Category: judgments

Mediation and the judge’s letter to ‘Sam’: judges need to ‘use their imaginations’ – Family Law

Posted October 27th, 2017 in children, dispute resolution, family courts, judges, judgments, news by sally

‘In a recent article Jane Robey makes a serious point about judicial referral of parties to mediation; but she does so by criticising the judgment of Peter Jackson J (now Peter Jackson LJ) and his letter to ‘Sam’. There are lots of things wrong with the family justice system; and take up of mediation is disappointing. To use Peter Jackson J’s direct communication with the subject of the application in his court, as a means of promoting referral to mediation is surely to pick the wrong target?’

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Family Law, 26th October 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Ecclesiastical court judgments – September – Law & Religion UK

Posted October 5th, 2017 in ecclesiastical law, judgments, news by tracey

‘Review of the ecclesiastical court judgments during September 2017.’

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Law & Religion UK, 2nd October 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Modern slavery trial judge investigated over Traveller comments – The Guardian

Posted September 26th, 2017 in complaints, families, judges, judgments, news, trafficking in human beings, travellers by sally

‘A crown court judge is being investigated over comments he made about the Traveller community when sentencing 11 members of the same family for modern slavery offences.’

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The Guardian, 22nd September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Right-to-die cases do not need to go to court, judge rules – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 21st, 2017 in assisted suicide, Court of Protection, euthanasia, judgments, medical treatment, news by sally

‘A judge has made a landmark ruling that legal permission will no longer be required by a court before life-supporting treatment is withdrawn from patients suffering from severely debilitating illnesses, lawyers say.’

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Daily Telegraph, 21st September 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Aarhus costs cap challenge succeeds – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 18th, 2017 in charities, civil procedure rules, costs, EC law, environmental protection, judgments, judicial review, news, private hearings by tracey

‘RSPB, Friends of the Earth & Client Earth v. Secretary of State for Justice [2017] EWHC 2309 (Admin), 15 September 2017, Dove J. In my March 2017 post here, I explained that amendments to the costs rules for public law environmental claims threatened to undo much of the certainty that those rules had achieved since 2013. Between 2013 and February 2017, if you, an individual, had an environmental judicial review, then you could pretty much guarantee that your liability to the other side’s costs would be capped at £5,000 (£10,000 for companies) if you lost, and your recovery of your own costs would be limited to £35,000 if you won. In this way, the rules sought to avoid the cost of such claims becoming prohibitively expensive and thus in breach of Art.9(4) of the Aarhus Convention.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 16th September 2017

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Green groups claim ‘important victory’ in challenge to legal costs rules – The Guardian

Posted September 18th, 2017 in charities, costs, environmental protection, judgments, news, privacy by tracey

‘Conservation and environmental groups have claimed an “important victory” in their high court challenge to new legal costs rules which they say make it much harder to bring cases to protect the environment.’

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The Guardian, 15th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

The Importance of Unreported Judgments – The Barrister

Posted August 30th, 2017 in judgments, law reports, news, precedent, statistics by sally

‘As every barrister knows, precedents matter. To see just how much, you only have to visit the original courtrooms of the Royal Courts of Justice. Next to the bench of each High Court judge, the weighty bound volumes containing the law reports are on full display, adorning the walls, symbolically underpinning the precedents of the common law system which they faithfully record.’

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The Barrister, 29th August 2017

Source: www.barristermagazine.com

Consistory court evidence or “Call My Bluff”: Episode 1 – Law & Religion UK

Posted August 30th, 2017 in Church of England, courts, documents, ecclesiastical law, evidence, judgments, news by sally

‘In our monthly reviews of consistory court judgments, it is not uncommon to encounter assertions in the submissions of petitioners, the amenity societies, and even “experts” which are less than robust. However, in this ecclesiastical variant on “Call My Bluff“, the Chancellor/Commissary-General invariably sees through the weasel words, exaggerations &c, and the published judgments reveal how the perpetrators are diplomatically taken to task, as appropriate. However, whilst statements made on checkable facts are easy to identify, those that transcend the binary “true or bluff” question to matters of opinion or the assessment of a particular “expert” are more complex to assess. The following discussion includes a number of examples on which future petitioners might wish to ponder.’

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Law & Religion UK, 30th August 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Don’t reject legal aid application with ‘tick-box’ letter, judge says – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 25th, 2017 in documents, expert witnesses, fees, judges, judgments, legal aid, news by sally

‘A family judge has told the Legal Aid Agency not to issue a letter ‘almost akin to a tick-box form’ should it refuse to pay an expert’s fee in a case involving a three-month old boy at the centre of care proceedings.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th August 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Judge criticises airport security for ‘erroneously’ thinking pipe bomb was not viable and releasing passenger – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 24th, 2017 in airports, explosives, judgments, news by sally

‘A judge has criticised airport security for making the “erroneous and potentially dangerous” conclusion that a pipe bomb in a passenger’s luggage was not viable, as the would-be attacker was jailed for 18 years.’

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Daily Telegraph, 23rd August 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Who Knows Where the Time Goes? The Recent Decision on Limitation and Contingent Loss in Osborne v. Follett Stock [2017] EWHC 1811 – 4 New Square

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in economic loss, intestacy, judgments, law firms, limitations, limited liability partnerships, negligence, news, time limits, wills by sally

‘On Thursday 13 July 2017, following the trial of a preliminary issue of limitation, HH Judge Paul Matthews handed down judgment in Osborne v. (1) Follett Stock (a firm); (2) Follett Stock LLP.’

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4 New Square, 19th July 2017

Source: www.4newsquare.com

The Case of X: A Wake Up Call – Family Law Week

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in children, detention, family courts, hospitals, judges, judgments, jurisdiction, mental health, news, statistics by sally

‘Michael Jones, barrister, Deans Court Chambers, Manchester, considers the lessons to be learned from the case of X which attracted considerable attention in the mainstream media.’

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Family Law Week, 15th August 2017

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

UK will keep ‘half an eye’ on ECJ rulings after Brexit, says justice minister – The Guardian

Posted August 23rd, 2017 in brexit, dispute resolution, EC law, judgments, jurisdiction, news by sally

‘Justice minister Dominic Raab has conceded the UK would keep “half an eye” on rulings by the European Union’s highest court after Brexit as the government appeared to soften its stance on how heavily the bloc would influence UK law.’

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The Guardian, 23rd August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Britain could be subject to European Court rulings until 2027, it emerges – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 21st, 2017 in EC law, interpretation, judgments, judiciary, news, precedent by sally

‘Britain could be subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice for years after the UK leaves the European Union, it has emerged.’

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Daily Telegraph, 20th August 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Why a computer could help you get a fair trial – The Guardian

Posted August 14th, 2017 in computer programs, data protection, EC law, human rights, international courts, judges, judgments, news by sally

‘Recent research suggests that AI could make a valuable contribution to the judicial process.’

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The Guardian, 13th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge calls for clarity on status of ECJ rulings in UK after Brexit – The Guardian

Posted August 8th, 2017 in brexit, EC law, judges, judgments, news, parliament, treaties by sally

‘The government must provide clarity on whether it wants UK courts to take into account rulings of the European court of justice after Brexit, one of Britain’s most senior judges has said.’

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The Guardian, 8th August 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Collective (in)action? The CAT’s recent judgments on collective proceedings orders – Competition Bulletin

Posted August 7th, 2017 in class actions, competition, judgments, news, statutory interpretation, tribunals by sally

‘At first glance, two recent judgments from the CAT may give the impression that the new UK class action regime is dead in the water. However, on closer inspection there is much in these judgments that prospective claimants will welcome.’

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Competition Bulletin, 4th August 2017

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Council victorious in appeal over sex shop licensing fees – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 24th, 2017 in EC law, enforcement, fees, international courts, judgments, licensing, local government, London, news, sex establishments, Supreme Court by sally

‘Westminster City Council can recover “reasonable” licensing fees and enforcement costs charged to various sex shops in Soho, London, even though these fees were later found to be in breach of an EU directive, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st July 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Digital pirates – on a sinking ship? – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted July 19th, 2017 in copyright, EC law, international courts, internet, judgments, news, piracy by sally

‘On 14 June 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down its long-awaited judgment in Stichting Brein v Ziggo BV (C-610/15), concerning the activities of controversial file-sharing platform The Pirate Bay (TPB).’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th July 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Charity issues guidance on publication of judgments about family matters – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 11th, 2017 in family courts, judgments, law centres, news by sally

‘The Transparency Project has published a new guide designed to help parties in the family justice system “navigate the complicated issue of publishing judgments about private family matters”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th July 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk