Home Secretary loses appeal to deport Qatada

The British Home Secretary Theresa May last week lost her appeal to overrule an earlier judicial decision not to deport controversial hate preacher Abu Qatada. This has been an ongoing battle between Theresa May and Mr Qatada who is accused of being a “dangerous” individual by Mrs May’s legal team.

The most recent appeal was based on grounds stating that Mr Qatada avoided deportation due to “errors of law”. The Appeals Commission dealing with special immigration cases last decided that Mr Qatada could not be extradited to Jordan, due to there being a “real risk” that evidence from his previous co-defendants trial may well come as a breach of his human rights should they later be used against him at a retrial. Mr Qatada’s council stand by this evidence and insist the co defendants were tortured. His lawyer went on to say that there was the possibility of a “denial of justice” if his client was deported back to Jordan.

Council for Mr May argued that the Appeals Commission had misunderstood the various legal tests which were to be applied by a Jordanian court when Mr Qatada inevitably faces a trial. They assured the Court that the constitution in Jordan prohibits the use of statements to be used in proceedings should they have been obtained by using methods of torture. It is therefore clear that Mrs May has strong views which she is currently pursuing to deport the controversial hate preacher and let another jurisdiction deal with his actions. This may partly be due to the fact that his legal costs have been paid for using the current legal aid scheme which in effect uses tax payer’s money to fund his defence.

The outcome of the Court of Appeal’s decision has done one thing for certain, its given the government the ability to use this as a driving point in expelling the current Human Rights Act and passing a more approved ‘British Bill of Rights’.

New Welsh Homelessness Law Faces Opposition from Local Authorities

The Welsh government has recently passed a new law that would help provide additional assistance to the growing homeless population. Many local authorities support any efforts to help homeless people in Wales, but also have some concerns about the new bill. They said that they are worried that the new law may be difficult to implement. They have already been forced to cut spending to a number of social programs.

The authors of the bill are considering some changes that could make the new law less burdensome to the municipalities that would need to enforce it. Several lawmakers have proposed changing the bill to remove sections that would allow for priority housing. The draft of the bill currently also states that the government would need to create a new regulator, but the authors are considering removing that provision as well.

Peter Mackie, a professor from Cardiff University, said that he understands the premise behind the proposed changes but cautions the government from making too many compromises. He estimates that the new program would make it possible for local governments to help an additional 5,000 people throughout the country. However, Mackie said that the government needs to be concerned about making too many compromises from austerity pressure.

He said that the homelessness epidemic is growing throughout Wales and England and lawmakers must take extreme measures to provide housing to as many people as possible. Representatives from a variety of charities share his concerns. They support the campaign to end homelessness within the next six years but feel that goal won’t be feasible without adequate financing.

Other critics are concerned that the new law would encourage many homeless people from England to migrate to Wales. This would increase the cost of fighting homelessness. They also said that the government needs to take the effect of the new bedroom tax into consideration. This tax is expected to force additional families into homelessness.

Supporters of the new law expect homelessness will become a growing concern as the economy remains stagnant. They hope that Welsh lawmakers can take the necessary steps to help struggling families throughout the country.

Tasks held by financial lawyers in financial services

Financial lawyers often carry a wide range of roles in the financial services industry. Since Financial laws often overlap with many aspects of businesses and their operations, it is expected that the financial lawyer would focus on one or many of these unique areas:

Banking

Financial lawyers must be aware about the mandated laws and rules pertaining to loans, mortgages, as well as bank disputes. These legalities have to be firmly implemented to ensure that the company, primarily a bank, or a lending facility will be able to follow the requirements and offer services that meet such expectations. Banking laws can be very extensive in coverage and as such requires the skill of capable legal professionals with an understanding of existing UK laws.

Bankruptcy

Financial lawyers can work either for businesses or for the benefit of consumers. Bankruptcy can happen to individuals, to corporations and smaller businesses. Bankruptcy laws established in the UK can be used as a means for these affected entities to make the necessary actions either to avoid or dampen the risks that they could experience in the long run.

Debts and collections

Debt collection solicitors help in collecting B2B debts. This is a dirty job that can be very costly for all parties. If a client or customer refuses to pay the debt, this could affect a company’s finances. Having an experienced lawyer for the job is then ideal to arrange the recovery of debts. This task can be very complicated especially without any understanding of pertinent laws and that is why having skilled debt collections solicitors are vital.

Insurance and annuities

A finance lawyer can work for the insurance company or the policyholder. They can handle claims to ensure that the client will get the money he deserves from the insurance company. At the other end of the spectrum, the lawyer can also help the insurance company to protect its assets and assess the terms of the policy and the strength of the claims.

Court Welfare Reports Accepted by Judges in 9 out of 10 Cases

Tasked with the advocacy of children involved in family court proceedings, The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) was set up in April 2001 and operates independent of the courts, social services, education and health authorities. A study commissioned by Cafcass has found that the recommendations of their family court advisers have been accepted in more than 75% of cases.
These findings are likely to instil confidence in those due to access the service: ‘In public law, (Cafcass) work with children and young people who are the subject of a care application or other intervention by a local authority.’ Whilst, ‘In private law (Cafcass) work with children and young people whose parents are divorcing, separating or who do not live together and who cannot agree on contact and residence for their children.’

The study focuses on 170 private residence and contact cases selected at random. It states that of the 170 cases, Cafcass’ recommendations were not taken forward in 5. The reports cohered fully with the court’s final orders in 107 cases, there was partial coherence in 8, 30 cases were termed inapplicable due to the application’s withdrawal, dismissal or adjournment and in some cases, the reports not having been completed. There were 20 cases in which the reports’ coherence was subject to review by the court. When these cases requiring further review were included in the sample – the rate of accepted reports rose from 75% to 90%.
Richard Green, Child Protection Manager at the non-departmental public body said: “The fact that our reports are followed in 9 out of 10 cases suggests that the courts attach a high degree of merit to them.” Acknowledging impending changes in the organisation of public and private law proceedings, the Cafcass employee added: “We have good structures in place to produce high-quality work and we are well placed to respond to the challenges ahead.”

Horsemeat Scandal Grips the UK

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The revelation that at first Tesco, and following that more supermarkets, were selling burgers that included horse meat has been front page news in the UK for the last few days. It is interesting that Britain does not eat horsemeat as a rule, but other European countries are happy to do so. The problem appears to have begun with the burger manufacturers, as many supermarkets use the same suppliers for budget burgers.

Campaigners have raised this issue as an example of the problems with the way food production is supervised – the problem was picked up by authorities in Ireland, not in the UK – and the processes that surround the necessary checks. Experts point to a split in the responsibility, with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) responsible for safety issues and the inspection of meat, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (Defra) remaining in charge of labelling and composition. In effect, there is no national standard in place.

Problem at Packing Plants in Ireland and Yorkshire

The contamination was first identified by the Irish authorities who traced the contamination back to packing plants located in Ireland and Yorkshire, England. It is as yet unknown how the problem arose, but campaigners are highlighting the issue as confirmation of a major flaw in the UK food regulation laws. It is not the first time that burgers have been at the heart of a problem, for they were a big part of the BSE scandal some years ago.

Horse meat is eaten in many countries across Europe, and while France reports that consumption is far lower than it once was, in Italy there are still many people who eat horse regularly. In the UK, of course, horses are looked at in a different way, hence the outrage at the contaminated burger fiasco.

Teenager Sentenced for the Wrong Crime

One of the more curious stories of the moment is that concerning a judge who was forced to revoke a jail sentence after, quite bizarrely, jailing a teenager for the wrong crime. The judge, despite a detailed hearing, sentenced the defendant on a charge of rape, despite him not having committed such a crime. In fact, the youngster had pleaded guilty to having sex with an underage girl. Daniel Donohoe, 18, had pleaded not guilty to the rape charge at Gloucester Crown Court, and was sentenced by David Laine QC to two years in prison.

Donohoe had been charged with rape at an earlier hearing, and this had been mistaken when mentioned by the judge. Andrew Hobson, Donohoe’s solicitor, explained to the errant judge:

“I’m terribly sorry, but this is not a rape case. I felt it appropriate to draw this to your attention as he is being sentenced for an offence he has not pleaded guilty to or been found guilty of.”

Tears in the Gallery

Friends and family in the gallery were initially upset at the sentence, but when brought to the attention of the judge he had no option but to revoke the sentence. He was given a three year supervision order, and told to attend a sex offender programme. The court heard that the offence happened when Donohoe and the girl, described as ‘emotionally immature’, had been drinking. She had not intended to report the incident but a family member did so.

Although Donohoe, who was 17 at the time of offence, had previously pleaded not guilty to – and been found not guilty of – rape he admitted the lesser offence of sex with a minor. It would appear that the judge had been oblivious to the change in circumstances throughout the hearing.