Lawyer news

• Home surveillance CCTV images may breach data protection laws, ECJ rules

  11-12-2014 22:50
  
  European court of justice rules CCTV film of public spaces not ‘purely personal’, contradicting UK’s application of laws on dataImages captured on a household surveillance camera could breach data-protection rules if the person filmed was on a public footpath when videoed, the European court of justice (ECJ) has ruled.By clarifying European legislation, the judgment could have significant consequences for householders in the UK who use CCTV and keep or try to use the images, according to a
  
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• US hid UK links in torture report at request of British spy agencies

  11-12-2014 22:18
  
  Downing Street says UK intelligence asked for redactions to be made in Senate report on the grounds of national securityReferences to Britain’s intelligence agencies were deleted at their request from the damning US report on the CIA’s use of torture after 9/11, it has emerged.A spokesman for David Cameron acknowledged the UK had been granted deletions in advance of the publication, contrasting with earlier assertions by No 10. Downing Street said any redactions were only requested on “nat
  
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• Senator Feinstein uses Twitter to rebut CIA director's statement in real time

  11-12-2014 21:33
  
  Senate intelligence committee chairwoman wanted to make sure that John Brennan’s speech did not go uncontestedThe Senate intelligence committee, led by Dianne Feinstein, this week released a long-awaited report on the CIA’s torture program. The documents revealed, in brutal detail, an extensive history of abuse, mismanagement, and obfuscation at the CIA. On Thursday, the CIA director, John Brennan, offered his first public response to the bombshell report. He opened a press briefing at CIA h
  
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• Senator Feinstein uses Twitter to rebut CIA director's statement

  11-12-2014 21:33
  
  Senate intelligence committee chairwoman wanted to make sure that John Brennan’s speech did not go uncontestedThe Senate intelligence committee, led by Dianne Feinstein, this week released a long-awaited report on the CIA’s torture program. The documents revealed, in brutal detail, an extensive history of abuse, mismanagement, and obfuscation at the CIA. On Thursday, the CIA director, John Brennan, offered his first public response to the bombshell report. He opened a press briefing at CIA h
  
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• CIA director John Brennan defends agency in wake of torture report

  11-12-2014 21:27
  
  Embattled CIA chief argued the agency ‘did a lot of things right’, as Dianne Feinstein launched a string of tweets defending the accuracy of the reportSenator Feinstein uses Twitter to rebut CIA director’s statement in real timeThe embattled director of the CIA has struck a defiant tone in his first public remarks since a Senate report into torture excoriated his agency, insisting the CIA “did a lot of things right” in a time when there were “no easy answers”.Speaking at CIA headqu
  
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• Afghan president condemns 'shocking' and 'inhumane' torture described in CIA report

  11-12-2014 20:34
  
  Ashraf Ghani vows to defends the dignity of those who had been jailed in reminder of how impact of CIA interrogation programme still fuels angerThe Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, has described detailed revelations of US torture as “shocking” and “inhumane”, and demanded to know how many Afghans had been debased in grim facilities inside their own country.
  The recently elected leader promised to defend the dignity of those who had been jailed, and gave notice that from the start of nex
  
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• CIA torture report: British spy agencies discussed redactions

  11-12-2014 18:42
  
  David Cameron says UK intelligence talked to US counterparts about influencing Senate report on grounds of national securityBritain’s spying agencies did discuss redactions to the CIA torture report on the grounds of “national security” but not to cover up their own actions, David Cameron’s deputy official spokesman has said.Downing Street said talks had taken place between the UK intelligence agencies and their US counterparts about influencing the contents of the Senate report that rev
  
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• International law stays silent on the responsibility for climate change

  11-12-2014 18:00
  
  Climate change affects everything from public health to migration patterns. So why has the legal response to a global problem been so weak?Climate change hurts innocent people. It puts ordinary people, who for the most part have not contributed in any way to global warming, at extraordinary risk.The IPPC’s Climate Change 2014 Synthesis report makes for sobering reading when they write about the consequences of climate change: “injury and death due to more intense heat waves and fires”; flo
  
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• Solicitors PII broker collapsed after insurer failure

  11-12-2014 17:28
  
  Administrators outline troubled year created ‘reputational damage’ at Bar Professions.
  
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• Supreme court to rule whether ban on abuse memoir threatens free speech

  11-12-2014 16:38
  
  Rights groups back challenge, claiming injunction on British performing artist’s book is serious risk to freedom of expressionA British performing artist who has been prevented from publishing his memoir as a result of legal action brought by his ex-wife is to ask the supreme court to overturn the ban, arguing that it poses a dangerous threat to free speech.The artist – who can be identified only as MLA as a consequence of the extensive secrecy surrounding the case – is being supported by
  
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• CIA chief John Brennan to face down pressure over torture report

  11-12-2014 16:14
  
  Brennan to attempt to limit damage over damning findings as calls grow for those responsible to face justiceThe head of the CIA is to mount a damage-limitation exercise in response to a damning senate intelligence committee report on torture.As the agency faces its gravest crisis in decades, John Brennan is expected to address growing pressure on the White House and the CIA to hold individuals to account for covering up the torture of terrorist suspects. Mark Udall, a Democratic senator, has cal
  
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• Domestic abuse: Legal aid cuts 'leave women and children at risk' - video

  11-12-2014 16:06
  
  Changes to legal aid for family law cases have been condemned by judges and campaigning organisation Rights of Women is bringing a judicial review into the lawfulness of the restrictions on Friday. Louise Tickle reports
  
  • Services for victims of domestic violence are for the few, not the many
  • More from our series on domestic abuse Continue reading...
  
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• Gay life in Northern Ireland is under threat – time to act | Patrick Strudwick

  11-12-2014 15:50
  
  I was a scared teenager and don’t want a regression in human rights at Stormont to mean LGBT people there feel the sameA few days ago, after rereading my diary from the age of 13 to 15, I tweeted about its contents: “Every page: ‘I want to kill myself. I hate myself. My life is going to be awful because I’m gay.’” And swiftly followed this up with: “Wish I’d known then what I know now: being gay has made my life fascinating, liberated, immeasurably enriched, meaningful and v v fu
  
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• From net neutrality to copyright: media law trends for 2015

  11-12-2014 15:12
  
  The battle over how to protect an open internet, new copyright exceptions and the increasing influence of the European commission are just a few trends to monitor next year
  
  2015 looks set to be another year of important developments in media law. This piece highlights some of the key areas for media professionals to monitor. One obvious subject that isn’t included here is data protection. It’s so vast and important that The Guardian is devoting an entire article to it later this month.
  
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• UK lawyers demand confidentiality after state admits spying - The Global Legal Post

  11-12-2014 14:25
  
  The Global Legal Post
  UK lawyers demand confidentiality after state admits spying
  The Global Legal Post
  Leigh Day was one firm that was being intercepted without its lawyers being aware that their conversations were being overheard. In an unusual joint approach, the Law Societies of England and Wales and of Scotland have linked up with the Faculty of ...
  
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• Human Rights body legal bid on Northern Ireland abortion law 'ill-timed' - Belfast Telegraph

  11-12-2014 13:36
  
  Belfast Telegraph
  Human Rights body legal bid on Northern Ireland abortion law 'ill-timed'
  Belfast Telegraph
  The commission wants to change the current law to give women the right choose if they wish to terminate a pregnancy in circumstances where the foteus has a fatal abnormality or when rape or incest occurs. Women can only have a legal abortion here if ...
  NI abortion law: NIHRC to begin legal challengeBBC News
  Precious Life vows to fight abortion law challengeBelfast Newsletter
  Hum
  
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• Northern Rock’s £261m defeat in High Court

  11-12-2014 13:03 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Landmark defeat will force in-house counsel at banks to review documentation.
  
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• Britain’s complicity in CIA torture is a crime that will only create more jihadis | Owen Jones

  11-12-2014 12:39
  
  A judge-led inquiry is the least we need because without full openness this disaster will repeat itselfInjustice that is not fully exposed cannot be properly challenged; and when injustice is not properly challenged, it is doomed to repeat itself. That is why Britain’s full complicity in the CIA’s systematic torture of prisoners must not be allowed to remain a state secret. The extent of the catastrophe of the so-called “war on terror” launched 13 years ago is becoming ever clearer: inva
  
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• Smith outlines digital future for legal services

  11-12-2014 12:04
  
  New report by former Justice director calls on government to pilot online dispute resolution for small claims.
  
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• Lib Dem MP seeks debate on new online porn laws - BBC News

  11-12-2014 11:51
  
  BBC News
  Lib Dem MP seeks debate on new online porn laws
  BBC News
  New laws that ban certain types of online British porn from being viewed should be debated by MPs, according to a Liberal Democrat MP. Regulations introduced on 1 December bring video-on-demand online porn under the same restrictions as R18 material ...
  
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• Somalia sexual offences bill hailed as vital step towards lasting change

  11-12-2014 11:42
  
  Legislation addressing rape and other sexual violence – often committed by armed forces – will be presented to cabinet by year endThe first bill to define and address sexual offences in Somalia is expected to be presented to the cabinet before the end of this year, updating legislation that has been in place since 1930. The bill will define rape as a crime against a person, rather than a crime against morality, as it characterised at present. It will criminalise gang rape and introduce legis
  
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• CIA chief to face down pressure over torture report

  11-12-2014 11:39
  
  John Brennan to attempt to limit damage over damning findings as calls grow for those responsible to face justiceThe head of the CIA is to mount a damage-limitation exercise in response to a damning senate intelligence committee report on torture.As the agency faces its gravest crisis in decades, John Brennan is expected to address growing pressure on the White House and the CIA to hold individuals to account for covering up the torture of terrorist suspects. Mark Udall, a Democratic senator, ha
  
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• US shuts its last prison in Afghanistan

  11-12-2014 11:34
  
  Detainees transferred from Bagram airfield near Kabul day after Senate report on CIA torture but officials insist move not linkedThe US has shut its last detention facility in Afghanistan and has no more prisoners there, officials said – closing a much-criticised chapter in Washington’s fight against Islamic extremism.The US Department of Defense said it had recently transferred the last detainees from Bagram airfield, north of the capital, Kabul. It closed the prison there on 10 December, a
  
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• The strange British law that is leading hundreds of people to mimic sex acts ... - Washington Post (blog)

  11-12-2014 11:00
  
  The strange British law that is leading hundreds of people to mimic sex acts ...
  Washington Post (blog)
  On Friday at midday, hundreds of people have arranged to meet at Old Palace Yard, next to Britain's Houses of Parliament. Once there, they plan to mimic sexual acts en masse while singing from the classic British comedy Monty Python. According to the ...
  
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• British role in torture: Clegg has ‘open mind’ about judicial inquiry

  11-12-2014 10:44
  
  Deputy prime minister says he is confident UK agents are not using torture but inquiry may be necessary to reach truth
  
  • Live blog: All the day’s political developmentsNick Clegg has suggested there could be a case for a full judicial inquiry into the possibility of British complicity in torture in the wake of a report into brutal and ineffective methods used by the US Central Intelligence Agency.The deputy prime minister said he was completely confident that torture “cannot, will not
  
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• The fight against wrongful convictions must go on – we owe it to the innocent | Jon Robins

  11-12-2014 10:36
  
  Despite success in overturning the murder conviction of Dwaine George, the innocence movement is in disarray due to cuts to legal aid. University students have a vital role to playThis week the court of appeal paid tribute to the work of about 30 law students at Cardiff University for investigative work that led to its decision to overturn the conviction of Dwaine George. The victim, Daniel Dale, died almost instantly as he fled a shooting in the Miles Platting area of Manchester in July 2001. G
  
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• Torture: Why did the CIA spend $180m on bad science? | Martin Robbins

  11-12-2014 10:10
  
  The CIA built up a multi-million dollar system of bad science that insulated them from the truth about torture. The psychologists involved should be banished from the scientific community“The scientific community has never established that coercive interrogation methods are an effective means of obtaining reliable intelligence information.” That conclusion came from a 2006 report on torture by the Intelligence Science Board, who provide scientific advice to the American intelligence services
  
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• Online child abuse: Law to end 'grey area' - BBC News

  11-12-2014 10:07
  
  BBC News
  Online child abuse: Law to end 'grey area'
  BBC News
  An offence is to be created to stop paedophiles soliciting explicit photos from children online or via mobiles. It is illegal in England and Wales to possess such images but not to ask a child to send them. David Cameron will say there can be no "grey ...
  New law will prevent paedophiles soliciting pictures from childrenTelegraph.co.uk
  David Cameron vows to end loophole that lets off web paedophilesDaily Mail
  New police u
  
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• Lords lean towards a lawyer lord chancellor

  11-12-2014 10:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Legal qualification ‘not essential’ but benefits of a ‘legal or constitutional background’ should be given ‘due consideration’, constitution committee says.
  
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• Google News Spain to close in response to story links 'tax'

  11-12-2014 09:25
  
  New Spanish law requires Google to pay for using publishers’ content but search provider says it makes no money from News service
  Google is closing Google News in Spain and removing Spanish media outlets from the service following a row with the country’s government over new legislation aimed at protecting local publishers that requires the search company to pay for using their content.The tech giant announced late on Wednesday that Google News would close in Spain on 16 December. A spokeswo
  
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• CIA torture report: Obama under pressure as calls for accountability grow

  11-12-2014 08:39
  
  Democratic senator calls for purge of top officials in the CIAWhite House rejects claims agency misled President BushThe White House is under growing pressure to hold individuals accountable for covering up the torture of terrorist suspects, with calls coming from a senator for a purge of top CIA officials and a furious row over whether the agency kept both Congress and the previous administration sufficiently informed of the programme.In his first televised remarks since Tuesday’s damning Sen
  
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• Liverpool lawyer who 'swapped late-night texts with jailed gangster Mark ... - Liverpool Echo

  11-12-2014 06:45
  
  Liverpool Echo
  Liverpool lawyer who 'swapped late-night texts with jailed gangster Mark ...
  Liverpool Echo
  The judges called for a copy of their judgment to be sent on to the lawyer watchdog, the Solicitors Regulation Authority. According to DDE Law's website, Ms Doolan worked on the Damilola Taylor murder case in London and on the UK's only war crime trial.
  Top criminal lawyer Janine Doolan suspended over 'inappropriate texts' with ...International Business Times UK
  Top law
  
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• Law targets child abusers soliciting images online - BBC News

  11-12-2014 06:23
  
  BBC News
  Law targets child abusers soliciting images online
  BBC News
  A new offence is to be created to stop paedophiles soliciting explicit photos from children on mobiles or online. Prime Minister David Cameron told the Daily Mail the law change in England and Wales would close a loophole that has seen people escape ...
  David Cameron vows to end loophole that lets off web paedophilesDaily Mail
  New Unit Targets 'Dark-Net' PaedophilesSky News
  Paedophiles have 'nowhere to hide
  
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• GCHQ to help tackle 'dark net' child abuse images - BBC News

  11-12-2014 05:48
  
  The Guardian
  GCHQ to help tackle 'dark net' child abuse images
  BBC News
  The law, which would apply in England and Wales, is expected to be included in the Serious Crime Bill currently going through Parliament. Various laws exist in this area, but Mr Cameron said there should be no "grey areas". It follows a campaign by the ...
  David Cameron closes loophole that lets paedophiles ask children for explicit ...Daily Mail
  GCHQ: David Cameron's 'dark web' announceme
  
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• Google News Spain to close in response to 'tax' on story links

  11-12-2014 02:24
  
  New Spanish law requires Google to pay for using publishers’ content but search provider says it makes no money from News service
  Google is closing Google News in Spain and removing Spanish media outlets from the service following a row with the country’s government over new legislation aimed at protecting local publishers that requires the search company to pay for using their content.The tech giant announced late on Wednesday that Google News would close in Spain on 16 December. A spokeswo
  
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• CIA torture report: rights groups call for criminal investigation – as it happened

  11-12-2014 00:30
  
  Senator Mark Udall blasts CIA on Senate floor (video)‘The CIA is lying’Rights watchdog calls for criminal investigation ACLU calls for special prosecutorRead the latest blog summary 6.28pm ET We’re going to wrap up our live blog coverage for the day. Here’s a summary of where things stand: 6.05pm ET Video: Former Guantánamo captive David Hicks heckles Australian prosecutor at awards ceremony 5.37pm ET The Huffington Post contributes zesty added detail to the developing Michael Ha
  
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• Brazil president weeps as she unveils report on military dictatorship's abuses

  11-12-2014 00:24
  
  Dilma Rousseff was herself tortured; 191 people killed; 243 ‘disappeared’US and UK trained interrogators in torture during 1964-85 military ruleThe Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, wept on Wednesday as she unveiled the findings of a Truth Commission investigation into the systematic murder, torture and other abuses carried out during the country’s military dictatorship.After a nearly three-year study, the commission confirmed that 191 people were killed and 243 “disappeared” under
  
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