Prince Harry among claimants told to limit legal costs against Daily Mail publishers to £4m – The Independent

Posted January 27th, 2025 in costs, damages, interception, media, news, privacy, royal family, telecommunications by tracey

‘Prince Harry has been told that he and fellow claimants taking legal action against the Daily Mail publishers must not spend more than £4.1m on costs – around £14m less than they were proposing.’

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The Independent, 24th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judges who allowed Sara Sharif to remain in her father’s custody to be named next week – The Independent

Posted January 27th, 2025 in anonymity, appeals, child cruelty, children, families, family courts, judges, murder, news by tracey

‘Three judges that oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before she was murdered by her father and stepmother, can be named in seven days, a court has ruled.’

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The Independent, 24th January 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

DWP program that automatically approves landlord benefit deduction requests ruled unlawful – The Guardian

‘A “computer says yes” program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit benefits without requiring officials to check first with the claimant has been declared unlawful by the courts.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Serious concerns’ about DWP’s use of AI to read correspondence from benefit claimants – The Guardian

‘White mail system handles “highly sensitive personal data” and people not told it is processing their information.’

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The Guardian, 27th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Representative actions for mis-use of private information: “very difficult to bring” Prismall v Google [2024] EWCA Civ 1516 – Henderson Chambers

‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the striking out a representative action for misuse of private information. The judgment confirms the correct approach to identifying whether all claimants have the necessary ‘same interest’ in order to pursue a representative action. It highlights the risk that stripping back a claim to its lowest common denominator so as to satisfy the ‘same interest’ requirement may result in the pared down claim having no real prospect of success. Indeed, the Court of Appeal concluded that “a representative class claim for misuse of private information is always going to be very difficult to bring”.’

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Henderson Chambers, 23rd December 2025

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Parks and interpretation – Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 24th, 2025 in appeals, chambers articles, interpretation, news, tribunals by sally

‘It’s time to unwrap Rule 7(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (‘the Tribunal Rules’): the Upper Tribunal (‘UT’) has held in Wyldecrest Parks Management Ltd [2024] UKUT 355 (LC) that the First-tier Tribunal (‘FTT’) is not entitled under Rule 7(6) to require one party to serve the Tribunal’s directions on another, but must do so itself.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 11th December 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Administrative Law Principles in Context: Environmental Assessment Goes Up in Flames- Cambridge Law Journal

Posted January 24th, 2025 in climate change, environmental protection, local government, miners, news, planning by sally

‘A massive reduction in the combustion of fossil fuels will be required if the UK is to meet its target of “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050. At a global scale, reliance on fossil fuels will need to be greatly reduced if irreversible impacts on the environment are to be avoided. It is against this background that the Supreme Court has had to answer the following question: in circumstances where there is an obligation to consider the environmental effects of a development proposal for the extraction of fossil fuels, must the climate impacts of the eventual combustion of those fossil fuels be assessed?’

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Cambridge Law Journal, 7th January 2025

Source: www.cambridge.org

Frome residents win five-year battle for community-led housing project – The Guardian

Posted January 24th, 2025 in local government, news, planning by sally

‘Residents of a “renegade” Somerset market town have won their battle to create an innovative 5-hectare (12-acre) community-led development that includes homes, workspaces and a lido, after councillors agreed to sell a large brownfield site to the not-for-profit social enterprise behind the project.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Menzies v Oakwood: requirement for specific agreement to transform retention of client monies into the payment of solicitors’ bills – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 24th, 2025 in appeals, fees, news, solicitors, Supreme Court, time limits by sally

‘In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors [2024] UKSC 34, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of payment for the purposes of section 70(4) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974).’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 20th December 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

MPs to examine work of county court amid concerns over capacity and resources – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 24th, 2025 in county courts, delay, inquiries, local government, news, select committees by sally

‘The Justice Committee has launched a new inquiry to examine the work of the County Court amid “persistent” concerns over capacity and resources.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana jailed for 52 years for murder of three girls – The Guardian

‘The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the “ferocious” and “sadistic” knife rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

HO v TL – Business Valuations, Trust Interests & Needs Plus Costs – Becket Chambers

‘In view of the name of this case HO v TL [2024] 2 FLR 175, and the fact that the family business was a hotel business, I really hope that it will become known as “The Hotel Case”. Anyway, it does deserve to become known, because it is another decision from Peel J of the type referred to by Edward Kenny in his article last month, i.e. a really useful authority that sets out fundamental points, and quite a lot of them in this case. What is more, the costs decision in this case is also reported HO v TL (Costs) [2024] 2 FLR 200 and fits into the same category.’

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Becket Chambers, 18th December 2024

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

Immigration Blog: A Guide to the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Practice Direction 2024 – Garden Court Chambers

Posted January 24th, 2025 in appeals, asylum, chambers articles, immigration, news by sally

‘On 1 November 2024, the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (FTT IAC) ushered in a new era with the publication of its latest Practice Direction (PD). This comprehensive document replaces previous iterations and Practice Statement No. 1 of 2022, signifying a considerable shift in the landscape of immigration and asylum appeals.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 19th December 2024

Source: gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Woman jailed over crash that killed baby outside hospital in Haverfordwest – The Guardian

‘A woman has been jailed for four years for causing the death of an eight-month-old baby girl in a crash outside a hospital after losing control of her car while reaching for a handbag.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council prosecution sees abortion clinic protestor hit with £7,500 costs order – Local Government Lawyer

‘A protester has been ordered to pay more than £7,500 after failing to comply with a public space protection order (PSPO), which created a designated safe zone outside a reproductive health clinic in Ealing.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

What qualifies a law degree: surveying elective module provision in undergraduate legal education across England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2023–2024 – The Law Teacher

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in examinations, legal education, news, solicitors, statistics, universities by sally

‘This paper explores the contemporary elective module provision in undergraduate English law degrees. The demise of the qualifying law degree as a requirement to pursue qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales means that providers of undergraduate English law degrees now have increasing flexibility over the structure and content of courses. This paper reviews elective modules offered at providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the academic year 2023–2024 and finds that while there is increasing diversity among elective provision when compared to historic provision, there is also a degree of standardisation among degree providers. It discusses the significance of this standardisation in the post-qualifying law degree world and develops seven themes based on current elective provision to highlight the broader trends in elective provision. It then concludes by arguing that the legacy of the qualifying law degree is clearly influencing the new normal and suggests several questions which this raises for undergraduate legal education going forward.’

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The Law Teacher, 22nd January 2025

Source: www.tandfonline.com

R v Jones Case Comment: Running diminished responsibility without an expert – Pump Court Chambers

‘Diminished responsibility is one of the partial defences available to those charged with murder. If a defendant is found to have had diminished responsibility during the commission of the offence, they are not acquitted but rather found guilty of voluntary manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.’

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Pump Court Chambers, 20th December 2025

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Legal challenges to UK infrastructure projects to be blocked in push for growth – The Guardian

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in airports, energy, environmental protection, judicial review, news, planning, railways by sally

‘Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Home Office ordered to provide adequate asylum accommodation to mother and severely disabled child following successful judicial review – Garden Court Chambers

‘In a judgment handed down on 18 December 2024, the High Court declared that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (‘SSHD’) breached her duty to provide adequate asylum accommodation under sections 95 and 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The High Court granted a mandatory order requiring the Claimants (C1 and C2) to be moved to adequate accommodation that would meet the needs of the C2, a severely disabled child.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 19th December 2025

Source: gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Directors duties after the BHS decisions – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 23rd, 2025 in chambers articles, company directors, insolvency, news by sally

‘In March 2015, BHS was sold for to Retail Acquisition Limited for the princely sum of just £1. Dominic Chappell (a thrice bankrupt former racing driver with no experience in retail) and his fellow directors took the helm of the struggling group. A little over a year later, in April 2016, BHS collapsed into administration and later insolvent liquidation by which point the net deficiency was a staggering £1.3 billion).’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 18th December 2025

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk