Category: news

Omagh bomb relatives launch action in high court – The Guardian

Posted April 8th, 2008 in news, personal injuries, terrorism by sally

“The civil action by relatives of the Omagh bomb victims against the Real IRA is an attack on terrorists unprecedented anywhere in the world, the lawyer representing the families said yesterday. On the opening day of a case brought by some of the relatives of those who were killed or injured in the 1998 atrocity, Lord Brennan QC said: ‘For the first time the victims of terrorism are suing the alleged perpetrators … private citizens are confronting terrorists in our courts.'”

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The Guardian, 8th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Government changes mind on contract rules – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 8th, 2008 in contracts, EC law, news, treaties by sally

“The UK Government wants to sign up to a European Regulation which would standardise how the law is applied in cross-border contractual disputes, it has said. The Regulation, known as Rome I, replaces existing rules governing such disputes.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th April 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Lawyer took paralysed client’s £1.2m payout – The Times

Posted April 8th, 2008 in abuse of position of trust, news, sentencing, solicitors, theft by sally

“A solicitor who stole £1.25 million from a client left paralysed by a traffic accident was jailed yesterday for ten years for what the judge described as the ‘very worst breach of trust for a professional man’.”

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The Times, 8th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

‘Sin bins’ fail to improve anti-social families – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 8th, 2008 in ASBOs, news by sally

“Plans to put disruptive families through expensive so-called sin bin programmes to improve their behaviour are proving a costly failure, it has been claimed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 8th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Jail threat for data thieves recedes – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 8th, 2008 in data protection, news, punishment, theft by sally

“Plans to jail personal data thieves have been shelved due to a surprise amendment to a proposed new law. The new law will contain a clause threatening jail, but that clause will not be implemented.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 7th April 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Rastafarian temple drugs trial collapses – The Guardian

Posted April 8th, 2008 in drug offences, news, trials by sally

“A £100,000 cannabis-dealing trial, launched following a high-profile police raid on a Rastafarian temple in south London, has collapsed in legal confusion.”

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The Guardian, 8th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Chauffeur and paparazzi to blame for Diana death, jury finds – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2008 in inquests, news, royal family, verdicts by sally

“Diana, Princess of Wales and Dodi Fayed were unlawfully killed by the reckless driving of their chauffeur, Henri Paul, and the paparazzi who chased them, jurors in the inquest into their deaths decided today.”

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The Guardian, 7th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mother kept boy in wheelchair for five years – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 7th, 2008 in child abuse, news by sally

“A mother who kept her son in a wheelchair for five years and convinced him and doctors that he could not walk has been jailed for four years.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Killer lawyer gets early release – BBC News

Posted April 7th, 2008 in homicide, news, probation by sally

“A lawyer who stabbed his wife to death after she told him she was leaving him has been released after serving less than half of his sentence.”

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BBC News, 7th April 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Diana coroner to accept majority – BBC News

Posted April 7th, 2008 in inquests, news, royal family, verdicts by sally

“The coroner at the inquest into Princess Diana’s death has authorised the jury to return a majority verdict.”

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BBC News, 7th April 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Star Wars costume-maker strikes back against George Lucas – The Times

Posted April 7th, 2008 in merchandising, news by sally

“Lucas’s business empire claims that it owns all the rights to the uniforms, while the lawyers at Simmons Cooper Andrew will argue that the rights are in fact vested in an obscure prop designer from Twickenham who made the first helmets and suits for the 1977 film.”

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The Times, 7th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Rethink over Christ ‘porn’ film ban – The Observer

Posted April 7th, 2008 in blasphemy, news by sally

“A landmark decision to ban a film showing Christ being caressed on the cross on the grounds that it was blasphemous could be reversed after almost 20 years.”

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The Observer, 6th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Act repeal could make Franz Herzog von Bayern new King of England and Scotland – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 7th, 2008 in constitutional law, news, royal family by sally

“Gordon Brown is considering repealing the 1701 Act of Settlement as a way of healing a historic injustice by ending the prohibition against Catholics taking the throne.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Ban on samurai swords becomes law – BBC News

Posted April 7th, 2008 in news, offensive weapons by sally

“Legislation against selling, making, hiring or importing samurai swords in England and Wales has come into force.”

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BBC News, 6th April 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

5,000 children a month added to DNA database – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 7th, 2008 in children, DNA, news by sally

“One in four people being added to the DNA database is a child, it emerged yesterday.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Home copying – burnt into teenage psyche – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2008 in copyright, internet, news by sally

“More than half of young people copy the songs on their hard drives to friends and even more swap CD copies, according to research that reveals the huge challenge home copying poses to a music industry already battling internet file-sharing.”

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The Guardian, 7th April 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Prosecuting lawyers could sit in judgment if CPS ban is lifted – The Times

Posted April 7th, 2008 in Crown Prosecution Service, judiciary, news by sally

“Hundreds of state prosecutors could be free to become judges under top-level moves to end a ban on Crown Prosecution Service employees entering the judiciary, The Times has learnt. Baroness Scotland, QC, the Attorney-General, and Sir Ken Mac-donald, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, are both strongly in favour of the changes, saying that it would make the judiciary more diverse by widening the pool of women and ethnic minority lawyers who could be judges.”

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The Times, 7th April 2008

Source: www.timeonline.co.uk

Youth crime ‘up by two thirds in 10 years’ – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 7th, 2008 in crime, news, statistics, young offenders by sally

“The number of children and teenagers regularly committing crimes has soared since Labour came to power.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th April 2008

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Corporate Manslaughter Act: firms face huge fines for deaths – The Times

Posted April 7th, 2008 in corporate manslaughter, news by sally

“Prosecutions of companies found responsible for deaths – from rail crashes to accidents at work – are expected to rise significantly under laws that take effect tomorrow.”

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The Times, 5th April 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Families in meltdown, judge says – BBC News

Posted April 7th, 2008 in children, family courts, news by sally

“A senior family court judge has hit out at the government over what he says is an ‘epidemic’ of family failure that will have ‘catastrophic’ effects.”

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BBC News, 5th April 2008

Source: www.bbc.co.uk