Reoffending reforms – no refinement of relevance – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted March 11th, 2014 in criminal records, disclosure, disqualification, employment, news, rehabilitation by tracey

‘The Government has today announced their long-awaited reforms to disclosure of previous convictions for rehabilitated offenders.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th March 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Recent Developments In Tax Planning From A European Perspective: The Impact on Off Shore Jurisdictions – Six Pump Court

Posted March 10th, 2014 in disclosure, EC law, money laundering, news, taxation, trusts by sally

‘As part of a pan European project to cut down on alleged illicit money laundering through financial institutions and legally created entities such as companies, foundations and trusts, the European Union has launched its fourth anti-money laundering Directive.’

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Six Pump Court, 7th March 2014

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Clare’s law letting women know if partner has abusive past rolled out – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2014 in criminal records, disclosure, domestic violence, news by sally

‘Women will be able to find out if their partners have an abusive past as the domestic violence disclosure scheme – known as Clare’s law – is rolled out across every police force across England and Wales.’

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The Guardian, 8th March 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Reporting Restrictions and the New Transparency – Part 2 – Family Law Week

‘In the second part of her article reviewing reporting restriction orders and the new transparency Mary Lazarus, barrister of 42 Bedford Row, considers those cases involving aggrieved parties and cases with international implications.’

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Family Law Week, 4th March 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Fraudulent non-disclosure: the latest Chapter – Family Law Week

‘Sarah Foreman, a solicitor at Vardags, analyses the Court of Appeal judgment in Sharland v. Sharland.’

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Family Law Week, 28th February 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

FOIA disclosures: ‘motive blindness’ and risks to mental health – Panopticon

Posted February 27th, 2014 in disclosure, freedom of information, mental health, news, tribunals by sally

‘Some FOIA ‘mantras’ frustrate requesters, such as judging matters as at the time of the request/refusal, regardless of subsequent events. Others tend to frustrate public authorities, such as ‘motive blindness’. A recent Tribunal discusses and illustrates both principles – in the context of the distress (including a danger to mental health) likely to arise from disclosure.’

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Panopticon, 26th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Prince Charles’s letters: recipients’ identities must stay secret, say lawyers – The Guardian

Posted February 27th, 2014 in appeals, confidentiality, disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, veto by sally

‘The identities of the ministers who received confidential letters from Prince Charles promoting his personal views must remain concealed, government lawyers argued on Wednesday.’

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The Guardian, 26th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Grayling defends JR intervention reforms – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 26th, 2014 in bills, costs, disclosure, judicial review, news by tracey

‘Justice secretary Chris Grayling has told MPs his plans for judicial reviews will stop pressure groups using individuals as “financial human shields” to bring cases.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 25th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Papers about Profumo scandal man ‘should be public’ – BBC News

‘A decision to keep documents relating to a man who was at the centre of the Profumo sex scandal hidden should be overturned, a leading lawyer has said. The Information Commissioner is to be asked to overrule a decision by the National Archives to keep the documents about the trial of Stephen Ward hidden.’

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BBC News, 25th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Decision to block Prince Charles’s letters challenged – BBC News

Posted February 25th, 2014 in appeals, attorney general, disclosure, freedom of information, news, royal family, veto by sally

‘A move by the government to block the release of letters from Prince of Wales to ministers are being challenged in the Court of Appeal.’

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BBC News, 24th February 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New evidence delays coroner’s ruling on death of soldier who said she was raped – The Guardian

Posted February 25th, 2014 in armed forces, disclosure, evidence, inquests, news, rape by sally

‘A coroner’s ruling into the death of a soldier who said she had been raped and bullied has been unexpectedly delayed after lawyers for the military revealed they had uncovered new documents, including a reference to a diary and mobile phones the woman’s family say were never passed to them.’

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The Guardian, 24th February 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

What to do if your organisation is the victim of a fraud attack – OUT-LAW.com

Posted February 21st, 2014 in banking, computer crime, disclosure, fraud, news by sally

‘The trial of five people accused of stealing millions of pounds from UK banks using computer technology to access bank accounts has emphasised how vulnerable even the biggest and most secure organisations can be to fraud.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st February 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Use of disclosed documents – Panopticon

Posted February 10th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, closed material, disclosure, documents, injunctions, news by tracey

‘The important general principle is of course that a party to whom a document has been disclosed in litigation may use that document only for the purpose of the proceedings in which it is disclosed. There are, nonetheless, three significant exceptions to that principle, set out in CPR r31.22(1).’

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Panopticon, 7th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

High Court to consider Data Protection Act bid to halt reporting of corruption allegations – Panopticon

‘Can the Data Protection Act 1998 (“DPA”) be used to prevent a respected NGO from reporting allegations of corruption by a multi-billion dollar international mining conglomerate? That is the stark question posed by Steinmetz and others v Global Witness Limited, a recently issued High Court DPA Claim.’

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Panopticon, 10th February 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Claimant faces record costs after tribunal – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 10th, 2014 in costs, disclosure, employment tribunals, equality, local government, news by tracey

‘An employment tribunal has ordered a claimant who unsuccessfully took a local authority to tribunal to pay record costs for an individual.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

RC v CC and another – WLR Daily

Posted February 5th, 2014 in adoption, children, Court of Protection, disclosure, human rights, law reports by sally

RC v CC and another [2014] EWHC 131 (COP); [2014] WLR (D) 43

‘The jurisdiction to refuse disclosure of materials to the parties in children cases was clearly established and the same fundamental principles applied in cases relating to incapacitated adults in the Court of Protection. The test to be applied was that of “strict necessity” and the question was whether it was necessary, in the interests of the incapacitated person, for the information not to be disclosed.’

WLR Daily, 30th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Secret hearings could allow police to seize journalists’ notes if bill passes – The Guardian

Posted February 3rd, 2014 in bills, closed material, disclosure, inquiries, media, news, police by tracey

‘The seizure of journalists’ notebooks, photographs and digital files could be conducted in secret hearings, owing to a little-publicised clause in a government bill aimed at cutting red tape, media organisations have warned. Requests for notebooks, computer disks, photographs or videos must currently be made in open court and representatives of news groups can be present. But the clause – in the deregulation bill, which comes before the Commons on Monday – significantly alters the way courts consider so-called “production orders”, stripping out current safeguards.’

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The Guardian, 31st January 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A Practical Guide To POCA & Unused Material: A Defence Perspective – Six Pump Court

Posted January 29th, 2014 in confiscation, criminal procedure, defence, disclosure, news, prosecutions by sally

‘It is easy to forget or overlook the fact that the Criminal Procedure & Investigations Act 1996 applies equally to confiscation proceedings as it does to the substantive criminal proceedings that have resulted in the defendant being convicted in the first place (something that prosecutors do themselves on a regular basis and only appreciate its significance when the contents of their own website are brought to their attention, see “Chapter 21: Disclosure of Unused Material Created in the Course of Financial Investigations”).’

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Six Pump Court, 29th January 2014

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) – WLR Daily

ZZ (France) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (No 2) [2014] EWCA Civ 7; [2014] WLR (D) 26

‘Where the state authority refused to permit a citizen of the European Union admission to the United Kingdom on grounds of public security, the national court had to ensure, as a minimum requirement, that he was informed of the essence of the grounds of the decision. While the manner in which that was done had to take due account of the necessary confidentiality of the related evidence against him, the need to protect such confidentiality was not capable of justifying non-disclosure of the essence of the grounds.’

WLR Daily, 24th January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Freedom of Information: But What is Information? The Upper Tribunal Opines – Panopticon

Posted January 29th, 2014 in appeals, disclosure, documents, freedom of information, interpretation, news, tribunals by sally

‘We all know that section 1 gives us a right to request information from listed public authorities, but what does “information” mean? Information is defined by section 84 of FOIA (“‘information’ (subject to sections 51(8) and 75(2)) means information recorded in any form”). This somewhat opaque definition has generally been treated as meaning that a request is for information. It is not for copies of documents. If the public authority wants to type out the document in a different format, they can, so long as the information contained within that document is provided.’

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Panopticon, 28th January 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com