‘In Part One, I considered the background to the Coronavirus Act 2020 and some general aspects of the legislation. Here, I focus on some of the substantive provisions of the legislation and briefly explore the role that human rights law has to play in the management of the COVID-19 crisis.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 10th April 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Family life is significantly disrupted as a result of the ‘lockdown’, and many children in care will not have seen their parents for a number of weeks. This short article considers the legal position with regard to the duties of local authorities in England to looked-after children and contact, and the interaction between this and the Coronavirus Act 2020 and regulations.’
Transparency Project, 11th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The response to the Covid-19 pandemic by governments across the world has thrown into sharp relief the fact that at a time of crisis the institutions and functions of Nation States are still the key structures responsible for the most basic duty of protecting their citizens’ lives. In the United Kingdom, the recent weeks have seen interventions by the Government in the economy and in the freedom of movement that are commonly seen as unparalleled in the post 1945 era.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 10th April 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Shocking statistics revealed that domestic violence has surged since the start of the coronavirus lockdown, as the home secretary, Priti Patel, insisted that help for all victims of abuse was available.’
The Guardian, 12th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘TV regulator Ofcom has said it is assessing comments made by presenter Eamonn Holmes about 5G technology and coronavirus “as a priority”.’
BBC News, 14th April 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In recent years the rise of e-commerce has challenged the traditional High Street model as we know it. The high attrition rates on the High Street have been widely reported. For those retailers who have sought to avoid closing their businesses, Company Voluntary Agreements (“CVA’s”) have become popular in order to allow shops to keep trading.’
3PB, 9th April 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
‘With the cancellation of all GCSE and A level summer exams amid the coronavirus pandemic, the system for awarding student grades been transformed beyond recognition.’
Each Other, 9th April 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A high court judge has ruled a woman can be discharged from the hospital bed she has occupied for more than a year to relieve pressure during the Covid-19 pandemic.’
The Guardian, 10th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The UK’s media watchdog has launched a formal investigation into a TV network’s broadcast of an interview with conspiracy theorist David Icke about coronavirus.’
BBC News, 9th April 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Some of Britain’s biggest insurance companies are facing legal action from small business owners who say their legitimate business interruption claims have been unfairly turned down.’
The Guardian, 12th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The football world, like almost every other sector of the economy, is grappling with the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus pandemic. In English football, the official position remains as set out in the joint statement issued by the main professional stakeholders on 20 March 2020: football is currently suspended but ‘all options’ are being explored ‘to find ways of resuming the season when conditions allow’.’
7th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘On 25 March, the UK passed the Coronavirus Act 2020 as part of its attempt to manage the coronavirus outbreak. The Act introduces a wave of temporary measures designed to either amend existing legislative provisions or introduce new statutory powers in order to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 (See Nicholas Clapham’s Conversation post here on the content of Bill). As countries around the world enact similar laws, there are notable concerns regarding not only the impact of emergency provisions on human rights, but also the potential of emergency powers to become normalised. One response is to utilise sunset clauses. This piece argues that while sunset clauses are both welcome and necessary, they should nevertheless be approached with a degree of caution.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 8th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘A helpline for perpetrators of domestic abuse who are seeking help to change their behaviour has received 25% more calls as the Covid-19 lockdown continues, fresh figures show.’
The Guardian, 9th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Furloughed but asked to work, starting work at 5am, prevented from working from home despite living with vulnerable parents – these are some of the shocking stories to emerge from a survey of junior legal aid lawyers.’
Law Society's Gazette, 9th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘There is no question that remote hearings are a good means of ensuring the continued delivery of the decision-making element of the family justice system. It is amazing that we can do it at all and it is great that we can. But doing so in this way is at the cost of our ability properly to connect to one another, and judges like me are compromised in their ability to conduct hearings with the empathy, fairness, understanding and compassion that is rightly valued as an essential element of the Family Court. I appreciate that in order to deliver justice in the time of Covid-19 we must accept compromise. I wanted to share my experiences however, as there have been times that the extent to which I have felt constrained has been uncomfortable, and I worry about the impact on the parties, and the wider goal of delivering justice fairly. Even though huge progress has and will continue to be made in improving remote hearings, we will be working under the effects of Covid-19 for many months yet to come. I am concerned about the responsibility that will continue to fall on judges for deciding what cases are to be heard or not, and for setting the terms of reference for what constitutes a fair hearing in the time of Covid-19.’
Transparency Project, 7th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘A father has been fined by police after his son persistently flouted the coronavirus lockdown rules.’
BBC News, 7th April 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘On 24 March 2020, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill 2020 was introduced into the House of Commons, for its first reading, by Caroline Lucas MP. The Bill had been introduced into the House of Lords on 21 October 2019, by Baroness Jenny Jones, on behalf of Lord John Bird (who is best known as the founder of Big Issue). Whilst the Bill is not supported by the Government, it has garnered cross party support, and the Bill’s co-sponsors are drawn from all of the major UK political parties.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
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