Garden Court Chambers has today submitted a formal response to the Second Consultation by the Commission on a Bill of Rights. In it we stress the importance of retaining the existing rights and provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998, and question the mer
Rebecca Hill has successfully secured the dismissal of "ticket touting" charges against a Serbian man on the grounds that the English court did not have jurisdiction to try him.
Mark Symes was part of the legal team in a set of test cases involving the lawfulness of returning asylum seekers to have their cases considered in Italy. The cases arose because of the lack of accommodation there.
The Latest Housing Law News Social housing lettings and sales: on 21 September 2012 the latest statistics on lettings and sales by social landlords in England were published. They reveal that there were 362,610 new lettings of social housing in 2011/2012, a 2% increase on 2010/2011. Of those, 72 % of lets were by private […]
The Chief Constable of Kent Police settled a race discrimination claim that alleged they had failed to take adequate steps to protect a young family from racial harassment from their neighbours. The Claimants, represented by Sarah Hemingway and Darren Whi
Garden Court Chambers is delighted once again to have been recognised as a first tier set in the prestigious Legal 500 2012. We are now ranked in six areas of law, with 46 barristers recommended - over a third of our members.
A High Court Judge has now been appointed to hear the inquest into the death of former KGB agent and Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. At a pre-inquest review today, the judge agreed to consider the role of the Russian State in causing his death, an
The European Court of Human Rights ruled today that indeterminate prison sentences are a violation of Article 5(1) of the European Convention of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to liberty and security. The ruling applies to prisoners detained bey
Employment news Consultation: settlement and limiting the compensatory award The Government last week published a consultation document on the transition from compromise to settlement agreements. Potentially the most interesting idea contained in it is the suggestion that the government should publish "guideline tariffs", as to what sum an employer should offer an employee when he […]
News Just as the UTIAC declared in VT (Dublin Regulation: post-removal appeal) Sri Lanka [2012] UKUT 308 (IAC) that allegations of mistreatment in safe third countries were not a matter to require investigation in Dublin 2 cases, UNHCR declared that Serbia was not a safe third country. Meanwhile Slovakia was the object of severe criticism […]
Marc Willers (together with Sharon Baxter of the Community Law Partnership) acted on behalf of Maria Buckland, a Romani Gypsy, in the European Court of Human Rights.
The Latest Housing Law News Housing need: on 12 September 2012 an alliance of housing organizations called Housing Voice launched a new report concluding that current and previous governments have failed to take responsibility for meeting the housing needs of those who are most in need. For a copy of the report, To have or […]
Garden Court Chambers is delighted to learn that Stephanie Harrison has been shortlisted as Human Rights and Public Law Junior of the Year in the prestigious Chambers Bar Awards 2012.
The Latest Housing Law News Homelessness: the latest figures for statutory homelessness in England were published on 6 September 2012. They show that 12,860 applicants were accepted as owed the main homelessness duty between 1 April and 30 June 2012, 9% higher than during the same quarter of 2011. 51,640 households were in temporary accommodation […]
News Statement of changes HC 565 comes into effect on 6 September and 1 October 2012. The changes bring a raft of requirements previously set out in guidance, into the immigration rules. Click here for more information. The UK Border Agency has issued its quarterly stats for April – June 2012. Click here for more […]
Henry Blaxland QC and Hossein Zahir appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, acting for four of those who stood for surety for Julian Assange. The four are at risk of losing their money because, rather than surrender to police for the purpose
The full oral hearings for the public inquiry into the fatal shooting of Azelle Rodney by the Metropolitan Police opened this week, with Leslie Thomas acting for Mr Rodney's family. This is the first such inquiry in England into a death, replacing the rol
Employment news ‘Zero-hours’ employment contracts It is alleged today that some NHS Trusts are to employ highly skilled workers on what are colloquially known as "McDonald-style" contracts or zero-hour contracts. The contracts allow an employer to keep employees "on call" only paying them for the hours they work. Employers argue that this enables them to […]
News The withdrawal of the sponsor licence of London Metropolitan University left 2,000 students facing an uncertain future in the United Kingdom. UKBA has put specific guidance online. Click here for more information and here for guidance from the UKBA. The Schedule to the Immigration (Designation of Travel Bans) Order 2000 has been amended to […]
Michael Paget gave an interview on BBC Radio Berkshire yesterday about the legal position of a group of squatters in the village of Sipson. The land the squatters are living on is of strategic importance as it could be the site of a potential third runway
