Prisoners serving less than a year should be allowed to vote, says Parliamentary committee – The Independent

Posted December 18th, 2013 in bills, elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

‘Prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less should be given the vote, the Government is today told by an all-party parliamentary committee.’

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The Independent, 18th December 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Cormac Mac Amhlaigh: Once More Unto the (Public/Private) Breach …: s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Severability Thesis – UK Constitutional Law Group

‘Two interesting recent blog posts dealt with the meaning of public and private under s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998. They were motivated by injunction proceedings in the High court whereby the Olympic Delivery Authority, (ODA) the body charged with the logistics and infrastructure of the London Olympic Games, had sought injunctions to restrain protestors from entering and occupying land which was to be developed as part of the Olympic site. The main issues emerging from this case discussed in the two posts was whether the ODA constituted a ‘core’ or ‘hybrid’ public authority under s. 6 HRA; whether it could itself enjoy human rights to defeat or counter any human rights obligations it may hold in its capacity as a ‘hybrid’ body exercising public functions; and where the ‘centre of gravity’ for determining the human rights obligations of hybrid bodies lay under the Act; under the s. 6(3)(b) ‘public function’ test or the definition of ‘private act’ under s. 6(5).’

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 13th December 2013

Source: www.ukconstituionallaw.org

University segregation guidance – manifesting, not imposing, beliefs – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Controversy has been sparked by the guidance issued by Universities UK entitled External speakers in higher education institutions on the question of gender segregation in university talks.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th December 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

The need for Gypsies and Travellers to respond to the Government’s balance of competences review on fundamental rights – Garden Court Chambers Blog

Posted December 16th, 2013 in complaints, EC law, evidence, human rights, news, travellers by sally

‘Marc Willers explains why it is so important that Gypsies and Travellers respond to the Government’s balance of competences review on fundamental rights by submitting evidence before 13 January 2014.

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Garden Court Chambers Blog, 13th December 2013

Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com

‘We tinker with assisted suicide laws at our peril’, warns Baroness Butler-Sloss – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 16th, 2013 in appeals, assisted suicide, bills, human rights, judges, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Baroness Butler-Sloss’s message as Supreme Court considers landmark right-to-die challenge.’

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Daily Telegraph, 15th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prisoners ‘damn well shouldn’t’ be given right to vote, says David Cameron – The Guardian

Posted December 16th, 2013 in compensation, EC law, elections, freedom of movement, human rights, news, prisons by sally

‘Prisoners “damn well shouldn’t” be given the right to vote, David Cameron said as he called for the powers of European court of human rights to be restricted.’

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The Guardian, 13th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Committee says proposed legal aid cuts may breach human rights – The Guardian

‘Chris Grayling is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing, the chair of an influential all-party backbench committee has suggested. Oscar Wilde’s cynical jibe was twice put to the justice secretary when he gave evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights on 26 November and was then repeated by Dr Hywel Francis, a Labour MP, when he launched its report today.’

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The Guardian, 13th December 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Right-to-die challenge reaches Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted December 16th, 2013 in appeals, assisted suicide, human rights, news, prosecutions, Supreme Court by sally

‘Campaigners for the right to die are to have their arguments heard by the Supreme Court in the latest round of their legal battle.’

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BBC News, 16th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Official watchdog says university sex segregation plans ‘not permissible’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 13th, 2013 in education, equality, human rights, Islam, news, sex discrimination, universities by sally

‘Exclusive: The Equality and Human Rights Commission steps into the row over controversial guidelines which said gender segregation on campus should be allowed.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Law as a New Religion and Other Topics – Gresham College

Posted December 12th, 2013 in human rights, legal education, legal profession, news, speeches by sally

‘Law is everywhere providing answers to almost everything. Ever larger numbers of students want to be part of the legal mechanisms that control us, regulate us and take over from politicians when politicians sense their own incapability. It is almost a new religion. In this lecture – and in the discussion to follow – some of the issues dealt with in earlier years by Professor Bogdanor (such as in his lectures, Judges or Legislators: Who Should Rule?, The Judges and the Constitution and The Human Rights Act: Cornerstone of a New Constitution) will be reviewed as will the effect of Europe on our law.’

Transcript

Gresham College, 4th December 2013

Source: www.gresham.ac.uk

Court of Appeal calls on Supreme Court to resolve conflict between UK and Strasbourg law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 12th, 2013 in appeals, delay, detention, human rights, imprisonment, news, Supreme Court, treaties by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that continued detention in prison following the expiry of the “minimum terms” or “tariff periods” of their indeterminate terms of imprisonment did not breach prisoners’ Convention or common law rights, but has left it to the Supreme Court to determine the substance of the Convention claims in detail.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Regina (Kaiyam) v Secretary of State for Justice; Regina (Haney) v Same – WLR Daily

Regina (Kaiyam) v Secretary of State for Justice; Regina (Haney) v Same [2013] EWCA Civ 1587; [2013] WLR (D) 480

‘Where, in a case involving alleged breaches of rights under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Court of Appeal was faced with a conflict between decisions of the House of Lords and the European Court of Human Rights, the court could in appropriate circumstances dismiss the appeal and grant permission to appeal to the Supreme Court to resolve the conflict between the domestic law and that of the European Court, without hearing argument or expressing its views on the case.’

WLR Daily, 9th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Reforming the law on walking naked – a lanyard’s length between Convention rights and the English common law – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted December 11th, 2013 in freedom of expression, human rights, indecent exposure, news by sally

‘I can’t help but smile at the thought of the furore that would ensue if (or when) the European Court of Human Rights were to decide that we English are far too uptight and ought not to be offended by nudity.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 10th December 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Gay discrimination and Christian belief: Analysis of Bull v. Hall in the Supreme Court – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The recent confirmation by the Supreme Court that it was unlawful discrimination for Christian hotel owners to refuse a double-bedded room to a same-sex couple was of considerable interest as the latest in a string of high-profile cases involving religious belief and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (and the first such judgment involving the highest court in the land). We have already provided a summary of the facts and judgment here, and our post on the Court of Appeal ruling can be found here.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

A tale of three murderers – BBC News

Posted December 11th, 2013 in human rights, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘Three murderers were sentenced to life imprisonment on one day. The minimum terms set were 18, 27 and 40 years. Why were they so different?’

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BBC News, 11th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Mba v Merton London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Mba v Merton London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 1562; [2013] WLR (D) 474

‘A provision put in place by a council care home requiring a worker who was a Christian whose genuine belief that Sunday was a day of worship and rest to work on Sundays as rostered discriminated against the worker but was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of running the care home effectively.’

WLR Daily, 5th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Continued detention pending removal of failed asylum seeker on hunger strike not unlawful – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Court of Appeal has ruled that the secretary of state for the Home Department had the power to detain an immigration detainee in hospital to ensure that he received appropriate medical treatment pending his removal from the United Kingdom.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Judges to rule on ‘right to die’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 9th, 2013 in appeals, assisted suicide, bills, human rights, judiciary, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A panel of Britain’s most senior judges are preparing to make a landmark ruling over attempts to introduce a ”right to die” under human rights legislation.’

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Daily Telegraph, 8th December 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Mba, Article 9 and Indirect Discrimination – Employment Law Blog

‘Ms Eweida, you may recall, is the British Airways employee who wanted to wear a cross on a necklace over her uniform so that others could see it. She considered that that was a religious belief. Over-simplifying, doing what she wanted to do meant a breach of her employer’s dress code. Ms Eweida complained that, amongst other things, she was the victim of an act of indirect discrimination.’

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Employment Law Blog, 5th December 2013

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

National Security trumps disclosure of Litvinenko secret documents, rules High Court – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs v Assistant Deputy Coroner for Inner North London [2013] EWHC 3724 (Admin). The Foreign Secretary successfully appealed against an order for disclosure of secret documents to the Inquest for the death of former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 5th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com