Fracking protesters walk free after court quashes ‘excessive’ sentences – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2018 in appeals, demonstrations, environmental protection, fracking, news, nuisance, sentencing by sally

‘Three protesters jailed for blocking access to a fracking site have walked free after the court of appeal quashed their sentences, calling them “manifestly excessive”.’

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The Guardian, 17th October 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Row over holiday park sees permission granted for second judicial review – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 17th, 2018 in environmental protection, judicial review, local government, news, planning by sally

‘Folkestone & Hythe District Council faces its second judicial review in a year over a dispute concerning a proposed holiday park.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Environmental Law and the core of legal learning: framing the future of environmental lawyers – OUP Blog

Posted October 16th, 2018 in environmental protection, legal education, news, solicitors, universities by sally

‘Environmental law has not been taught or seen as a ‘core’ legal subject, giving environmental law academics freedom to teach the subject in many different ways. This structural sidelining, however, belies important questions about how teaching environmental law relates to the core of legal learning. We are not suggesting that there is a core of environmental law knowledge that every student should learn (although there is lots to learn), but that it is important to reflect on whether there are core legal concepts, reasoning processes and skills that all environmental lawyers should have. This issue is now particularly pertinent as the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England and Wales is ‘releasing’ the LLB from its conventional structure of core legal subjects, so that existing assumptions about how environmental law relates to the core of (undergraduate) legal learning are up for grabs.’

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OUP Blog, 15th October 2018

Source: blog.oup.com

Lord Carnwath at the Justice Human Rights Law Conference 2018, London – Supreme Court

‘Lord Carnwath at the Justice Human Rights Law Conference 2018, London. Human Rights and the Environment.’

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Supreme Court, 10th October 2018

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Injunction seeks to halt start of fracking at Lancashire site – BBC News

Posted October 8th, 2018 in energy, environmental protection, fracking, injunctions, news by sally

‘An injunction has been lodged to halt the start of fracking at one of the UK’s first horizontal exploration wells.’

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BBC News, 5th October 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Who can complain of statutory nuisance? – Nearly Legal

Posted October 2nd, 2018 in complaints, environmental protection, housing, news, nuisance by sally

‘The question in the rather wonderfully titled Watkins v Aged Merchant Seamen’s Homes & Anor (2018) EWHC 2410 (Admin) was whether a former licensee who remained in occupation after a possession order could bring a complaint of statutory nuisance under Environmental Protection Act 1990 and ‘prove’ the condition of the property at the time of the hearing in the Magistrates Court. There are all sorts of things flying about in the background of this judgment, including off stage judicial review proceedings, but the key issue is what sort of status an occupier has to have to bring (and continue) an EPA 1990 prosecution.’

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Nearly Legal, 30th September 2018

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Government faces court action over ‘illegal’ planning policy – The Guardian

Posted September 4th, 2018 in energy, environmental protection, local government, news, planning by sally

‘The government is facing a legal challenge over its new planning policy, which campaigners say was illegally adopted because the government failed to assess its environmental impact.’

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The Guardian, 4th September 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sheffield tree protest council has legal costs of £413k – BBC News

Posted September 3rd, 2018 in costs, demonstrations, environmental protection, jurisdiction, news, trees by sally

‘More than £413,000 has been spent by Sheffield City Council on legal proceedings against tree felling protestors, the BBC has learned.’

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BBC News, 3rd September 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Civil penalties for offshore environment breaches in force from October – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 17th, 2018 in environmental protection, news, offshore installations, penalties by sally

‘A new civil penalty regime for environmental law breaches by offshore oil and gas companies will come into force on 1 October 2018.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th August 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Badger campaigners lose high court battle to limit cull – The Guardian

Posted August 16th, 2018 in animals, environmental protection, news by sally

‘Badger culling will be extended across England on an open-ended basis, conservationists have warned, after the high court rejected a challenge to the legality of the government’s policy.’

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The Guardian, 15th August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Valued Landscapes – A Legal Perspective – No. 5 Chambers

Posted August 6th, 2018 in environmental protection, news, parks, planning by sally

‘“Valued landscapes” have become a frequent and significant feature in planning decision making since the advent of the National Planning Policy Framework (the “NPPF”).’

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No. 5 Chambers, 4th July 2018

Source: www.no5.com

Environmental Law News Update – Six Pump Court

Posted August 6th, 2018 in brexit, EC law, environmental protection, fire, health & safety, news, sentencing by sally

‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Laura Phillips, Mark Davies and Angelica Rokad consider a parliamentary report on the Government’s 25 year plan for the environment, the Brexit White Paper and a recent Court of Appeal case clarifying sentencing in fire safety cases.’

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Six Pump Court, 30th July 2018

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Parent Company Liability for Human Rights Abuses in the UK? We Need Clarity – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘The liability of parent companies for the extraterritorial human rights abuses committed by their subsidiaries has increasingly become a critical topic for both corporate and human rights litigators. The absence of national and international laws comprehensively addressing this issue created a space for creative arguments for and against holding parent companies of multinational groups incorporated in home States accountable for the human rights abuses committed by their subsidiaries in host States.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 24th July 2018

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Battle lines drawn as papers filed in VW case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The law firm taking Volkswagen (VW) to court on behalf of more than 50,000 UK car owners has accused the car giant of insulting consumers’ intelligence by refusing to admit wrongdoing in the alleged emissions cheating scandal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th July 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Environment watchdog agrees first enforcement undertaking over odours – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Environment Agency has for the first time accepted an enforcement undertaking (EU) for alleged permit breaches relating to odour at an installation.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th June 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

UK inquiry opened into carbon capture, usage and storage – OUT-LAW.com

‘A UK parliamentary committee is to scrutinise how the government plans to reduce emissions and meet its climate change targets should the cost of using carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) solutions not fall.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 31st May 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

Businessman illegally raised value of home by chopping down protected trees – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 2nd, 2018 in environmental protection, news, proceeds of crime, sale of land, trees by tracey

‘A wealthy businessman illegally cut down 11 protected trees on his land to give himself a bigger back garden, a court has heard.’

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Daily Telegraph, 2nd May 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Throttling Environmental Information – Panopticon

Posted April 27th, 2018 in environmental protection, freedom of information, news by tracey

‘As is so often the way in information rights, the Upper Tribunal reaches a perfectly sensible decision and gives practical guidance which others can actually apply, only for the Court of Appeal to insist on saying mostly the same thing but less clearly and less helpfully. As a result, the Upper Tribunal then has to reconsider the area and steer the law back to a productive course. So it was in Department for Transport & Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency & Porsche Cars GB Ltd v Information Commissioner & Cieslik [2018] UKUT 127 (AAC) (Cieslik), on the – to put it politely – potential interpretative difficulties on the issue of the meaning of “environmental information” under the EIR following the ‘guidance’ of the Court of Appeal in Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy v Information Commissioner & Henney [2017] EWCA Civ 844 (see here). And the judgment of Judge Markus QC in Cieslik is a genuinely important and valuable exercise in course correction.’

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Panopticon, 27th April 2018

Source: panopticonblog.com

Badger cull fueling illegal wildlife crimes, charities claim – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 17th, 2018 in animals, crime, environmental protection, news, reports by tracey

‘The badger cull is fuelling hundreds of illegal wildlife crimes every year, charities have warned as they claimed the authorised slaughter is responsible for the trend. Nearly 1,300 incidents involving wildlife were recorded in 2016 alone, a report has found. The actual number of incidents is also likely to be “far greater” as the Home Office currently categorises many of the crimes as miscellaneous.’

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Daily Telegraph, 16th April 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dog walker and council both claim success in High Court ruling on PSPO – Local Government Lawyer

‘A resident and dog walker has partially won a High Court challenge to a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) brought in by the London Borough of Richmond. However, the council said the two provisions that were quashed by the judge were only “minor prohibitions” and the bulk of the order remained intact.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th April 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk