Struck off and now disbarred: lawyer who defrauded the Law Society – Legal Futures

‘A former solicitor and non-practising barrister who was convicted of a string of offences – including assaulting two police officers and defrauding the Law Society of £23,000 while a member of its council – has been disbarred two months after she was struck off the roll of solicitors.’

Full story

Legal Futures, 27th March 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Supreme court clears way for release of secret Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

Posted March 26th, 2015 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, documents, news, royal family, Supreme Court, veto by sally

‘The UK supreme court has cleared the way for the publication of secret letters written by Prince Charles to British government ministers, declaring that an attempt by the state to keep them concealed was unlawful.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on publishing Prince Charles’ ‘black spider memos’ – The Guardian

‘The supreme court will rule on Thursday on whether highly sensitive secret correspondence between Prince Charles and government ministers should at last be released in the public interest.’

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The Guardian, 25th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The Insurance Act 2015: practical changes for insurers to consider – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 25th, 2015 in contracts, disclosure, fraud, insurance, Law Commission, legislation, news, Scotland by sally

‘The 2015 Insurance Act will, subject to an 18-month transition period, introduce what the UK government has described as “the biggest reform to insurance contract law in more than a century”.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Regina (Secretary of State for the Home Department) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission – WLR Daily

Posted March 23rd, 2015 in appeals, disclosure, human rights, immigration, judicial review, law reports by sally

Regina (Secretary of State for the Home Department) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission [2015] EWHC 681 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 132

‘In review proceedings under sections 2C and 2D of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997, challenging specified decisions of the Home Secretary to exclude an individual from the United Kingdom or refuse applications for naturalisation, the Home Secretary was required to disclose to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and to the special advocates acting in the closed proceedings such material as had been used by the author of any relevant assessment, relied on by the Home Secretary in reaching the decision, to found or justify the facts or conclusions expressed therein; or if subsequently re-analysed, to disclose such material as was considered sufficient to justify those facts and conclusions and which was in existence at the date of decision.’

WLR Daily, 18th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

MoD ‘mole’ Bettina Jordan-Barber jailed over Sun leaks – The Guardian

‘A “mole” at the Ministry of Defence who made £100,000 from leaking stories to the Sun has been jailed for 12 months, it can now be reported after verdicts were delivered in a related trial.’

Full story

The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme court to rule on Prince Charles letters – The Guardian

‘The supreme court’s judgment on whether the government unlawfully blocked the publication of a series of secret letters written by Prince Charles is due to be made public on Thursday next week, court officials have announced.

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The Guardian, 20th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Transparency in the Court of Protection: press should be allowed names – UK Human Rights Blog

‘A healthcare NHS Trust v P & Q [2015] EWCOP (13 March 2015). The Court of Protection has clarified the position on revealing the identity of an incapacitated adult where reporting restrictions apply.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th March 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Missing Persons – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 19th, 2015 in disclosure, news, presumption of death orders, third parties by sally

‘After bringing the first claim of its kind in the High Court in 2015, Gwyn Evans discusses how the Act will bring some relief to grieving families.’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 20th February 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Group M UK Ltd v Cabinet Office – Henderson Chambers

‘The Technology and Construction Court has reiterated that, in considering whether to lift the statutory suspension of the placing of a public contract following a challenge by an unsuccessful tenderer, it will apply the American Cyanamid principles, as those principles are consistent with the requirements of Directive 2007/66/EC on the award of public contracts.’

Full story (PDF)

Henderson Chambers, 17th March 2015

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Disclosure – pulling your head out of the sand – Cloisters

Posted March 17th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, disclosure, documents, employment tribunals, news by sally

‘In this article Cloisters’ barrister Paul Epstein QC comments on what disclosure actually means and what the obligations are in the Employment Tribunal. He discusses the different types of disclosure, the new CPR test and what parties need to do.’

Full story

Cloisters, 10th February 2015

Source: www.cloisters.com

Important judgment on liquidators’ ability to obtain documents – RPC Commercial Disputes Blog

Posted March 13th, 2015 in disclosure, documents, Hong Kong, liquidators, news, winding up by sally

‘In an important judgment handed down recently by the Court of First Instance in Hong Kong, the companies judge has ruled on the ambit of the power to order a person to produce documents to a provisional liquidator pursuant to section 221(3) of the Companies (Winding-Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance.(1) For now and pending any appeal, the judgment confirms that the scope of documents “relating to the company” that have to be produced to a liquidator (pursuant to section 221(3) of the Ordinance) is narrower than the matters in respect of which a person can be examined on oath concerning the “affairs of the company” (sections 221(1) and (2)). In so doing, the judgment gives a more literal interpretation of the power to order production pursuant to section 221(3) without reference to section 221(1).’

Full story

RPC Commercial Disputes Blog,

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Disclosure requirements for ‘high risk’ UK tax avoidance scheme promoters come into force – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 11th, 2015 in disclosure, HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax avoidance by tracey

‘Promoters of tax avoidance schemes that have been identified as “high risk” by UK tax authorities must now publicise that they are being monitored so that potential customers are aware of the risks of using them, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners – WLR Daily

Regina (Ingenious Media Holdings Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: [2015] EWCA Civ 173; [2015] WLR (D) 104

‘In the particular circumstances of the case limited disclosures made by a Revenue and Customs official in an “off the record” briefing with journalists concerning tax avoidance schemes had been made “for the purposes” of a function of the Revenue and Customs, within section 18(2)(a)(i). Therefore there had been no breach of article 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, which required the commissioners to maintain confidentiality of information about a taxpayer’s affairs.’

WLR Daily, 4th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Nuptial Agreements: The Search for Intention – Family Law Week

‘Ben Wooldridge, pupil at 1 Hare Court, reviews the court’s treatment of nuptial agreements since Radmacher v Granatino [2010] UKSC 42, highlighting emerging trends and the growing significance of the parties’ intentions in determining enforceability.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 5th MArch 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Cyril Smith abuse allegations: Cabinet Office denies cover-up – The Guardian

‘Documents released to Mail on Sunday reveal Margaret Thatcher knew of child abuse allegations against Rochdale MP before he was given knighthood.’

Full story

The Guardian, 8th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev – WLR Daily

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev [2015] EWCA Civ 139; [2015] WLR (D) 94

‘Under the terms of a freezing order the court had jurisdiction to order a member of a class of beneficiaries under a discretionary trust to make disclosure of the details of the trust and the trust assets.’

WLR Daily, 27th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Disclosure and Barring Service checks: an individual’s rights – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 3rd, 2015 in criminal records, data protection, disclosure, employment, news, vetting by sally

‘Another of my articles has considered s56 of the Data Protection Act, which makes it an offence for an employer to compel a current or prospective employee to make a data subject access request. These subject access requests can reveal an individual’s spent criminal convictions as well as other sensitive personal information, and are therefore highly invasive and potentially highly prejudicial to an individual’s employment prospects.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Home Secretary announces investigation into collapsed police trial – Home Office

Posted February 27th, 2015 in disclosure, miscarriage of justice, murder, police, press releases, prosecutions by tracey

‘A QC-led investigation into the collapse of a police trial following the wrongful conviction of three people for the murder of Lynette White.’

Full story

Home Office, 26th February 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

JX MX v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (Personal Injury Bar Association and another intervening) – WLR Daily

JX MX v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (Personal Injury Bar Association and another intervening) [2015] EWCA Civ 96 ; [2015] WLR (D) 77

‘The Court of Appeal issued guidelines as to the principles which should apply, on an application for approval of a compromise of a claim of damages for personal injury brought by a child, where the court in the exercise of its power was deciding whether as a matter of necessity to withhold from the public the names of the parties to the litigation.

WLR Daily, 17th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk