Cary v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) – WLR Daily

Cary v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Equality and Human Rights Commission intervening) [2014] EWCA Civ 987; [2014] WLR (D) 320

‘The Court of Appeal gave guidance as to the procedure for the appointment of assessors in discrimination cases under the Equality Act 2010.’

WLR Daily, 17th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Local Authority Focus – July 2014 – Family Law Week

Posted July 18th, 2014 in care orders, costs, equality, fostering, judicial review, local government, news by tracey

‘Sally Gore, barrister, of Fenners Chambers considers recent case law and other developments of particular significance to local authorities.’

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Family Law week, 17th July 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Plan to stop non-residents getting Legal Aid is unlawful, rules High Court – UK Human Rights Blog

‘House of Lords is scheduled to vote on the Government’s proposals for a residence test for access to legal aid, Angela Patrick, Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE considers today’s judgment of the Divisional Court in PLP v Secretary of State for Justice.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th July 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Women bishops vote welcomed by Archbishop of Canterbury – BBC News

Posted July 15th, 2014 in Church of England, clergy, equality, news, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The Archbishop of Canterbury has welcomed the Church of England’s historic vote to allow women to become bishops.’

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BBC News, 15th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Scales of justice still unbalanced for female judges – The Guardian

Posted July 11th, 2014 in child abuse, diversity, equality, inquiries, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

‘The lord chief justice admitted progress on diversity is too slow, while Chris Grayling’s offer of ‘partnership’ should be eyed warily.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Marriage certificate could include mothers’ name – BBC News

Posted July 7th, 2014 in documents, equality, marriage, names, news by sally

‘Mothers’ names could be included on marriage certificates in England and Wales, under plans being considered by the Home Office.’

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BBC News, 4th July 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Black female officer discriminated against by Met Police, tribunal finds – Daily Telegraph

‘Britain’s biggest force faces a large compensation claim as a tribunal rules Carol Howard was treated unfairly because of her sex and race.’

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Daily Telegraph, 1st July 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Project pits women’s success stories against “negative narrative of diversity debate” – Legal Futures

Posted June 30th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, equality, legal profession, news, solicitors, statistics, women by sally

‘A five-year project to celebrate the achievements of women lawyers has been launched, culminating at the centenary of the Act of Parliament which abolished the bar on their entry into the profession.’

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Legal Futures, 27th June 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The debate over British values and human rights – whose Magna Carta is it anyway? –

Posted June 18th, 2014 in equality, human rights, magna carta, news, rule of law by sally

‘This Monday (16 June) was Magna Carta Day. It is now less than a year until the 800th anniversary of the sealing of England’s oldest charter of rights, and one of the world’s most influential legal documents.’

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Legal Week, 18th June 2014

Source: www.legalweek.com

University of Wales Trinity St David men awarded £460,000 – BBC News

Posted June 9th, 2014 in equality, news, remuneration, sex discrimination, universities by sally

‘Eighteen men unhappy at being paid less than their female colleagues at a university have been awarded a total of £460,000 in back pay.’


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BBC News, 7th June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New Equality objectives for 2014-15 – Bar Standards Board

Posted June 4th, 2014 in barristers, disclosure, diversity, equality, harassment, press releases by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has developed and adopted five new equality objectives for 2014-15.’

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Bar Standards Board, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Woman abused by stepfather fights for compensation – Daily Telegraph

‘A woman who was sexually abused by her stepfather for more than a decade will today bring a landmark legal case in an attempt to overturn rules which bar her from claiming compensation from public funds.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st May 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Discrimination and political membership – should we revisit Redfearn? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Under Art 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950, freedom of association is protected. In Redfearn v UK it was held that the UK government had violated Mr Redfearn’s Art 11 right as the UK had not taken reasonable measures to protect employees such as him from dismissal on grounds of political affiliation. The government’s response, although following a suggestion of the court, could mean that the wider issues in Redfearn may yet have to be visited again.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th May 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Graham Gee and Kate Malleson: Judicial Appointments, Diversity and the Equal Merit Provision – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted May 7th, 2014 in diversity, equality, judiciary, news by sally

‘One of the changes introduced by the Crime and Courts Act 2013 was to amend section 63 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which provides that the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) must select candidates for judicial office ‘solely on merit’. Schedule 13 of the 2013 Act clarified that making selections solely on merit does not prevent the JAC from recommending a candidate on the basis of improving diversity on the bench where there are two candidates of equal merit. This is variously known as the ‘equal merit’, ‘tie-break’ or ‘tipping point’ provision and derives from s 159 of the Equality Act 2010. After a consultation exercise last summer, the JAC last month published its policy on how it will implement the equal merit provision. In this post, we draw on research conducted as part of an AHRC-funded project on The Politics of Judicial Independence to explain why the JAC’s policy is disappointingly cautious, limits the prospect of further progress on diversity and offers further evidence of what we believe is the excessive judicial influence on judicial appointments.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th May 2014

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Gender inequality at the senior Bar – The Future of Law

Posted April 25th, 2014 in barristers, equality, judiciary, news, queen's counsel, women by sally

‘On 12 March 2014 Lord Neuberger gave the Rainbow Lecture on Diversity. The lecture concluded with an explicit reference to the duty of all those involved in the legal profession and judiciary to improve the inclusiveness of the legal world.’

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The Future of Law, 24th April 2014

Source: www.futureoflaw.lexisnexis.co.uk

Cornish to be given ‘national minority’ status – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 24th, 2014 in equality, human rights, minorities, news, race discrimination by tracey

‘Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announces the Cornish will be given same status as people from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.’

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Daily Telegraph, 24th April 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Spoiling the Broth – NearlyLegal

‘Blake and others v LB Waltham Forest [2014] EWHC 1027 (Admin) is a judicial review challenge to the local authority’s decision to terminate a licence held by Christian Kitchen (the 3rd Claimant) to operate its soup kitchen out of the Mission Grove Car Park, Walthamstow, London, E17.’

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NearlyLegal, 13th April 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Supermarket staff could win millions in equal pay cases – The Guardian

Posted April 14th, 2014 in compensation, employment, equality, news, remuneration, women by sally

‘Supermarkets may have to pay millions of pounds in higher wages and back pay to store staff, mainly women, if test cases for equal pay being brought by 400 workers are successful.’

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The Guardian, 11th April 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Shocking justice gap for disabled prisoners – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘It is Prison Service policy that prisons provide a fair and equal service to all prisoners, including to those who are disabled. The purpose of this policy is to make sure that the Prison Service meets its obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA). However, for many disabled prisoners, these obligations are not being met.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 4th April 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Landmark legal case to rule whether GP exam ‘discriminates’ against Asian and black doctors – The Independent

‘Hundreds of black and Asian doctors have had promising careers “halted” because of racial discrimination in the way GPs are examined, a leading doctor has claimed, before a landmark High Court hearing in which two pillars of the medical establishment will be accused of breaching equality laws.’

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The Independent, 6th April 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk