News The conditions at Brook House, the privately run immigration deportation centre at Gatwick airport, are fundamentally unsafe, according to a damning report by the chief inspector of prisons published last week. Click here to read more. In response to the report, the UKBA stated that it broadly accepted the conclusions and were moving swiftly […]
The Latest Housing Law News Mortgage rescue: having announced a review of arrangements for helping defaulting homeowners, the Government has ended the special Fast Track Mortgage Rescue Scheme arrangements (provided by a team in Birmingham) for England. The fast track team has not taken new applications since the end of June and will close at […]
Sarah Hemingway of Garden Court Chambers successfully acted for a man who suffered injuries when he was punched by a police officer in 2006. He received damages for assault and malicious prosecution after a jury found in his favour in Liverpool last week.
UK Supreme Court rules that a breach of Article 2 Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights can be justiciable and sound in damages where a child is denied access to education available within the domestic system, however inadequate, to meet t
Stephen Simblet represented the family of a teenager at a recent inquest after the detained patient was able to take her own life despite supposedly being under continuous observation
Stephen Knafler QC has secured supported housing on behalf of a woman with a learning disability after she moved home and became the subject of a dispute between local authorities.
Peter Jorro has successfully acted for a gay asylum seeker in the Supreme Court. The seminal decision will be widely welcomed by those seeking asylum for fear of having to conceal “protected characteristics” under the Refugee Convention in their country o
The Latest Housing Law News Gypsy and Traveller site provision: on 6 July 2010 the Secretary of State for Communities announced the immediate revocation of Regional Spatial Strategies by exercise of delegated powers under section 79(6) of the Local Democracy Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 pending legislation to abolish them. They will no longer […]
News The UKBA has taken the unusual step of announcing on its website that it is seeking permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision in The Secretary of State for the Home Department v Pankina (Anastasia) & Ors [2010] EWCA Civ 719 (see Immigration Law Bulletin 187) and a stay on the effect of […]
Court of Appeal Equal pay North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust v Fox & ors [2010] EWCA Civ 729Although the Claimants’ original contracts may have come to an end by the imposition of new terms, they continued to be employed as nurses doing the same work and therefore were in a "stable employment relationship" which […]
News The world’s largest and finest refugee advocacy project, Refugee and Migrant Justice, closed, leaving over 10,000 clients without legal representation and hundreds of dedicated staff redundant. They will be greatly missed by Garden Court.Click here to read more. Cases The Secretary of State for the Home Department v Pankina (Anastasia) & Ors [2010] EWCA […]
The Latest Housing Law News Legal Aid for Housing Cases: on 30 June 2010 the Lord Chancellor gave further details of the direction of travel of the legal aid review currently underway in the Ministry of Justice. He said "Nobody feels more strongly than this Government about the need to make sure everyone has access […]
A team of Garden Court barristers has successfully defended eight activists at Hove Crown Court, who broke into an arms factory and caused £180,000 worth of damage. The defendants had been facing charges of conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
On 28 June 2010 the Court of Appeal granted permission to appeal in the case of FA (Iraq), but refused permission in another, linked case. Stephen Knafler QC of Garden Court Chambers appeared for the appellant in FA (Iraq), together with Margaret Phelan o
The Latest Housing Law News New help for homeowners: on 25 June 2010 the Financial Services Authority announced that new rules would apply from 30 June 2010 to (1) mortgage arrears recovery procedures used by mortgage lenders and (2) sale and rent-back schemes. In particular, mortgage lending firms must not apply a monthly arrears charge […]
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court explained how the "nonsense" of the "tolerated trespasser" was created and applied by the judiciary in Housing possession cases for over 20 years, finally ending it.
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EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Territorial jurisdiction Neary v Ministry of Defence & ors UKEAT/0101/10/DAAlthough the Employment Tribunal had erred in its approach to the question whether at the relevant time the Claimant was "ordinarily resident" in Great Britain for the purposes of Section 68(2A)(c) Disability Discrimination Act 1995, and Regulation 10(2)(c) Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, […]
The Latest Housing Law News Homelessness: the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps MP, announced on 16 June 2010 that the UK Government would undertake an overhaul of the arrangements for measuring the numbers of rough sleepers. For the details, click here. A ministerial inter-departmental committee has also been established, to take forward measures to tackle homelessness. […]
News Refugee and Migrant Justice (formerly the Refugee Legal Centre) went into administration on Wednesday. The Legal Services Commission confirmed that the Minister of Justice’s decision was final and that, despite any short term cost, there would be no change to the current funding arrangements that had led the charity into financial difficulty. Click here […]
The Latest Housing Law News Private Rented Sector Policy: the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps MP, announced on 10 June 2010 that the new UK Government would not be taking forward the previous government’s plans for the private rented sector. So there will now be no National Register of Landlords in England, no further regulation of […]
