Immigration policy tearing families apart, report shows – The Guardian

Posted June 11th, 2013 in families, immigration, inquiries, news, regulations, reports, visas by sally

“A cross-party group of MPs has called for an urgent review of new immigration rules, which they claim are tearing hundreds of British families apart. Their inquiry report shows that a new minimum earnings rule of £18,600 a year, which came into effect last July, has meant that thousands of British citizens, including people with full-time jobs, have been unable to bring a non-European husband, wife or partner to live with them in Britain.”

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The Guardian, 10th June 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Helen Fenwick: Article 8 ECHR, the ‘Feminist Article’, Women and a Conservative Bill of Rights – UK Constitutional Law Group

Posted June 6th, 2013 in bills, courts, families, human rights, news, reports, women by sally

“There has been a lot of commentary on the Report of the Bill of Rights’ Commission, and the ‘damp squib’ analysis of the Report (see Mark Elliott) as a whole is one most commentators appear to assent to (see eg Joshua Rozenberg for the Guardian here). My view in general is that the squib could reignite post-2015 if a Conservative government is elected, not in relation to the very hesitant ideas as to the possible future content of a Bill of Rights that the Report put forward, but in relation to its majority recommendation that there should be one (see further my previous post on the Commission Report here). If a BoR was to emerge under a Conservative government post-2015 I suggest that it would reflect the ideas of the Conservative nominees on the Commission which assumed a far more concrete form in the Report than the majority recommendations did (eg see here at p 192). This blog post due to its length is not intended to examine the probable nature of such a BoR based on those ideas in general, but to focus only on two aspects: the idea of curtailing the effects of an equivalent to Article 8 ECHR (right to respect for private and family life), and of requiring domestic courts to disapply Strasbourg jurisprudence under a BoR in a wider range of situations than at present under s2HRA (see Roger Masterman’s post on s2 on this blog here). In respect of the latter issue the potential impact of so doing will only be linked to selected aspects of Article 8 jurisprudence of especial actual and potential benefit to women.”

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UK Constitutional Law Group, 5th June 2013

Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org

Case for legal clampdown on ‘chuggers’ compelling, say MPs – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 6th, 2013 in charities, education, news, public interest, reports, select committees by sally

“Charities should be forced to rein in the use of High Street fund-raisers known as ‘chuggers’ or face state regulation, a cross-party committee of MPs has concluded.”

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Daily Telegraph, 6th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Inspectors call for streamlined criminal justice process – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 4th, 2013 in criminal justice, Crown Prosecution Service, news, police, reports by sally

“Inspectors of police service and prosecutors have called for decisive action to streamline the criminal justice process and end ‘the spectre of unnecessary bureaucracy’.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 4th June 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Broken arms and strip-searches revealed in damning boys’ jail report – The Independent

“Two children at a privately-run Young Offenders Institution had their arms broken by staff last year during routine strip searches, a report by the Prison Inspectorate has revealed.”

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The Independent, 4th June 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

UK needs prompt action on human rights record, UN panel warns – The Guardian

Posted June 3rd, 2013 in Afghanistan, human rights, Iraq, news, Northern Ireland, reports, torture by sally

“The British government’s human rights record since the attacks of 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq is facing ferocious criticism from a United Nations panel, which warns that prompt action is needed to ensure the country meets its obligations under international law.”

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The Guardian, 31st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Culture change needed at BSB, says super-regulator – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 29th, 2013 in barristers, legal profession, news, reports by sally

“The Bar Standards Board will encounter ‘significant challenges’ in emulating the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s move to outcomes-focused regulation, a report by the super-regulator has concluded.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 29th May 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The Intellectual Property Bill – NIPC Law

Posted May 29th, 2013 in bills, intellectual property, news, patents, reports by sally

“In Digital Opportunity, A Review of Intellectual Property and Growth Professor Ian Hargreaves made 10 recommendations for IP policy which I discussed at length in “IP Policy: Does Hargreaves say Anything New?” 24 June 2011. Some of those recommendations required primary legislation. Others did not. As I said in my article, Hargreaves was not the first review of IP policy in recent years and most of the previous ones had been left to gather dust. I suspected the same would happen to Hargreaves.”

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NIPC Law, 28th May 2013

Source: www.nipclaw.blogspot.co.uk

Companies will not be forced to publish results of equal pay audits, says Government – OUT-LAW.com

Posted May 28th, 2013 in company law, data protection, disclosure, equal pay, news, publishing, reports by sally

“Companies that are required to undertake equal pay audits would not be required to make the results of those audits public, the Government has proposed.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 28th May 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Four in 10 people think judges are too soft in manslaughter cases – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 28th, 2013 in burglary, homicide, news, reports, sentencing by sally

“Four in 10 people think judges should give tougher sentences in some violent cases such as manslaughter, a Ministry of Justice study has suggested.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Rochdale Council leaders ‘let down’ groomed girls – BBC News

Posted May 28th, 2013 in local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services, victims by sally

“Former senior managers at Rochdale Borough Council did not do enough to stop the grooming and sexual abuse of children, a report has found.”

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BBC News, 24th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Report into Rochdale grooming a ‘damning indictment’ of council – Daily Telegraph

Posted May 24th, 2013 in children, local government, news, reports, sexual grooming, social services by sally

“A new report into the child sex grooming scandal in Rochdale is a ‘damning indictment’ of the local council, the town’s MP said.”

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Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Leslie Thomas: a voice for the dead – The Guardian

“Witnessing blatant police cruelty convinced the award-winning lawyer to make deaths in custody his life’s work.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Disabled woman died after NHS blunders, ombudsman finds – The Guardian

Posted May 21st, 2013 in disabled persons, doctors, health, hospitals, news, ombudsmen, reports by sally

“A catalogue of mistakes by an out-of-hours GP service and a hospital contributed to the death of a young woman with physical and learning disabilities, the NHS ombudsman says on Tuesday in a highly critical report that has led to fresh claims of prejudicial attitudes leading to poor care for such vulnerable patients.”

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The Guardian, 21st May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Interflora Inc and another v Marks and Spencer plc and another – WLR Daily

Posted May 21st, 2013 in civil procedure rules, evidence, law reports, reports by sally

Interflora Inc and another v Marks and Spencer plc and another [2013] EWHC 936 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 183

“CPR Pt 35 controlled the giving of evidence by experts as so defined and did not control the admission of other types of evidence which might be described as expert evidence.”

WLR Daily, 15th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Police swabbing of child DNA excessive, says charity – BBC News

Posted May 21st, 2013 in children, DNA, freedom of information, news, police, reports by sally

“Police in England and Wales have taken DNA samples from children every 10 minutes, figures obtained using freedom of information requests suggest.”

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BBC News, 20th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Police watchdog criticised for errors in investigation into death in custody – The Guardian

Posted May 17th, 2013 in complaints, death in custody, news, police, reports, restraint by sally

“The official police watchdog made a series of errors in an investigation which cleared officers over the death of a man in custody, an independent report has found.”

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The Guardian, 17th May 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council and Bar Standards Board 2nd biennial survey of the profession – The Bar Council

Posted May 16th, 2013 in barristers, news, reports by sally

At a time of unprecedented change in the way in which legal services are delivered, it has never been more important to gather the views of the profession about their experience of life at the Bar. The Bar Council and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) are carrying out the second biennial survey of the Bar, the results of which will inform strategic planning and provide information on the working lives of barristers.

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The Bar Council, 15th May 2013

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Government response to the report on the operation in 2012 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011 – Home Office

“The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Theresa May): In accordance with section 20(2), 20(3), 20(4) and 20(5) of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (David Anderson QC) prepared a report on the operation of the Act in 2012, which I laid before the House on 14 March 2013.”

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Home Office, 16th May 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Child sexual abuse orders failing to deliver, says Ceop – BBC News

Posted May 14th, 2013 in children, crime prevention, news, reports, sexual offences by sally

“The system of civil court orders designed to prevent sexual abuse of children in Britain is ‘not fit for purpose’, according to a report obtained by the BBC.”

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BBC News, 14th May 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk