Legal Aid Agency delays “no longer” a good reason to miss deadlines, CA warns – Litigation Futures

Posted December 16th, 2015 in appeals, delay, legal aid, news, solicitors by sally

‘Solicitors who miss deadlines because they are waiting for a Legal Aid Agency funding decision can no longer rely on this alone as grounds to apply for an extension of time, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 15th December 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

The dark face of our imperial past – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 30th, 2015 in armed forces, colonies, delay, human rights, inquests, inquiries, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘The Supreme Court has ruled that the United Kingdom was not obliged to hold a public inquiry into the shooting in December 1948 during the Malayan Emergency by British troops of 24 unarmed civilians at Batang Kali. The Court held that (1) the lapse of time meant that there was no Article 2 requirement to hold an inquiry; (2) a duty to hold an inquiry could not be implied into common law under the principles of customary international law; and (3) the decision not to hold an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 was not open to challenge on ordinary judicial review principles. However, the Supreme Court did hold that the deaths were within the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction for the purposes of the application of the ECHR.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 30th November 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Family ADR boosted by new guidance – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Sir James Munby, president of the Family Division, has issued guidance on arbitration in the family court in a move which could encourage more lawyers to view alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as a viable option.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 24th November 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Government delays clinical negligence fixed costs consultation – Litigation Futures

Posted November 19th, 2015 in consultations, costs, delay, fees, negligence, news by sally

‘The government has delayed launch of its consultation on introducing fixed recoverable costs in low-value clinical negligence claims.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 19th November 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Humber Prison report: Wolds and Everthorpe merger ‘traumatic’ – BBC News

Posted November 18th, 2015 in assault, delay, health & safety, news, prison officers, prisons, reports, standards by sally

‘The merger of two prisons in East Yorkshire has been “traumatic and prolonged”, inspectors have found.’

Full story

BBC News, 18th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Two-tier contracts delayed – Bar Council response – The Bar Council

Posted November 17th, 2015 in barristers, contracts, delay, press releases by sally

‘Chairman of the Bar Alistair MacDonald QC said:”The Bar Council has always opposed the two-tier scheme and has consistently asked the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency to re-consider these plans. We therefore welcome today’s decision to postpone the implementation of the scheme in the light of the legal challenges which have been brought.”‘

Full press release

The Bar Council. 13th November 2015

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Home Office criticised over delays in immigration cases – BBC News

Posted November 10th, 2015 in complaints, delay, government departments, immigration, news, ombudsmen, reports by sally

‘The Home Office has been accused of delays and poor decision making in its handling of immigration cases.’

Full story

BBC News, 10th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge calls for fast-track civil contempt procedure after application is stymied by criminal trial – Litigation Futures

‘A claimant found to have brought a bogus personal injury claim – but then cleared of fraud in the Crown Court – can only face civil contempt proceedings if there is new evidence, the High Court has ruled.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 4th November 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Crown courts in England and Wales ‘chaotic and archaic’ – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2015 in barristers, criminal justice, Crown Court, delay, news, reports, solicitors, victims, witnesses by sally

‘Victims and witnesses are often left marginalised in a court system that is “archaic” and “chaotic”, a report by the Criminal Justice Alliance has said.’

Full story

BBC News, 4th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Chilcot report on Iraq war to be published next June or July – The Guardian

Posted October 29th, 2015 in delay, inquiries, Iraq, news, publishing, reports, war by sally

‘Sir John Chilcot has announced that he is to publish his report into the Iraq war next June or July following intense pressure from David Cameron to speed up his timetable.’

Full story

The Guardian, 29th October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Iraq Inquiry: Timetable ‘might be published by November’ – BBC News

Posted October 26th, 2015 in armed forces, delay, inquiries, Iraq, news, reports by sally

‘Sources close to the Iraq Inquiry have indicated chairman Sir John Chilcot may write to David Cameron with a timetable for his report before 3 November.’

Full story

BBC News, 22nd October 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Courts charge leaves victims waiting for justice, says former Solicitor General – The Independent

Posted October 22nd, 2015 in courts, criminal courts charge, criminal justice, delay, fees, news, recidivists, victims by sally

‘The Government’s controversial courts charge is causing major delays and leaving victims waiting for justice, a former Solicitor General has said.’

Full story

The Independent, 21st October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

CA rejects law firm’s bid to reverse relief granted over funding notice failure – Litigation Futures

‘Mishcon de Reya has failed in its bid to overturn the grant of relief from sanctions made in favour of claimants who are suing the London law firm for professional negligence but failed to serve their funding notice in time.’

Full story

Litigation Futures, 13th October 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court estate consolidation plans based on flawed data – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 12th, 2015 in consultations, courts, delay, Law Society, local government, news, solicitors, statistics by sally

‘Lawyers and justice campaigners have raised fresh concerns about the government’s court closure programme, alleging that the proposals are based on out-of-date travel times and other dubious data.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 12th October 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Woman who fled sexual abuse deported to Jamaica ‘because Home Office fax machine broken’ – The Independent

‘A woman who fled sexual abuse in Jamaica was deported back to the country because the Home Office’s fax machine was broken, lawyers have claimed.’

Full story

The Independent, 4th October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Tightening the payout rules for business insurance – Law Commission

Posted September 18th, 2015 in bills, damages, delay, insurance, Law Commission, press releases by sally

‘Businesses can suffer serious loss if insurance companies delay paying claims. But under Law Commission reforms introduced into Parliament today, insurers would be obliged to make prompt payment or face a claim for damages.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 16th September 2015

Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

UK airline regulator to force Ryanair to pay flight delay compensation – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2015 in airlines, compensation, delay, news by sally

‘Britain’s aviation regulator has begun enforcement action against Ryanair to make the budget airline pay compensation to thousands of delayed passengers in the wake of a European court judgment.’

Full story

The Guardian, 18th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Firoozmand v Lambeth London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Firoozmand v Lambeth London Borough Council: [2015] EWCA Civ 952; [2015] WLR (D) 374

‘A local authority offering accommodation to a homeless applicant who complained about its condition was not under a duty whenever such a complaint was made to carry out a hazard inspection and assessment before making its decision as to suitability of the accommodation offered.’

WLR Daily, 3rd September 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

David Bedenham Discusses HMRC’s Alcohol Wholesalers Registration Scheme that Commences on 1 October 2015 – 11 KBW

‘Alcohol duty fraud costs the treasury an estimated £1 billion per annum. HMRC has stated that
‘the wholesale sector is the major point where illicit alcohol is diverted by organised criminals into retail supply chains…this link in the supply chain is vulnerable because it is the only activity not required to be authorised by HMRC…Introducing a requirement for wholesalers to register with HMRC will address this and reduce opportunities for fraud.’’

Full story

11 KBW, 4th September 2015

Source: www.11kbw.com

July 2015 immigration update podcast – Free Movement

‘Welcome to the July 2015 edition of the Free Movement immigration update podcast. In this episode I start by talk about Sir Nicholas Winton then move on to discuss the huge delays in appeal hearing listings and some other tribunal news, cover some immigration rule issues including a brief overview of Statement of Changes HC 297 and then move onto a number of cases, including a review of Article 8 case law and some of the more interesting recent offerings from the tribunal. The material is drawn mainly from the July blog posts on Free Movement.’

Full story

Free Movement, 7th September 2015

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk