Government pilot aims to identify and support children with a parent in prison – Family Law

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The initiative, announced by the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education, will see information shared between prisons, police forces and local authorities to help identify children whose parent has entered custody. The pilot is intended to address long-standing concerns that many of these children remain “hidden” from public services and therefore miss out on support.’

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Family Law, 13th July 2026

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Decapod Crustaceans under the Law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Under the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 the government gave legal recognition to decapod crustaceans as sentient beings. The Animal Law Foundation has now written to the Welsh Government to advise on what this means for the killing of crabs and lobsters in Wales.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12th July 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

The Weekly Round Up — Scrutiny of the Immigration and Asylum Bill, 62nd Session of the UNHRC, eVisas and the ICO, Facial Recognition, and Rulings on Deportation, Extradition and Modern Slavery Guidance – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has this week launched its legislative scrutiny of the Immigration and Asylum Bill.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 13th July 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Hleb Buziuk: Independent by Assertion: The Immigration and Asylum Bill and the Re-Departmentalisation of Adjudication – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘On 13 July 2026, the Immigration and Asylum Bill is scheduled to receive its second reading in the House of Commons. Public attention has fixed on Part 2 and its Article 8 clauses. This post is about Part 1 (clauses 1-16 and Schedules 1-3), which has attracted less commentary but may prove the more consequential. It abolishes the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) as the forum for immigration and asylum appeals, replacing it with the Independent Immigration Appeals Authority (“IIAA”): hearings from late 2027, a period of parallel running, then full transfer of the jurisdiction.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 13th July 2026

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Law and religion roundup – 12th July – Law & Religion UK

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘On Tuesday, in a written question, Lord Birt (CB) asked HMG “what plans they have to legislate to ensure a Prime Minister of any religious faith can discharge all of his or her responsibilities” – to which the short answer is evidently, “none”.’

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Law & Religion UK, 12th July 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Common law can cope with AI harms, say experts – Law Society Gazette

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘England and Wales common law is well placed to cope with claims for damage caused by chatbots, self-driving cars and other AI-powered innovations, according to a government-sponsored expert report. However “liability gaps” may emerge over the problem of proving causation when decisions are made by autonomous systems, the report’s authors said this week..

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Law Society Gazette, 9th July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Some Thoughts on Possible Structural and Resource Issues for the Financial Remedies Court Arising Out of the Government’s Approach to Reform of Financial Remedies Law in Their Paper ‘A Fairer End to Relationships’ – Financial Remedies Journal

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The purpose of this paper is not to comment on the merits of the reforms themselves but to make some observations on the possible structural and resource issues for the Financial Remedies Court (FRC) which may arise out of the anticipated legislation which may emerge from the suggested reforms. The comments also relate to the separate, but linked, government published paper Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Cohabitation and Financial Remedies Reform Consultation.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 10th July 2026

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Mahmood’s cutting of protections for UK-France ‘one in, one out’ asylum deal ruled unlawful – The Guardian

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The home secretary’s decision to reduce protections for potential trafficking victims being considered for removal under the “one in, one out” asylum deal was unlawful, a high court judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

High court rejects most of ‘dieselgate’ claims brought by 1.6m UK car owners – The Guardian

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Car manufacturers have welcomed a high court verdict that rejected most of the allegations in a “dieselgate” claim brought on behalf of 1.6 million UK owners of polluting cars.’

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The Guardian, 10th July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bill for Hillsborough Law set to be approved by MPs – BBC News

Posted July 13th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘The legislation – formally known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill – is now expected to be passed by the House of Commons on Tuesday, paving the way for it to become law by the autumn.’

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BBC News, 12th July 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sharp rise in domestic abusers using finances for coercion, UK charities say – The Guardian

Posted July 10th, 2026 in news by sally

‘Domestic abuse charities have reported a “staggering” increase in perpetrators using technology and finances to control their victims, with a “concerning” rise in people being coerced into car finance agreements.’

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The Guardian, 9th July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

Osborn applies to all Parole Board decisions – Administrative Court Blog

Posted July 10th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The High Court (Sheldon J) has held that Parole Board guidance stating that oral hearings for applications to terminate IPP prisoners’ licences are only required in exceptional circumstances, and that the Supreme Court’s decision in Osborn does not apply to such applications, is unlawful.’

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Administrative Court Blog, 10th July 2026

Source: administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com

Little progress for Black lawyers and solicitors in race for bench – Legal Futures

Posted July 10th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The low number of Black judges and difficulties for solicitors in being appointed to the bench show little sign of improvement, according to this year’s judicial diversity statistics.’

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Legal Futures, 10th July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Devious’ sex offender drugged women years before mum’s death – BBC News

Posted July 10th, 2026 in news by sally

‘No-one will ever know how many women Richard Scatchard drugged and raped, but his convictions for attacks on women date back 40 years.’

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BBC News, 10th July 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Graham Linehan gets £25,000 compensation and an apology from Met police after arrest – The Guardian

Posted July 10th, 2026 in news by sally

‘The Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has been paid £25,000 in compensation by the Metropolitan police and received an apology after his arrest over his gender-critical social media posts.’

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The Guardian, 9th July 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

Criticism of referees protected under freedom of expression, ECtHR rules – Law Society Gazette

Posted July 9th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Criticism of a football referee’s impartiality is protected as freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Court of Human Rights has found.’

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Law Society Gazette, 8th July 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Lawyers “could be negligent” for failing to use AI – Legal Futures

Posted July 9th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Lawyers and other professionals can be sued for negligence for failing to use artificial intelligence (AI), according to the latest legal statement from the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce (UKJT).’

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Legal futures, 9th July 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Commission proposes clearer rights for kinship families – Law Commission

Posted July 9th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Over 160,000 children cared for by kinship carers such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends could benefit from a simpler, fairer legal framework under proposals published in a consultation paper today by the Law Commission. The consultation paper is available on the kinship care project page.’

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Law Commission, 8th July 2026

Source: lawcom.gov.uk

Judicial diversity statistics 2026 – statement from the Lady Chief Justice – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted July 9th, 2026 in news by Simon

‘Each year, courts and tribunals judges, non-legal members and magistrates are invited to declare their diversity information. Completion rates of at least 60% must be achieved in each category for publication of the data. Self-reporting has increased this year and, for the first time, there is data on socio-economic background, sexual orientation, and religion or belief. Data on sex, ethnicity, disability, and professional background have once again met the threshold for publication.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 9th July 2026

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Fiduciary duties on LGPS pooling: Responsibility without control? – Pensions Barrister

Posted July 9th, 2026 in news by Simon

In the first of two articles on the recent LGPS governance guidance, Paul Newman KC considers the new division between strategic responsibility and practical implementation under the new asset pooling arrangements.’

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Pensions Barrister, 9th July 2026

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com