All articles by Jonathan Rayner – Page 54
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Law lords ruling on control orders ‘turning point’ on secret evidence
The House of Lords today ruled that three terror suspects have been denied a ‘fair’ trial because they have not been told about, or allowed to challenge, the secret intelligence evidence against them. The suspects, who cannot be named, have been subject to control orders for ...
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Sole practitioners condemn SRA risk-assessment plans
Sole practitioners have condemned as ‘outrageous’ and ‘totally intrusive’ plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to require commercially sensitive information to carry out risk assessments. SRA head of policy Bronwen Still told the annual general meeting of the Sole Practitioners Group (SPG) that firms ...
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China clamps down on civil rights lawyers
The Beijing judicial authorities are blocking more than 20 of China’s most prominent civil rights lawyers from renewing their licences to practise, campaigning group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported. HRW says the lawyers have angered the authorities by acting in high-profile cases ...
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Tories say new bill of rights would be compatible with ECHR
The shadow justice secretary has dismissed claims by the Council of Europe that Tory plans to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA) could exclude the UK from the EU. Council of Europe secretary general Terry Davis, a former Labour MP, said last month that he ...
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Assisted suicide – killing with kindness?
Is helping a terminally ill loved one die with dignity murder or compassion? Could assisted suicide open the floodgates to society ridding itself of elderly people, invalids and the disabled, because they are surplus to requirements?
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Tory human rights plan ‘could lead to departure from EU’
The UK could find itself parting company from the EU if Tory pledges to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA) are carried through, the head of the Council of Europe has warned Conservative party activists. David Cameron has pledged to repeal the HRA, which since ...
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Disabled claimant wins employment appeal tribunal decision
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has reasserted the right of disabled people to claim that an employer’s failure to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ is an act of disability discrimination.
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Kids are kids, even when they come from abroad
It happened without fanfare, but in September 2008 the UK finally agreed to protect and promote the wellbeing of every child on British soil – irrespective of their immigration or asylum status.
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France to press ahead with Clementi-style reforms
Clementi-style reforms of France’s legal landscape are to go ahead next year despite a retreat on a major element, the reforms’ architect said this week. Jean-Michel Darrois, a company law specialist and head of Paris firm Darrois Villey Maillot Brochier, headed a commission of academics, ...
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Research shows mentally ill more likely to be victims of crime
Adults with severe mental health problems are almost 25% more likely to be victims of crime than the general population, a report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice has revealed.
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Which political party gets your vote on human rights?
All three major political parties have recently showcased their human rights and civil liberties credentials at the British Institute of Human Rights in London. First up was the Tory Nick Herbert MP, who explained the party’s plans to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA) and replace it with a Bill ...
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International environmental court plan
A new International Court for the Environment, with powers to compensate victims of environmental damage and punish the perpetrators, has been proposed by a coalition of lawyers, politicians, environmentalists and non-governmental organisations. Stephen Hockman QC, who convened a meeting last week to get the project under ...
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Solicitors favour sharp rise in employment tribunal claim limit
More than two-thirds of solicitors are in favour of scrapping the present £25,000 cap for breach of contract claims in employment tribunals, research by the Law Society suggests. The web survey found that 61 (70%) of 87 respondents thought the £25,000 cap should not be retained, ...
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Bradley review 'revolution' in mental illness treatment of offenders
A report calling for offenders with mental health problems and learning difficulties to be identified and diverted to health rather than criminal justice services may revolutionise the handling of such cases. Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems in the criminal ...
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Kenny says LSB will transform the market
Chris Kenny (pictured), chief executive of the Legal Services Board, last week vowed to transform the legal services market, promising to promote competition and – as early as mid-2011 – license the first alternative business structures.
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Solicitors debate referral fees
Solicitors are ‘crap at marketing’ and need claims management companies (CMCs) to fill the gap, a delegate told the APIL conference. A debate, ‘Referral fees and advertising – is it too late to put the genie back in the bottle?’, chaired by TV presenter John Stapleton (pictured), aroused strong passions.
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Jackson commends German costs recovery model
Lord Justice Jackson (pictured) may consider a costs recovery system based upon the German model when he releases the preliminary findings of his 1,000 -page review into civil litigation costs early next month.
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Hundreds of Colombian lawyers murdered but no one prosecuted, report reveals
More than 400 Colombian lawyers have been murdered since 1991 but no one has been prosecuted for a single killing, a devastating report from 42 British lawyers who visited Colombia last year has revealed.
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The Equality Bill – what’s all the fuss about?
It’s open season on Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill, published this week. One newspaper dubbed it ‘unfair on men’...
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New president sets out 10-step plan
The new president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has hit out at insurance solicitors who, he says, fight the conditional fees ‘costs war’ from the ‘comfort zone of risk-free retainers’.