March 2012 Archives

Senior Metropolitan police officers are supporting calls to change the law so that phone-tap evidence can be heard at inquests.

The calls have come after the shooting by police of Mark Duggan, an event which sparked rioting in Tottenham last summer.

Under the current law, the existence and content of any intercept evidence cannot be disclosed to a coroner or be heard in a public court. This is an exception, however, as almost all other types of surveillance evidence, including that obtained from bugging and surveillance cameras are permitted to be given to any court.

The UK Government has confirmed that the law which allows possession of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs will not be changed in time for the London Olympics.

The announcement raises the spectre that athletes could bring banned substances with them to London, where authorities would be powerless to intervene.

The legal anomaly has come to light after it was revealed that UK law is in this regard quite different from the law on possession of anabolic steroids in other former Olympic host countries, including Australia, Canada and China.

The Co-operative group, which includes the popular supermarket chain, as well as banking and funeral services, has become one of the first non-legal companies to be approved to sell legal services under new legislation which came into effect last October.

The Legal Services Act 2007 is set to revolutionise the provision of legal services in the UK. Under the terms of the Act, non-legal businesses can now sell legal services as part of what are known as 'Alternative Business Structures' (ABS).

In addition to allowing non-law firms to enter the legal services market for the first time, the law also allows existing law firms to seek investment from external sources including via floatation on the stock markets.

Relatives of asbestos workers who died from cancers related to the handling of the dangerous material have won a compensation battle in the Supreme Court, ending years of legal wrangling.

The decision means that employers' insurance companies will have to settle compensation claims.

The legal fight for compensation began more than five years ago, with relatives of victims attempting to claim from policies dating from as long ago as the late 1940's. Lawyers working in the field claim that yesterday's ruling could impact upon thousands of claims.

A spate of recent cases has highlighted the disturbing amount of racism on social networking sites such as Twitter, prompting celebrities and footballers to quit the medium and sparking a debate on how racism can be tackled online.

Recent cases include that of a student who was jailed after posting a racist comment about the collapsed Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba. Another similar case involved a student at Newcastle University. Joshua Cryer, 21, admitted using the social networking site to post racist abuse about the former Liverpool striker, Stan Collymore.

The Crown Prosecution Service is using a variety of laws to bring these foul-mouthed bigots to justice. Joshua Cryer was charged under section 127 of the Communications Act, for sending grossly offensive messages, including racist taunts, to Collymore. He was sentenced to a two-year community order, 240 hours community service and ordered to pay £150 costs.

The controversial bill to reform the NHS, making GPs responsible for the commissioning of services and abolishing Primary Care Trusts received its royal assent yesterday to formally become law.

Yet as the dust settles on the legislation and the reality sets in, it has emerged that some GPs are facing windfall profits on shares bought in private healthcare firms who are set to benefit in the new-look NHS.

Doctors' leaders are now warning that any situation in which GPs are seen to profit from changes to the way the health system is run would be bad for patient trust and could lead to more NHS services being run privately.

A committee of MPs and peers charged with reviewing UK privacy law in light of the phone hacking conducted by the News of the World has concluded that no additional legislation is required to protect the public or celebrities.

The Joint Committee of Privacy and Injunctions has concluded that new statute law would not clarify the legal position on privacy invasions, and that cases should still be decided by judges on their individual facts.

However, the committee did conclude that the Press Complaints Commission must be replaced by a stronger, independent review body.

The senior law officer for Wales has called for a Welsh representative to be appointed to the UK Supreme Court, and for it to be a mandatory requirement that a Welsh judge is always among its number.

The call comes as the Welsh assembly ponders a move for greater judicial autonomy, by launching a consultation on whether or not Wales could develop a devolved Court of Appeal and its own Ministry of Justice.

The move comes as governments on both sides of the border face up to the reality that Wales is increasingly being run by different laws. This follows the creation of the Welsh assembly under Labour, and devolution of increased legislative powers to the Welsh last year.

A jury has cleared an Oxford law graduate of their role in last summer's London riots, after taking just 30 minutes to find him not guilty.

The accused, Fahim Alam, was arrested on day two of the riots after police believed he was part of a fifty-strong crowd on Mare Street in Hackney. The crowd had attacked police on that day, throwing bricks and bottles and setting off fireworks. At one stage during the unrest, a pit bull dog was unleashed and ran to attack officers in full riot gear.

Mr Alam, who also has a master's degree from the London School of Economics, received extensive television coverage at the time, with his story appearing on the front page of several newspapers.

Kate and Gerry McCann are among a number of high-profile signatories to an open letter to the Prime Minister, urging him to rethink government proposals to amend the law on 'no-win, no-fee' legal representation.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill is due its third and final reading in the House of Lords this week. Despite a number of previous defeats in the Lords at the committee stage, the bill is now widely tipped to become law.

The letter was coordinated by organisations 'Hacked Off' and the 'Liberal Rights Campaign' and has been signed by a number of members of the public who have had to issue libel proceedings against newspapers in recent years.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has described alcohol as one of his nation's biggest demons. It is estimated that it takes some 3,000 lives annually in Scotland, and costs the national economy some £3.5bn in hospital costs, reduced productivity and criminality.

Now Scotland is poised to become the first country in Europe to deliver a minimum price for alcohol, in an attempt to lower consumption and reverse these worrying statistics.

The policy was first introduced by the SNP back in 2008. Then they were leaders in a minority government, and the proposal was voted down by the opposition. Today, the SNP are in majority government at Holyrood, and their landslide victory at the polls last May means that they are now in a position to implement the policy for the first time. It is thought the policy could become law by the summer.

This week saw Chancellor George Osborne give his third budget. So far it has received a mixed response, with many newspapers focusing on the freeze to pensioners' incomes and the increase of the tax threshold to £9,205 by April 2013.

However, there are many provisions which will affect families, and so family lawyers have been encouraged to study the budget carefully for the impact that it may have on their clients.

Five Supreme Court judges yesterday unanimously found in favour of the publishers of The Times newspaper, in a case which appears to restore the defence of 'public interest' in libel cases.

The case was brought by Detective Gary Flood, who works for the Metropolitan police extradition unit. He claimed that he was libelled in a Times article written in 2006 concerning the extradition of Russian oligarchs.

The article claimed that the detective had accepted money to disclose confidential extradition information to a private security firm, ISC Global. Clients of the firm included Russian businessmen who were the subject of extradition requests.

A leading UK university announced yesterday that it will receive a record-breaking £20m donation from a Hong Kong businessman. The donation was made to the Faculty of Law at King's College London. It is thought to be the largest ever for a law faculty in Europe.

The £20m gift was made by Hong Kong-based philanthropist Dickson Poon. Mr Poon is the executive Chairman of the Dickson Group, and is well known globally for his philanthropic support of education and healthcare.

The King's College London School of Law has a history dating back over 175 years. It is recognised in the QS rankings as one of the top 25 law schools in the world.

UK climate-change law, which is some of the most advanced and expensive in the world, will remain on the statute book. This is despite pleas from Chancellor George Osborne for a reduction in costly bureaucracy.

The Government has been conducting a review of the Climate Change Act 2008 and other environmental laws.

The Act underpins most of the Government's policies on reducing carbon emissions to meet internationally agreed targets. At present the aim is to cut carbon emissions as a country by 80% by 2050.

The Government's hugely controversial bill to transform the way healthcare is administered in the UK will become law, after a vote yesterday evening in the House of Commons.

In the end, despite all the controversy and argument, the final vote passed quietly. After 14 months of stop-start negotiations, the new law will finally be implemented, with plans to have many of the provisions in place within a year.

The major focus of the change in legislation will be service commissioned not by Primary Care Trusts, but by GP-led consortia. The bill will inject more competition into the NHS, and creates new bodies to regulate the way money is spent, assess local health needs and represent patients better.

Lord Lloyd of Berwick, a former law lord, has announced that he will challenge a key government proposal on sentencing included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill. The proposed change in the law would see a 'two-strikes' rule brought in for serious, repeat offences.

The proposal is included in clause 117 of the controversial bill, which has seen numerous defeats and challenges in the House of Lords in recent weeks.

Under the new law, any offender who commits a serious 'listed' offence attracting a sentence of ten years or more would then be on a 'one-strike'. If later they were to commit another serious 'listed' offence then judges would be bound to give them a mandatory life sentence.

Tulisa Contostavlos, pop star with hit band N-Dubz and a judge and mentor on this year's X-Factor talent show has instructed her lawyer to seek an injunction against a website which was purporting to offer visitors a link to a controversial sex tape which it claims features the singer.

Lawyers representing Ms Contostavlos, 23, sought an immediate injunction to prevent publication of the seven-minute video after it was posted onto a website. The link was taken down before the video was spread around the world by social networking sites.

Lawyers successfully applied for an injunction preventing publication of the video and banning media outlets from describing the sex acts performed in it.

Government plans to create new 'commissioning support service' bodies may fall foul of EU competition law according to a leading healthcare law firm.

The controversial proposals for NHS reform will involve the scrapping of the 151 NHS primary care trusts which currently commission most healthcare services and between them manage a vast chunk of the NHS budget.

They will be replaced by GP-led consortia which will instead purchase healthcare services from the bottom up. The reasoning is that GPs are better placed in their role in primary care to assess local needs and demands.

The Government has revealed that it will suspend Sunday-trading laws during the Olympic Games this summer. The move had been widely anticipated, but it was thought the Government had left it too late to make the necessary legislative changes in time for the start of the Games in July.

The announcement is expected in chancellor George Osborne's budget announcement this week, with emergency legislation expected to be enacted as soon as Easter.

Under the present trading laws, stores larger than 280m² are only permitted to open for six hours each Sunday. The law is included in part of the Sunday Trading Act 1994, and restricts those larger shops to opening between the hours of ten in the morning and six in the evening.

The Government yesterday announced that there will be a new body to oversee competition in UK markets, set up and in operation as early as 2014. The changes, announced yesterday, represent the biggest shake up in competition law for a generation.

The new body will be called the Competition and Markets Authority, and will subsume the role in competition currently played by the Office of Fair Trading and the entire Competition Commission.

The new body will look at all elements of competition law, including cartel enforcement and merger analysis, as well as undertaking analysis of markets to assess whether legislative changes could make them more competitive for consumers.

The Government will go ahead with a consultation which will look at whether gay couples should be legally allowed to marry.

At present, same-sex couples can be legally joined in a civil partnership but they cannot be married. If the consultation proves favourable, the Government is committed to changing the law.

The move has been welcomed by many, but a substantial number of both equal-rights campaigners and church leaders are uneasy about the motive behind the move to change the law.

The European Court of Human Rights is set to rule tomorrow on a case concerning the police tactic of kettling.

The case has been brought by four protesters who were penned-in by the Metropolitan Police during a May Day march in 2001.

In what is widely considered the leading case on the subject of police crowd-control techniques, seventeen judges sitting in the grand chamber of the court will rule on whether the tactic breached protesters' rights to liberty under article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case has taken more than ten years to come before the European Court.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a lesbian couple who are raising a two-year-old boy must allow the biological father a role in his upbringing.

The father, a gay man living in London, had been told in a previous hearing that his contact would be limited to one day a fortnight, a decision which the Court of Appeal overturned.

The man, a professional in his forties, had married the mother of the boy in order to make it easier for the couple to have a child of their own. Initially the man had agreed over dinner that the lesbian couple would be the boy's primary parents. However, he later changed his mind and asked for greater involvement.

The Government has won crucial votes in the House of Lords over cuts to legal-aid services for immigration and debt advice.

The victories were made all the more important after the Government had suffered six defeats in the upper house last week.

The debate on the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill stretched late into the night on Monday, with Liberal Democrat peers turning out in force to see changes to immigration and debt advice voted through.

Vincent Tchenguiz, the Iranian-born property tycoon has decided to settle a multimillion-pound legal case with a former friend, just hours before he was due to take the witness stand to be cross-examined.

The case concerns money owed by Tchenguiz to a man described as his former best friend, Keyvan Rahimian.

Before the case began the two were described as being so close they were akin to brothers. They grew up as family friends in Iran in the late 60s and met again in London years later, when Rahimian worked as head of IT for Tchenguiz's business.

Shareholders of the now state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland are to sue the bank over claims that they were misled by former bosses during a rights issue in 2008.

Angry investors yesterday announced that they will issue a £2.4bn claim against the bank and several of its former directors including chairman Sir Tom McKillop and ex-chief executive Fred Goodwin.

Letters from the RBOS Action Group are due to be delivered to the bank and 17 former directors. The letters claim that investors were actively misled in a prospectus which was published as part of a £12bn rights issue by RBS, which raised money to fund the purchase of the Dutch investment bank ABN Amro.

Tony Nicklinson, the 57-year-old man suffering from 'locked-in syndrome' has won the first stage of his High Court case, after a judge ruled yesterday against a Ministry of Justice application to have the case struck out.

The MoJ had stated in a preliminary 'strike out' application that a case such as this, which is seeking a dramatic change in the law to allow a defence of necessity for a murder charge, should not be heard by a court, but rather should rightfully be debated in Parliament.

However, lawyers acting for Mr Nicklinson, who describes his life as 'miserable and demeaning', successfully argued that his case should be heard on its very particular set of facts. They claim that this would not open the flood-gates, and instead would allow courts in future to decide such harrowing cases on their individual merits.

The progress of the case of Tony Nicklinson, who was left severely disabled by a stroke and now wishes to be helped to die, will be decided by a High Court judge later today.

Mr Justice Charles must rule on an application from Ministry of Justice lawyers to have the case 'struck out' before argument has been heard, on the basis that such a change in the law should be made by Parliament and not the courts.

Mr Nicklinson, 57, lives in Melksham, Wiltshire with his wife. He suffered a catastrophic stroke in 2005 which has left him with 'locked-in syndrome', a medical condition which has left him unable to move any muscles in his body apart from his eyelids. As a consequence Mr Nicklinson relies on round-the-clock care and can only communicate by blinking.

Human rights lawyers will today stand in the High Court to accuse civilian staff working at the Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) of war crimes.

The lawyers will argue that staff that work at GCHQ in Cheltenham are secondary parties to murder, because their information is used by the US to target drone attacks in Pakistan.

The legal action has been brought by firm Leigh Day & Co and the charity Reprieve against foreign secretary William Hague. Mr Hague is the minister responsible for the work of GCHQ, which the prosecution claim provides 'location intelligence' to the US military.

Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday committed the UK to the Council of Europe convention on violence against women. The convention aims to criminalise both verbal and non-verbal or physical sexual harassment. The signing event was held to mark International Women's Day.

The convention has now been signed by 18 countries, including Germany, France and the Ukraine. The convention includes pledges which commit signatories to enacting measures to criminalise or impose sanctions for "unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment".

Other measures outlaw 'psychological violence' which suggests that bullying could also be covered under new legislation.

The human rights organisation Amnesty International has issued a stark warning to the UK Government that plans to curb legal aid for human rights cases will affect access to justice for some of society's most vulnerable.

They urge the House of Lords to continue this week's efforts, which have seen six of the proposals defeated in the upper chamber.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill has so far had a torrid time in the Lords, with peers from around the House opposing several aspects. Many have also questioned whether the bill as proposed would actually save the £350m which the Government has anticipated.

David Cameron is today set to announce a change in law which will see stalking become a criminal offence in its own right for the first time.

Although police have some powers to act already, at present they must wait for another crime to be committed before they can intervene.

The state of the present law on the matter means that at present it is estimated that only 2% of those who engage in stalking activity are jailed. The maximum custodial sentence for someone convicted of harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 at the moment is six months in prison.

After a round of defeats in the House of Lords earlier this week, the Government yesterday faced further embarrassment after peers voted down a further three proposals included in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill.

Government plans to save £350m from the national legal aid bill now look less likely, although the coalition in the commons could still force the bill through as the only elected chamber.

The voting this time concerned proposals to scrap legal aid for appeals against welfare benefit decisions. Peers defeated the proposal by 237 votes to 198, a margin of 39. The amendment was proposed by Lady Doocey, a Liberal Democrat peer.

Internet service providers BT and TalkTalk have lost their legal battle to appeal against certain provisions of the Government's proposed Digital Economy Act, paving the way for the entire Act to become law. The Court of Appeal dismissed the claims, ruling that the Act is compatible with European law.

BT and TalkTalk were appealing a judicial review which was conducted in 2011.

Under the proposed legal changes, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will be required to send out warning letters to customers who engage in illegal file-sharing. The letters will explain the law and will threaten termination of service for those who repeatedly infringe.

The advent of a shakeup in the way legal services are provided is upon us, thanks to the changes brought about by the Legal Services Act 2007. Under this law, non-legal firms can apply to manage and own businesses which provide legal services for the first time.

The so called 'Tesco Law', was brought about to increase choice and competition in a market which has changed little in decades if not centuries.

The market is in no rush to change, it must be said. There have so far been around 120 applications made to the Solicitors Regulatory Authority, the arm of the Law Society which is responsible for overseeing the new entities. Firms which have applied so far include BT, Admiral Insurance and the Co-op.

The controversial Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill has suffered a series of damaging defeats in the House of Lords.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke watched on as peers rejected various proposals, including those to restrict legal support for victims of domestic violence which was defeated by 37 votes.

The Lords has shown fierce opposition to Mr Clarke's proposals to save £350m by restricting access to legal aid. Now at its committee stage, the Bill is facing another round of major amendments before it can become law, although it is possible that the Commons could overrule the Lords in later voting.

The Home Secretary Theresa May has announced that the Government will delay the roll-out of Clare's Law, contrary to reports that it could be implemented in 2012.

May announced to MPs yesterday that a consultation on the new law has raised fears that it could be abused by people to 'spy' on others.

The new law will allow women the opportunity to request information from the police relating to the domestic violence past of their partners.

BAA Limited, the company which owns and operates six of the UK's major airports has announced that it will consider legal action if the Government continues to categorically rule out a third runway at Heathrow.

The company, which is owned by Spanish infrastructure giants, Grupo Ferrovial, says that expanding Heathrow must be considered as an option in any aviation review.

The controversial expansion of the UK's largest airport has been in the public eye for many years. In 2009, Labour transport minister Geoff Hoon announced that the UK Government would support the addition of a third runway at Heathrow, along with the construction of a sixth terminal.

The Home Office has announced that legal changes will be trialled that will allow women to request information from the police relating to any domestic violence committed by their current partners.

The change in the law has been called 'Clare's Law' after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her former partner in Manchester in 2009.

The sad case of Clare Wood has been particularly highlighted as she had made several complaints about her former boyfriend George Appleton to police. Mr Appleton went on to kill Ms Wood, and then later hanged himself.

A couple who tortured and killed a 15-year-old boy after accusing him of using witchcraft have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Magalie Bamu and her partner Eric Bikubi were meant to be caring for Miss Bamu's younger brother Kristy and four more siblings when they visited for Christmas in 2010, in their flat in Newham, east London.

But Mr Bikubi accused the boy and the other children of being witches and began beating and torturing them.

Data protection agencies around Europe have concluded that Google's new privacy policy is in breach of existing EU Law.

The statement, from the EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, has cast doubt on whether the new privacy policy will survive scrutiny in national legislatures around the EU.

The French data protection watchdog, CNIL, has also cast doubt on the policy's legality. They have gone on to inform Google that they will face a European-wide investigation into the policy in the coming months and years.

After his friend was arrested and charged with growing a huge stash of cannabis, David Evans decided to help him out by posing as a senior barrister, complete with wig and gown, to represent him at Plymouth Crown Court. Mr Evans represented his friend, even though he had no legal qualifications.

Mr Evans arrived at Plymouth Crown Court, and announced to officials that he was a senior advocate at a London law firm. He claimed to have been hired by Mr Terry Moss, who stood accused of running a cannabis farm in Cornwall.

Court clerks had no reason to disbelieve Mr Evans, and he was able to get into wig and gown and go before the judge to represent his friend.

A group of experts in medical ethics have risked the wrath of many by claiming that parents should be allowed to have their newborn babies killed.

The group, with ties to prestigious Oxford University, says that newborn babies are "morally irrelevant" and that ending their lives is therefore no different from a legal abortion.

The group published an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, a forum for controversial views on all sides of medical ethical debate. In their article they claim that a newborn baby cannot be an "actual person" and that therefore they cannot possess a "moral right to life".

Children who suffer brain damage during birth and victims of domestic violence will be entitled to legal aid to bring court cases after the Ministry of Justice announced significant concessions to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill.

Voting on the bill is due to commence in the House of Lords on Monday.

The controversial bill is set to drastically cut legal aid service provision in a wide range of areas, with the intention to cut some £350m or so from the total legal aid bill.