New Judgment: Public Prosecutors Office of the Athens Court of Appeal v O’Connor [2022] UKSC 4 – UKSC Blog

‘The Respondent was ordered to be extradited to Greece for the purposes of conducting a criminal prosecution against him. On that day, the Respondent’s solicitor stated orally in court that an appeal would be lodged against the extradition order, and on 16 December 2015, the notice of application for leave to appeal was filed with the Court. However, due to an oversight, the solicitor failed to serve the notice on the Crown Solicitor’s Office (on behalf of Greece) until about three weeks later.’

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UKSC Blog, 3rd February 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Met police won’t investigate alleged No 10 lockdown party – The Guardian

‘The Metropolitan police will not investigate alleged parties held at Downing Street in apparent breach of lockdown rules unless an upcoming inquiry finds evidence of criminality.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Domestic abuse victims in England and Wales to be given more time to report assaults – Ministry of Justice

‘Under the changes, victims of domestic abuse will be allowed more time to report incidents of common assault or battery against them. Currently, prosecutions must commence within six months of the offence.’

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Ministry of Justice, 4th January 2022

Source: www.gov.uk

Breastfeeding voyeurs targeted by new proposed offence in England and Wales – The Guardian

‘Voyeurs who record images of breastfeeding women without permission and domestic abusers who escape jail because of time limits on prosecutions are being targeted by proposals put before parliament on Tuesday.’

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The Guardian, 4th January 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid not good enough reason for solicitors missing court deadline – Legal Futures

Posted December 6th, 2021 in coronavirus, delay, law firms, negligence, news, striking out, time limits by sally

‘The disruption caused by Covid last year was not a good enough excuse for a law firm missing a deadline to file amended particulars of claim by four months, the High Court has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 6th December 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

The Abortion Act 1967 and Down Syndrome: Crowter – Law & Religion UK

Posted December 6th, 2021 in abortion, disabled persons, human rights, news, pregnancy, time limits by sally

‘In R (Crowter & Ors) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2021] EWHC 2536 (Admin), the issue before the Court was the fact that the Abortion Act 1967 differentiates between pregnancies where there is a substantial risk that, if born, a child would be “seriously handicapped” (the terminology used in the Act) and those where it would not. The three claimants – a 25-year-old woman with Down Syndrome who had gained an NVQ qualification level, was employed and had recently married, A, a two-year-old with Down Syndrome who had met all his developmental milestones, and A’s mother [6-8] – challenged the disability ground for abortion in section 1(1)(d) of the Act as contrary to Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (inhuman or degrading treatment) and 8 (private and family life) ECHR.’

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Law & Religion UK, 3rd December 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Remand inmates in England and Wales ‘facing second Christmas behind bars’ – The Guardian

‘Some defendants will be facing “a second Christmas behind bars without the opportunity to prove their innocence”, a legal charity has warned, as the number of remand prisoners in England and Wales detained longer than the legal custody limit continues to rise.’

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The Guardian, 1st December 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Domestic abuse victim ‘living in fear’ after being wrongly told she could not appear ex-partner’s ‘lenient’ sentence – The Independent

‘“Myself and my family have suffered life-changing trauma,” a domestic abuse victim tells The Independent. “Following the attack, I am unable to work due to my injuries and live in paralysing fear of what will happen when he is released in eight years.”

Her ex-partner was jailed for life – but with a minimum term of only eight years – in March. The domestic abuse victim has now been told she has missed her chance to appeal his sentence but was never told she had the right to do so under the Unduly Lenient Sentencing scheme. Instead, police inaccurately told her she was unable to appeal his sentence because “a life sentence is the maximum”.’

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The Independent, 19th November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Priti Patel’s immigration bill will make it harder to prosecute human traffickers, top police officers warn – The Independent

‘Priti Patel’s immigration bill risks hampering the prosecution of human traffickers in the UK and making it more difficult for people to escape exploitation, senior police officers have warned.’

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The Independent, 8th November 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

The zombie law: 3C leave and long residence – 5SAH

Posted November 4th, 2021 in appeals, immigration, legislative drafting, news, regulations, time limits by sally

‘The “labyrinthine structure and idiosyncratic drafting” of the Immigration Rules (the Court of Appeal’s words, not mine), sometimes makes it difficult to divine the meaning and purpose of UK immigration laws. This is perhaps never more true than in the case of 3C leave. In the recent decisions of Akinola and Hoque, the Court of Appeal has been attempting to makes sense of the situation and what it means for 10-year long residence applications.’

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5SAH, 20th October 2021

Source: www.5sah.co.uk

Rent Repayment applications – time limits for substituting parties – Nearly Legal

Posted November 1st, 2021 in appeals, housing, jurisdiction, landlord & tenant, news, rent, striking out, time limits by tracey

‘Gurusinghe & Ors v Drumlin Ltd (HOUSING – RENT REPAYMENT ORDER – Procedure) (2021) UKUT 268 (LC). Just a quick note on this one – an appeal to the Upper Tribunal on an FTT decision on an application to add a new respondent to an RRO application as the proper landlord.’

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Nearly Legal, 31st October 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

High Court: Differential standards on abortion time-limits do not breach the human rights of disabled persons – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In Crowter & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2021] EWHC 2536 (Admin), the High Court considered the lawfulness of the provision in the Abortion Act 1967 which permits termination of a foetus after 24 weeks where there is a substantial risk that, if born, a child would be “seriously handicapped”.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th October 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Huge rise in domestic abuse cases being dropped in England and Wales – BBC News

Posted October 15th, 2021 in criminal justice, domestic violence, news, prosecutions, statistics, time limits, women by tracey

‘Victims of alleged domestic abuse are seeing their cases dropped at a rapidly increasing rate, according to data obtained by the BBC.’

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BBC News, 15th October 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Court lets late solicitors off hook – but don’t expect more ‘indulgence’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 8th, 2021 in civil procedure rules, documents, news, service, solicitors, time limits by tracey

‘ The High Court has shown a rare act of mercy to lawyers who filed documents late without checking to see if their opponents would accept email service. In Citysprint UK Ltd v Barts Health NHS Trust Mr Justice Fraser stressed that the particular circumstances were unusual and that his ruling should not be interpreted as the court being “indulgent” to failures of compliance.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 7th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Woman with Down’s loses abortion law fight – BBC News

‘A woman with Down’s syndrome has lost her High Court challenge over a law that allows abortion up to birth for a foetus with the condition.’

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BBC News, 23rd September 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Revival of section 3C leave approved by Court of Appeal – EIN Blog

‘R (Akinola & Anor) v Upper Tribunal & Anor [2021] EWCA Civ 1308 (26 August 2021). In these judicial review proceedings, the Court of Appeal decided that in circumstances where an extension of time had been granted for an out-of-time appeal against the refusal of an application to vary limited leave to remain, the original leave was revived under section 3C(2)(c) of the Immigration Act 1971 with future effect from the time when the appeal was instituted. The appeal was instituted and became a pending appeal within section 3C(2)(c) when the notice of appeal was filed, not the date when the extension of time was granted. The Court of Appeal found that the withdrawal of a decision did not have the consequence of causing leave to be extended retroactively under section 3C from the date of the decision. Three conjoined appeals, namely those of Ms Akinola, Mr Abbas and Mr Anwar, raised issues about the interpretation and effect of section 3C which provides for the extension of immigration leave in certain defined circumstances. Of key importance was the position under section 3C where an application has been made to vary existing leave, the application has been refused by a decision of the SSHD, and later (i) there is an out-of-time appeal for which an extension of time is granted, or (ii) the decision-maker withdraws and/or reconsiders the decision. The issues arose in the context of applications under paragraph 276B of the Immigration Rules for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) on the ground of long residence.’

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EIN Blog, 13th September 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Service of documents in civil proceedings: A lesson in getting it right – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 13th, 2021 in case management, civil procedure rules, documents, news, service, time limits by tracey

‘Lynsey Oakdene and Kathryn Vickers highlight a recent judicial review case in which the claim form was set aside because it was served late and the court declined to exercise its case management powers.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

First Tier Tribunal wrongly struck out landlord penalty appeal after solicitor failed to pay hearing fee, Upper Tribunal rules – Local Government Lawyer

‘A private landlord will have her appeal of a £7,000 penalty for failure to license a house in multiple occupation (HMO) decided by a different judge after it was initially refused by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) because her solicitor failed to pay the hearing fee on time, the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th September 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Frozen eggs and sperm storage limit increased to 55 years – BBC News

‘Storage limits for eggs, sperm and embryos will go up to 55 years under government plans that ministers say will give people greater choice over when to start a family.’

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BBC News, 6th September 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

High Court judge says housing authority has no power or discretion to accept request for late review of s.107D(3) notice – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 5th, 2021 in housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, notification, time limits by sally

‘A local housing authority has no power or discretion to accept a request for a review of their proposal not to grant another tenancy on the expiry of the fixed-term of the tenant’s existing flexible tenancy, if that request is made more than 21 days after the service of a notice pursuant to s.107D(3) Housing Act 1985, a High Court judge has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th August 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk