News – Page 227
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Commercial property: from offices to homes
Planning rules are to be amended to make it easier for offices to be changed to residential accommodation. Proposals prepared by government almost two years ago – and shelved last summer – have been dusted off and fine-tuned for implementation. The revised legislation regarding ‘permitted development rights’ is intended to ...
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Probate: establishing the testator’s intention
The rule against double portions is intended to give effect to the presumed intention of parents. It applies where a testator leaves a child a portion by will and then makes a lifetime gift of a portion to that child. The court presumes that a parent would not intend to ...
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Conveyancing fraud
Every good conveyancer should be aware of the risk of vendor conveyancer fraud. Not only has the media featured many alarming cases, but the Solicitors Regulation Authority in March last year released a warning notice about bogus firms and identity theft, stating that you cannot rely on the SRA database ...
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Copyright
Claimant television broadcasting companies in main proceedings commencing proceedings against defendant television production company ITV Broadcasting Ltd and other companies v TVCatchup Ltd: Court of Justice of the European Union (Fourth Chamber): 7 March 2013 The Court of Justice of the European ...
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Tax attacks undermine rule of law
Back in 2011 George Osborne heralded government efforts to make the UK more tax-competitive, saying: ‘Let it be clearly heard around the world – from Shanghai to Seattle... Britain is open for business.’ Two years on, it is not entirely clear who is listening or whether there are any reasons ...
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Planning for tax-year end
The government has announced that it will be reducing the top rate of tax from 50% to 45% for those on incomes over £150,000. This change, along with forthcoming changes to pensions contribution reliefs, means that you should review the reliefs on offer to make sure you’re minimising your tax ...
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Police services
Police attendance at football matches – Defendant police force providing police services in certain identified streets and public areas beyond stadium and areas owned and controlled by claimant football club (the extended footprint) Leeds United Football Club v Chief ...
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Changes to criminal law – part 2
On 1 September 2012 it became an offence under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) for a person to trespass in a residential building by living or intending to live in the building when he knew or ought to have known that ...
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Does Henry costs ruling undermine Jackson?
It was an interesting experience to have achieved success in the Court of Appeal for the appellant in Sylvia Henry v News Group Newspapers Limited ([2013] EWCA Civ 19), only for virtually every commentator in the costs world to pour derision on the judgment. Job well done, some might say. ...
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Human rights
Human Rights – Freedom of expression – Protesters The wife and children of Omar Othman v The English National Resistance and others: Queen's Bench Division: 25 February 2013 The Queen's ...
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History book; care home fees; charging charities
Thursday marks a key milestone in the history of local government lawyers. John Emms (former solicitor to the council at Kirklees MBC) will publish his book Local Lawyers: Public Practice. As Solicitors in Local Government merges with its chief officer counterpart, the Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors, the book ...
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Testamentary capacity
In Hawes v Burgess [2013] EWCA Civ 74, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s finding that the deceased’s last will (which cut out her son) was invalid and that her earlier will (leaving everything equally to her three children) therefore remained unrevoked.
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Criminal legal aid procurement
‘Competitive tendering’ – two words that strike fear and dread into the hearts of many a hardened criminal legal aid practitioner. But what do they mean, and why, after several failed attempts, is the government so keen to introduce this into a market that is almost unanimously opposed to the ...
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Family law arbitration wins
Does this ring a bell? You sit opposite a client whose face gradually lengthens, whose mouth drops and whose eyes widen in dismay and disbelief as you describe how long it takes to bring matrimonial financial issues to a conclusion through the court litigation process. You ...