In a fact-finding hearing in care proceedings involving three children, the trial judge correctly placed M within the pool of perpetrators of injuries that had been inflicted on the youngest child. She had been unable to decide on balance whether M or her partner had inflicted the injuries. Both of them were found to have …
Continue reading “Children – pool of perpetrators; lies”
The SC has heard a case involving rectification of collective agreements. The press summary states: ‘Background to the Appeal This appeal raises questions about whether it is possible to rectify the written record of a collective agreement which is not a legally enforceable contract and whether contracts of employment which incorporate the terms of such …
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In excluding evidence as inadmissible hearsay, the trial judge had erred in law in principle. At issue in this case was whether certain evidence was inadmissible hearsay. The four defendants are awaiting trial for money laundering offences. The case against them is that they purchased Apple gift cards to launder the proceeds of frauds perpetrated …
Continue reading “Evidence – hearsay”
Property lawyers will be interested to note the statement made by the Minister of State for Housing and Planning on 21 November 2024. We do not usually comment on matters that are not yet in force, but it seems that the government is intent on pushing on with an agenda of leasehold reform, so property …
Continue reading “Leasehold – proposed changes”
Practitioners should note recent changes to the Criminal Procedural Rules which came into force from 7 October 2024 (made by the Criminal Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2024). The Criminal Procedure Rules and PD 2020 includes those changes, which are: Replaced: Parts 36 (appeals to the CA) and 43 (appeal or reference to the SC) …
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Practitioners will welcome new Law Society guidance on advocacy in the youth court. Children are particularly vulnerable, and may be in care and have complex needs. The guidance provides a ‘basic introduction’ to working with children in the youth justice system, and signposts readers to regulatory guidance and several further resources. The guidance follows last …
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Conscious of high-profile cases involving legal fees, the LSB has issued some common questions they receive regarding requests for costs information. They have also published some illustrative case studies, setting out the types of issues involved in these cases, and how they would be likely to approach them if they were referred to the LSB. …
Continue reading “LSB – complaints advice”
PI practitioners should note an interest rate reduction as this will affect interest calculations in PI cases. In response to the decrease in the Bank of England base rate on 1 August 2024, the Court Funds Office (CFO) rates of interest payable to clients have been reviewed and from 19 September 2024 these will change …
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Given the Law Society’s ongoing attempts to amend the Property Information Form (see July/August 2024 edition (p7)), it is fair to say that any cases involving misrepresentation and land law are likely to be closely scrutinised. The HC dismissed a recent misrepresentation claim, but the judgment included a helpful summary of the principles relating to …
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M was given permission to adduce new evidence which undermines the judge’s findings to such an extent that none of them can stand, the CA has ruled. The trial had made various findings as to the circumstances in which M’s children travelled without her from their Afghanistan home and came to be living in England …
Continue reading “Children – new evidence”