Month: April 2025

‘We all may remember the childhood rhyme, and console ourselves that names will never harm us, but the law has long provided punishment for threatening words and behaviour. Threats to kill, threats to cause criminal damage, blackmail, public order offences, harassment/stalking and controlling and coercive behaviour can all be committed without any physical contact between perpetrator and victim and yet can contain words which constitute a threat.’

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St Philips Barristers, 1st April 2025

Source: st-philips.com

‘This article investigates the role of pre-emptive policies and practices aiming to eliminate female genital cutting/mutilation (FGC/M) in England and Wales. We argue that the Serious Crime Act 2015, with its focus on pre-empting, uncovering and punishing FGC/M, represents a milestone in the development of a pre-crime society. By combining data collected from focus groups with migrant-heritage families living in Bristol in 2018 and data on state practices obtained via Freedom of Information requests in 2022, we provide unique insights into the nature and unfolding harmful impacts of hyper-vigilance and over-surveillance associated with the pre-emptive justice elements of the 2015 Act. In doing so, we expose the role played by the central government in ‘institutionalising racism’ within the police and social work. Facilitating an effective challenge to these issues requires social work professionals to engage reflexively in anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice and to drive new discussions about decolonialism within the profession.’

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Critical and Radical Social Work, 24th February 2025

Source: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com

‘The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the FOI Act’) gives everyone the right to request recorded information from UK public authorities. This right applies to UK citizens, people who are not UK citizens, people living in the UK and people living abroad, journalists, political parties, lobby groups and commercial organisations. The act covers public authorities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has its own legislation.’

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House of Commons Library, 2nd April 2025

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

‘All too often, arrangements between family members arise informally and without the benefit of legal advice. It is often assumed that everyone involved understands what is expected of them, and that any differences or disputes will be sorted out within the family. But certain seismic events – deaths, divorces, bankruptcies and so on – bring these sorts of arrangements inevitably into contact with the legal system.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 31st March 2025

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

‘It is a common feature of most industrial disease litigation that the relevant events often took place a long time ago. A trial judge determining such cases is frequently faced with limited documentary evidence and with evidence from lay witnesses (some of whom may have died before trial) who have limited recall of historic events in question. It is necessary, in those circumstances, to analyse the evidence of lay witnesses with particular care. This blog outlines the way in which the court has done so to date, with a particular consideration of two recent decisions.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 3rd April 2025

Source: ropewalk.co.uk

‘As of 6th April 2025, there will be a wholesale change to CPR 25 and the Model Orders associated with applications for injunctive relief (freezing orders, proprietary orders and search/imaging orders).

In this 20-minute talk recorded on 2nd April 2025, Ali Tabari reviews the changes, highlights the key aspects for all practitioners dealing with this crucial area of the Rules, and sets out some key takeaways for dealing with the new regime.’

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St Philips Barristers, 3rd April 2025

Source: st-philips.com

‘This article highlights some of the toxic dimensions of Boris Johnson’s legacy as UK prime minister through a detailed examination of the key narratives and discursive tactics he employed as he gave evidence to the UK COVID-19 inquiry. In doing so, we draw upon the concept of ‘toxic leadership’, a term that has been developed through the work of Lipman-Blumen and others to highlight the damaging impact that some types of leaders can have on their followers and the organisations they lead. We contend that the inquiry provides an illuminating focal point for an exploration of Johnson’s toxic legacy. On the one hand, it brought to light myriad details of Johnson’s toxic handling of the pandemic and the damage his decisions – and often lack of decisiveness – brought to many of his most ardent followers and the reputation of the government he led. On the other hand, as our analysis shows, Johnson’s testimony also brought to light the fact that he continued to rely on some of these same toxic behaviours to defend his already tarnished record. Overall, we hope to demonstrate the utility that a focus on discourse and rhetoric can bring to the study of toxic political leadership.’

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Global Discourse, 21st March 2025

Source: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com

‘In Rukhadze v Recovery Partners GP Ltd, the Supreme Court recently revisited the previously settled law regarding a fiduciary’s duty to account for an unauthorised profit.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 31st March 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘A disclosure pilot scheme (known as PD51U) operated in the Business and Property Courts (the “BPC”) in a number of courts including Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, and London from 1st January 2019. Practice Direction 57A (“PD57A”) substantively reproduces PD51U and came into force on 1st October 2022.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 27th March 2025

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

‘Daniel Dovar considers the decision in Clapham v Narga and others [2024] EWCA Civ 1388 in which the Court of Appeal held that section 75 of the Land Registration Act 1925 did not apply where title to land had already been extinguished through adverse possession by the time it was first registered.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 2nd April 2025

Source: tanfieldchambers.co.uk

‘Catherine Gee discusses the issues raised by the Sara Sharif case and the decision to publish the names of the judges involved.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 26th March 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

‘An increasing number of jurisdictions are introducing coercive control offences. It is therefore vital that the experiences of jurisdictions which have already enacted such legislation are examined in order to ascertain what lessons can be learnt. This paper seeks to analyse the coercive control provisions which have been enacted or drafted to date, and also to examine experiences of the implementation of such provisions. The article focuses in particular on the coercive control offence introduced in Northern Ireland under section 1 of the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021. Being the final jurisdiction within the UK and Ireland to criminalize coercive control allowed Northern Ireland to ‘cherry pick’ aspects of the relevant provisions in the other jurisdictions, and Northern Ireland therefore exemplifies a jurisdiction which effectively took learnings from experiences elsewhere. In April 2024, a review of the implementation of Northern Ireland’s coercive control offence was published. The article examines the lessons which can be learnt from this review for other jurisdictions implementing coercive control offences.’

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Statute Law Review, 31st March 2025

Source: academic.oup.com

‘On 4 March 2025, Dr Oliver Lewis held the third seminar in Doughty Street Chambers’ series about the Mental Health Bill 2024 (‘the Bill’), as amended. His seminar was about how the Mental Health Act 1983 (‘MHA 1983’) affects people with autism and learning disabilities, and whether the Bill changes that.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 27th March 2025

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

‘The Housing Ombudsman has recently published a report entitled “Learning from: Severe Maladministration – Taking the key lessons from our severe maladministration decisions.” It is sobering and informative.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 27th March 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

‘A recent High Court of England and Wales ruling once again demonstrates the English courts’ willingness to accept jurisdiction in the face of arguments that a party would be unable to access appropriate legal assistance in their own countries, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 3rd April 2025

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘The High Court has dismissed a judicial review application brought on behalf of a young person with complex needs over the lawfulness of an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan issued by the London Borough of Islington, after finding that the First-tier Tribunal is a “suitable alternative remedy”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Niels Bohr, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, reportedly said: “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”. With that warning firmly in mind, this article comprises a (very cautious) look at what the future may hold for professionals in the context of commission payments, after the Supreme Court hears the linked appeals in Johnson v FirstRand in April of this year.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 25th March 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

‘The council issued its application for an injunction last month pursuant to section 22 of the Local Government Act 1972 and sections 1 and 2 of the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd April 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘Two children, their father and his partner were unlawfully killed when they crashed head-on with a car being driven the wrong way on a motorway by a suicidal man, a coroner has ruled.’

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BBC News, 3rd April 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘In this post, Luke Kelly and Michael Bowsher KC discuss the Court of Appeal’s judgment in R (British Gas Trading and E.ON) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero [2025] EWCA Civ 209.’

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UK-EU Relations, 3rd April 2025

Source: eurelationslaw.com