Lord Justice Leveson has called for reforms to streamline the justice system in England and Wales for greater efficiency.
Continue reading “‘Designed in the 19th century’: Leveson calls for court system reforms”
‘Banging his head against the wall’: Justice secretary makes limited concessions as Commons passes judicial review reforms
The government has amended the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill to reintroduce further discretion in holding judicial reviews, helping the bill to pass the House of Commons last night (13 January) and returning it to the Lords for a third time.
‘Unlawful’ guidance: Freshfields acts for Red Cross as CoA rules against exceptional funding advice
The UK government has come under fire again over legal aid as the Court of Appeal (CoA) slammed how guidance for funding legal aid in immigration cases was unlawful.
Comment: Legal Business celebrates 25 years and the profession as well
So, what mattered to you? Twenty five years since Legal Business launched to chronicle the dramatic changes in the legal profession much has changed and yet stays the same. Still, if you were going to launch the first publication to focus on the UK’s commercial legal sector, you couldn’t have picked a better time than 1990.
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‘There is a fundamental tension here’: Lawyers nervous about exceptions to professional privilege
With government intelligence agencies and tax authorities coming under a spotlight in recent weeks over the sourcing of legally privileged documentation, justification and potential implications for such action has increasingly generated cause for concern among City lawyers.
It emerged in November that the Investigatory Powers Tribunal had discovered that legally privileged documents may have been targeted by British intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ.
November sees introduction of new immigration rules
Rahul Batra of Hudson McKenzie details the changes.
The written ministerial statement laid in the House of Commons on 16 October 2014 by James Brokenshire, Minister of State for Immigration and Security, and in the House of Lords by Lord Bates, outlined a number of changes to the UK Immigration Rules.
Tier 1 (Investor) Category – Investors must now invest more
As of 6 November 2014, the minimum investment threshold has been raised to £2m. However, any successful investor visa applicants that applied before that date are covered by the current £1m investment rules. New investors can no longer allocate 25% of their investment into UK assets. The entire £2m will need to be invested in UK trading companies, or UK government bonds (previously 75%). The loan option has also been removed and topping up of investments accounts are no longer required if the invested amount falls below the required level. However, if investments are sold, they will need to be replaced within the same reporting period. Yet another change is that entry clearance officers are being empowered to refuse investors if they have reasonable grounds to believe the funds were obtained unlawfully, or if they have concerns about the character and conduct of the party ‘providing the funds’ – this could extend to those gifting the funds to the investor.
Continue reading “November sees introduction of new immigration rules”
Taxing times: Lawyers’ reactions to the Autumn Statement
After his Autumn Statement, which may be UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s last if the Conservative party fails to be elected in next year’s general election, tax practitioners across the City have been besieged by calls from funds managers and banks nervous about the government’s proposals while real estate lawyers are facing a late night.
Continue reading “Taxing times: Lawyers’ reactions to the Autumn Statement”
Guest post: judicial review at bay – playing ping pong with the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill
Judicial review has been described by Liberty as ‘a crucial tool which allows ordinary people to challenge decisions by the authorities – either because they’re unlawful, irrational, or made in the wrong way’. This tool has come under attack from the Government. In this post, I look at the House of Commons debate on 1 December when House of Lords amendments to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill were considered. Continue reading “Guest post: judicial review at bay – playing ping pong with the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill”
Guest post: The PM’s ‘foreign fighters’ plan – probably lawful
In Australia, the Prime Minister announced new counter-terrorism powers which he intends to introduce in a bill in the next few weeks. He said there’d be ‘new powers for police at ports to seize passports, to stop suspects travelling and to stop British nationals returning to the UK unless they do so on our terms.’
Continue reading “Guest post: The PM’s ‘foreign fighters’ plan – probably lawful”
‘A fundamental misunderstanding of DBAs’: Government rules out hybrid Damages Based Agreements
In what constitutes the latest controversial move over Damages-Based Agreements (DBAs) regulation, the Government has ruled out hybrid versions of the agreements after tasking the Civil Justice Council (CJC) with reviewing some ‘technical revisions’.