poses for non-traditional families.’

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Modern Law Review, 19th March 2025

Source: doi.org

‘English partnerships are transparent for tax purposes, but there is no legislation outlining the tax rules besides a Statement of Practice (SP) (1975). Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are treated the same for tax purposes but are bodies corporate. This has led to concerns over employment and partnership status being confused and highlights the necessity for specific anti-avoidance legislation for LLPs. Partnerships and LLPs can also be regarded as (bare) trusts for tax purposes, potentially leading to confusion and disputes as to beneficial ownership. These problems would largely disappear if members of LLPs chose to treat their partnership as a separate legal entity for tax purposes. If they did so, LLPs could be subject to corporation tax; otherwise, they and general partnerships should be subject to tailored, dedicated primary legislation governing the tax treatment—instead of that covering a mere SP.’

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Amicus Curiae, Spring 2025

Source: journals.sas.ac.uk

‘In Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the Supreme Court held that a secondary victim cannot recover damages for psychiatric harm caused by witnessing a primary victim’s medical crisis. This note examines the ratio of the majority’s judgment, that the secondary victim must witness an accident (or its immediate aftermath) to successfully recover damages. It argues that the majority’s accident requirement is problematic for three reasons: it was not required by the case law; it is not as certain or intelligible as the majority suggest; and it treats clinical negligence as a subclass of personal injury. The note also suggests that the common law has, contrary to the majority’s analysis, started to develop a doctor’s duty of care to a patient’s family member. This would have provided the conceptual foundation upon which to treat the deaths as the relevant event in Paul. The note also considers the court’s helpful clarification that the accident need not be sufficiently horrifying, and that the secondary victim need not suffer a sudden shock, as well as the Supreme Court’s application of the scope of duty principle more broadly.’

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Modern Law Review, 10th February 2025

Source: doi.org

‘The issue of whether the criminal law should consider consent in determining offences related to harm inflicted for sadomasochistic pleasure has once again been highlighted by the courts in the recent sentencing of individuals in the UK involved in the creation and distribution of extreme ‘eunuch’ pornography. The article explores this case within the context of legal limits placed on consent to sadomasochistic sex first set down by R v Brown, a decision which has received much criticism. It concludes by defending some limits on consensual sadomasochism in light of the recent case, while acknowledging the need to decriminalise more ‘mainstream’ acts of sadomasochistic sex.’

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Alternative Law Journal, 13th March 2025

Source: journals.sagepub.com

‘In R. v Jogee; Ruddock v The Queen, the Supreme Court abolished “joint enterprise liability”, thus removing the need for a doctrine that used to temper the harshness of joint enterprise: the “fundamental difference” rule. The Supreme Court nevertheless allowed this rule to linger on in the form of an “overwhelming supervening act” doctrine. That doctrine has led to the creation of yet another: an “escalation” doctrine. We argue that there is no place in the post-Jogee law of complicity for doctrines based on fundamental difference, overwhelming supervening acts or escalation. This is no mere semantic quibble. It has significant implications for the way in which complicity law should be applied, especially in homicide cases.’

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Cambridge Law Journal, 10th April 2025

Source: www.cambridge.org

‘As the metaverse blurs the lines between physical and virtual realms, enhanced by haptic devices providing sensory feedback, it is poised to become integral to daily life. However, this new digital frontier is also a site for sexual violence. Women users increasingly report non-consensual touching, image-based sexual abuses and novel forms of gendered harm, often trivialised and inadequately addressed by current laws. Accordingly, this article proposes the new concept and terminology of ‘meta-rape’ to better capture the intense and embodied nature of these forms of sexual violence. We also provide a new categorisation of experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in the metaverse, together with a comprehensive analysis of the role and application of criminal law in tackling meta-rape. We suggest, contrary to conventional approaches, that current criminal laws could apply to some forms of meta-rape. We also propose strengthening and future-proofing criminal law, with laws proscribing intimate intrusions. By reframing our understanding of meta-rape, we aim to address the prevalence and impact of these gendered and sexualised harms, providing robust avenues for victim redress and promoting safety and autonomy in emerging virtual spaces.’

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Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 8th April 2025

Source: academic.oup.com

‘In this article, Fergus McCombie and Louisa Simpson share some insights into and thoughts on the Court of Appeal judgment.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 9th April 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

‘On 3 April 2025, the Court of Appeal gave judgment in the case of Sullivan v Isle of Wight Council [2025] EWCA Civ 379.’

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Old Square Chambers, 7th April 2025

Source: oldsquare.co.uk

‘The first stage of a High Court libel case has found that ex-footballer Joey Barton’s online posts about former England striker Eni Aluko and her family had a defamatory meaning.’

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BBC News, 9th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘An abusive wife who strangled her husband and stabbed him to death before burying his body under a pile of grass clippings in their overgrown garden has been jailed for 22 years.’

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The Independent, 9th April 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘A man has been found guilty of murdering a woman in front of her three-year-old daughter during Notting Hill carnival’s family day last year.’

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The Guardian, 9th April 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A woman who had her leg amputated due to hospital failings has been awarded a multimillion-pound compensation deal.’

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BBC News, 10th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A former Met Police officer has been found guilty of assault, but acquitted of rape.’

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The Independent, 9th April 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘In Re All Saints Rainford [2025] ECC Liv 1, a retrospective faculty was granted for the authorization of illuminated symbols on the church tower; this was subject to conditions on the timing of the illumination and the petitioner obtaining planning consent. Wood Ch noted that the two significant aspects of the planning advice were heritage impact of the lighting and the impact on neighbouring amenities.’

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Law & Religion UK, 9th April 2025

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a father-of-seven by stabbing him.’

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BBC News, 9th April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk