Last 3 months headlines – Page 1404

  • News

    Are we at saturation point with rights?

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    The European Commission - or at any rate its justice arm - is big on rights. Justice commissioner Viviane Reding has recently published two important packages covering, first, suspects’ and defendants’ rights (the so-called Measure C, which will give the right to a lawyer anywhere ...

  • News

    Restricting arrests for crimes of universal jurisdiction is more about politics than legal principles

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Joshua Rozenberg is ready to support ‘reasons of state’ for restricting the right to ask a magistrate to authorise the first step in the private prosecution of a suspected war criminal.

  • News

    A criminal expense

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    I would like to make a comment in the debate about government legal aid cuts. There should be a distinction between criminal and civil legal aid. To my knowledge, criminal legal aid has always been dealt with differently. ...

  • News

    Face up to fraud

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    I could not agree more with Mr Borman’s letter of 23 June. Clients do ‘want something tangible’ to hold and be able to take pride in property ownership. However I feel there is a bigger issue. ...

  • News

    Paper deeds hope

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Further to Mr Haworth’s letter of 16 June, I concur entirely with his view. I wrote to the Weymouth Land Registry in March on the topical subject of property fraud and in response to my plea for the return of the humble Land Certificate I ...

  • News

    Get it right

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    When I saw the caption beneath the photograph illustrating my article ‘Getting a Get’, which you kindly published on 16 June, I was somewhat perplexed, as I was not aware that a wife would display her rings in her hands in the rabbinical court, meaning she’s succeeded in having her ...

  • News

    Family

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Order for costs - Parties to care proceedings - Whether authority should pay proportion of costs A County Council v A mother and others: Family Division (Mr Justice Baker): 18 May 2011 ...

  • News

    Arbitration

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Award - Russian courts - Claimant seeking interest payments in England Yukos Capital SARL v OJSC Rosneft Oil Company: Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court (Mr Justice Hamblen): 14 June 2011 ...

  • News

    Criminal

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Contempt of court - Misconduct of jury - Juror contacting former defendant during trial Her Majesty’s Attorney General v Fraill and another; R v Knox: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division (Lord Judge CJ, Lord Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice ...

  • News

    Divorce and inherited assets

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Earlier this year I provided an update regarding the family courts’ treatment of inherited assets upon divorce. Since then, two of the judgments discussed in that article have been subject to Court of Appeal decisions.

  • News

    Human rights committee is making unrealistic demands on extradition

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Is it easier for the United States to have a suspect extradited from the United Kingdom than it is for the UK to get someone handed over by the US? Ever since the US-UK extradition treaty was signed in 2003, there have been complaints that ...

  • News

    Tweeter fix

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Obiter is always keen to hear from Jonathan Djanogly, notwithstanding the rather sour taste left by his recent communications on legal aid. And we smelt a gold-plated scoop last week when the Twitter feed from @JonDjanogly offered up evidence of a leadership plot at the ...

  • News

    Shaggy dog story

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    A Cumbrian solicitor is taking on a different type of trial as he leads a world competition later this year. Nigel Davis (pictured) is the chair of the organising committee for the 2011 World Sheepdog Trials being held in September. The event ...

  • News

    School trip

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    A-level students at Longslade Community College in Leicester were treated to a ‘brief visit’ recently, as Justine Flack (pictured, right), family solicitor at Howes Percival, and Imogen Cox (left), director at Cartwright King, went back to school for the day. The pair led a series ...

  • News

    Race off

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Congratulations to the seven members of York firm Pryers who took part in the 5km Race for Life for the sixth year running. The team has so far raised more than £500 and each member came through the finishing line within 45 minutes. ...

  • News

    Chancery Lane escalates legal aid fight

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    The Law Society is stepping up its campaign to block coalition reforms of legal aid and civil litigation funding which it says will leave the civil justice system ‘at the edge of an abyss’. The move comes as the House of Commons’ health committee warned this ...

  • News

    Lenders vet solicitors on Google

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Credit checking law firms and monitoring the timeliness with which they register charges are among measures being considered and in some cases adopted by lenders seeking to clamp down on mortgage fraud. One large lender is also demanding the introduction of a compulsory scheme under ...

  • News

    Personal injury firms join forces over thalidomide claims

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Two leading personal injury firms have joined forces to represent those affected by the drug thalidomide. London firm Leigh Day & Co and national firm Russell Jones & Walker this week launched the Thalidomiders Legal Group to pursue compensation claims on behalf of people in the ...

  • News

    Late bid to amend Quality Assurance Advocacy Scheme

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Talks will be held this week in an eleventh-hour bid to rationalise the scope of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). The scheme, which will accredit advocates at one of four levels, was approved by the Solicitors Regulation Authority at the start of the ...

  • News

    Opening Dors

    2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

    Sometimes I wonder how I ever managed to qualify. In those days the Law Society’s College of Law (or was it school in the 1950s?) was in Lancaster Gate. Even in the early morning, the pavement from Lancaster Gate tube ...