Last 3 months headlines – Page 1212
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MPs: family judges should talk to children
Specialist family judges should talk to children whose care cases they deal with, according to an all-party group of MPs. In a report last week, the Child Protection All Party Parliamentary Group warned that government reforms to the family justice system set out in the ...
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‘Press LSB’ without MPs’ approval is unattractive
The government’s attempts to reform press regulation have something of the surreal about them. A draft royal charter, full of suitably medieval language, was published by the Conservatives last week - apparently, because they did not want to put a bill before parliament. But, despite that, they published draft legislation ...
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Tax warning over children’s wills
Thousands of parents may need to rewrite their wills to protect their children’s interests because of inheritance law changes introduced in the Finance Bill, the Law Society has warned. The Society’s tax law committee has written to HMRC to voice concerns over what it says are ...
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Plantagenet poltergeist?
Spooky tales from Leicester firm Denham Foxon & Watchorn. Its offices are famous for strange sightings and mysterious noises, and on wintry evenings solicitor Christl Hughes says her waste paper basket has been known to move of its own accord. Mice? Possibly. But Obiter is intrigued by another suggestion. ...
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Criminal law
Perverting course of justice – Third party being subject to restraint order R v Kenny: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division: 30 January 2013 The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division ...
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Legal confusion outer Mongolia
Grumbling at the chore of CPD? Spare a thought for our colleagues in the Gobi desert. In the footsteps of, if not Marco Polo, then at least Clyde & Co, Obiter popped along to a breakfast seminar organised by the Law Society’s international division on new markets in Mongolia. ...
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Freedom of information
The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) does not just require public authorities to disclose information they hold but also information that is held on their behalf (section 3(2)). Local authorities are increasingly outsourcing management of services to the private sector. Such arrangements are often scrutinised by interested parties making ...
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Employment
'Worker' – Part-time workers O'Brien v Ministry of Justice (Council of Immigration Judges intervening): Supreme Court: 6 February 2013 The Supreme Court held that the claimant, a retired part-time recorder, ...
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Ministers tight-lipped on EU opt-out
The home secretary and lord chancellor were tight-lipped this week on details of the government’s plan to opt out of more than 130 EU crime and justice measures. In evidence to a Lords committee, Theresa May said the government had indicated its ‘direction of travel’, signalling its intention to exercise ...
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Two law firms on Cameron’s Indian mission
National firm DLA Piper and southern England firm Dutton Gregory have joined David Cameron’s business delegation to India. They are among 100 businesses on the delegation, which aims to present the UK as the ‘global partner of choice’. One of the key messages the prime ...
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Wales says no to separation – for now
Wales will not have a separate legal jurisdiction for at least a decade, the country’s first minister confirmed today. Carwyn Jones (pictured) said the estimated £1.2bn cost of devolving the entire criminal justice system would put too much pressure on the Welsh budget. ...
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Welsh law-making powers
by Theo Huckle QC, counsel general for Wales An event of considerable constitutional significance took place in the Supreme Court recently. It may have passed largely unnoticed outside Wales (and, to some extent, within Wales), but its implications for the law in Wales and England, as ...
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Find-A-Lawyer, EU-style
The European budget discussions which ended just over a week ago might have left you puzzled as to whether EU funds impact lawyers. Do you benefit, and if so how? Here is a little insight into how a tiny part of the cash has been used to help the legal ...
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Status quo is best for Wales
Sometimes, no matter what the Scouts say, it’s best not to be prepared. I spent much of my journey to Wales this morning writing a brilliant piece on why Wales was making a mistake going it legally alone by setting up a separate jurisdiction. As it ...
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Fears grow for missing Syrian lawyer
Fears are mounting for Syrian human rights lawyer Khalil Matouk, who has been held incommunicado at an unknown location since his arrest last October, an independent human rights organisation has told the Gazette.
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LETR report not expected until May
Publication of the final Legal Education and Training Review (LETR) report, originally due at the end of last year, is now not expected until May, the Gazette has learned. The LETR report, commissioned by the Bar Standards Board, ILEX Professional Standards and the Solicitors Regulation ...
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Neuberger speaks out on judicial review
The president of the Supreme Court has expressed concern about the government’s plans to limit the number of judicial reviews. Giving evidence to the House of Lords constitution committee last week, Lord Neuberger said: ‘Any attack on judicial review, or any attempt to limit it, ...
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Firms warming to outcomes-focused regulation, says the SRA
Firms believe outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) ‘costs too much money and takes too much time’ – but they are warming to it, the Solicitors Regulation Authority reports today. A survey of 1,000 firms on the impact of the first year of OFR shows that half of respondents ...