‘Sarah Hutchinson summarises recent Family Division rulings on an application by a father for a boy subject to a care order to be circumcised, and an application by an NHS for permission for NG feeding and restraint in respect of a 12-year old girl with anorexia nervosa.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th November 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A former soldier who posted a series of anti-Islamic messages on Facebook has been jailed.’
BBC News, 18th November 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A Muslim football coach was prevented from playing in a match because she wears tracksuit bottoms rather than shorts: she says that wearing shorts compromises her religious beliefs.’
Law & Religion UK, 31st October 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The London School of Economics has been criticised by a UN rapporteur and accused of Islamophobia after reportedly raising an allegation that students behind a pro-Palestine demonstration in July had prompted fears of a repeat of the 7/7 terrorist attacks.’
The Guardian, 20th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Religious hate crimes in England and Wales have soared by 25% to record levels, coinciding with the Israel-Hamas conflict, government statistics show.’
The Guardian, 10th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A man who used a fake name to send “vile” racist messages on a messaging app with thousands of members to provoke violence has been jailed for two years and four months.’
BBC News, 18th September 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Dozens of Muslim organisations have called for the government to “take concrete steps” to tackle Islamophobia in the wake of the far-right riots.’
The Independent, 28th August 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A judge has jailed the Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary for life with a minimum term of 28 years for running a banned terrorist organisation, telling him: “I cannot foresee a time when you will cease to be dangerous.”’
The Guardian, 30th July 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In Re XY [2024] EWCOP 37 Mr Justice Hayden was called on to consider the best interests of a patient at the end of his life. XY, a 66-year-old man, was admitted to the hospital in December 2023 with pneumonia, and whilst there he suffered a cardiac arrest. Had that happened at home he would likely have died, but the medical staff at the hospital were able to resuscitate him. Over the subsequent days, however, he suffered from significant multi-organ failure and entered a prolonged disorder of consciousness.’
Law & Religion UK, 29th July 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘The Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been found guilty of directing the terrorist group al-Muhajiroun (ALM) and drumming up cross-border support for the banned organisation online.’
The Guardian, 23rd July 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The relationship between Islam, religious freedom, and human rights has long been a subject of debate in Britain. However, the significance of the latest instalment in this saga, the judgment of R v Michaela Community Schools Trust, lies not in Islam’s relationship with secularism or human rights but instead in illustrating the incoherence of British ideas on freedom of religion.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 16th May 2024
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘What is the correct approach to determining the suitability of accommodation when the applicant’s circumstances engage rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)? This is an issue of general public importance affecting local authorities discharging homelessness duties under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996. Who says? Andrews LJ, when she directed that an appeal from Mr Rabah Ghaoui should proceed to a hearing.’
Law Society's Gazette, 14th May 2024
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The case of R (TTT) v Michaela Community Schools Trust [2024] EWHC 843 (Admin) in the High Court before Mr Justice Linden concerned a claim brought by a pupil referred to as a TTT (“the Claimant”) against the Michaela Community Schools Trust; (“the School”). The School is a secular secondary free school in the London Borough of Brent, which appeared as an interested party. The School is ethnically and religiously diverse, although over half of the pupils, including the Claimant are Muslims.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 15th May 2024
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Girls at a Bradford primary school told Ofsted inspectors they are treated differently to boys during an inspection last September.’
BBC News, 7th May 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In Ghaoui v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2024] EWCA Civ 405, Mr Ghaoui, his wife and two young children lived in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. They were rendered homeless in April 2019 and Mr Ghaoui applied to the local authority for assistance with accommodation. In September 2019, he sent his older child to a fee-paying Muslim nursery in Waltham Forest [2]. The family was evicted in March 2020 and Waltham Forest LBC provided temporary accommodation in the Harlow area, some 20 miles from their previous address, which made it harder for the parents to get to work in London and for the child to go to the nursery [3]. In early September 2022, the younger child entered the same nursery [5]. Mr Ghaoui argued that in offering them accommodation 20 miles from the school, Waltham Forest was “not considering their rights”, while Waltham Forest explained at some length that it was not under any legal duty to provide accommodation that allowed the children to attend a specific religious school: in short, it was not a housing “need” [6]. The point at issue was whether or not the local authority was, in fact, under any such obligation.’
Law & Religion UK, 1st May 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘A coroner has ruled the deaths of three people in the Reading terror attack were ”probably avoidable” as he delivered his conclusion following an inquest at the Old Bailey on Friday.’
The Independent, 27th April 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A 45-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering a complete stranger, telling police he wanted to kill people because of the conflict in Gaza.’
The Guardian, 25th April 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The media reports of the last few months highlight how controversial and charged the decision in R (on the Application of TTT) v Michaela School [2024] EWHC 843 (Admin) is. There is much to unpack and debate about the High Court’s 83-page judgment, not least how the secular approach held to be lawful in the judgment sits with a legal framework that continues to favour Christianity in terms of laws on collective worship and the teaching of religion in school.’
Law & Religion UK, 19th April 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘In R (TTT, by her mother and litigation friend UUU) v Michaela Community Schools Trust & Anor [2024] EWHC 842 (Admin), the school’s governing body decided in 2023 to prohibit its pupils from performing prayer rituals on its premises after the Headteacher had banned them as an interim measure. That policy applied to all prayer rituals, regardless of religion, but there was no evidence that pupils of any religion other than Islam wished to perform prayer rituals during the school day. Muslims are required to pray five times a day. The claimant, a Muslim, accepted that the requirements of the school day meant that she would not always be able to fulfil that obligation during the appropriate period; however, she wished to be allowed to perform the midday prayer [Duhr], which during the autumn and winter months would be possible during the school lunch break – which, she argued, was “free time”.’
Law & Religion UK, 17th April 2024
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
‘A high court decision to uphold a prayer ban at one of the highest performing state schools in England has been welcomed by Rishi Sunak and Kemi Badenoch, who described it as a “victory against activists trying to subvert our public institutions”.’
The Guardian, 16th April 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2024