“The British government’s human rights record since the attacks of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq is facing ferocious criticism from a United Nations panel, which warns that prompt action is needed to ensure the country meets its obligations under international law.”
The Guardian, 31st May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“On 22 April 2013 the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in refusing to pay for a lawyer to assist Lindsay Sandiford as she faces the death penalty for drug offences in Indonesia. Last Wednesday, they handed down the reasons for their decision.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 29th May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Thousands of criminals, including burglars, will be allowed to work in hospitals, schools and care homes after senior judges ruled that criminal record checks were breaching offenders’ human rights.”
Daily Telegraph, 29th May 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Three British Christians who claimed their religious rights were violated by employers were told by European judges today that they could take their rejected cases no further.”
The Independent, 28th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Laing v The Queen [2013] UKPC 14; [2013] WLR (D) 198
Although the giving of reasons for dismissing an appeal against conviction was an important part of an appellant’s entitlement to a fair hearing of the appeal, if the conviction were otherwise sound it did not have to be quashed simply because of the failure to give reasons.
WLR Daily, 14th May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The high court has called for a new approach to an inquiry into allegations that British troops committed ‘terrifying acts of brutality’ following the invasion of Iraq.”
The Guardian, 24th May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
SS (Nigeria) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: [2013] EWCA Civ 550; [2013] WLR (D) 192
“A claim under article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms made in reliance on the interests of a child with British citizenship by a foreign criminal seeking to resist deportation under section 32 of the UK Borders Act 2007 needed to be very strong to prevail given the pressing public interest in removal and the great weight to be attached to the policy of deporting foreign criminals by virtue of its origin in primary legislation. Only in extremely rare circumstances should a tribunal exercise an inquisitorial function on its own initiative in evaluating the interests of such a child.”
WLR Daily, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“Much of the House of Lords debate surrounding yesterday’s Second Reading of the Care and Support Bill focused on seeking solutions to complex issues around the future provision of care. Additionally, as several peers flagged, the Bill also provides a timely opportunity to clarify which bodies have legal obligations to uphold protections under the Human Rights Act. Baroness Campbell noted ‘those who receive their care not from a public authority but from a private body lack the full protection of the Human Rights Act…[This] is a loophole that must be closed.'”
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“One of the first cases to be heard by the government’s new generation of secret courts may be a claim brought by a Libyan dissident who was kidnapped along with his pregnant wife and flown to one of Muammar Gaddafi’s prisons.”
The Guardian, 21st May 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Controversial plans to protect the identity of suspects arrested by police were in disarray last night after the Director of Public Prosecutions called for more ‘wriggle room’ to name suspects before they were charged.”
The Independent, 21st May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill is back before Parliament today for the ‘Report Stage’. The latest version of the Bill is here, updated explanatory notes here, and the full list of proposed amendments here. Predictably, the amendments are the focus of much controversy.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 20th May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Immigration has proved a toxic issue for recent Home Office ministers. In 2004 home secretary David Blunkett resigned following revelations that a visa application had been fast-tracked. Immigration minister Beverley Hughes resigned after admitting she ‘unwittingly’ misled people about a suspected visa ‘scam’. Charles Clarke resigned as home secretary in 2006 after intense pressure over the release of foreign prisoners who could have been deported at the end of their custodial term.”
Law Society’s Gazette, 20th May 2013
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
“Radical cleric Abu Qatada will launch a fresh bid for freedom today as he seeks to be released from prison at an immigration tribunal.”
The Independent, 20th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“One of the most contentious proposals in the Consultation Paper on the transforming legal aid is the removal of client choice in criminal cases. Under the proposals contracts for the provision of legal aid will be awarded to a limited number of firms in an area. The areas are similar to the existing CPS areas. The Green Paper anticipates that there will be four or five such providers in each area. Thus the county of Kent, for example, will have four or five providers in an area currently served by fifty or so legal aid firms. Each area will have a limited number providers that will offer it is argued economies of scale.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 16th May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May): In accordance with section 20(2), 20(3), 20(4) and 20(5) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (David Anderson QC) prepared a report on the operation of the Act in 2012, which I laid before the House on 14 March 2013.”
Home Office, 16th May 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/home-office
“A legal test is set to begin into the government’s decision to cut housing benefit for recipients living in properties that have a spare room.”
BBC News, 15th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Where it was established on a balance of probabilities that a delay in holding a hearing before the Parole Board, in violation of art 5.4 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, had resulted in the detention of a prisoner beyond the date when he would otherwise have been released, damages should ordinarily be awarded as compensation for the resultant detention.”
WLR Daily, 1st May 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“A 93-year-old former British serviceman vowed to spend the rest of his life, if necessary, fighting for the right to vote after Strasbourg judges rejected his case.”
The Independent, 7th May 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Regina (JL) v Secretary of State for Defence [2013] EWCA Civ 449; [2013] WLR (D) 161
The occupant of a house was entitled to rely upon article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, entitling the occupant to a proportionality review, by way of opposition to the enforcement of a possession order already obtained by the owner in the exceptional circumstances where there had been a substantial change of circumstances which gave rise for the first time to an article 8 issue which neither was nor could have been pursued prior to the making of the possession order.
WLR Daily, 30th April 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
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