‘The family courts are putting domestic abuse victims and children at grave risk by sharing the secret addresses of shelters with the abusive ex-partner they are fleeing, and some survivors are suffering stalking as a result, London’s independent victims’ commissioner has warned.’
The Independent, 7th February 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The government has been urged to remove ‘blind spots’ in the Domestic Abuse Bill that could deter migrant women from reporting domestic abuse to the police for fear of being deported or enable perpetrators to control their victims.’
Law Society's Gazette, 3rd February 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The government is seeking to fend off a backbench revolt over China by giving the foreign affairs select committee new powers to investigate whether a country is so clearly breaching human rights that the UK should not agree to a free trade deal with it.’
The Guardian, 31st January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Home Secretary has today published a first-of-its-kind national strategy to protect children from all forms of child sexual abuse. The Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy sets out how the Government will use new legislation and enhanced technology to stop offenders in their tracks.’
Home Office, 22nd January 2021
Source: www.gov.uk
‘The announcement of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on Christmas Eve 2020 may have come as a surprise given endless media reports about the negotiators’ intransigence and the imminent threat of a cliff edge. Add to this the Covid-19 pandemic and some ten months and just nine formal rounds of negotiations make it remarkable that any deal has been reached, let alone one that spans 1246 pages. To put this in context, only a fortnight before the deal was reached, Australia concluded its own 9th formal round of negotiations with the EU; however, this was after over two and half years of negotiations, which will continue for the foreseeable future. And while the resounding parliamentary vote in favour of implementing the TCA (521 votes in favour and 73 against) is good for the political legitimacy of the deal, the swiftness of the vote is less good in terms of democratic process and participation.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 20th January 2021
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Legislation needs to be clear so that citizens can understand it and parliamentarians know what they are voting for. The need for clarity in legislation is set out as the first principle of Bingham’s definition of the Rule of Law, and the need for intelligibility in legislation is a requirement of the Venice Commission Checklist on the Rule of Law. This is one of the rationales for a parliamentary democracy. The Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill is designed to offer legal protections to UK armed forces, and the Ministry of Defence, in relation to overseas military operations. The Bill’s Second Reading took place this week in the House of Lords. But the Bill is disingenuous: in form it is about protecting veterans, whilst in substance it is about protecting the Ministry of Defence.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 22nd January 2021
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Police will now be able to implement strict bail conditions on more suspects in high-harm cases where the victim has suffered domestic abuse or sexual violence.’
The Independent, 14th January 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A former senior legal officer for the British Army has spoken out against The Overseas Operations Bill currently on its way through parliament, saying it does nothing to protect soldiers and breaches international law.’
Each Other, 12th January 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘As was noted in the “Harm report” published in June last year and the Family Justice Council forum that was held on 14 December, there is mounting concern about the way family courts deal with allegations of domestic abuse that arise in some contact disputes.’
Transparency Project, 10th January 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Fire safety issues in blocks of flats and other multi-occupancy buildings are one of, if not *the* biggest issue in housing law and policy today. The background is pretty well-known and, for present purposes, can be quite easily summarised. Since the Grenfell Tower disaster, it has become clear that there are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of dwellings across England and Wales which have fire safety problems, either as a result of how they were originally constructed or because of conversion/adaptation works. Those problems are not limited to ACM cladding (which was the kind of cladding on Grenfell Tower) but also includes lots of other types cladding (including something called HPL cladding, in essence, wood-effect), and the absence of fire breaks (designed to stop fire spreading from one flat to another), defective or absent fire doors.’
Nearly Legal, 10th January 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The government is set to make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence, with perpetrators facing up to seven years in prison after a sustained campaign from victims and activists.’
The Guardian, 10th January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘It’s clear that coronavirus will inevitably continue to be one of the biggest rights issues of 2021 – but it’s not the only thing that should be on our radar. This selection of things to look out for – some quite specific and some more general – is by no means exhaustive and, as the last year has shown, there’s no way we can accurately predict the future. However, there are pressing issues on the horizon – here are just a few, in no particular order.’
Each Other, 8th January 2021
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘There will be a fresh move later to make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence in England and Wales as the House of Lords debates an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill.’
BBC News, 5th January 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘As violence soars in locked-down homes, Nicole Jacobs explains how, as commissioner, she can make a difference.’
The Guardian, 3rd January 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The United Kingdom Internal Market Act has become law, receiving Royal Assent shortly before MPs and Lords departed the Palace of Westminster for the holidays. The controversial provisions in Part 5 conflicting with the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement and Northern Ireland Protocol – previously discussed by me here – have been removed following the outcome of a meeting of the EU-UK Joint Committee that resolved – at least for the moment – outstanding issues in the practical implementation of the Protocol.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th December 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Paying for sex could become a criminal offence in England and Wales if Parliament approves a new Bill which claims to protect women from sexual exploitation. But criminalisation will only further harm people who are already marginalised, argues Rachel Trafford.’
Each Other, 17th December 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘Proposals to outlaw virginity testing have passed their first parliamentary stage. North West Durham Conservative MP Richard Holden told parliament the practice was “medieval”. His Virginity Testing (Prohibition) Bill has been passed by MPs for further consideration by the Commons in January.’
BBC News, 15th December 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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