The jury at the second inquest into the death of 14 year old Adam Rickwood in Hassockfield Secure Training Centre in County Durham on 8 August 2004 today returned a damning narrative verdict criticising failings by Serco, the private company running Hassockfield, the Youth Justice Board, Prison Service restraint trainers and the Lancashire Youth Offending […]
Stephen Knafler QC represented the Women’s Aid Federation of England in the Supreme Court in their successful intervention in the case of Yemshaw v Hounslow LBC [2011] UKSC 3
Cases M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece – 30696/09 [2011] ECHR 108 (21 January 2011)Overturning a whole series of earlier decisions and propositions, and issuing a standard-setting landmark judgment for the protection of asylum seekers, the European Court of Human Rights in M.S.S. v. Belgium and Greece – 30696/09 [2011] ECHR 108 (21 January 2011) has […]
Stephen Knafler QC and Desmond Rutledge represented a Benedictine nun in a test case in the Court of Appeal, about the eligibility of nuns for State Pension Credit (‘SPC’). Scott v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
The Latest Housing Law News Reforming Social Housing: the Localism Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons last week. For the Hansard report of the debate on 17 January 2011, click here and scroll down. The Bill will now be given detailed consideration by a Commons’ Public Bill Committee. The Committee has […]
Court of Appeal Arhin v Enfield Primary Care Trust [2010] EWCA Civ 1481The Tribunal had not erred in finding that although unfairly dismissed for redundancy, the Claimant would not have been appointed to a new post created in the re-organisation and therefore was not wrong to reduce the compensatory award by 100%. Although the Respondent […]
Garden Court Chambers is proud to announce that 17 of its barristers have been appointed as panel counsel to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
The Latest Housing Law News Reforming Social Housing – deadline today: the consultation exercise on the Government’s proposals for the reform of Social Housing closes at 5pm today. For a copy of the consultation paper, click here. For a copy of the response from the Housing Team at Garden Court Chambers, click here. For the […]
NEWS Tunisia has been in a state of emergency since ousted President Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14th January 2011 amid widespread anti government protests. To read further, click here. CASES Suppiah and Others [2011] EWHC 2 (Admin) Mr Justice Wyn Williams found that two failed asylum seekers ( mothers and their respective […]
The Garden Court Housing Team today lodged its response to the Coalition Government’s consultation paper on the reform of social housing laws in England. The response covers housing allocation, homelessness, tenure reform, empty housing and the housing provisions of the Localism Bill. Based on their considerable expertise in the Housing field, the Team members offer […]
The trial of six climate change campaigners has collapsed after the prosecution offered no evidence at trial
The Latest Housing Law News Reforming Social Housing: the majority of the proposed reforms to social housing in England will be implemented through enactment of the Localism Bill (Part 6). The House of Commons Second Reading of the Bill is scheduled to take place next week (17 January 2011). The Explanatory Notes, written by civil […]
Cases HM and others (PBS- legitimate expectation – paragraph 245ZX(I)) Malawi [2010] UKUT 446 (IAC)The Upper Tribunal found that firstly, for the purpose of relevant Points Based System (PBS) applications, funds are "available" to a claimant at the material time if they are under his control in an overseas bank account. Secondly, the Secretary of […]
The Latest Housing Law News Allocating Social Housing: on 21 December 2010 the latest figures were released on lettings of homes by social landlords in England. They provide the most up to date estimates on who got what social housing tenancies and where. For the full data tables, click here. Legal Help on Housing Issues: […]
As 2010 draws to a close, Garden Court barristers have once again been at the forefront of the law as these recent cases demonstrate.
The Legal Services Commission has unsuccessfully appealed the decision of Hickinbottom J in R (Humberstone) v Legal Services Commission.
Court of Appeal Procedure Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service v Tilke [2010] EWCA Civ 1402The Respondent was successful in its appeal to the EAT on a finding of unfair constructive dismissal save that the EAT remitted the matter to the same Employment Tribunal for re-hearing. The Court of Appeal held that in the […]
The Latest Housing Law News New housing legislation for England: last week the Coalition Government introduced the Localism Bill in the UK Parliament. Part 6 deals with almost every dimension of housing law. It contains proposed new rules on: allocation of social housing; homelessness; security of tenure in social housing; succession rights; disrepair; an expanded […]
Cases O’Donoghue and Others v The United Kingdom (Application no. 34848/07)The Strasbourg Court found that a Nigerian national with discretionary leave and a dual Irish/UK national were permitted to marry only after the UK’s Certificate of Approval scheme was amended following unfavourable lower court decisions. Even so, they could not afford the fee and were […]
The Court of Appeal held, by a majority of 2:1, that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is prohibited from making deductions from ongoing benefits to recover a social security debt listed on a Debt Relief Order.
