July 2011

Year-old law criminalising use of prostitutes criticised for low conviction rate

Filed under Criminal law, July 29, 2011 by , No Comments

Section 53A of the Sexual Offence Act 2003 makes it an offence to use a prostitute who has been coerced into prostitution by someone else looking to make a gain. The section was included into the Act by the Policing and Crime Act of the same year in order to strop women being trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation.

However, it has only resulted in 43 convictions in the year since it became operational, with some areas of England and Wales failing to convict anyone of a s35A offence. (more…)

Nuclear test veterans win latest step in battle for compensation

Filed under Personal injury claims, July 29, 2011 by , No Comments

More than 1,000 veterans who claim they are suffering from illnesses caused by radiation exposure from nuclear weapon testing have won an important victory in their fight for compensation.

The Supreme Court ruled that the veterans, who were exposed to the radiation between 1952 and 1958, can argue their case for why they should be allowed to claim compensation before the court, overruling a Court of Appeal decision from November 2010. (more…)

Supreme Court ruling confirms London as leading centre for international arbitration

Filed under Discrimination, Disputes, July 28, 2011 by , No Comments

A Supreme Court ruling has been widely welcomed by London’s dispute resolution experts as it ensures arbitration remains a distinct alternative to litigation by confirming the parties have a wide discretion to decide how the process will be conducted and, importantly, by whom.

The ruling, which overturned an earlier Court of Appeal decision, means the parties to arbitration can pick their arbitrator using whatever criteria they like, including ethnicity, religion or gender, without the fear of breaching the anti-discrimination laws. (more…)

Couple married for 37 years separated by new immigration rules

Filed under Immigration, July 28, 2011 by , No Comments

Mr and Mrs Chapti have been married for 37 years, 15 years of which Mrs Chapti, a British citizen, has travelled back and forth between India and Leicester. She would now like her husband to join her in the UK. However, under the Government’s new immigration rules, he cannot join his wife because he does not speak English.

The Chaptis, along with two other couples, have launched a test judicial review against the new rules in the High Court in Birmingham, on the grounds that they infringe their human rights. (more…)

Ofgem fines British Gas £2.5m over failures in customer service

Filed under General legal information, July 27, 2011 by , No Comments

The energy watchdog Ofgem has fined British Gas for the second time in a month over the way they handle complaints from their customers.

Ofgem found that the company had failed to re-open complaints from customers that had not been resolved. In addition, it found British Gas had not provided customers with the key information necessary to make a complaint to the Ombudsman. (more…)

New planning proposals will destroy countryside and towns, warn campaigners

Filed under General legal information, July 27, 2011 by , No Comments

Environment, transport and development groups have come out in force against the new planning laws proposed in the draft national planning policy framework (NPPF).

The new laws will allow developers and local authorities to build without concern for the environment or local communities and will destroy towns’ characters, say the groups. (more…)

No-win, no-fee – How it really works

Filed under General legal information, July 26, 2011 by , No Comments

Bearing the costs of a solicitor can often be one of the most concerning factors for a person wishing to pursue a case. On average solicitors fees can range from £150-£400 per hour. However, for those who simply can’t afford this sum of money and do not qualify for legal aid, there may be a few funding solutions open to you depending on the particular area of law. The main funding option, which often has a lot of myths surrounding it, tends to be no-win, no-fee (NWNF) agreements. This article attempts to clear up some of these myths. (More…)

Practice of taking deportation reserves to airports ‘inhumane’, says chief prison inspector

Filed under Immigration, July 26, 2011 by , No Comments

The chief prison inspector, Nick Hardwick, has condemned a practice by deportation escort staff at Gatwick airport as “distressing and inhumane”.

The practice sees reserves taken to the airport along with those scheduled for deportation so that if one becomes ill, or if a last minute legal challenge is launched, a reserve detainee can take their seat on the plane. (more…)

Oligarch’s £100m divorce settlement is a British record

Filed under Family law, July 26, 2011 by , No Comments

Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has paid his ex-wife Galina Besharova a reported £100m divorce settlement.

Her lawyer confirmed the figure is the “largest ever”, but declined to confirm the actual figure. The previous record for a divorce settlement in Britain is £48m which was paid by insurance broker John Charman to his former wife, Beverley. (more…)

A company’s most valuable asset: their trademark

Filed under Intellectual property law, July 25, 2011 by , No Comments

Intellectual property law relating to trademarks emerged approximately 200 years ago, when merchants came to realise that there was commercial value in obtaining exclusive rights over a product they had created or their company/product name. Since then trademarks have become an important factor within any company.  (More…)

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