Legal services: removing barriers to competition – official-documents.gov.uk

‘Consultation on proposals to make amendments to the Legal Services Act 2007.’

Full consultation

official-documents.gov.uk, 7th July 2016

Source: www.official-documents.gov.uk

Consultation on further liberalisation of legal services market – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government today unveiled plans for a second wave of reforms aimed at opening the legal services market to new businesses.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 7th July 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High court refuses to publish Ben Butler judgment from 2014 – The Guardian

‘A high court judge has refused to publish a 2014 judgment on the death of Ellie Butler on the grounds that her father, who has been jailed for life for her murder, might in the future face a retrial.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A1P1 and public policy: compensation for not fishing? – UK Human Rights Blog

‘An interesting Court of Appeal decision concerning the science of migratory salmon, and the circumstances in which compensation will be granted when an interference with Article 1 Protocol 1 is found.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Public interest report calls for all legal advice to be commissioned by legal team – Local Government Lawyer

‘Derby City Council should ensure that all legal advice is commissioned through its chief legal officer or her staff, and departments should not commission legal advice direct, auditors Grant Thornton have recommended in a public interest report.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 21st June 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Doctors could be prosecuted for gender-based abortion following British lawyers appeal to European Court of Human Rights – Daily Telegraph

‘Doctors who aborted foetuses based on their gender could finally be successfully prosecuted after British lawyers launched an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights calling for a reform of abortion law.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 18th June

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Home Office refuses to reveal whether women in Yarl’s Wood have been raped in case it ‘damages the commercial interests’ of companies – The Independent

‘Last year, the chief prisons inspector called Yarl’s Wood ‘a place of national concern’ following concerns over alleged sexual abuse and intimidation of women detained there.’

Full story

The Independent, 13th June 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Victory for Theresa May after drug dealer convicted of attempted murder loses human rights bid to avoid deportation – Daily Telegraph

‘A foreign drug dealer convicted of attempted murder is not entitled to avoid deportation under human rights laws because he has British children, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 25th May 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

The celebrity threesome case risks undermining the law – The Guardian

Perhaps for the first time – and almost certainly for the last, since he is about to retire – Lord Toulson is the hero of the press. As the sole dissenting judge in the Supreme Court ruling on the current celebrity injunction of speculation, he would have allowed the claimant’s name to be published – at least by news organisations that were prepared to run the risk of paying damages for breaching the claimant’s privacy.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme court upholds ‘celebrity threesome’ injunction – The Guardian

Posted May 20th, 2016 in confidentiality, injunctions, media, news, privacy, public interest, Supreme Court by tracey

‘The supreme court has extended the interim privacy injunction preventing identification of a celebrity who has been involved in a three-way sexual encounter.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th May 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Celebrity injunction: PJS cannot be named, says Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted May 19th, 2016 in appeals, injunctions, internet, media, news, privacy, public interest, Supreme Court by sally

‘An injunction banning the naming of a celebrity involved in an alleged extra-marital relationship should stay in place, the Supreme Court has ruled.’

Full story

BBC News, 19th May 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Home Secretary’s Police Federation Conference 2016 speech – Home Office

‘Speech given by Theresa May at the Police Federation Annual Conference 2016 in Bournemouth.’

Full speech

Home Office, 17th May 2016

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

BSB echoes Bar Council concerns on equality and access to justice – The Bar Council

‘The Chairman of the Bar Council, Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC has signalled agreement with the Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) concern for equality and diversity in the profession. As the independent regulator reported in its recently published Risk Outlook yesterday, the Bar Council also welcomed the focus on access to justice and on ensuring that consumers’ needs are properly met following the prolonged period of cuts to our system of justice.’

Full press release

The Bar Council, 18th May 2016

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

BSB’s Strategic Plan and Risk Outlook launch provokes lively debate – Bar Standards Board

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) officially launched its Strategic Plan 2016-19 and Risk Outlook last month at a function in central London, to an audience of barristers, representative bodies of the Bar, legal consumer organisations and diversity groups.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 17th May 2016

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Undercover police denied automatic anonymity at inquiry – BBC News

‘Undercover police officers facing claims of wrongdoing will not automatically get anonymity at a forthcoming major public inquiry.’

Full story

BBC News, 3rd May 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court of Protection orders continued reporting restrictions after death – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Court of Protection has just ruled that where a court has restricted the publication of information during proceedings that were in existence during a person’s lifetime, it has not only the right but the duty to consider, when requested to do so, whether that information should continue to be protected following the person’s death.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 27th April 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Woman who died after ‘losing sparkle’ cannot be named, court rules – The Guardian

‘The court of protection has declined to name a 50-year-old woman who died after refusing life-saving kidney treatment because she said life had lost its “sparkle”.’

Full story

The Guardian, 25th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Number of dropped Crown Court prosecutions at highest level in five years – BBC News

‘The number and proportion of prosecutions dropped at Crown Courts in England and Wales has risen to its highest level in five years. More than 12,600 cases were discontinued from 2014 to 2015 – one in every eight Crown Court cases. At the same time, the proportion of Crown Court cases resulting in a conviction fell below the 80% mark for the first time since 2010-11.’

Full story

BBC News, 11th April 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

A judge’s sentence is not for entertainment – Daily Telegraph

Posted April 8th, 2016 in judiciary, media, news, public interest, reporting restrictions, sentencing by sally

‘Being appointed a judge is like going to school, one of our distinguished judges noted when he was first appointed. You have to sit in one place every day, all day. You have to listen to people addressing you, to take notes, and hand in your homework at the end.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 7th April 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Personal data and politicians’ names – Panopticon

‘Can the name of a local councillor who has defaulted on Council tax properly be withheld from disclosure under the exemption for personal data in s.40 FOIA? That was the issue for the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) in Haslam v (1) Information Commissioner (2) Bolton Council [2016] UKUT 0139 (AAC), 10 March 2016. Mr Haslam, a journalist on the Bolton News, had submitted a FOIA request to Bolton Council for disclosure of names of councillors who had received reminders for non-payment of Council tax since May 2011. The Council refused to name names, citing the exemption in s.40 FOIA. The Information Commissioner and First-Tier Tribunal (“FTT”) upheld the Council’s decision. The UT (Judge Markus QC) has now reversed the FTT’s decision, and held that the name of the individual councillor concerned should be released.’

Full story

Panopticon, 18th March 2016

Source: www.panopticonblog.com