Category Archives: Law

Tory police cuts are only part of the ongoing crisis affecting victims of crime

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Austerity affected courts, prisons and public services while rates of poverty surged, creating the conditions for more crime

The period in which clear-up rates for the most serious crimes collapsed coincided with big cuts to police budgets, and the subsequent fall in police officer numbers of about 20,000.

The last Conservative government, responsible for the cuts after 2010 in the name of austerity, spent its time denying they would have any damaging effect on crime fighting in England and Wales. Then, in its final years, it started to reverse the cuts, and pretended “wokery” among law enforcement had diverted officers’ attention.

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Kenya court rules that criminalising attempted suicide is unconstitutional

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The judgment has been welcomed as an important shift in perceptions by human rights and mental health groups

A Kenyan judge has declared as unconstitutional sections of the country’s laws that criminalise attempted suicide. In a landmark ruling on Thursday, Judge Lawrence Mugambi of the country’s high court stated that section 226 of the penal code contradicts the constitution by punishing those with mental health issues over which they may have little or no control.

While the constitution says in article 43 that a person has the right to the “highest attainable standard of health”, criminal law states that “any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanour and is subject to imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both”, with the minimum age of prosecution for the offence set at eight years old.

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Strasbourg court finds Greece guilty of ‘systematic’ pushback of asylum seekers

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In ‘potentially trailblazing’ decision, European court of human rights finds country engaging in illicit deportations

The European court of human rights has found Greece guilty of conducting “systematic” pushbacks of would-be asylum seekers, ordering it to compensate a woman forcibly expelled back to Turkey despite her attempts to seek protection in the country.

In a judgment described as potentially trailblazing, the Strasbourg-based tribunal awarded the complainant damages of €20,000 (£16,500), citing evidence that the frontline EU state was engaging in the illicit deportations when she was removed.

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New year, new deal: the buyout boom poised to take over City lawyers’ lives

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Around-the-clock work will be commonplace to tackle an M&A surge fuelled by tax changes, activist investors … and the Trump factor

Whether they’re on skis or a sunlounger, there is no beach, mountain or fireside that can spare lawyers from the urgent calls of zealous, dealmaking executives and private equity bosses. After a breathless 2024, the City’s army of corporate lawyers are set for another year of masking their poolside backgrounds on video calls, braced for an even busier 2025.

“Sadly, we were incredibly busy in July and August. We were both on holiday and working up to 14 hours a day,” says Patrick Sarch, partner at law firm White & Case and head of its public mergers and acquisitions (M&A) division. He and Sonica Tolani, another partner at the same firm, specialise in advising activist investors.

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Invasion Day marcher stripped of $800,000 compensation as police duty of care ruling overturned

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Laura Cullen was among 5,000 people at a 2017 Sydney protest when she was knocked down and injured as NSW police tried to arrest a man

A landmark legal ruling that set out the duty of care New South Wales police owe people attending protests has been overturned on appeal, stripping an Invasion Day marcher of an $800,000 compensation claim and forcing her to repay $103,00 in legal costs.

The NSW court of appeal handed down the decision shortly before Christmas, overturning an earlier ruling that found police had a duty of care to a woman who attended a protest where she was a bystander to an arrest, and who was knocked down and injured during the arrest.

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Labour goes slow on rape courts pledge amid fears over shortage of lawyers

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Election manifesto promise to set up specialist tribunals to deal with huge backlog of cases has been put on hold

The government appears to have stalled on plans to set up dozens of specialist rape courts to deal with a huge backlog of cases, amid warnings there are not enough lawyers to make the proposals work.

Labour pledged during the election campaign to use vacant rooms and buildings on crown court sites to fast-track rape cases and reduce the numbers awaiting trial.

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Man on the run after being recalled to UK prison indefinitely makes plea to minister

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Matthew Booth, from Bolton, is facing further time in jail after claims he has restarted a relationship with an ex

A Bolton man who is on the run after being recalled to prison indefinitely has made a direct plea to the justice secretary to intervene in his case.

Matthew Booth, 33, is wanted by police on recall to prison for a crime he committed when he was 15 and for which he has served a sentence.

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Dominique Pelicot will not appeal against conviction for drugging and raping ex-wife

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Lawyer says he wishes to spare Gisèle Pelicot a new ordeal after marathon trial convicted all 51 accused

Dominique Pelicot will not appeal against his conviction for drugging and raping his wife and inviting strangers to rape her, his lawyer has said.

Béatrice Zavarro said the former electrician, 72, who was jailed for the maximum 20 years this month, wished to spare his now ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, a new ordeal but admitted there was also the risk a new trial in front of a public jury could mean a longer prison sentence.

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Up to 30 MPs who backed assisted dying bill could withdraw support at next vote

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Several MPs preparing to suggest amendments on key concerns including coercion and role of medics

Up to 30 MPs who backed assisted dying could withdraw support at the next parliamentary vote, MPs have said, as several prepare to suggest amendments on coercion and the role of medics.

The committee that will examine the next stage of Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill will begin hearings in the new year, with MPs coalescing around several demands for changes to the legislation.

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Cancer patient fears dying without justice as tribunal date repeatedly delayed

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IT technician Joe Mezgebe arrived at unfair dismissal hearing to find no judge available – for the second time

A disabled man with prostate cancer has had his employment tribunal for unfair dismissal postponed the day before it was due to take place because a judge was not available – 13 months after exactly the same thing happened.

Joe Mezgebe, an IT technician, who first presented his claim against Christ’s College, Finchley academy in June 2021, has lost £15,300 in fees to his barrister as a result of the cancellations, and fears he may not live to see justice done.

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Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide, Amnesty International report finds

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Human rights group says Israel ‘brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell’ on strip’s 2.3m population

A report from Amnesty International alleges that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip constitutes the crime of genocide under international law, the first such determination by a major human rights organisation in the 14-month-old conflict.

The 32-page report examining events in Gaza between October 2023 to July 2024, published on Thursday, found that Israel had “brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell” on the strip’s 2.3 million population, noting that the “atrocity crimes” against Israelis by Hamas on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war, “do not justify genocide”.

The unprecedented scale and magnitude of the military offensive, which has caused death and destruction at a speed and level unmatched in any other 21st-century conflict;

Intent to destroy, after considering and discounting arguments such as Israeli recklessness and callous disregard for civilian life in the pursuit of Hamas;

Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm in repeated direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, or deliberately indiscriminate attacks; and

Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, such as destroying medical infrastructure, the obstruction of aid, and repeated use of arbitrary and sweeping “evacuation orders” for 90% of the population to unsuitable areas.

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New plan would ‘transform’ end of life care for 100,000 in England and Wales

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Palliative care commission set up to provide high-quality, holistic support following assisted dying vote

MPs, doctors and charities have drawn up a blueprint to deliver an “unprecedented transformation” of care for 100,000 people a year in the final stages of their lives.

After parliament’s historic vote last week to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, a commission on palliative care has been set up to help improve end-of-life care.

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Inmates burn themselves in protest at ‘inhumane’ Virginia prison conditions

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Officials acknowledge prisoners have harmed themselves but say they did not set themselves on fire or self-immolate

Several incarcerated people in Virginia’s high-security Red Onion state prison have intentionally burned themselves in a protest against harsh conditions at the facility.

A written statement from Virginia’s department of corrections acknowledged that men imprisoned there had harmed themselves, although the authorities confirmed six incidents while others reported that 12 men were injured.

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MPs across divide call for better palliative care after assisted dying vote

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Layla Moran and Diane Abbott say end-of-life care needs more funding after bill passed for England and Wales

MPs on both sides of the debate over assisted dying have called for improvements to palliative care, regardless of whether parliament eventually enacts legalisation.

Layla Moran, who supported the bill at its second reading on Friday, and Diane Abbott, who did not, agreed that more funding was required to improve end-of-life care during a joint-interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

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‘Historic step’: what the UK papers say after landmark vote on assisted dying

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Newspapers across the board cover the historic vote prominently, but with some more enthused about the outcome than others

Front pages in the UK on Saturday were dominated by the step taken by MPs toward legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their own lives.

The Guardian splashed with the news, describing it as a “historic vote” that paves the way for assisted dying, along with a photo of emotional supporters of the bill embracing.

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MPs back landmark bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales

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Terminally ill adults with less than six months to live will be given right to die under proposed legislation

MPs have taken a historic step toward legalising assisted dying in England and Wales by backing a bill that would give some terminally ill people the right to end their own lives.

Campaigners in favour of the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill said it was a significant move towards giving people more choice over the way they die, after the Commons backed the bill by 330 votes for to 275 against.

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Louise Haigh quits as transport secretary after admitting conviction for misleading police over stolen mobile – UK politics live

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Transport secretary departs after it emerged she pleaded guilty to incorrectly telling police that a work mobile phone was stolen in 2013

In her resignation letter Louise Haigh said little about the past conviction, now spent, that led to her resignation. But she gave a fuller statement yesterday when approached by reporters about the story. She said:

In 2013 I was mugged while on a night out. I was a young woman and the experience was terrifying.

I reported it to the police and gave them a list of what I believed had been taken - including a work mobile phone that had been issued by my employer.

Louise Haigh has done the right thing in resigning. It is clear she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP.

In her resignation letter, she states that Keir Starmer was already aware of the fraud conviction, which raises questions as to why the prime minister appointed Ms Haigh to Cabinet with responsibility for a £30bn budget? The onus is now on Keir Starmer to explain this obvious failure of judgment to the British public.

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Women arrested by Taliban for begging report rape and killings in Afghan jails

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Draconian new laws allow mass incarceration of women and children forced to beg because of work ban

Destitute Afghan women arrested for begging under draconian new Taliban laws have spoken of “brutal” rapes and beatings in detention.

Over the past few months, many women said they had been targeted by Taliban officials and detained under anti-begging laws passed this year. While in prison, they claim they were subjected to sexual abuse, torture and forced labour, and witnessed children being beaten and abused.

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MPs hours away from historic vote on whether to legalise assisted dying

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Vote expected on Friday afternoon, as those running campaigns for and against say it is too close to call

MPs are hours away from deciding whether to legalise assisted dying for those with less than six months to live, in a knife-edge historic vote.

The private member’s bill, brought by the Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, will be debated from 9.30am on Friday in the House of Commons with a vote expected at about 2.30pm.

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Assisted dying bill will not be adopted as government bill if it passes vote

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Departments ready to work on assessment of its workability as critics say it is proceeding the ‘wrong way round’

Civil servants and ministers will begin work on implementing the assisted dying bill if it passes its first stage in parliament on Friday, but the Guardian understands it will not be adopted as a government bill.

MPs will have a free vote on the bill to legalise assisted dying in the case of terminal illness. It is a private member’s bill, brought by the Labour MP Kim Leadbeater, which means the government is technically neutral on the issue.

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