October 2010

Charon QC podcast: Prisoners and the vote

October 27, 2010

I spoke to Charon QC earlier about the issue of prisoners’ voting, following Joshua Rozenberg’s recent Guardian Law piece on the subject and the guest post on his blog by John Hirst. We give a bit of background about the ECHR and the European Court of Human Rights before discussing the judgments in Hirst v [...]

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UK Supreme Court judgment: Cadder v H.M. Advocate

October 26, 2010

The Supreme Court has given judgment today in this case about whether Scottish criminal suspects must have the right to a lawyer when being questioned in the first hours after they’re arrested and detained, a right which legislation currently doesn’t give them. Or more strictly perhaps, it’s about whether evidence obtained through questioning is admissible [...]

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Digital Economy Act judicial review: statement of facts and grounds

October 21, 2010

Thanks to the Open Rights Group for letting me know that TalkTalk have published the joint statement of facts and grounds they filed this summer in the judicial review challenge they’re mounting, together with BT, against the Digital Economy Act. I won’t comment on the main arguments now – I’ll do that when I have [...]

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Legal advice at the police station – French and Scottish style

October 20, 2010

It used to be common in England to suggest that criminal justice was better in France or in Scotland. Well, each is another country, and they do things differently there. I’ve absolutely no doubt some of their laws are better. But as far as rights at the police station are concerned, they’re struggling to keep [...]

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That burdensome sex discrimination law

October 10, 2010

I just happened to be walking past the Anatolian Flame restaurant, round the corner from me in Willesden, and couldn’t help noticing this job advert which I think must be in breach of section 6(1)(a) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 section 39(1)(a) of the Equality Act 2010*. Rules and regulations are such a burden [...]

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Charon QC podcast: William Hague’s “National Sovereignty” Clause

October 8, 2010

I know I’ve been away a few weeks – we all need a blog break occasionally – but I’m back with a bang, with a piece at the Guardian Law website yesterday on William Hague’s proposed “national sovereignty” clause, which he intends to put before Parliament in his EU Bill later this year to “reaffirm [...]

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