Peers who fail to repay wrongly claimed expenses to be banned from Lords – The Guardian

Posted December 14th, 2011 in debts, expenses, news, parliament, repayment by sally

“Disgraced peers who fail to repay wrongly claimed expenses are to be barred from returning to parliament.”

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The Guardian, 14th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers ‘should end Downton Abbey-style succession rules’ – BBC News

Posted December 7th, 2011 in news, parliament, peerages & dignities, succession by sally

“The House of Lords is being urged to end rules which deny most hereditary peerages to women.”

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BBC News, 7th December 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gary McKinnon gets MPs’ backing in extradition debate – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2011 in computer crime, extradition, news, parliament, treaties by sally

“MPs have urged the government to improve safeguards for British citizens wanted by authorities overseas by reforming extradition laws, indicating the strength of political feeling in support of Gary McKinnon, who has been battling for six years against a US extradition bid to face hacking charges.”

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The Guardian, 6th December 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MPs may be breaking law in offering work to unpaid interns – The Guardian

Posted November 28th, 2011 in minimum wage, news, parliament by sally

“Scores of MPs, from millionaire Tory cabinet members to Labour backbenchers, may have broken minimum wage law by taking on unpaid interns, according to legal advice to ministers.”

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The Guardian, 27th November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

European judge slams UK ‘xenophobia’ – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2011 in human rights, judges, news, parliament by sally

“Europe’s most powerful judge has publicly complained about ‘senior members’ of the UK government fostering hostility towards the European Convention on Human Rights.”

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lords give legal aid bill ‘a good bashing’ – The Guardian

Posted November 24th, 2011 in bills, legal aid, news, parliament by sally

“In a marathon debate, the Lords focused on government plans to surgically remove the area of the legal aid scheme that relates most directly to the poor and vulnerable.”

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

“Is this possible?” – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2011 in bills, legal aid, news, parliament, sentencing by sally

“Highlights from the Lords debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, in which 54 peers spoke.”

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The Guardian, 22nd November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lords tear into legal aid bill – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 22nd, 2011 in bills, domestic violence, legal aid, negligence, news, parliament by sally

“The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders passed its second reading in the House of Lords last night after an eight-hour battering from peers. Following a debate in which 51 of the 54 members who rose to speak criticised the bill, justice minister Lord McNally, responding for the government, promised ‘to listen’ to the ‘strong concerns’ raised particularly in relation to domestic violence and clinical negligence.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 22nd November 2011

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

One of the “great unspoken problems” about human rights law – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted November 15th, 2011 in human rights, judicial review, judiciary, news, parliament by sally

“… is at the core of Jonathan Sumption QC’s FA Mann lecture. His central point is not human rights as such, but our misconception of Parliament and the perceived need for judicial constraints on the action of the state.”

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Uk Human Rights Blog, 15th November 2011

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Jonathan Sumption shows a certain naivety – The Guardian

“The supreme court’s newest recruit worries that judges are making policy. But parliament always has the last word.”

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The Guardian, 9th November 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New House of Commons code of conduct could be extended to MPs’ private lives – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 9th, 2011 in news, parliament, professional conduct by tracey

“MPs could be punished for indiscretions in their private lives if their actions embarrass Parliament, under a new code of conduct.”

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Daily Telegraph, 8th November 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Calls for UK laws to be made easier to understand – BBC News

Posted November 8th, 2011 in legal language, legislation, news, parliament by sally

“Peers have called on the government to look at options for making UK legislation easier to understand, including the use of digital technology to present laws in a clearer format.”

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BBC News, 7th November 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Two peers jailed for expenses fraud facing Lords ban – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2011 in expenses, false accounting, news, parliament, peerages & dignities by tracey

“Two peers convicted of expenses fraud should be suspended from the House of Lords, a key committee has said.”

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BBC News, 4th November 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Warning over Henry VIII style law powers – The Independent

“Plans for sweeping new Henry VIII-style powers would enable ministers to rewrite the statute book without consulting Parliament, a report warned today.”

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The Independent, 3rd November 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Legislation nightmares leave us scratching our heads – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 2nd, 2011 in civil justice, criminal justice, legislative drafting, news, parliament by tracey

“As Stephen Levinson’s recent post has reminded us, we are not living in a golden age of legislative drafting. In the field of criminal law, some particularly ghastly examples of bamboozling legislation can be found in various provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 – described by no less an authority than Rose LJ as ‘at best, obscure and, at worst, impenetrable’ (R v Campell [2006] EWCA Crim 726, [2006] 2 Cr App R (S) 626 at [1]).”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 2nd November 2011

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

MPs call for Commons debate on UK’s extradition rules – BBC News

Posted November 1st, 2011 in extradition, news, parliament, proof by sally

“A cross-party group of MPs is demanding a full Commons debate on the UK’s extradition rules.”

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BBC News, 1st November 2011

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Downing Street brings forward Commons vote on EU referendum – The Guardian

Posted October 20th, 2011 in EC law, news, parliament, referendums by tracey

“Downing Street has brought forward a sensitive House of Commons vote on Europe next week amid fears that Tory MPs were planning to use David Cameron’s absence on an overseas visit to stage a large rebellion.”

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The Guardian, 19th October 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Met police to explain legal threat against Guardian to MPs in secret – The Guardian

Posted September 22nd, 2011 in media, news, official secrets act, parliament, police, private hearings by tracey

“The Metropolitan police is to be allowed explain to MPs in private why it threatened to invoke the Officials Secrets Act in an attempt to force the Guardian to hand over notes and reveal sources behind its phone-hacking coverage.”

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The Guardian, 21st September 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Expenses fraud MP Elliot Morley freed – The Independent

Posted September 21st, 2011 in detention, early release, expenses, fraud, news, parliament by michael

“Former environment minister Elliot Morley has been freed from prison after serving a quarter of his 16-month sentence for fiddling his parliamentary expenses, sources said.”

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The Independent, 20th September 2011

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 – legislation.gov.uk

Posted September 16th, 2011 in legislation, parliament by tracey

Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 published

Full text of Act

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk