Lawyer news

• Cardiff Three: ex-officers sue South Wales police over miscarriage of justice saga

  12-10-2015 20:55
  
  Officers investigating murder of Lynette White, which saw three men wrongfully convicted, say they were made ‘scapegoats’ by their force Eight former police officers involved in the Cardiff Three miscarriage of justice murder case have cast doubt on the freed men’s innocence as they sue their own force over the saga.The ex-officers are taking legal action against South Wales police after they were prosecuted over the way they investigated the 1988 murder of the Cardiff sex work
  
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• What Michael Gove didn’t say about the prison system and cutting jail numbers | Letters

  12-10-2015 20:01
  
  Martin Kettle’s piece ignored three key issues missing in Michael Gove’s conference speech (Gove is a true reformer. We should be cheering him on, 9 October).First, it was Mr Gove’s predecessors who presided over a prison system that – as recent reports from HM chief inspector of prisons and the Harris review have shown – is in dire straits. Is Mr Gove saying his predecessors were wrong and, if so, in the spirit of the new, honest, political times, why doesn’t
  
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• We need a reality check on refugee numbers | Letters

  12-10-2015 19:58
  
  There can be no disagreement regarding the dreadful plight of refugees and the humanitarian responsibilities of safe areas in the rest of the world to offer asylum, but I must take issue with the legal profession’s statement (UK offer to take 20,000 Syrian refugees is too little, say judges, 12 October). Governments have responsibilities for all their citizens, and this includes giving careful consideration to the practical issues the numbers of refugees would have on the resident populati
  
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• Erol Incedal trial: security services cannot deny court evidence, says judge – video

  12-10-2015 19:39
  
  The judge sitting on the Erol Incedal appeal case on Tuesday, tells the crown that the security services are forbidden from denying the prosecution information for the case. The judge said that agencies may state their interests but otherwise it is the decision of an independent prosecutor to decide on whether information is evidence is to be submitted. Incedal was jailed for 42 months after his arrest in October 2013 for possessing a bomb-making manual Continue reading...
  
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• Lord chief justice: security services cannot be above the law

  12-10-2015 19:11
  
  Media appeal against courtroom secrecy in Erol Incedal trial hears remarks from top judge that MI6 and MI5 must comply with public prosecutionWarning: this article omits information that the Guardian and other news organisations are currently prohibited from publishing
  The accountability of MI5 and MI6 and the question of whether they are fully subject to the rule of law lie at the heart of attempts by the media to sweep away the secrecy surrounding a major terrorism trial, the lord chief justic
  
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• Jason Rezaian conviction: 'outrageous injustice' at center of Iranian power struggle

  12-10-2015 18:19
  
  The Washington Post bureau chief has been detained longer than any journalist in Iran – but on what charges Iran refuses to specify. How did it get this far?Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post journalist whose conviction on espionage charges was announced this weekend, has been detained longer than any other western journalist in Iran, possibly an unwitting pawn in a struggle between doves and hawks in the Islamic republic.The 39-year-old, who holds dual Iranian and US citizenship, was arre
  
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• NGO alert: Malaysian court upholds anti-trans law

  12-10-2015 17:41
  
  Human rights groups condemn a law that effectively criminalises the existence of transgender womenWhere: Malaysia
  What’s happening? Transgender rights activists in Malaysia celebrated last year when the court of appeal said a law criminalising cross-dressing was unconstitutional. Last week, that ruling was overturned by the country’s highest court.Related: NGO alert: Malaysia government blocks internet and threatens to send army against Bersih rally This campaign for legal rights has
  
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• Quotas ‘demeaning’ to women and minority groups – Leveson

  12-10-2015 17:13 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  President of the Queen’s Bench Division says judicial diversity is a work in progress.
  
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• Claims giant buys £25m rehab specialist as expansion continues

  12-10-2015 16:45 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  National Accident Helpline raises £14m in shares to ‘extend reach’.
  
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• Aid agencies back call for investigation into 'horrific' US attack on MSF hospital

  12-10-2015 16:40
  
  Group seeks unprecedented use of international mechanism to assess strike on Kunduz hospital, as Pentagon says US will compensate victims’ familiesA group of the world’s leading aid agencies has backed Médecins Sans Frontières’ call for an unprecedented international investigation into the “horrific” US attack on an MSF hospital in Afghanistan that killed at least 22 people.The US has accepted responsibility for airstrikes that hit a trauma centre in t
  
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• Senior UN official warns against UK plans to scrap Human Rights Act

  12-10-2015 15:08
  
  Prince Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein describes Tories’ threat to leave European court of human rights as ‘profoundly regrettable’The UN’s most senior human rights official has condemned the UK government’s proposal to scrap the Human Rights Act.In an unusual intervention for a UN official, Prince Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said of the Conservative threat to leave the European court of human rights (ECHR) that it would be “profoundly regrettable” if this o
  
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• EU exit would make UK a magnet for fugitives, warns former Acpo chief

  12-10-2015 14:48
  
  Hugh Orde says criminals would see Britain as a safe haven if it left the European Union as it would take longer to extradite themFugitives across Europe will flock to the UK as a safe haven if it leaves the European Union because a series of laws and extradition agreements would be ripped up, the former head of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has said.In one of the strongest warnings of the dangers of a UK exit, Sir Hugh Orde said criminals would know that it would take longer t
  
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• UK 'hoverboard' crackdown: all you need to know

  12-10-2015 14:18
  
  Are self-balancing mini scooters banned from footpaths? If so, why are mobility vehicles allowed? Key questions answeredQuite a lot, though this is mainly dependent on the observational powers of your local police. While it’s not unknown to see such self-balancing mini scooters on the pavement, under legal guidance reiterated on Monday by the Crown Prosecution Service all such “personal transporters”, including hoverboards and Segways, are banned from the footpath. Related: 'Ho
  
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• Tobacco Firms Tried to 'Delay and Derail' UK Plain Packaging Law - Wall Street Journal

  12-10-2015 13:52
  Wall Street Journal
  Tobacco Firms Tried to 'Delay and Derail' UK Plain Packaging Law
  Wall Street Journal
  LONDON—A U.K. public-health research body alleges that four of the world's biggest tobacco companies flooded the U.K. government with “substandard evidence” to delay the creation of the country's plain-packaging law. In 2012, British American Tobacco ...en meer »
  

• Do lawyers have the right to question Tory asylum policy?

  12-10-2015 13:45
  
  It is obvious the EU system needs fixing but the legal profession is not in a position to take a stance in UK migration debateJust by coincidence, a lawyer friend was sounding off within earshot a few hours before 300 lawyers and retired judges published their letter complaining that the government’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis is “too low, too slow and too narrow”. So it is. But is it the job of retired judges to tell David Cameron so?My friend would give an emphatic
  
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• Society raises doubts over legal aid timetable

  12-10-2015 12:40 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Firms will find out if they have won duty provider contracts on Thursday.
  
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• Tributes paid to Robin ap Cynan

  12-10-2015 11:56 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Law Society council member and leading figure on Welsh legal scene dies suddenly.
  
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• UK 200: 101-200 – Inside the Independents - The Lawyer

  12-10-2015 10:06
  The Lawyer
  UK 200: 101-200 – Inside the Independents
  The Lawyer
  For the first time The Lawyer UK 200 has dissected the financials of the bottom half of the table to reveal a group of firms tackling a tough market with entrepreneurial zeal. However, their revenue range suggests consolidation pressures are growing ...en meer »
  

• ‘They locked me up and left me’: Armenia's outdated mental health laws

  12-10-2015 10:00
  
  Women recount being forcibly sent to psychiatric hospitals by family members relying on leftover Soviet legislation It started as a family row over property. Julietta Amarikian and her brother were arguing about a flat they had jointly inherited from their parents. She wanted to sell and share the proceeds; he wanted her to move out so he could live there with his wife. The conflict escalated and Amarikian says her brother, unable to get his way, threatened to have her committed to a psychiatric
  
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• Law professor condemns UK silence on gay 'hate speech' - Cayman Compass

  12-10-2015 07:07
  Cayman Compass
  Law professor condemns UK silence on gay 'hate speech'
  Cayman Compass
  The professor at the center of a gay rights case in the Cayman Islands told a conference for international lawyers that he believes the United Kingdom is failing to meet its responsibilities with respect to human rights for homosexuals in the Overseas ...en meer »
  

• Lawyer's son back in China after failed escape attempt - Yahoo News UK

  12-10-2015 05:38
  Lawyer's son back in China after failed escape attempt
  Yahoo News UK
  BEIJING (AP) — The teenage son of a rights lawyer detained in a sweeping crackdown on civil society is under house arrest in northern China after being grabbed in Myanmar while trying to escape to the United States, a family friend said Monday.en meer »
  

• Unified court a ‘mugger’s charter’?

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Europe’s first federal court could turn into a ‘mugger’s charter’ with litigants forum-shopping for the most advantageous tier and language to hear their case, the conference heard.
  
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• Small firms must avoid ‘race to bottom’

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Small firms will continue to provide the backbone of legal services – but they may look different in the future, Law Society president Jonathan Smithers told a conference session on the role of bar associations in supporting small firms.
  
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• SDT: William John Gregory Osmond

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  The SDT ordered that the respondent should pay a fine of £10,000.
  
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• SDT: Mohammed Ali Khan

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  The SDT found no case to answer against the respondent.
  
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• Restraint of trade

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Regulators are under pressure to justify restrictions on municipal entrepreneurialism.
  
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• New fast-track eviction powers could breach human rights, warns watchdog

  12-10-2015 01:01
  
  Measures in government’s proposed immigration bill could violate protections if families and children are made destitute as a result of being made homelessGovernment proposals to legally require landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants risk a serious breach of human rights, an official watchdog has warned. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has warned MPs ahead of Tuesday’s second reading of the immigration bill that fast-track powers for landlords to e
  
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• ​Nearshoring fear

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  The president of the Law Society of Northern Ireland expressed concerns about the impact of the ‘nearshoring’ of legal services to the province. Arleen Elliott said that while she was grateful that young people had been given work ‘my concern in the long-term is how committed these firms are to Northern Ireland and the careers of young people’.
   
  
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• Moves to open South Korean market founder

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Efforts to open up South Korea to international law firms are still facing obstruction, an IBA session on free trade agreements and crossborder legal services heard.
  
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• Immigration appeal hearings delayed up to nine months

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  A courts service chief admitted the delays were ‘unacceptable’.
  
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• ​Hungary threat

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Judicial independence is still under threat in Hungary, the IBA’s Human Rights Institute reported. Nick Stanage of Doughty Street Chambers condemned what he called the ‘emasculation’ of the country’s constitutional court, once held up as a model for ex-communist states.
   
   
  
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• ​Google jurisdiction

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Web giant Google has received 320,000 requests to ‘de-link’ web pages following last year’s Google Spain judgment in the CJEU. About 40% of requests lead to a removal. A session on ‘online platforms as the new nation states’ heard that handling the responsibility amounted to Google becoming ‘the world’s largest online court’.
   
   
  
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• Fixed costs looming in commercial litigation

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Commercial litigation is heading towards fixed costs, the judge in charge of the Commercial Court warned last week.
  
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• Court estate consolidation plans based on flawed data

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  When it launched its consultation in July proposing the closure of 91 courts, the government stated that 95% of users would still be able to get to alternative sites within an hour.
  
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• Arresting developments

  12-10-2015 01:01 via lawgazette.co.uk
  
  Buyers discovering information about development after exchanging contracts.
  
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