A place to come to get up-to-date legal news in one place that is easy and accessible.

Wednesday 23 November 2011

*Update* Court Clerk sentenced for bribery

Court clerk, Munir Patel has made legal history being the first defendant convicted under the new bribery legislation, being sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. He was exposed taking a £500 bribe to avoid putting details of a traffic summons onto a legal database.

Patel admitted to one count of bribery and misconduct in a public office. However, the prosecution believed that he had in fact helped 53 offenders and made in the region of £20000 from his bribes. Sentencing Judge Alistair McCreath stated how the offences were ‘ a very substantial breach of trust... your position as a court clerk had... the duty to public confidence in it’. Judge McCreath sentenced the clerk to 3 years for bribery and 6 years for misconduct to be served concurrently. 

Monday 21 November 2011

Goodbye to social welfare law?

The government is set to announce plans to limit spending on legal aid within the UK. If carried out as envisaged the government is set to save £350 million of the £2.1 billion budget devoted to legal aid each year. However, as with all proposed changes to the law much criticism has followed and a predicted outcome is that of a loss of the social welfare area of the law. 
The plan is set to largely target civil cases with £280 of the £350 million being saved from this area. Firstly by making it harder to claim civil legal aid through the reduction of the acceptance limit from those with less than £3000 worth of assets to those with less than £1000. Then finally the government will move to make all but the extreme exceptional circumstances ineligible. 
The Ministry of Justice stands by its plans and the belief in the ‘need to ensure proper conditions and safeguards are built... to continue to justify paying out vast amounts of taxpayers cash’. However, with so much money being removed from the civil sector it is clear how the public are going to suffer, in particular when it comes to receiving legal advice and support on debt, housing, benefits, immigration, employment and personal injury, to mention a few. From this, critics are concerned the social welfare sector will suffer and this could result in undermining the constitutional principle that citizens must have access to justice.
Currently we still await the announcement of these plans and the impact these will have. 

Saturday 19 November 2011

Finally putting a stop to stalkers

* Possible future Reform *



March 2011 saw the government publish a report with the action plan focused on tackling violence against woman and girls. A home office individual stated in particular it would review the impact of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The final push towards this it seems has come from Lynne Featherstone (the minister of equalities) when she expressed her view on victims to stalking ‘it is quite clear they are being let down’. 
Currently within the legal system there is no specific definition or act of stalking. The behavior is most commonly prosecuted under the Prosecution for Harassment Act 1997, however this is widely drawn and covers all areas of harassment. Resulting in critics claiming it is both misused and not specific enough to satisfy in stalking and cyber-stalking cases. 
Following the governmental report in March and Scotland's move to make stalking a specific offence last year,  the charity Protection Against Stalking (PAS) created a database of hard-hitting statistics aimed at encouraging governmental reform. It discovered that two-thirds of women who contacted the police to report a form of stalking were unsatisfied with their response. Also half the victims asked had been stalked for more than 18 months and 40% for more than 2 years, illustrating the longevity of the offence but also how hard it is to be dealt with and a solution reached for the victims. 
All of this together resulted in the announcement of a review by the government to see if tougher measures are needed. It will be undertaken by the CPS, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. The main focus points of the review will be evaluating the fundamental question of whether stalking (and cyber-stalking) should become a criminal offence. It will establish how effective restraining orders are in these circumstances and will look into providing guidance and training to the necessary sections of the legal society such as prosecutors and the police. 
Hopefully the review will be the final step forward in what can only be described as much needed legislation and stalking and cyber stalking will become an actual offence. Making it easier to prevent, protect and provide justice. 

What has the EU done for us?

The above question was posed in a tabloid newspaper which I came across some time ago. Whilst it did provide some of the answers, it did so in what can only be described as basic, un-detailed and in a somewhat discrediting style to its readers. So, instead I thought  I would research and provide the answers myself. 
For those unaware of what exactly the EU is, in brief it is a political and economic partnership that currently contains 27 member countries. It was created in the aftermath of WW2 in the attempt to end the constant destructive wars that occurred. In 1958 it began with six member countries and since then has grown in importance and control by increasing both the number of new member states and the power it holds with the addition of new policy areas.

As a member since 1973, the UK held its referendum in 1975, it seems only fair to question while the power of the EU has increased, what benefits have the UK and its citizens have received.
  1. Peace
    The EU has achieved its initial aim and aided peace in Europe for over half a century. It has also ensured that this will be maintained through the implementation of policies that protect against threats.
  2. Reducing Crime
    The introduction of the Europol has enabled police in all member states to co-operate more effectively. Arrest warrants now enable the movement of suspects between countries without extradition procedures, increasing the overall process.
  3. Single Market
    A unique market has developed that guarantees the ‘free movement’ of goods, services, people and capital. It provides EU citizens with the benefit of enjoying competitively priced goods and services as well as enjoying this ‘free movement’ to study, work and do business.
  4. International Influence
    The EU represents over half a billion people, giving it a great deal of power in trade and diplomacy, especially beneficial in relation to the USA and China.
  5. The Euro
    As well as the practical advantages to travelling with a single currency it has also benefitted economic growth, in turn strengthening the international role and political integration of the EU.
  6. Consumer Protection
    In all member states consumers are protected against faulty products, misleading advertisements and ensuring product safety.
    New food labelling standards have also been introduced to ensure increased safety, these include listing all ingredients as well as any GM ingredients, chemical additives and preservatives.

    Intellectual Property is also more stringently protected now with increased laws that allow the protection of both companies and individuals knowledge throughout member states.
  7. Environmental Protection
    European ministers have passed laws, put in place standards and created annual reports that have resulted in member states being forced to ‘clean up’ their act and do this a lot quicker than before. Now all of the member states have benefitted from cleaner beaches, rivers and air.
  8. Travel
    As well as being covered for emergency hospital treatment, driving licenses are now valid in all member states, increasing travel opportunities.

    Member citizens are also benefitting form the improvement in air traffic management and the increased number of carriers operating in the EU which resulted in a 40% drop in flight prices between 1992-2000 and continues to improve.

    Travel has also improved for students, with numerous exchange programs being created to aid in the education of different cultures and broadening horizons of students.    Illustrated perfectly with the ERASMUS program under which 1.2 million people have benefitted.
  9. Cheaper Telecommunications
    As with flights, the telecoms industry has been opened up to a dramatic increase in the number of competitors. This has resulted in cheaper tariff prices for the citizens of the EU.
  10. Parental Rights
    The amount of parental leave allowed has been increased and standardised.
    - Parents are entitled 13 weeks of parental leave for a child under 5.
    - Parents of adopted children are entitled to take 13 weeks of leave, this must be before the 5th anniversary of their placement with the family or before their 18th birthday.
    - For disabled children parents are entitled to 18 weeks of leave, which has to be taken before the child’s 18th birthday.
  11. Workers Rights
    EU law has also standardised workers rights in regards to time off and holidays. Now employees must get at least one day off a week, receive 11 hours rest in every 24 hours, are entitled to 4 weeks worth of paid holiday a year and can opt out of working more than 48 hours a week. As well as standardising breaks and working conditions amongst many other aspects.
     

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Adoption (Whitehall report)

A further post linked to the Whitehall report and the proposed reorganisation of family justice. The aspect of this area of the report focuses on adoption, foster care and the process of this. With the aim to reduce the time taken to complete this process and also to take the steps towards ensuring that those adopted are given the same priorities as those who have been fostered and placed in residential care. 
It has firstly brought to light the problems that exist within the system through a study into the past year;
  • Only 60 out of 3600 children under one year old in care were adopted
  • To be completed the average case has risen to 52 weeks  
The Whitehall report has made a number of recommendations that if put into place will reduce the time of the adoption process. The report suggests that judges will take a more predominant role in managing cases and in doing so simplifying the process. Currently there are interim care orders that exist which need to be renewed after eight weeks and then after every four weeks, lengthening the process unnecessarily, the report also suggests removing these. 
The report extends to propose giving adopted children the right to school. Currently the school administration code gives priority to those in foster and residential care, this will be extended to those adopted. 
From 2013 children that have been adopted would have a guaranteed place at both the primary and secondary school of their choice. As an extension of this and to aid its implementation there will also be the introduction of a ‘national offer day’ for primary schools, set and beginning on April 16th 2014, to ensure that parents can have a piece of mind of where their children will attend school.  

Friday 4 November 2011

Grandparents rights (Whitehall report)

This is an extension from the previous post concerning the reorganisation of family justice as discussed in the Whitehall report. 
Grandparents rights when families divorce has always been a hot topic that has fell foul to much media criticism and pushes for reform. Currently grandparents don’t have an automatic right to contact with grandchildren. There only path to gaining contact, if the direct approach and mediation have failed, is to apply to the court for leave (permission) to apply for a Contact Order. The courts will then consider a certain set criteria and if successful the grandparent can then apply to the courts for a Contact Order. A long-winded, expensive, stressful and complicated procedure. 
The Whitehall report has stated a number of areas where their rights will be improved, if only slightly at this stage;
  • with the courts permission, arrangements concerning childcare should be available to grandparents and the wider family.
  • There will be a push for parenting agreements to recognise the needs for children to keep in contact with grandparents after divorce. 
In March, earlier this year there was a first push at obtaining grandparents more rights after parents divorce. It seems that after this second push and much larger re-organisation in general, a step forward might finally be made. 

Online Divorce ‘Hub’ (Whitehall report)

The recent Whitehall report has proposed a reorganisation of family justice, under which people would be able to begin their divorces online and courts would be viewed as a last resort. 
The new divorce information hub would give a step-by-step guide, covering topics from how to dissolve a marriage to maintenance and child care arrangements. The main factor behind the reorganisation is to encourage the courts to be used as a last resort. This is being pushed in a number of ways;
  • By giving people the resources to help themselves it is hoped they will opt to do this and take monetary and childcare disputes out of court. 
  • To encourage the use of mediation and the new information hub first. 
Opposition
The report has rejected the idea of giving parents equal rights so that they would share access to the children. This has been strongly opposed by campaigners for fathers rights as a ‘betrayal of children and families’, Ken Sanderson Families need Fathers. Fathers4Justice, Nadine O’Connor viewed the report as a ‘monstrous sham’. 

Thursday 3 November 2011

Knife-Crime teenagers face mandatory sentencing

The legal aid and sentencing act is being amended in the light of new policies. It will now ensure that teenagers caught with knives face a new minimum custodial sentence. 
It will now contain a minimum 4 month detention and training order for 16 and 17 year olds and a 6 month detention for adults who have been convicted of carrying a knife and acting in a threatening way towards members of the public. 
This new policy has been faced with open opposition from the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke. He has stated how he prefers to give judges the discretion to set sentences based on the facts of the case and how he believes mandatory sentences for juveniles under 18 was is not part of the traditions of the British criminal justice system. He has however won his appeal to ensure under 16 year olds are not affected. 
The amended act is going to cause an increased cost to the government, last year only 12% of the offences for possession of a knife resulted in a custodial sentence. An impact assessment carried out by the Ministry of Justice has showed that the extra custodial sentences are going to be an annual cost of £2-£4 million. 

Many have questioned whether this is going to reduce the levels of knife crime and whether the effect is going to be in positive correlation to the costs incurred. 

Sunday 30 October 2011

The reversed love-life injunction?

Unlike the acts of John Terry, Ryan Giggs and BBC Presenter Andrew Merr, Jeremy Clarkson has taken the unorthodox celeb approach to lift his injunction he had placed over his ex-wife. Claiming they have little use other than being ‘pointless and expensive’. 
After being married for a year in 1989 to Alexandra Hall he had the injunction imposed. It forbade Ms Hall from reporting on any sexual or intimate acts or dealings between the pair. As well as preventing the report of intimate thoughts and feeling of Clarkson, his health or other financial affairs. 
Celebs began using the legal loophole of injunctions to aid themselves when the ambiguity of Britains privacy laws was unearthed as a benefit to them, opposed to struggling to use the difficult libel laws to establish a case. 
However, it does seem that Clarkson is the first to make the realisation that with modern day media ‘Facebook and Twitter mean everyone knows everything anyway... and the assumption of guilt exists about which there was nothing you could do, because like everyone else you are also bound by it’. 

Commercial Awareness

Gaining a grasp of and understanding the ever elusive phrase of commercial awareness is now more important than ever to law students. Yet despite a completed degree, talks from numerous professionals including the FSA, work experience with solicitors and a mini-pupillage I realised the general concept was still a bit vague to me. 
After some research I think I’ve got there! 
Most importantly I have realised its not the definition of the phrase itself that matters but how you can demonstrate it. It seems that being able to do this is the best way to illustrating your commitment, strive and ambition towards the legal world. Employers are of the belief that those who hold the skill of being commercially aware are people who can take a step back and see the bigger picture from a business perspective. Those who are able to look at the long and short term implications of a proposal and are aware of an organisations SWOT (strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) when doing this. 
You can use your CV to help you illustrate commercial awareness through work experience and your roles and responsibilities. For example working in a role with customers shows you have an understanding of their needs, requirements and expectations. Likewise in your workplace if you have ever made any improvements or implemented explaining the procedure, impact and overall outcome of doing so.
The ability to demonstrate the understanding as well as illustrate the existence of commercial awareness in yourself will be tested by employers both at the interview stage and also within the group exercises. In interviews employers will ask focused questions on topical issue within the news. For these it is important to know firm specific details, for example what they do and how they interact with other commercial firms such as investment banks. Also knowing in detail any recent cases in particular the role the firm played and if it had any significant impact in regards to the law or key clients. Our ability to apply commercial aspects to given situations will also be tested by employers during group exercises. 
So it seems that when broken down commercial awareness is not actually so elusive and a great deal more achievable than first thought. 

Thursday 27 October 2011

It wasn’t a thug, a rioter or a criminal.... it was a court clerk!

The first individual to be convicted under the new bribery legislation, Bribery Act 2010, was in fact court clerk, Munir Patel. Exposed by The Sun newspaper he was found to be arranging a bribe, where monetary sums would be exchanged for preventing a driving summons being entered onto the database.
Patel exploited his position as a clerk at Redbridge Magistrates Court, London by arranging the exchange of £500 in return for a speeding penalty not being inputted onto the system, preventing a summons to court occurring and so in effect ‘losing’ the penalty. The misconduct charge facing Patel stated that between 2009-2011 he gave advice to the public on how to avoid being summoned over similar matters. 
Patel is the first to be convicted under the new legislation, which received royal assent in April 2010. Before this Act Britain’s Bribery legislation had developed over 100 years and was contained in the Public Bodies Corrupt Practices Act 1889, Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 (amended 1916) and the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2007. In reference to the UKs bribery law, Jack Straw, the then Secretary of State for Justice and Anti-Corruption said ‘it is old and anachronistic.. its never been consolidated and contains inconsistencies...resulting in bribery law that is difficult to understand for the public and difficult to apply for prosecutors and courts’. 
Reform was needed and even more so after the 2006 collapse of the investigation into Al-Yamama arms deal between BAE system and the Saudi Arabia Government. A collapse which was blamed on these problematic bribery laws. Reports followed that criticised the failure to bring anti-bribery law in-line with international obligations under the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). This led the UK Government to ask the law commission to begin an investigation into modernising the bribery laws.
The new Bribery Act is intended to make it easier for enforcement agencies to bring successful prosecution. It has extended bribery to both the public and private sector and increases the range of offences available to the UK enforcement authorities. The penalty has also been lengthened, imprisonment increased from 7 to 10 years and there is an unlimited fine for individual/commercial offences. It has also enabled the UK to be brought in-line with international obligations. 
Patel was warned by Judge John Price that he could face immediate custody and this could be the maximum 10 years. Sentencing has been adjourned until 11 November and Patel has been bailed until this date. 

Monday 24 October 2011

Tweeting after death!

Top lawyers within wills and inheritance are now modernising their approach in line with ever developing technology by ensuring clients are including passwords and usernames from their online world into their wills, protecting this side of the individuals life. 
With banking, social networking and the increased ability of todays technology to hold and store some of our most prized images and music collections, an increased number of us now have an online as well as offline life, so it seems only natural that these should be passed onto someone when we ourselves pass.
Lawyers have recommended details to Facebook, Twitter, online Banking, email accounts   and storage sites (for music and images) are now all included in our wills. This ensures that our affairs are tied-up after death, preventing the estate becoming liable financially, for example through magazine subscriptions. Also ensuring our online possessions are passed on too, as web-hosting company Rackspace estimates that 53% of us have treasured possessions in our online world. 
Online industries are still relatively new and so remain unregulated causing significant discrepancies to exist when dealing with life after death. Banks for example require a death certificate and documentation by post, Yahoo refuses all access but will delete an account with proof of death, Facebook, with a death certificate will allow families to memorialise or shut a profile and Twitter will let families have access to tweets on receipt of a death certificate. 
Possible reform is on the horizon with lawyers calling for a need for regulations and Richard Roberts, Chairman of the Law Society Wills and Equity Committee stating ‘website providers need to have a code of conduct’. All in all it seems that when preparing for the inevitable death it is a sensible piece of advice to remember the virtual world that we are all apart of as well. 

Monday 12 September 2011

Affected by the Riots?

Matched with the current economical climate, the riots across the current are the newest area of concern for businesses, employers and employees. With damages to buildings; both home and business and destroyed travel links advice on what to do next is much needed. 
Between employer and employee ACAS has made three main recommendations; be flexible, be fair and maintain communication. With the aim that this will ensure a stable relationship between the two parties for a hoped peaceful solution as an outcome. 
Nevertheless employers do still have a business to maintain. Travel disruptions do not automatically entitle the employee to receive pay it is dependent on the businesses contractual obligations. Likewise if unpaid leave is contained within the contract the employer may request this is taken. Finally, workplace closure does not give the employer a right not to pay the employee if they are still available for work. 

Agency Worker Regulations: Loopholes unavoidable

It seems that many employers have adopted the view that compliance with the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) is one of a tedious task. The chosen solution of avoidance and non-compliance may now result in numerous businesses landing in hot-water. 
The AWR are set to come into force on 1st October 2011, and as recently reported less that 30% of businesses are prepared for these, despite this the regulations do impose strict and limited means of avoidance. There are penalties in place for those choosing to opt for complete non-compliance and anti-avoidance provisions for those hirers who intended to systematically restrict engagements for agency workers to 11 weeks. The only solution available to a hirer is to ensure they review what they must do and comply.
 In brief from day one the agency worker must have access to the same facilities and amenities as direct staff and be informed of relevant job vacancies to enable the application of a permanent position. After 12 weeks the agency worker is entitled to be given equal treatment in respect of basic working and employment conditions including pay and working time, without extending to sick pay and occupational pensions.  

Preparation for the impact of the removal of the retirement age

With the abolition date of the retirement age looming and the recent Ministry of Justice report illustrating an already increase in age discrimination claims, it seems it is now only appropriate for employers to prepare for the impact of the changes and choose a possible route, to benefit from the guidance provided by the European Court of Justice in Fuchs v Land Hassen.
Before October 2011 employers were able to give six months notice of the requirement to retire of an employee at 65. Whilst employees could request to continue to work and employers were obliged to consider, refusal did not require justification and unfair dismissal could not be claimed. After this date however, there cannot be notice given to retire unless the age can be objectively justified.

This objective justification requirement is seemingly set to only increase the recent 2010/2011 claims, reported by the Ministry of Justice, which show that age discrimination claims have been subject to a 30% increase. The report also made clear how, in the less than 30% of cases that made it to a full hearing, the employer was most likely to win in regards to unfair dismissal and discrimination claims. It does seem however that with the area of justification becoming more of a grey cloud it would seem that the likeliness of employers to continue to win such cases is set to decline. 
The next progressive step for employers is to address the impact of the removal of the default retirement age and the European Court of Justice’s, employer-favourable, guidance in the German case of Fuchs v Land Hassen is significant in that it allows the establishment/retention of a internal retirement age. The main points of guidance are to ensure the employer can identify the specific aim in adopting this policy, evidence its proportionality and provide justification for individuals across the whole board. 
Whilst this may aid in ensuring employers retain the higher likeliness to win cases of unfair dismissal and discrimination. It seems that with the ever impending date of abolition, the percentage of claims for age discrimination cannot be capped and is only set to increase.