Category Archives: Law

Queensland ebike laws could cripple Uber Eats, DoorDash and shared e-vehicle schemes, industry warns

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Food delivery services say the proposed laws will affect their workers, while shared e-vehicle schemes claim the laws could make them uninsurable

Legislation that would crack down on ebikes and e-scooters in Queensland could curtail food delivery services and potentially end shared e-vehicle schemes, industry figures warn.

The proposed laws would set an age limit of 16 on ebikes and e-scooters, require users to obtain a driver’s licence, and set a limit of 10km/h on almost all cycle lanes.

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Peers vote to ban pornography depicting sex acts between stepfamily members

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Amendment calling for step-incest to be included in ban on harmful content passes by just one vote

The government has agreed to ban the production of pornography depicting sex acts between stepfamily members following a vote in the House of Lords.

The government tabled an amendment calling for step-incest to be included in a ban on harmful content, with the support of the Conservative peer Gabby Bertin, who led a review into pornography regulation that was published last year.

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Victims and bereaved families to get more time to challenge ‘unduly lenient’ sentences

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David Lammy says those affected by a heinous crime cannot be expected to engage with the justice system within the existing 28-day limit

Victims and bereaved families will be given six months to challenge “unduly lenient” sentences handed to criminals, under changes announced by David Lammy.

Relatives of murder victims campaigned for the government to scrap the 28-day time limit to submit a formal request after an offender is sentenced.

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Trump threats cause dilemma for US officers: disobey orders or commit war crimes

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Legal experts say attacking Iran’s infrastructure would constitute a war crime – but would military officers be held responsible?

Donald Trump’s threats to carry out mass bombing of civilian infrastructure in Iran present US military officers with a dilemma: disobey orders or help commit war crimes.

It is an urgent matter for the US chain of command. In an expletive-laden threat, Trump set a Tuesday 8pm Washington time deadline for the Iranian government to open the strait of Hormuz or face “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one”.

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Senior Queensland judge criticises ‘glacial’ years-long delays in serious criminal trials

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Exclusive: Justice Jim Henry published data from his own court revealing recent cases took more than a year to reach committal

A Queensland supreme court judge says serious criminal cases are taking “excruciatingly longer” to finalise due to “glacial” delays in the state’s magistrates court, where some matters are spending several years in procedural limbo.

Justice Jim Henry, who is based at the supreme court in Cairns, published data from his own court revealing that of 31 recent criminal cases he finalised between November and February, on average each case took more than a year (370 days) in the lower courts before a committal.

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Harrods’ closure of compensation scheme for survivors of alleged sexual abuse called ‘neither fair nor just’

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Scheme for accusers of store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed to close before end of retailer’s internal investigation

Harrods has been accused of being “neither fair nor just” over its decision to close a compensation scheme for survivors of alleged sexual abuse by the luxury department store’s former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.

Kingsley Hayes, partner at KP Law, which is representing nearly 280 survivors, questioned why the scheme was being closed on Tuesday 31 March, before Harrods had completed an internal investigation into what happened and who knew about it.

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Court of appeal says it cannot rule on which identical twin fathered a child

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One twin wanted to take parental responsibility from the other for child P after both had sex with child’s mother

A woman who had sex with identical twins within four days of each other is unable to ensure one of them takes parental responsibility because it is “not possible” to know which is the father, the court of appeal has said.

One of the twins was registered as the father on the birth certificate of the child, referred to as P. His identical twin, along with the mother, sought to take over parental responsibility by asking the court of appeal to overturn a previous family court decision.

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Spanish woman who won legal battle for right to euthanasia has assisted death

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Noelia Castillo, 25, a paraplegic, had suffered from psychiatric illness and lived in constant pain

A Spanish woman who spent months fighting her father for the right to euthanasia after being sexually assaulted and becoming paraplegic has finally ended her life on her own terms by means of an assisted death.

Noelia Castillo, 25, had struggled with psychiatric illness since she was a teenager and tried to kill herself in October 2022 after being sexually assaulted. The attempt left her in constant pain and using a wheelchair. Eighteen months later, she used Spain’s euthanasia law, which was introduced in 2021, to secure permission to end her life.

In Spain, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 900 525 100. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie

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Man who murdered pregnant girlfriend has 42-year term increased to whole-life order

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Shaine March killed Alana Odysseos in 2025, having been released on licence after killing a teenager in 2000

A man who murdered his pregnant girlfriend after being released from prison on licence must spend the rest of his life in jail, the court of appeal has ruled after finding that the original 42-year sentence was “too lenient”.

Alana Odysseos, 32, was in the early stages of pregnancy with her third child when Shaine March, now 48, killed her at her home in Walthamstow, east London, in July last year. She died at the scene from 23 slash and stab wounds.

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Charity challenges ‘chilling’ law change restricting protest at animal testing sites

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Animal Aid says reclassification of research facilities as key infrastructure could catch even most peaceful action

A charity has filed a legal challenge over a “chilling” change in the law that restricts protest outside animal testing facilities in England and Wales by reclassifying them as “key national infrastructure”.

Animal Aid says last month’s amendment to the Public Order Act could capture even the most peaceful, non‑disruptive advocacy. It claims the change is unlawful because it goes beyond parliament’s intention at the time the act was passed.

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Peers vote to back clause pardoning women convicted over illegal abortions

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House of Lords decision welcomed as ‘landmark moment’ after attempt to strike out amendment is defeated

Women who have been convicted, and in some cases jailed, over illegal abortions are set to be pardoned after a historic vote in the House of Lords.

Last June, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside of the legal framework, while keeping the existing framework in place. Doctors and others who act outside of the law could still face the threat of prosecution.

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Ban corporate donations to UK political parties to protect elections, says thinktank

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CenTax warns bill under debate in parliament has ‘easily exploitable’ loopholes and will not prevent foreign interference

Political donations by companies should be banned to protect UK elections from foreign interference, a thinktank has warned.

In the first big overhaul of election funding in 26 years, ministers have pledged to “keep British democracy safe” by closing a loophole that allows individuals not eligible to vote in Britain to donate to political parties through UK-registered companies.

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More than 100 Labour MPs call on PM to stop assisted dying bill being blocked

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Letter sent to Starmer claims ‘small number of peers have been using procedural tactics’ to stymie its progress

More than 100 Labour MPs have called on Keir Starmer to stop the House of Lords from blocking the assisted dying bill and give it more time to return to the Commons, with the legislation now certain to fall owing to lack of time.

The private member’s bill, sponsored by Labour’s Kim Leadbeater, will fall when the parliamentary session comes to an end in May because peers have used multiple amendments and lengthy debates to prevent it from being put to a vote.

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NSW’s top prosecutor scores legal win in bias claim against senior judge

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Recusal application against district court judge Penelope Wass yet to be determined amid row with DPP

New South Wales’ top prosecutor has been given the green light to continue her fight to get a senior judge removed from a historical sexual offences trial on the grounds of apprehended bias.

The ruling from the NSW supreme court is the latest development in a long-running row between the director of public prosecutions, Sally Dowling SC, and district court judge Penelope Wass. The dispute went before the NSW court of appeal last week.

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David Lammy lifts cap on court sitting days in effort to cut backlog of cases

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Criminal barristers welcome justice secretary’s move to remove limit on hearing days at crown courts in England and Wales

A cap on court sitting days is to be lifted as the government seeks to ease the cases backlog, David Lammy has announced.

The justice secretary and deputy prime minister said every crown court in England and Wales would be funded to hear more cases in the next financial year.

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Duterte at ‘very heart’ of murderous drug crackdowns in Philippines, ICC told

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Ex-president, accused of crimes against humanity, selected targets and promised immunity for death squad members, prosecutor says

Rodrigo Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, was “at the very heart” of brutal anti-drugs campaigns that led to the killing of thousands of people, prosecutors at the international criminal court (ICC) have argued, as they called for charges against him to proceed to trial.

Duterte, 80, who was arrested in Manila last year and flown to The Hague, is facing three counts of crimes against humanity over campaigns against drug users and dealers during his presidency, and his earlier tenure as mayor of the city of Davao.

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‘Immensely heartened’: Sally Rooney hails Palestine Action high court ruling as victory for UK civil liberties

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Exclusive: Irish author, who feared her books being withdrawn from UK, says proscription had been ‘extreme assault’ on rights and freedoms

Sally Rooney has hailed the high court’s decision that it was unlawful to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws as a victory for civil liberties in Britain.

Ministers suffered a humiliating legal defeat a week ago when three senior judges ruled that proscription of the direct action group, which targets organisations it considers complicit in arming Israel, was disproportionate and unlawful.

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Austrian mountaineer ‘endlessly sorry’ for girlfriend’s death but denies criminal wrongdoing

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Thomas P gives evidence on first day of trial in case that could shape standards for mountain sports

An Austrian mountaineer has said he is “endlessly sorry” his girlfriend froze to death on a joint climb to the country’s highest peak, but denied criminal wrongdoing as his trial began in Innsbruck.

The 37-year-old defendant, identified only as Thomas P, gave evidence on the first day of the high-profile proceedings over the tragedy on Großglockner, in a case that could shape international standards for liability in mountain sports.

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Climber faces manslaughter charge after leaving girlfriend on Austria’s tallest peak

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Kerstin G froze to death on Großglockner when Thomas P descended mountain to fetch help

An Austrian mountaineer is to appear in court accused of gross negligent manslaughter after his girlfriend died of hypothermia when he left her close to the summit on a climb that went dramatically wrong.

The 33-year-old woman, identified only as Kerstin G, froze to death on 19 January 2025, about 50 metres below the summit of the Großglockner, Austria’s tallest mountain, after an ascent of more than 17 hours with her boyfriend, Thomas P, 36.

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Police arresting 1,000 paedophile suspects a month across UK

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National Crime Agency says rise in child sexual abuse being driven by technology and online forums

Child sexual abuse in the UK is soaring, police have said, with 1,000 paedophile suspects being arrested each month and the number of children being rescued from harm rising by 50% in the last five years.

The National Crime Agency said the growth in offending across the UK was driven by technology and linked to the radicalisation of offenders in online forums, encouraging people to view images of child sexual abuse by reassuring them it was normal.

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