‘This is the second case relating to the welfare of children to reach the Court of Appeal on the issue of remote hearings during the Covid-19 pandemic. The same panel of judges who dealt with Re A presided in this case. You can find the decision Re A here and Re B here.’
Broadway House Chambers, 11th May 2020
Source: broadwayhouse.co.uk
‘Disagreement and divergent approaches to this question persist since the Coronavirus Act 2020 amended the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998). The position as at 1 May 2020 is as follows. John Oliver discusses for Lexis Nexis PSL.’
5SAH, 13th May 2020
Source: www.5sah.co.uk
‘Frustration is a common law doctrine where a contract is treated as discharged by operation of law when an event has occurred which renders continued performance impossible, illegal or radically different to that contemplated by the parties when they entered into the contract. The doctrine was first established in Taylor v Caldwell (1863) 3 B&S 826, where a music hall had been destroyed by fire, but has developed thereafter.’
3PB, May 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘On 1 May 2020, the entitlements of children with SEND (and their parents) in relation to the Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan process changed. The Special Educational Needs and Disability (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (the “New Regulations”) came into force. They will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended. The New Regulations amend four existing sets of Regulations including the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 (the “SEND Regulations”).’
Monckton Chambers, 12th May 2020
Source: www.monckton.com
‘The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced further, temporary measures to make it easier to operate the planning system during the coronavirus outbreak.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The changes were made in part by amendment to the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020/350. A note about the unsatisfactory process by which the changes were brought about. The policy was announced by the Prime Minister on television on Sunday night. This was in contravention of the constitutional principle, embodied in the Ministerial Code 9.1 (page 23), that important policy announcements will be made first to Parliament. Draft amendment regulations were then not published until Tuesday afternoon and they came into effect the following day, without any Parliamentary approval. This was possible because the Government used the “emergency procedure” under s.45R of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, on the basis that the Health Secretary was prepared to state his belief that, “by reason of urgency, it is necessary to make this instrument without a draft having been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament”. It is however impossible to understand what that urgency was. After all, the amendment regulations gave effect to a relaxation not a tightening of the lockdown: there is no urgent public health reason for such a step. There is no evident reason why proper procedure could not be complied with and Parliament had to be bypassed. Whilst no doubt many people have been itching to get to a garden centre for weeks, resorting to emergency procedures that delay (and in effect largely remove) Parliamentary scrutiny damages public trust in emergency powers precisely at a time when public trust in such powers is most needed. The episode aggravates and underscores the problem which I and others have previously identified, that the regulations require a bespoke statutory basis and that resorting to the Public Health Act as the legal basis for such regulations is an unsatisfactory and constitutionally suspect expedient.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 14th May 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The new laws have become increasingly complex as restrictions start to ease.’
The Guardian, 14th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Calls have been made for an emergency fund to support sex workers whose earnings have fallen during the coronavirus crisis.’
BBC News, 15th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Teachers can legally refuse to return when schools reopen unless they get the same protections against coronavirus as other frontline staff, one of the UK’s leading teaching unions has warned.’
The Guardian, 14th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A pregnant healthcare assistant is mounting a legal action against NHS Professionals, an employment agency owned by the Department of Health and Social Care, for refusing to put her on furlough, in what could be a landmark action for other vulnerable workers bearing the brunt of the lockdown.’
The Guardian, 13th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A pub landlord who breached coronavirus regulations a reported eight times since the end of March has been served a prohibition notice by North West Leicestershire District Council.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Undocumented migrants are being forced to sleep rough during the coronavirus pandemic amid an increase in illegal evictions and a lack of government guidance, lawyers have warned.’
Each Other, 13th May 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘The Speaker of the House of Commons has said he will suspend parliament if physical distancing rules are breached in the Commons chamber – in effect ending government hopes that MPs can return to business as usual.’
The Guardian, 13th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Nothing better represents our idea of justice being not only done but seen to be done than the spectacle of trial by jury in the Crown Court. The arrangement of the physical space of the courtroom, the royal coat of arms behind the raised bench where the judge sits, robed and wigged, representing the majesty of the law; the dock where the captive defendant awaits the verdict of his or her “peers”, in the time-honoured words of Magna Carta; and those peers themselves, a dozen ordinary citizens doing their civic duty as jurors, ranged along one side in their jury box. Advocates, robed and wigged, take turns to present and test the case for the prosecution and the defence; witnesses are called and sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (subject to the rules of evidence); and all of this may be watched by the public and reported by the press.’
Transparency Project, 11th May 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Boris Johnson has changed the lockdown rules in England, allowing people to spend more time outdoors.’
BBC News, 13th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In this article, Dominic Ruck Keene and Henry Tufnell argue that the challengers to the legislation have not shown that the measures adopted by the Government are disproportionate in the circumstances of the pandemic.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 11th May 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Two new cases have been published since our last blog post on the issue of bail during the Corona Crisis. They are: Perry v USA (unreported) and Chelsea Football Club Ltd v Nichols [2020] EWHC 827 (QB).’
The 36 Group, 23rd April 2020
Source: 36group.co.uk
‘ACAS has produced guidance on Disciplinary and grievance procedures during the coronavirus pandemic.’
Coronavirus: Guidance for Lawyers and Businesses, 6th May 2020
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