Legislation / Legal

MoJ: The culture of using ‘meritless’ judicial review applications to delay immigration decisions and hold up development will be attacked by new controls announced last week by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling. The changes will tackle the soaring number of judicial review applications being made in England & Wales.
 
Court rules will now be put in place to implement the changes, which are expected to take effect this summer.  The changes complement separate proposals being considered which would also see the fee for a Judicial Review application increase from £60 to £235.
 
2 of the consultation proposals have not been taken forward following consideration of responses:
* For cases based on a continuing issue or multiple decisions – clarifying the point when the time limit starts, to avoid long delays
* Scrapping oral renewals for any case which has already had a hearing before a judge on substantially the same matter, for example, at a court, tribunal or statutory inquiry
Press release & links
 
ScotGov: Legislation to create a more user-friendly, simplified structure for Scotland’s tribunals has been published by the Scottish Parliament. Tribunals are a key part of the legal system, protecting people from potentially unfair treatment in a range of specialist areas such as support for learning, health, land & housing. However, the current system – which has developed in an ad-hoc & unplanned way over many years – is long overdue for reform.
Press release & links
 
HO: The Riot Damages Act will be independently reviewed to ensure it protects the vulnerable & provides value for money, the government announced last week. The review will examine the existing criteria which determines when compensation is payable. This includes key issues such as the definition of a riot, who should be liable and what level of compensation is suitable.
 
The review should conclude by September 2013 and will be followed by a public consultation.
Press release & links
 
BIS: UK businesses who want to protect their products &technologies through patents & design rights will be better off as a result of a new Intellectual Property Bill tabled last week.  It proposes changes that would help businesses to better understand what is protected under the law, reduce the need for costly litigation, and provide greater certainty for investors in new designs & technologies.
Press release & links
 
Defra: Legal powers for the police to tackle irresponsible dog owners & improve public safety are among legislative changes being published in the draft Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill recently.  

The Government announced in February 2013 that it will extend the dangerous dogs legislation to make it an offence for a dog to be dangerously out of control in any place, including all private property.  However there will be no protection for trespassers such as burglars who are attacked by a householder’s dog.
Press release & links
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