Article 8 & Unfair Dismissal – January 2020 – Pallant Chambers

Posted January 28th, 2020 in human rights, news, privacy, probation, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Q v Secretary of State for Justice UKEAT/0120/19 was a recent case in which the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at the application of the Article 8 in a conduct dismissal case.’

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Pallant Chambers, 23rd January 2020

Source: www.pallantchambers.co.uk

UK court allows Saudi dissident to sue kingdom over alleged hacking – The Guardian

‘The high court has given a green light to a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia that has been brought by a prominent dissident living in London who has claimed he was the victim of a sophisticated hacking campaign by the kingdom.’

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The Guardian, 23rd January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New ‘transformational’ code to protect children’s privacy online – BBC News

Posted January 22nd, 2020 in children, codes of practice, families, internet, news, privacy, suicide by sally

‘Social media sites, online games and streaming services used by children will have to abide by a new privacy code set by the UK’s data watchdog.’

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BBC News, 22nd January 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Immigration and Article 8: what did we learn in 2019? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 20th, 2020 in appeals, deportation, families, human rights, immigration, news, privacy, proportionality by sally

‘As in previous years, the courts in 2019 were particularly concerned with Theresa May’s attempts as Home Secretary to codify the Article 8 proportionality exercise into legislation. Those changes have had a significant impact on the approach of tribunals to appeals against deportation and removal on grounds of private and family life. Judges now have to apply a series of prescribed tests under the immigration rules, before going on to consider whether there are exceptional circumstances requiring a grant of leave.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th January 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Tech Companies In Legal Bid Over UK’s Cancelled ‘Porn Block’ – Each Other

‘Four tech companies have launched legal action to pressure the government into introducing age verification (AV) checks for people accessing porn online.’

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Each Other, 17th January 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Legal loophole exposed after activist not prosecuted for ‘planting’ tracker on hunt vehicle – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 20th, 2020 in electronic monitoring, hunting, news, privacy, spying by sally

‘Countryside groups have called for tougher rules on the use of tracking devices after a huntswoman allegedly caught an anti-hunt activist planting one under her horse trailer.’

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Daily Telegraph, 18th January 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The President of the Family Division’s New Guidance on Reporting in the Family Courts (3rd October 2019) – Becket Chambers

‘Faced with the competing claims of transparency and privacy, free speech and family life, family law will always incline towards the latter. Its first instincts are protective, guarding the intimacies and lives of its own subject families and, particularly, its children.[1] First and foremost, family proceedings are and remain private matters. This fundamental principle holds fast. However, things are not simply as they were before. Successive Presidents of the Family Division have now expressly addressed the subject in the form of three separate occasions. At the very least, it is clear that the dynamic is being given careful thought. Whilst the guidances do not amount to a tilting of the scales, they are nevertheless guidances specifically designed to address acts of reporting. When President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby issued two guidances on transparency and anonymisation. Sir Andrew McFarlane, the current President, has now (as of October 2018) issued further guidance specifically dealing with applications to lift and vary reporting restrictions.’

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Becket Chambers, 15th January 2020

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

5 UK Human Rights Issues and Trends to Watch in 2020 – Each Other

‘From landmark legal cases to a landslide general election result, and civil disobedience to constitutional upheaval – the UK had no shortage of human rights news stories in 2019.’

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Each Other, 6th January 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

10 cases that defined 2019 – UK Human Rights Blog

‘And so, we reach the end of another year. And what a year it has been. As well perhaps the most tumultuous period in British politics for decades, this year saw the first ever image taken of a black hole, a victory for the England men’s cricket team at the World Cup, the discovery of a new species of prehistoric small-bodied human in the Philippines and signs that humpback whale numbers in the South Atlantic have bounced back thanks to intensive conservation efforts. And the law? Well, rather a lot has happened really. As the festive season draws near, what better way is there to celebrate than to rewind the clock and relive the 10 cases which have defined 2019?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th December 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Speech by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb: Mind-Reading: Neuroscience and The Law – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted December 16th, 2019 in forensic science, human rights, investigatory powers, privacy, speeches by sally

‘Speech by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb: Mind-Reading: Neuroscience and The Law.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th December 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Welcome to the jungle – New Law Journal

Posted December 10th, 2019 in media, misuse of private information, news, privacy by sally

‘I’m a celebrity, but don’t get my private information out of here! Jeremy Clarke-Williams & Nilly Tabatabai report (Pt 1).’

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New Law Journal, 5th December 2019

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Some you might have missed – Panopticon

Posted December 5th, 2019 in consent, data protection, human rights, immigration, internet, news, privacy by sally

By which we mean: some that we did miss blogging about. With apologies and better late than nevers, here’s a round-up of three recent(ish) cases worthy of note. In R (Open Rights Group) v SSHD digital campaigners Open Rights Group and The3million (campaigning on behalf of so many EU Citizens living in the UK) challenged the immigration exemption – one of the few new features in the DPA 2018 that strengthens the controller’s hand – as incompatible with fundamental charter rights to privacy and protection of personal data. They also contended that it was too broad, vague and lacking in the safeguards required by the parent Article 23 GDPR (which enables Member States to enact domestic exemptions).The exemption follows a formula which is familiar from other exemptions, old and new – processing of personal data relating to some public good is exempt from data subject rights, to the extent that the public good is jeopardised by execise of those rights. The immigration-specific exemption is new – as the Secretary of State’s witness explained [29], ‘where an exemption was required in an immigration context, reliance was placed on the crime exemption contained latterly in s.29 of DPA 1998’. In other words, the Home Office was getting by OK under the old regime, and one aspect of the challenge to the exemption was that the introduction of a measure infringing fundamental rights must be ‘strictly necessary’.

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Panopticon, 5th December 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

Court of Appeal to hear facial recognition technology challenge – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A Cardiff resident who lost a High Court challenge over police deployment of automated facial recognition technology has been given permission to take his case to the Court of Appeal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 20th November 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Information watchdog updates guidance for data controllers on protecting ‘special category data’ – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 18th, 2019 in codes of practice, data protection, local government, news, ombudsmen, privacy by sally

‘The ICO has issued updated guidance on special category data, to which data controllers must give extra protection under the GDPR.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 15th November 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Half of rape victims drop out of cases even after suspect is identified – The Guardian

‘Almost half of rape victims are dropping out of investigations, as a growing proportion do not want to pursue a prosecution even when a suspect has been identified, according to a Cabinet Office report leaked to the Guardian.’

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The Guardian, 10th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Media and Defamation Law – The Pupillage Podcast

Posted November 6th, 2019 in defamation, freedom of expression, injunctions, media, news, privacy by sally

‘The recent announcement by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — aka Harry and Meghan — that they are planning to sue Associated Newspapers after the Mail on Sunday published a private letter from Meghan to her father, has put the spotlight on media and defamation law – the topic of this episode of the pupillage podcast. We hear about celebrities and super injunctions, but also learn that nothing is beyond the reach of this fascinating area of law, from anti-semitism, to medical research, to the parish newsletter. If you’re interested in the conflict between free speech and privacy, and in truth and opinion then this episode is for you.’

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The Pupillage Podcast, October 2019

Source: soundcloud.com

Police may have used ‘dangerous’ facial recognition unlawfully in UK, watchdog says – The Independent

‘Facial recognition technology may have been used unlawfully by police, a watchdog has warned while calling for urgent government regulation.’

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The Independent, 1st November 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Court of Appeal gives green light to consumer rights campaigner in 4 million person strong representative action against Google – Henderson Chambers

‘On 2 October 2019, the Court of Appeal, in a unanimous judgment given by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court, upheld the Claimant’s appeal in the case of Richard Lloyd v Google LLC [2019] EWCA Civ 1599. The Court of Appeal reversed the decision of the court below and gave Mr Lloyd permission to serve Google LLC outside the jurisdiction (in the US), enabling him to proceed with his representative action. The class he represents is composed of an estimated 4 million Apple iPhone users. Any substantive judgment will prove interesting in demonstrating the role of representative and group actions in the space of consumer rights at the intersection of tech and information rights. Google LLC, however, has confirmed that it intends to appeal this procedural point to the Supreme Court.’

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Henderson Chambers, 7th October 2019

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Paul Burrell and James Hewitt among latest phone-hacking cases – The Guardian

Posted October 22nd, 2019 in interception, media, news, privacy, telecommunications by sally

‘Princess Diana’s former lover James Hewitt and her butler Paul Burrell are among dozens of individuals who have joined Prince Harry in the latest round of phone-hacking claims against tabloid newspaper publishers.’

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The Guardian, 21st October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ex-Met detective loses court battle over payout for data breach – The Guardian

‘A former Metropolitan police detective who successfully sued the force for wrongly using its powers to investigate her has lost her eight-year court battle to hold the police to account.’

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The Guardian, 21st October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com