News – Page 223
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News
Women being imprisoned unnecessarily, reformers say
Magistrates’ courts are sending fewer women to prison than in previous years but some courts are four times more likely to jail women than others, according to figures obtained by the Howard League for Penal Reform. Research by the charity reveals that although the overall number of women being sent ...
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Political storm over Strasbourg whole life ruling
Ministers have condemned the decision by Strasbourg that whole life sentences breach human rights, suggesting that the role of the European Court of Human Rights should be ‘curtailed’. The attack follows the final ruling of the court yesterday that whole life imprisonment of murderer Jeremy Bamber and two others breached ...
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New rules that may dilute TUPE rights delayed until September
New regulations that may reduce transfer of undertakings protection of employment (TUPE) rights have been delayed to September, it emerged this week. The new regulations, which had been due for publication in July, arise from a Department for Business, Innovation & Skills consultation that began at the beginning of this ...
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Profession denounces posthumous Magnitsky trial
Lawyers worldwide have denounced the posthumous trial of Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky (pictured) who was yesterday found guilty of tax evasion in a Moscow trial that began following his death in prison four years ago. Magnitsky died in a pre-trial detention after accusing Russian police of complicity in a $230m ...
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Pre-pack deals under scrutiny in company law shake-up
A central register of beneficial owners and a review of ‘pre-pack’ takeovers of failed businesses are among measures proposed in a shake-up of company law today. A discussion paper published by the department for Business, Innovation & Skills sets out how the UK proposes to carry out its commitment at ...
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Rehabilitation reforms treat women as ‘afterthought’ – MPs
Women offenders are an afterthought in the government’s rehabilitation reforms, the House of Commons justice committee suggested today. Six years after the Corston Report, which recommended that only the most serious female offenders be jailed, the committee said that the women’s prison population has not fallen sufficiently quickly and that ...
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EC unveils European public prosecutor plan
A European Public Prosecutor’s Office will tackle the annual loss to fraud of £431m of EU funds according to proposals published by the European Commission yesterday. The proposed office will follow up every case of suspected fraud against the EU budget. This will have a strong deterrent effect, the EC ...
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‘Spectacular’ threat to judges
The lord chief justice has warned that the ‘spectacular’ constitutional changes of the last government could pose future threats to judicial independence. In a speech at Mansion House, London, Lord Judge warned of the need for vigilance against ‘totally unintended little steps, which might, long term, serve to undermine the ...
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Turkish lawyers harassed, arrested and detained
Dozens of Turkish lawyers arrested 18 months ago have been subjected to ‘excessively punitive’ treatment by state authorities, with 15 of the 46 still detained in prison, an international delegation of lawyers reports. The trial of the 46 has been consistently delayed, with three-month gaps between one-day hearings, ‘causing extreme ...
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Privilege fears over deferred prosecutions
Simmons & Simmons partner Stephen Gentle told the Gazette: ‘The consultation on DPAs stated that the “Code of Practice would include provision for the protection of legal professional privilege”. ‘But there is no such provision, and comprehensive self-reporting of wrongdoing will almost certainly lead to companies waiving privilege if a ...
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Bar chief calls for royal commission
More than two decades after the Runciman Commission was set up following high-profile miscarriages of justice, the chairman of the Bar Council has called for a royal commission to conduct a root-and-branch review of the criminal justice system. Maura McGowan suggested that the system be reviewed holistically, as the government ...
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Trademarks in toys and games – part two
A recent High Court judgment concerning the Scrabble ‘tile’ trademark highlights the tension between trademarks and the functional elements of toys and games. Below is part two of a two-part summary of a few key decisions in this area; claims with varying degrees of success. Part one was published on ...
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Freedom of information: limits of privilege
One of the key recommendations of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee in its July 2012 report on the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI) was the introduction of a new exemption for academic research. The government accepted this recommendation in its official response late last year.
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Immigration
Asylum seeker – Detention – Claimant being detained under non-suspensive appeals process R (on the application of JB (Jamaica) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Court of Appeal, Civil Division: 12 June 2013 ...
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Legal services orders
Since 1 April the family courts have had the power to make a legal services order, which is a new form of interim order compelling one spouse to make provision for the other’s legal costs. Although on the face of it, it is a significant change to the courts’ powers ...
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Small claims track
The likelihood is that the majority of litigators have never ventured down into the basement of the county court where retailers and their embittered customers, and landlords and their carpet-staining former tenants scream out their stories and storm out if they lose. This is the basement which hosts small claims, ...
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Breach of contract
Licence agreement being made between publishing company (Bright Star) and defendant permitting defendant to re-package Reader's Digest book edition of 'Wildlife of Britain' Morse v Eaglemoss Publications Ltd: Chancery Division: 7 June 2013 ...