Category Archives: Law

US supreme court rules against Biden in key immigration case

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Justices decline to freeze lower court order that blocked officials from changing deportation guidance from Trump era

The supreme court will not allow the Biden administration to implement an immigration policy that prioritizes deportation of people arriving in the US illegally who pose the greatest public safety risk.

The court’s order late on Thursday leaves the policy frozen nationwide for now. The vote was 5-4, with conservative Amy Coney Barrett joining liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and newcomer to the bench Ketanji Brown Jackson in saying they would have allowed the Biden administration to put in place the guidance.

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EU launches four more legal cases against UK over Northern Ireland protocol

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New cases come on top of three others already in motion heading to European court of justice

The EU has expressed its anger over the backing given by MPs for legislation overriding post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland by launching a further four legal cases against the UK government.

The claims concern past failures to implement the 2019 deal agreed with Boris Johnson but the EU has been spurred to act by the passage through parliament of a bill that would rip up current arrangements.

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Serious Fraud Office chief found to have made errors over major corruption trial

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Independent review criticises Lisa Osofsky personally after two businessmen’s convictions were overturned

Britain’s most senior anti-bribery prosecutor has been personally criticised in an independent review that examined flaws in a major corruption trial.

Lisa Osofsky, the director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), was judged to have made a “number of mistakes and misjudgments” in her handling of a prosecution which has ultimately resulted in the convictions of two businessmen being overturned.

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Judge acted unlawfully over hearing on Prince Philip’s will, court told

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The Guardian is attempting to overturn decision that prevented media from attending hearing

A leading judge acted unlawfully by authorising a secret court hearing in which he decided that Prince Philip’s will should be kept secret without notifying the media, an appeal court has heard.

On Wednesday the Guardian opened its legal case to overturn the decision that prevented media from attending the hearing, arguing that it was a serious interference with the principle of open justice.

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Your sand in marriage: plans to relax wedding rules in England and Wales

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Beaches and theme parks could all host ceremonies as Law Commission says couples should have more choice

Couples could soon marry on a cruise, in their kitchen or during a day out at the beach under proposals to tear up current restrictions on where weddings can be held.

In what would be the biggest overhaul to marriage regulations in England and Wales since the 19th century, the Law Commission is recommending that weddings should be able to take place anywhere, providing the presiding official considers it safe and dignified.

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Barristers in England and Wales stage first five-day strike over legal aid funding

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Members of Criminal Bar Association take fight for a 25% rise in legal aid fees to parliament

Barristers are heading to parliament as they begin their first whole week of strike action over levels of legal aid funding they say are bringing the criminal justice system to its knees.

Members of the Criminal Bar Association, which represents advocates in England and Wales, began action with a two-day strike at the end of last month and have been escalating it by an extra day every week.

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Tool to assess jailed terrorists before release criticised as unreliable and prejudicial to Muslims

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Offenders may be kept in prison after serving sentence, but wrongly made order ‘almost always amounts to arbitrary detention', rights group argues

A tool used by authorities to assess the risk posed by convicted terrorists before their release from prison is unreliable and should be investigated, the Australian Human Rights Commission and a peak body for Muslims have argued.

The Violent Extremism Risk Assessment 2 Revised, known as VERA-2R, is used to measure the threat posed by extremists, often when considering whether they will be subject to strict court orders once their prison sentence is completed.

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‘Instruments of injustice’: Victoria’s highest court denounces state’s mandatory sentencing

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Justices Chris Maxwell and Terence Forrest said the ‘oppressive sentencing regime’ ignored evidence and was contrary to public interest

Victoria’s highest court has delivered a withering assessment of the state’s mandatory sentencing regime, saying it required “judges to be instruments of injustice” and showed a “profound misunderstanding” of the community’s best interests.

In a judgment published on Thursday, court of appeal president, Justice Chris Maxwell, and Justice Terence Forrest said introducing mandatory sentencing for a range of offences over the past decade showed that state governments appeared to have “ignored the incontestable evidence about the adverse impact of adult gaol on young offenders”.

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Sudan woman faces death by stoning for adultery in first case for a decade

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Campaigners say sentence amounts to torture amid fears that country’s new regime is rolling back women’s rights

A woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, the first known case in the country for almost a decade.

Maryam Alsyed Tiyrab, 20, was arrested by police in Sudan’s White Nile state last month.

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Trafficking victims ‘fear being criminalised’ if they seek help

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Charity workers hope Sir Mo Farah’s decision to reveal he was trafficked would encourage more victims to come forward

After it took Sir Mo Farah decades to summon the courage to speak about his childhood experiences, trafficking experts warned that the fear of being criminalised prevents many other child victims from coming forward to seek help.

Charity workers commended the Olympic champion’s decision to reveal he was trafficked to the UK using another child’s name, then exploited and forced into domestic servitude, expressing hope that high-profile revelations would highlight the widespread nature of such abuse and encourage more victims to speak out.

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Victoria’s move to restrict ‘silencing’ sexual harassment victims welcomed by unions and lawyers

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State government proposes reforms to use of nondisclosure agreements by employers in Australian first

The use of nondisclosure agreements will be restricted in sexual harassment cases to prevent victim-survivors being silenced, under reforms proposed by the Victorian government that are backed by employment lawyers and industry groups.

The move – an Australian first – was announced on Monday by Victoria’s workplace safety minister, Ingrid Stitt, who said the proposed reforms were a direct response to a ministerial taskforce investigating workplace sexual harassment, which made 26 recommendations. Most have already been accepted by the government.

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What the liberal justices’ scorching dissent reveals about the US supreme court

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Opinions from Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor send stark warning about increasingly radical court abandoning long-held principles

The US supreme court’s decision to overturn Roe v Wade, ending nearly 50 years of federal protections for abortion access, was “catastrophic”. The ruling amounted to a “curtailment of women’s rights, and of their status as free and equal citizens”. The drastic decision “undermines the court’s legitimacy”, and the consequences of it will set off an “upheaval in … society”.

Those are voices from the supreme court itself: the words of its three liberal justices – Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor – in their scorching and thorough joint dissenting opinion on a decision by their body which has fundamentally altered the lives of millions of Americans.

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Biden signs executive order to protect US abortion access and urges Americans to ‘vote, vote, vote’ – as it happened

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It’s official; Biden has formally signed an executive order protecting access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare services.

Here is a previous post detailing what is in the executive order.

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Victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster to get day in UK courts

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Court of appeal judgment allows £5bn lawsuit against mining giant BHP by more than 200,000 victims of 2015 Mariana dam disaster

More than 200,000 victims of Brazil’s worst environmental disaster will have their case heard in a UK court, making it the largest group claim in English legal history.

The lawsuit is against the Anglo-Australian mining company BHP – one of the biggest companies in the world – for their involvement in the collapse of the Mariana dam in 2015, which released toxic mining waste down 400 miles (640km) of waterways along the Doce River. Claimants are seeking at least £5bn ($6bn) in compensation.

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Maya Forstater was discriminated against over gender-critical beliefs, tribunal rules

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Researcher lost job at thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex

A researcher who lost her job at a thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex has won her claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs.

Maya Forstater suffered direct discrimination when the Centre for Global Development (CGD), where she was a visiting fellow, did not renew her contract or fellowship, an employment tribunal found on Wednesday.

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UK Home Office plans second flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

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Flight could take off within weeks and before court has ruled on whether scheme is lawful

The Home Office is planning a second flight to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, which could take off before the courts have ruled on whether the scheme is lawful, the Guardian has learned.

It is understood that a second flight could take off in a matter of weeks despite the fact that the full high court hearing to examine the government’s Rwanda plans does not begin until 19 July.

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Human traffickers ‘using UK universities as cover’

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Overseas students have vanished from courses and then been found working in exploitative conditions

Universities have been urged to be on high alert for human trafficking after suspected victims brought to Britain on student visas vanished from their courses and were found working in exploitative conditions hundreds of miles away.

In a recent case, Indian students at Greenwich, Chester and Teesside universities stopped attending lectures shortly after arriving in the UK, according to a report by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) seen by the Observer.

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Mob-style killings shock Netherlands into fighting descent into ‘narco state’

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Murders, corruption and ‘Mocro Maffia’ prompt Dutch to set up war chest to tackle wave of organised crime sweeping nation

Journalists and lawyers under protection or murdered on the streets, court hearings guarded by the army, witness statements anonymised, and billions in dirty drug money that leaches through society, corrupting as it goes.

This is the Netherlands, where these facts have now inspired a crackdown pitting some €500m a year against a level of organised crime that politicians fear is increasingly “undermining” public order.

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The Nigerian gas deal, the Irish impresario and the £8bn ruling amid claims of bribery

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Officials allege contract was corruptly procured by business duo behind P&ID as saga of energy project and secretive tribunal heads for high court

It has been described as one of the most extraordinary cases ever to come before the high court, involving an Irish impresario, an alleged $50,000 bribe stuffed into a bag and potentially one of the biggest payouts in legal history.

The saga of two Irish businessmen, Michael Quinn and Brendan Cahill, who promised to revolutionise Nigeria’s energy sector, will be at the centre of a high court trial early next year.

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Mickey Mouse could soon leave Disney as 95-year copyright expiry nears

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The beloved character was created in 1928 and the cartoon is widely regarded as a pioneer in animation

As a consequence of US copyright law, entertainment giant Disney could soon lose the exclusive rights to some of the characters most responsible for the brand’s universal recognition, including the mouse that acts as its mascot.

Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain in the year 2024, almost 95 years after his creation on 1 October 1928 – the length of time after which the copyright on an anonymous or pseudo-anonymous body of artistic work expires.

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