Category Archives: Law

Ukraine ‘endangers civilians’ with army bases in residential areas, says Amnesty

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Ukraine government and international law experts argue report ignores wartime realities

Amnesty International has said the Ukrainian army is endangering the life of civilians by basing themselves in residential areas, in a report rejected by Ukrainian government representatives as placing blame on it for Russia’s invasion.

The human rights group’s researchers found that Ukrainian forces were using some schools and hospitals as bases, firing near houses and sometimes living in residential flats. The report concluded that this meant in some instances Russian forces would respond to an attack or target residential areas – putting civilians at risk and damaging civilian infrastructure.

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Archie Battersbee’s parents take case to European court of human rights

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Family submit application to Strasbourg-based court in attempt to postpone withdrawal of life support

The parents of Archie Battersbee have submitted an application to the European court of human rights (ECHR) in an attempt to postpone the withdrawal of his life support.

Lawyers acting for Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, had been given a deadline of 9am on Wednesday to submit the application.

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Archie Battersbee: mother says life support to be removed at 11am Wednesday

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Announcement made hours after attempt to postpone withdrawal of life support was rejected by UK supreme court ‘with a heavy heart’

The mother of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee has said his life support treatment will be removed at 11am on Wednesday, hours after a last-minute attempt to postpone the hospital taking action was rejected by the UK’s supreme court “with a heavy heart”.

On Monday, the court of appeal set a deadline of midday on Tuesday beyond which Archie’s treatment could be ceased.

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Wagatha Christie: big-budget drama joins race to bring libel trial to screen

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Poldark creator among writers and film-makers lining up to reconstruct spat between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney

A big-budget drama featuring major characters in the Wagatha Christie case is to join the slew of documentaries already in production, as the race to bring to the small screen the rancorous details of the high court battle that ended on Friday hots up.

The row between two high-profile footballers’ wives, which ended last week when the judge ruled in favour of Coleen Rooney, is to be turned into television serial by one of Britain’s leading screenwriters. Debbie Horsfield, who adapted Poldark for the 2015-19 BBC series, is to write a drama chronicling the notorious public row between Rebekah Vardy, wife of leading Leicester goal scorer Jamie Vardy, and Coleen Rooney, wife of Wayne, the renowned former England player and, until last month, manager of Derby County.

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Court-appointed expert can be named in ‘parental alienation’ case

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Observer victory after judge rules in transparency battle in family courts in England and Wales

A judge has ruled that a court-appointed expert can be named after their qualifications and conduct were challenged by a mother who claimed key evidence they provided led her children to be removed from her care against their wishes.

The case raises questions about the regulation and use of psychological experts appointed to the family courts, in particular when allegations of “parental alienation” are made – meaning a child has unjustly rejected one parent due to manipulation by the other. The Observer won an application to name the expert in the case after making a series of submissions to the family court.

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‘A moment of opportunity’: fall of Sri Lankan president raises victims’ hopes

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Rights groups say they have a dossier of evidence against Gotabaya Rajapaksa – and a renewed appetite to bring him to account

It was a warm April day in 2019 and Gotabaya Rajapaksa was enjoying the afternoon with his family in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles. Rajapaksa, relaxed in his chinos and polo shirt as he strolled through the car park of the popular American supermarket Trader Joe’s, looked surprised when a woman sidled up and shoved a brown envelope into his hands. “You’ve been served,” said the private investigator before rushing away.

The charges inside that brown envelope, a civil suit alleging complicity in torture and killings, would not make it far in the courts. Seven months later Rajapaksa, a member of Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty, would be elected president, and be granted immunity from prosecution.

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Solemn sentencing is no circus as cameras enter English courts

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Analysis: viewers stand to gain an insight into judges’ decision-making at a time when transparency is being reduced elsewhere

Almost 100 years after a ban on cameras in criminal courts was enshrined in law, the first broadcast from an English crown court went out on Thursday and is likely to have left many viewers asking: “Why has it taken so long?”

Resistance in the past has often been motivated by fears that allowing in cameras could risk turning cases into the sort of media circus seen around high-profile US trials such as that of OJ Simpson or, albeit a civil case, the recent Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation proceedings.

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Spanish Gypsy groups call for protection after families flee racist mob

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Killing of doorman in Andalucían town triggered rampage in which houses were burned and looted

Spanish Gypsy groups are calling for urgent action and protection after dozens of people were forced to abandon their homes in a small Andalucían town when a killing triggered a wave of racist violence.

In the early hours of Sunday 17 July, a 29-year-old pub doorman called Álvaro Soto was stabbed to death in Peal de Becerro after an argument with four members of the local Gypsy community. The alleged attackers were later arrested.

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Labour pledges to fast-track rape and domestic violence cases through courts

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Boris Johnson’s ‘appalling’ attitude to women to blame for lack of progress on gender-based violence, suggests Keir Starmer

Rape and domestic violence cases will be fast-tracked through the courts under a Labour government so that no victim has to wait more than a year for justice, Keir Starmer has pledged.

In an interview with the Guardian, the Labour leader said Boris Johnson had made no progress tackling gender-based violence during his premiership because of his “appalling” attitude towards women.

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Archie Battersbee: judges deny appeal over decision to stop life support

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Parents have been fighting for son with ‘catastrophic’ brain injury to continue receiving treatment

The parents of a 12-year-old boy who suffered a “catastrophic” brain injury have been refused permission to appeal against a decision to end his life support treatment.

Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, from Southend in Essex, have been fighting for their son Archie to continue receiving treatment for as long as his heart is beating. But on Monday the court of appeal ruled there were no grounds for them to challenge the decision by a high court judge 10 days ago that continuing Archie’s treatment was “futile”.

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Man who killed his wife in ‘act of love’ calls for assisted dying law

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Graham Mansfield, sentenced this week for killing terminally ill Dyanne, says if he had to do the ‘horrible act’ again, he would

A man who cut his terminally ill wife’s throat in an “act of love” said he would do the same again to give her peace, as he called for a change in the law to allow assisted dying.

Graham Mansfield, 73, was cleared of murder by a jury this week. They found the retired baggage handler guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter after hearing how he and his wife, Dyanne, 71, agreed to die together after the pain of her terminal cancer became too much to bear.

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Genocide case against Myanmar over Rohingya atrocities cleared to proceed

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UN’s international court of justice rejects arguments advanced by military junta over crackdowns against Muslim minority group

The United Nations’ highest court has rejected Myanmar’s attempts to halt a case accusing it of genocide against the country’s Rohingya minority, paving the way for evidence of atrocities to be heard.

The international court of justice rejected all preliminary objections raised by Myanmar, which is now ruled by a military junta, at a hearing on Friday.

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Euthanasia and assisted suicide: what is the law in the UK ?

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As Graham Mansfield is found not guilty of murder for killing his terminally ill wife, Dyanne, we look at key assisted-dying debates

Graham Mansfield was found not guilty of murder after cutting his wife’s throat “in an act of love” before trying to kill himself, after a judge accepted the couple had made a suicide pact.

It took just 90 minutes for a jury to clear Mansfield, 73, from Hale in Greater Manchester, of the charge after he gave an emotional testimony of how he had killed his wife, Dyanne, because she was in such pain with terminal cancer.

An assisted-dying law would imply it was something everyone elderly, seriously ill or disabled “ought” to consider.

No safeguard could ensure decisions are truly voluntary.

Society should instead ensure palliative care is available to all.

A doctor’s role is not to deliberately bring about a patient’s death.

Palliative care can’t relieve all pain and distress.

Physician-assisted dying is legal for more than 150 million people around the world, with eligibility criteria, safeguards and regulation in place.

End-of-life practices are legal in the UK. The same safeguards could be used in assisted-dying legislation.

The current law is not working, with UK citizens travelling to facilities such as Dignitas in Switzerland. But they need to be well enough to travel, meaning they often end their lives sooner than they would have wished.

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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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