from the Inner Temple Library
“High-profile prosecutions have relied on DNA to convict the guilty. Steve Wright who murdered five women in Suffolk, and Mark Dixie the killer of Sally Anne Bowman, would probably not have been convicted without DNA evidence.
But the use of forensic evidence is not always so straight-forward in proving guilt, as Clive Coleman finds out when he debates the use of forensic techniques with a panel of experts.”
BBC Law in Action, 27th May 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has criticised proposals to build one Government-owned database to hold a log of phone calls, email and internet use in the UK. The ICO has said that the move would be unjustified.”
OUT-LAW.com, 27th May 2008
Source: www.out-law.com
Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Act 2008 published
Full text of Act (PDF)
Source: www.opsi.gov.uk
“An HIV-positive Ugandan woman’s claim to stay in the UK has been rejected by the European Court of Human Rights.”
BBC News, 27th May 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The Sentencing Guidelines Council published a consultation guideline for breaches of anti-social behaviour orders on 23 May 2008. The Sentencing Advisory Panel also published its Advice on the same day.”
Consultation guideline – Breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (PDF)
Letter to consultees (PDF)
Advice: Breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (PDF)
Press Notice (PDF)
Sentencing Guidelines Council, 23rd May 2008
Source: www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk
Satyam Computer Services Ltd v Upaid Systems Ltd
Court of Appeal
“It would only be through the use of the clearest possible specific language that parties to a settlement would be taken to have excluded fraud-based claims.”
The Times, 27th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Ramblers’ Association v Coventry City Council
Queen’s Bench Division
“A council could order the closure of a footpath under section 129A to G of the Highways Act 1980, as inserted by section 2 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, only if satisfied that the footpath had facilitated prolonged criminal or antisocial behaviour at the date of the order.”
The Times, 27th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
SK (Sri Lanka) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Court of Appeal
“While the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal had power to pronounce an oral decision at the conclusion of a hearing, it was the written determination which constituted the decision. If an oral pronouncement was inconsistent with a subsequent written determination, there should be another hearing.”
The Times, 27th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
House of Lords
“The humanitarian aims of the UN Convention and Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) (Cmd 9171) and (1967) (Cmnd 3906) were to be achieved by construing its words purposively.”
The Times, 26th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“The Home Office was accused last night of rushing to deport a university administrator to conceal official blunders after he was arrested on terrorism charges only to be released without charge. A Labour MP criticised the decision, claiming there was no reason for it ‘other than to cover the embarrassment of the police and intelligence services’.”
The Independent, 25th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Prison mental health services are struggling to cope as overstretched staff try to deal with rising levels of mental illness among prisoners, a major report will warn next week. Thousands of seriously mentally ill prisoners are being released untreated back into the community, it says.”
The Independent, 25th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“An Oxford-educated investment banker who quoted Shakespeare as he sexually assaulted a woman has been jailed indefinitely.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Britain’s artistic community is battling against leading auction houses and dealers to bring in a law forcing the payment of a royalty on artists’ works for 70 years after their deaths — in line with writers and musicians.”
The Times, 27th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“An Iranian-born solicitor has launched an unprecedented £10m claim against the Law Society and the solicitors’ regulatory body for racial and religious discrimination, harassment and victimisation.”
The Guardian, 26th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“New police powers to combat knife crime could cause increased antagonism amongst young people, the Children’s Commissioner for England has warned.”
Daily Telegraph, 24th May 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A woman was threatened with a fine by her local council for putting posters on lampposts to find the owners of a lost cat. Public-spirited Joy Tracey wanted to reunite Copper the ginger tom with his owners after he was found whimpering in a garden.”
The Guardian, 24th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A new legal weapon came into force over the weekend in a government crackdown on unscrupulous companies that mislead customers or use aggressive sales tactics.”
The Times, 27th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“A former paratrooper who had a sex change operation has won a payout of £250,000 for hurt feelings after she was ordered to wear a man’s uniform to a medical examination.”
Daily Telegraph, 25th May 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A senior High Court judge has called for an overhaul of the court costs system in environmental cases because ordinary people were being denied their right to challenge decisions affecting their lives.”
The Guardian, 25th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Eight years after Victoria Climbié died, the lessons of that terrible case seem not to have been learned.”
The Independent, 25th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“Prison officers at one of Britain’s maximum security jails are losing control to Muslim gangs, according to a confidential report obtained by The Observer. An internal review of Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire warns that staff believe a ’serious incident is imminent’ as several wings become dominated by Muslim prisoners.”
The Guardian, 25th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Cigarettes will be banned from public display in shops and vending machines are to be scrapped under dramatic new plans designed to curb smoking among young people.”
The Independent, 26th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
