Category Archives: Law

Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House, judge finds on balance of probabilities

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Justice Michael Lee finds former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Lisa Wilkinson and Ten in interview with Brittany Higgins in February 2021

Bruce Lehrmann has lost his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, bringing to an end a sprawling legal saga which has gripped the nation.

In a live oral summary that took two and a half hours, Justice Michael Lee said the former Liberal staffer was not defamed by Wilkinson and Ten when The Project broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins on Monday 15 February 2021 in which she alleged she was raped in Parliament House.

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Ex-ministers press Sunak on ‘persecution’ of carers who broke earnings rules

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David Blunkett and Alan Johnson join Iain Duncan Smith in dismay at DWP’s treatment of benefit recipients’ minor mistakes

The “scandalous” prosecution of unpaid carers uncovered by the Guardian must end now and an inquiry must be launched immediately, Rishi Sunak has been told.

The pressure on the prime minister grew as three former work and pension secretaries and Labour demanded to know why thousands of people who care for their loved ones have been hounded for thousands of pounds – and in some cases convicted – after unwittingly breaching earnings rules by just a few pounds a week.

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‘Sign here’: high court finds no requirement for minister to read submissions on visa decisions

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Long-running dispute, featuring ‘bizarre’ photo of visa cancellation next to steering wheel, ends with finding that minister can rely on accurate summaries from department

The immigration minister is not required to personally read submissions for intervention on visa decisions, the high court has ruled, in a decision breaking Labor’s losing streak on sensitive migration cases.

On Wednesday, the high court unanimously ruled in favour of Andrew Giles in a long-running case featuring a “bizarre” photo of a signed ministerial brief next to a steering wheel.

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Israel’s security at core of German foreign policy due to Holocaust, ICJ hears

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Nicaragua asks UN’s highest court to halt German weapons sales to Israel, alleging it is breaching obligation to prevent genocide

Germany has said Israel’s security is at “the core” of its foreign policy because of the history of the Holocaust, but denied accusations at the UN’s highest court that is aiding genocide in Gaza by arming Israel.

Nicaragua has brought a case against Germany at the international court of justice (ICJ) urging judges to order a halt to German weapons sales to Israel, alleging it is in breach of its obligation to prevent genocide and ensure respect of international humanitarian law.

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Fourth former UK supreme court judge signs letter over Israeli actions in Gaza

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Number of signatories warning Sunak over breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750

A fourth former supreme court justice has put his name to a letter warning Rishi Sunak that the UK is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, as the number of legal experts signing the letter rose to more than 750.

Lord Carnwath joins Lady Hale, who was president of the UK’s highest court, and lords Sumption and Wilson, in urging ministers to act to prevent the “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza.

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Former supreme court judges say UK arming Israel breaches international law

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Exclusive: More than 600 prominent lawyers sign letter that calls for end to exports as a ‘measure to prevent’ genocide

Three former supreme court justices, including the court’s former president Lady Hale, are among more than 600 lawyers, academics and retired senior judges warning that the UK government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel.

In a letter to the prime minister, the signatories, who also include former court of appeal judges and more than 60 KCs, say that the present situation in Gaza is “catastrophic” and that given the international court of justice (ICJ) finding that there is a plausible risk of genocide being committed, the UK is legally obliged to act to prevent it.

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Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial: Channel Ten wins bid to present fresh evidence

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Justice Michael Lee has reopened high-profile case to allow fresh evidence from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach

Justice Michael Lee will allow Channel Ten to present additional evidence in its defence of the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, delaying the judgment until next week.

The case will be reopened and the evidence of a new witness, former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, will now be tested on Thursday, the day the judgment was to have been handed down.

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Scotland’s first minister defends Hate Crime Act amid barrage of criticism

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Police union chief says enforcing law will lessen public trust in policing, while JK Rowling dares force to arrest her

Scotland’s first minister has described his new hate crime law as “absolutely balanced” on the day the controversial legislation came into force amid a barrage of criticism.

Humza Yousaf’s comments came as David Kennedy, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said enforcing the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 would reduce public trust in policing and the author JK Rowling, a prominent critic of the legislation, dared the police to arrest her for misgendering.

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Collection of unreleased Marvin Gaye songs found in Belgium

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Questions surround ownership of demo tapes reportedly left by soul artist as a thank-you to his Ostend hosts

A collection of cassette tapes containing a host of unreleased Marvin Gaye songs has been found in the Belgian city of Ostend.

It has potentially lain hidden in Belgium for over 40 years, according to the BBC.

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US-funded Radio Free Asia shuts down in Hong Kong over safety concerns

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News service says it closed bureau after passing of new national security law known as Article 23

US-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) has closed its Hong Kong bureau over safety concerns for its staff in the wake of a new national security law known as Article 23.

“Actions by Hong Kong authorities, including referring to RFA as a ‘foreign force’, raise serious questions about our ability to operate in safety with the enactment of Article 23,” its president, Bay Fang, said in a statement on Friday.

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‘Famine is setting in’: UN court orders Israel to unblock Gaza food aid

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Judges issue unanimous decision and say Palestinians are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance

The international court of justice has ordered Israel to allow unimpeded access of food aid into Gaza, where sections of the population are facing imminent starvation, in a significant legal rebuke to Israel’s claim it is not blocking aid deliveries.

A panel of judges at the UN’s top court, which is already considering a complaint from South Africa that Israel is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, issued the ruling after an emergency measure in January obliging Israel to admit emergency aid.

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Andrew Bridgen must pay Matt Hancock legal fees of £40,000 in libel claim

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High court strikes out part but not all of Bridgen’s case and orders him to pay Tory MP’s costs

The MP Andrew Bridgen has been ordered to pay Matt Hancock more than £40,000 in legal fees after an early stage of their libel battle.

The MP for North West Leicestershire is bringing a libel claim against the former health secretary regarding a January 2023 message on X that followed Bridgen posting a comment about Covid-19 vaccines.

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Garrick Club asked to consider membership for seven leading women

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A group of men at the club who hope the male-only rule will change have nominated a set of possible new members

Seven women with leading positions in the British establishment have been nominated as prospective female members of the Garrick in the event that the club agrees to change its rules so that women are able to join.

The classicist Mary Beard, the former home secretary Amber Rudd, Channel 4 News presenter Cathy Newman and the new Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika are among the first names to have been put forward to the club as possible future members.

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Taliban edict to resume stoning women to death met with horror

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Afghan regime’s return to public stoning and flogging is because there is ‘no one to hold them accountable’ for abuses, say activists

The Taliban’s announcement that it is resuming publicly stoning women to death has been enabled by the international community’s silence, human rights groups have said.

Safia Arefi, a lawyer and head of the Afghan human rights organisation Women’s Window of Hope, said the announcement had condemned Afghan women to return to the darkest days of Taliban rule in the 1990s.

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Transgender judge seeks leave to intervene in UK court case over legal definition of ‘woman’

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Victoria McCloud wants leave to join litigation in supreme court appeal brought by For Women Scotland

The UK’s first transgender judge is seeking leave to join the litigation in a crucial supreme court case that could significantly affect legal protections for transgender women, the Guardian has learned.

Victoria McCloud, a senior civil judge who became the youngest person appointed as master of the high court in 2010, will make an application to intervene in the supreme court appeal brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland about the legal definition of “woman”. Interveners can put a case without being among the main parties to the litigation.

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UK membership of Dignitas soars by 24% as assisted dying in Scotland moves closer

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Bill being laid before Scottish parliament could, if approved, allow people in Britain to take their own lives within the law

UK membership of Dignitas, the Swiss assisted dying association, has jumped to 1,900 people – a 24% rise during 2023 – as an assisted dying bill is laid before the Scottish parliament.

People from the UK now make up the second largest group who have signed up to the organisation, which is based near Zurich and helps people take their own lives. The largest group is currently Germans, although they can now get help to end their lives at home after a 2020 court ruling.

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Argentina: trans women among victims of ex-officers guilty of dictatorship-era crimes

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Eleven found guilty of crimes against humanity after trial that heard testimony on torture, rape and forced disappearances

A court in Argentina has convicted 11 former military, police and government officials of crimes against humanity committed during the country’s last dictatorship in a sprawling trial that heard, for the first time, about atrocities suffered by trans women.

The three-year case focused on the forced disappearances, torture, rapes and homicides that occurred at or were connected to three clandestine detention and torture centres located in police investigative units on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. They were known as the Banfield pit, the Quilmes pit and “El Infierno” – or “hell” – by the officials who worked there.

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Concern over rise in requests for UK to share intelligence despite torture risks

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UK does not ‘solicit, encourage or condone’ inhumane treatment, but critics say ministerial approval system contradicts this

• UK politics – latest updates

The number of requests for UK ministerial approval of intelligence-sharing where there was a real risk of torture, unlawful killing or extraordinary rendition has more than doubled in a year.

The investigatory powers commissioner’s report outlining the rise comes after a parliamentary debate on Monday in which MPs from across the political divide questioned the adequacy of the UK’s policy on torture under the Fulford principles.

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Lawyer who raised ‘boys’ club’ concerns over judgment accused of misconduct

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Charlotte Proudman posted tweets critical of ruling by Sir Jonathan Cohen, a Garrick Club member

A barrister is facing disciplinary proceedings for expressing frustration at the “echoes of a boys’ club attitude” that she claims were in a family court judgment that went against her client.

Charlotte Proudman criticised a judgment of Sir Jonathan Cohen – a member of the men-only Garrick Club – over remarks he made in a family case two years ago.

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Minister told to name sources in Afghan inquiry or face potential jail term

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Johnny Mercer given 10 days to reveal source of claims British troops engaged in war crimes

The minister for veterans’ affairs, Johnny Mercer, has been given 10 days to reveal the source of allegations British troops engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan, or face a potential prison sentence.

Mercer in effect admitted last month in front of the public inquiry into the claims that he believed members of the SAS had engaged in dozens of unlawful killings of Afghan civilians between 2010 and 2013.

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