Legislation / Legal
LC: The Law Commission has identified the areas of UK electoral law that will come under scrutiny in a forthcoming review. The review, which will be conducted jointly with the Scottish Law Commission & the Northern Ireland Law Commission, aims to reform the law relating to elections & referendums across the UK.
Electoral law in the UK is spread across 25 major statutes. It has become increasingly complex & fragmented. In addition, recent years have seen a steady increase in the numbers & types of election. Each type of election comes with its own set of rules & systems, and combining different types into one electoral event introduces yet more layers of electoral law.
Electoral law in the UK is spread across 25 major statutes. It has become increasingly complex & fragmented. In addition, recent years have seen a steady increase in the numbers & types of election. Each type of election comes with its own set of rules & systems, and combining different types into one electoral event introduces yet more layers of electoral law.
PC&PE: The House of Lords Constitution Committee has published its report on the Defamation Bill. In their report the Committee says that the Bill may not provide publishers with a 'sufficiently robust and succinct defence' against defamation claims on the basis that publication was in the public interest. The Committee question whether clause 4 of the Bill adequately reflects the case law on 'Reynolds privilege', which was established by the Law Lords in 1999 in Reynolds v Times Newspapers.
The Committee also considers how the recommendations in the recent report from Lord Justice Leveson on the culture & practices of the press interact with the proposals for reforming defamation law. The Committee also says that more detail should be included in the Bill about the proposed defence for operators of websites.
LC: The Law Commission is recommending that the offence of scandalising the court should be abolished & not replaced. Following a 3-month consultation, the Commission has concluded that the offence of scandalising the court is an infringement of freedom of expression and out of step with social attitudes.
HMT: The Financial Services Bill, which will deliver fundamental reform of financial regulation in the UK, has received Royal Assent. The Bill, which has now become an Act of Parliament, will be known as the Financial Services Act. It sets out a clear and coherent regulatory framework, replacing the uncertainty & inadequacy of the failed Tripartite system. The Act comes into force from 1 April 2013.
PC&PE: Proposed changes to family justice have been broadly welcomed by the Justice Committee in its report scrutinising the draft Children and Families Bill, but the Committee maintains significant concerns about the draft clause on shared parenting.
LC: The Law Commission has been asked by Government to consider whether two existing groups of offences dealing with hate crime should be extended.
ScotGov: Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has launched a consultation setting out proposals on how a new licensing regime for air weapons will work, using new powers devolved in the Scotland Act 2012. It is estimated that there could be as many as half a million unlicensed air guns in Scotland. Consultation closes on 15 March 2013.
LGA: Councillor John Merry, Vice-Chair of the LGA's Children & Young People Board, has responded to the Criminal Justice Joint Inspection report on looked-after children and youth offending.
TNA: As of 1 January 2013, the government has begun its move towards releasing records when they are 20 years old, instead of 30. A Commencement Order that brings into force the relevant parts of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, plus two transition orders have all been signed and laid in Parliament by Lord McNally, the Minister responsible for the 20-year rule.
MoJ: New measures are being put in place to support separating couples at the time of year when the number of people considering separation & divorce is at its peak. Experts say the post-Christmas period is when the most enquiries about separation & divorce are made – so much so that the first working day in January is dubbed 'Divorce Day' by many in the legal sector.
The average cost of resolving property & finance disputes caused by separation is approximately £500 through mediation for a publicly funded client, compared to £4,000 for issued settled through the courts. The average time for a mediated case is 110 days compared to 435 days for non-mediated cases.
