Recently in International Category

The Government's decision to deny financial support to a British grandmother sentenced to death by firing squad in Bali has been declared lawful by UK judges, despite them expressing great sympathy at her plight, reports The Daily Mail.

Lindsay Sandiford was caught by police on the Indonesian island of Bali smuggling £1.6m-worth of cocaine in the lining of her suitcase through Bali's Denpasar airport.

Sandiford, 56, was surprisingly sentenced to death by firing squad by judges in Bali, despite the Government's prosecution lawyers recommending a maximum 15-year jail penalty.

UK motorists could face fines for using their SatNav devices to detect fixed-speed cameras whilst driving abroad, reports The Daily Mirror.

It is a little-known fact that the UK is one of only two European nations that legally allow the use of Satellite Navigation devices in order to detect the location of fixed-speed camera traps.

As a result, many UK motorists frequently set up their SatNav devices to detect speed cameras, allowing them to adjust their speed to avoid detection.

The inquest into the death of a 31-year-old dentist in Galway last year from obstetric complications has heard that a midwife has apologised for her explanation of why an abortion was not possible, reports Sky News.

Savita Halappanavar had come to University Hospital Galway in October of last year complaining of abdominal pain, 17 weeks into her pregnancy.

Despite being in considerable pain, and requesting a termination, she was denied what could have been life-saving treatment because Ireland's abortion laws do not permit the early delivery of a foetus with a heartbeat when there was no obvious risk to the mother's life.

Two British citizens accused of drug offences in Dubai have been denied a visit by the charity Reprieve, who were hoping to meet with them to discuss their legal cases, reports the BBC.

Reprieve hoped to visit three Britons jailed in Dubai on drug charges last August. However, authorities in Dubai only allowed them to visit the third defendant, Suneet Jeerh, refusing them access to Grant Cameron and Karl Williams who were also arrested on the same charges.

All three men deny the charges levied against them and have claimed that the police have tortured them using electric shocks and beatings, although this account of events is being challenged.

A group of holiday home investors from Northern Ireland have won a £1m legal case against an Italian law firm, Giambrone Law LLP, who took large sums as deposits for holiday homes that were never built, reports the BBC.

It began as a dream but quickly turned into a nightmare, but yesterday thirteen property investors from Northern Ireland won a £1m case after the law firm they were suing accepted that they had let them down in the handling of their money.

The investors all paid up to 50% deposits towards a new development of holiday homes in Calabria, Southern Italy six years ago. The money was paid to Giambrone Law, an Italian law firm with an office in London, purporting to specialise in overseas property transactions.

The Children's Rights Alliance for England (CRAE), a leading child welfare charity, has warned the Government that its failure to outlaw smacking in the UK may well be in breach of international law, reports The Daily Telegraph.

In a review of the law concerning children's rights, the group claims that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child outlaws all forms of violence against children and that the UK is in breach of its convention obligations by failing to legislate on the matter.

The review also warns that the current age of criminal responsibility in the UK, which is set at ten years old, is too low and that the current legal definition of a juvenile (aged between ten and 17) may not respect children's rights.

The UK may jeopardise its intelligence-sharing with the United States if it fails to implement laws that would allow some security cases to be heard in closed courts, according to the independent reviewer of intelligence legislation, David Anderson QC.

Mr Anderson was addressing the Joint Human Rights Committee yesterday, which is taking evidence on proposals included in the Justice and Security Bill.

The bill is seeking to amend the law to allow cases that include highly sensitive intelligence information to be heard in closed courts. Litigants in such cases would need to be represented by security-vetted advocates in new 'closed material proceedings'.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague has moved to reassure the UK Parliament that any additional support offered to Syrian rebels will be offered within the remit of international law.

The UK continues to support the Syrian rebels with provision of non-lethal aid, mostly in the form of communications assistance to help the rebels coordinate their positions, as well as offers of body armour and medical supplies.

It is thought the UK will provide around £5m worth of mobile and satellite phones to allow the rebels to overcome a government communications blockade. Mr Hague confirmed that the UK would not provide any military advice or weaponry.

Singapore, once a British colony, is today one of the richest countries on earth which the World Bank describes as one of the easiest places in which to do business.

Now the Government are turning their sights on the global legal industry, and are extending a welcome to big foreign firms looking to locate into the region.

In order to operate in the country, law firms must be licensed as a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice or QFLP.

Some of the UK's top judges have been invited to Qatar as it bids to become a world-leading arbitration centre, in direct competition with London.

The most senior member of the English judiciary, Lord Judge, and the president of arbitration centre Qatari International Court are among an attaché of senior judges attending an event in Doha to discuss the rule of law.

Qatar is looking to boost its reputation in a number of key areas after it successfully bid to hold the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In addition to developing its legal services sector, it is also investing heavily in media development and markets and holding events designed to encourage foreign investment in the Gulf State.

The Chinese Government is to fund the development of a cultural institute in the Welsh town of Bangor as part of plans to offer courses in Chinese with a legal focus at Bangor University.

Bangor University intends to become the first to offer a British joint-honours degree in law with Mandarin. The university will offer the course in partnership with the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing.

The university will also develop a Confucius Institute, designed to help promote a better understanding of Chinese culture with a 'legal flavour'. There are currently eleven such institutes based at UK universities, but the new one at Bangor will be the first to be attached to a school of law.

UK law firm Addleshaw Goddard has announced that it is to open an office in Singapore, in a bid to win more arbitration business in the booming international trade hub.

The office will be the firm's first outside the UK, and is set to open for business in May 2012.

Although the firm admit the initial focus will be on winning arbitration business, they have said that the office could expand later to offer a fuller range of legal services. The office will be run by Jamie Harrison, who joined Addleshaws from US firm Winston & Strawn in 2009.