Courts
Farewell
to the law lords - 30 July
Today the law lords sit to give judgment for the last time in the
House of Lords and, as Lord Hope of Craighead said there last week,
the upper chamber will be "losing part of itself". From
October the law lords will become Justices of the Supreme Court,
created under the Constitutional Reform Act
2005 - Times
Online website
Cyclist's
family awarded £580 000 - 28 July
The family of a teacher killed while cycling home from his school in
Greater Manchester has been awarded compensation of £580 000. - BBC
News website
MoD
under fire for trying to cut compensation to injured soldiers -
29 July
The mother of a young British soldier who lost both his legs while
serving in Afghanistan attacked the Ministry of Defence today for
appealing against compensation awarded to two injured soldiers. - Times
Online website
MoD
challenge 'possibly' mistaken - 30 July
The defence secretary has said it was "possibly" a mistake
for the government to seek to reduce payouts to servicemen wounded
on active service. But Bob Ainsworth told the BBC the case had to be
brought to clear up confusion over compensation payments. He was
speaking after ministers agreed to bring forward a general review of
armed forces compensation rules. - BBC
News website
Environment
'Toxic'
birth defects verdict due - 29 July
Families who claim their children were born with defects caused by
exposure to toxic waste are due to learn the outcome of their legal
action later. The 18 families are suing Corby Borough Council,
claiming deformities to hands and feet were due to mothers being
exposed to a "soup of toxic materials". It denies
negligence during reclamation works at the Northants town's former
steel plant between 1985 and 1999. The council insists there is no
link between the clean-up and any defects. The case at London's High
Court relates to birth defects in 18 young people aged between 22
and nine, with links to Corby. - BBC
News website
Local
council found liable over birth defects - 29 July
A group of young people who blame their disabilities on their
mothers' exposure to toxic materials can seek compensation from
the local council after winning a crucial first legal ruling
today. - Times Online
website
Corby
birth defects : worst child poisoning case since thalidomide -
29 July
The scale of the Corby birth defects scandal has become clear
after it emerged that more than 75 families could be affected by
the biggest child poisoning case since thalidomide. - Telegraph
website
Health
Private
transplants to be banned - 31 July
The government says it will ban all private transplants of organs
from dead donors in the UK. The move comes after media reports of
overseas patients paying to get onto the waiting list for organs
donated by British people. An independent report said organs were
scarce and no one should be able to pay for transplants, to ensure
NHS patients did not miss out. - BBC
News website
Human
Rights
Right-to-die
law to be clarified - 31 July
Prosecutors will start work later to clarify the law on assisted
suicide after a landmark court victory by a multiple sclerosis
sufferer. Law Lords backed a call by Debbie Purdy, 46 and from
Bradford, for formal advice on the legal position of those who help
a loved one commit suicide. Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Keir Starmer said interim policy guidance would be issued by
September. Critics say the ruling could pressure people into ending
their lives early. - BBC News
website
Assisted
suicide : what is the law? - 31 July
Debbie Purdy has won a landmark court battle campaigners fear could
lead to more people ending their lives in foreign "suicide
clinics". But what does the law currently say? - Telegraph
website
Stop
and searches on ethnic or religious grounds are not effective -
27 July
Members of minorities are more often than others stopped by the
police, asked for identity papers, questioned and searched. They are
victims of "ethnic profiling", a form of discrimination
which is widespread in today's Europe. Such methods clash with
agreed human rights standards. They tend also to be
counter-productive as they discourage people from cooperating with
Police efforts to detect real crimes. - eGov
Monitor website
Labour
Issues
Swine
flu pandemic could fuel rise in workplace litigation - 27 July
Businesses could face a spate of legal claims from employees hit by
swine flu, experts warn, as concerns mount that firms are not
prepared to deal with legal issues arising from affected staff.
Personal injury, health and safety, and negligence claims are all
likely, according to employment lawyers, as litigation has continued
to rise during the recession. - Guardian
website
Miscellaneous
Memoirs
of British spy offer no apology - 23 July
After keeping it sealed in a steel container for 25 years, the
British Library made public on Thursday a 30 000-word memoir in
which Anthony Blunt, one of Britain's most renowned 20th-century art
historians, described spying for the Soviet Union, beginning in the
mid-1930s, as "the biggest mistake of my life". The
memoir, intended by Blunt as a testament to family and friends, was
given to the library in 1984 by the executor of Blunt's will, John
Golding, on the condition that it be kept secret for 25 years. - New
York Times website