‘In years to come, it may be regarded as one of the last battles for women’s autonomy. Under an obscure Victorian law, passed when women did not even have the vote, the decision to terminate an unplanned pregnancy using pills in the privacy of a home is punishable by life in prison – for the woman and any doctor who helps her.’
The Guardian, 10th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The government faces a last push from rebel backbenchers to guarantee a final vote in parliament on any Brexit deal before the triggering of article 50, with concerns coalescing around what would happen if no agreement was reached with the EU.’
The Guardian, 13th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘On 17 February 2017, Bindmans LLP published an Opinion solicited from several leading authorities on EU law concerning Article 50 TEU. The so-dubbed ‘Three Knights Opinion’ put forward compelling legal arguments in support of why an Act of Parliament at the end of the Article 50 negotiation process is necessary in order to ensure that Brexit occurs in accordance with domestic and, by extension, EU law. These contentions, and Professor Elliot’s rebuttal, warrant careful consideration.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 9th March 2017
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A good deal of the legal and constitutional interest generated by Brexit has so far, perhaps unsurprisingly, focussed upon the very beginning of the withdrawal process. Initially, all eyes were on the courts, with the Supreme Court holding in R (Miller) v Secretary of State for the European Union [2017] UKSC 5 that the Article 50 mechanism can be activated only with Parliament’s legislative blessing. As a result of that landmark judgment, attention has now switched to Parliament, through which the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill is presently passing.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th March 2017
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘On 6 March 2017, the House of Lords held a short debate on assisted dying. Baroness Jay of Paddington asked Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they had made of recent legislation on assisted dying in North America; and whether those laws provide an appropriate basis for legislation in England and Wales.’
Law & Religion UK, 9th March 2017
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
‘The government has suffered a second Brexit defeat in the House of Lords as peers backed, by 366 votes to 268, calls for a “meaningful” parliamentary vote on the final terms of withdrawal.’
BBC News, 7th March 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The government is facing another defeat in the Lords over student voter registration a day before crucial Brexit legislation returns to the upper chamber.’
The Guardian, 6th March 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Peers in the House of Lords have voted to amend European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, which if passed by Parliament will allow the UK to start formal talks about leaving the EU.’
Daily Telegraph, 1st March 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Retransmitting TV programmes online within “the area of initial broadcast” is an act of copyright infringement under EU law, if carried out without the permission of the TV broadcasters, the EU’s highest court has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 1st March 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘When two brothers who filmed themselves torturing a dog were spared jail it provoked an outcry. Yet England and Wales has the lightest maximum sentence in Europe for animal cruelty offences. Now an MP is hoping to make the law tougher on perpetrators.’
BBC News, 24th February 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The long-running Conservative proposal for a “British Bill of Rights” has once again been shelved for several more years.’
The Independent, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Insurers would be primarily responsible for paying out damages stemming from accidents caused by ‘automated vehicles’ under new UK legislation laid before the UK parliament’
OUT-LAW.com, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Interested members of the public will be able to view ‘virtual’ court hearings from purpose-built booths in court buildings, the Prisons and Courts Bill states. The proposal is an attempt to counter threats to open justice by a courts system increasingly operating digitally. Court listings and case results will also be published online, a factsheet published by the Ministry of Justice says.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The small claims limit will rise to £5,000 for whiplash cases, but only £2,000 for other personal injury (PI) claims, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced today in a bid “to crack down on the compensation culture epidemic” – less than seven weeks after its consultation closed.’
Legal Futures, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Prison governors are to be held to account for getting offenders off drugs, into jobs and learning English and maths under new powers to be detailed in the justice secretary’s flagship legislation to tackle the prison crisis.’
The Guardian, 23rd February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Legal criticism of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill is quickly amassing. Notably, Paul Daly suggested that general phrasing of an authorisation to notify the UK’s intention to withdraw from the EU by the executive, of the sort contained in the Bill, may not suffice to ground lawfulness of such notification (or of withdrawing from the EU). It may not suffice, because the principle of legality could be said to require more specificity in conveying Parliament’s legislative choice to authorise withdrawal with all the possible detrimental consequences to individual rights. A similar argument was also presented in the “Three Knights Opinion” of Sir David Edward KCMG PC QC, Sir Francis Jacobs KCMG PC QC, Sir Jeremy Lever KCMG QC, Helen Mountfield QC and Gerry Facenna QC.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 21st February 2017
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The author of Article 50 has ridiculed the Government’s claim that the treaty clause cannot be stopped after it is triggered.’
The Independent, 22nd February 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The bill authorising the Prime Minister to trigger Article 50, enabling the UK to leave the EU, has cleared the Commons. It begins its consideration in the Lords today. In this post Lords expert Meg Russell discusses how the second chamber is likely to treat the bill. She suggests that this illustrates important dynamics between Lords and Commons, which are often disappointingly misunderstood both in the media and inside government.’
UCL Constitution Unit, 20th February 2017
Source: www.constitution-unit.com
‘Radical change to the Proceeds of Crime Act is coming. Below I summarise four of the areas of key changes to POCA 2002.’
Full story (PDF)
Dystone Chambers, 26th January 2017
Source: www.drystone.com
‘Opposition peers will not seek to wreck the government’s timetable for triggering article 50 when the Brexit bill comes before them on Monday, Labour’s leader in the House of Lords has said.’
The Guardian, 20th February 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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