The people of the Chagos Islands, a British Indian Ocean Territory, have suffered at the hands of UK foreign policy for nearly 50 years. In this episode we look at the decision to establish a marine protected area around the archipelago and in particular the implications of a WikiLeaks cable that implied that the real motivation for the marine reserve was to prevent any chance of resettlement. Music from bensound.com
Feb 19, 2018•12 min
Part payment of a confiscation order can lead to a reduction in the sentence for drug trafficking offences but how should the courts work out that reduction. Should it be based on the original amount imposed on the defendant or instead take into account interest as well? In this episode we go on to discuss the mixed approach that the Supreme Court appears to be taking towards personal freedoms. Music from bensound.com
Feb 05, 2018•7 min
A police warrant to search and seize property normally contains all of the relevant details but in the case of Haralambous this was excluded on grounds of public interest immunity. A judicial review was made against this not only in relation to the decision in the Magistrates' Court but also looking at the equivalent decisions in the Crown Court and the High Court. In this episode we consider not only the decision in this case but also the wider implications of public interest immunity for civil...
Jan 29, 2018•11 min
In this episode we leave the UK and head to the Court of Justice of the European Union where a fraud case developed into questions about fundamental human rights, constitutional law and a potential threat to the primacy of EU law itself.
Jan 22, 2018•9 min
The smoking ban has now been around for more than a decade so it might seem obvious that everyone is affected but one unusual rule of statutory interpretation might mean that there is a surprising exception built into the law. Music from bensound.com
Jan 15, 2018•7 min
How strict should the courts be when it comes to time-barring human rights cases? While there is some flexibility built into the system there are important questions about how the Human Rights Act 1998 should be interpreted. In this episode we also dig into the allegations of racial discrimination made against the Bar Standards Board. Music from bensound.com
Jan 08, 2018•10 min
World famous poker player Phil Ivey walked into a London casino and won £7.7 million playing baccarat but the casino refused to pay out because they thought that Ivey had cheated. In this episode we not only discuss what it means to cheat but also the legal definition of dishonesty. Music from bensound.com
Dec 25, 2017•14 min
P was assaulted while she was on duty as a police officer in 2010. When she was herself arrested the following year she blamed it on PTSD from the previous assault. Nevertheless she was still dismissed from the police force but when P came to appeal the decision she did so in a very unusual way that we explore in this episode. Music from bensound.com
Dec 18, 2017•9 min
After Armes had been abused by two of her foster parents when she was growing up she brought a case against the local authority arguing that they were liable. This case split the Justices and has potential consequences for vicarious liability in the area of tort law. Music from bensound.com
Dec 11, 2017•10 min
BPP are a company that will be familiar to most law students as they supply legal education and books. Books are zero-rated for the purposes of VAT and so when HMRC made a decision against BPP for failure to pay, the company appealed this to the Tax Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal. However the government's lawyers were completely disorganised throughout the entirety of the appeal and in this episode we analyse the fallout from this as well as what this means for future cases before the tribun...
Dec 04, 2017•10 min
What is a sham marriage and how can we define it for the purposes of the law? In this episode we explore that question as well as the fate of a woman who has lived in the UK since 2007 but now faces deportation after being accused by immigration officers of engaging in a marriage of convenience. Music from bensound.com
Nov 27, 2017•9 min
The concept of matrimonial property was shaken up in the context of Scottish divorce law by the Supreme Court in this case. In particular the Justices had to make a decision about what proportion of a pension could be included and what it meant to be a member of a pension scheme. Music from bensound.com
Nov 20, 2017•8 min
In 2013 the government introduced fees for people bringing cases before the employment tribunals in the UK. Although this would remove some of the burden on taxpayers, UNISON argued that the Fees Order prevented access to justice and acted in a discriminatory manner towards women and other minorities. In this episode we consider the decision in the light of access to justice and the wider constituitional implications on the rule of law. Music from bensound.com
Nov 13, 2017•9 min
In this special bonus episode we review the recent finding of the Employment Appeal Tribunal against Uber and consider what this means for the company as well as the so-called gig economy in the UK.
Nov 11, 2017•8 min
One of the most delicate balancing acts that occurs within the realm of human rights law is between Article 8 (the right to private and family life) and Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the UK this has allowed for the development of a common law right to privacy but how far can this extend when it interferes with the reporting of public legal proceedings? The issues in this case also raise wider questions about the allegations of sexual assault th...
Nov 06, 2017•9 min
When Actavis took a new medical treatment to market, Eli Lilly thought it looked familiar. They had their own product that had been patented and the one from Actavis was only a slight variation. In this episode we explore the issues that arose surrounding intellectual property law and consider the wider implications when it comes to tightening or loosening the European patent system. Music from bensound.com
Oct 30, 2017•10 min
Walker has been in a same-sex relationships since 1993 but because he retired before civil partnerships became legal in late 2005 his partner was not entitled to the spousal pension. In this case Walker challenges the discrimination by reference to the EU's Framework Directive. We then discuss how rights may continue to be protected in the UK after Brexit. Music from bensound.com
Oct 23, 2017•11 min
The financial dealings of Rangers Football Club have been subject to a great deal of scrutiny in the recent past and in this case the Supreme Court focused on one particular aspect of the way that the club was run. When a footballer signed for the club they were offered the chance to avoid paying income tax by using a complicated trust mechanism. In this episode we unpack that mechanism and consider the legal arguments that allowed the system to be abused. Music from bensound.com
Oct 16, 2017•9 min
Zain Dean is a Scottish citizen who had been living in Taiwan for 19 years when he was convicted for manslaughter in 2010. While he was on bail he absconded back to Scotland on a friend's passport. When he was eventually caught the Taiwanese authorities sought to extradite Dean back to their country but an appeal was raised against this on the basis of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of torture). In this episode we not only examine the human rights arguments but...
Oct 09, 2017•10 min
The Conservative immigration policy of 'deport now, appeal later' was part of their manifesto and found its way into law as part of a drive to protect the public from foreign criminals. In two cases where human rights issues were at stake this law was challenged on the basis that it is very difficult to conduct an appeal from abroad. In this episode we also consider the judgment in the context of wider immigration policy and the methods employed by the Home Office in its pursuit to address immig...
Oct 02, 2017•9 min
Abortion is a controversial subject in Northern Ireland and is only available in a narrow range of circumstances. This means that a lot of women have to travel to England where they can pay for an abortion. In this judicial review case A had travelled to Manchester and paid £900 for an abortion but argued that, as a resident of the UK, this should have been made freely available to her on the NHS. While this case was, in theory, only about NHS policy it has wider ethical implications and also te...
Sep 25, 2017•12 min
There is often very little thought that goes into what happens to people once they leave prison and this is especially true of women. In this case Ms. Coll was required to live in approved premises that were more than 50 miles away from her home and family. Her judicial review challenged this on the basis of the Equality Act 2010. In this episode we also examine the way that women are treated within the criminal justice system in general. Music from bensound.com
Sep 11, 2017•12 min
When a group of teachers at a sixth form college in Warwickshire went on strike their employers were entitled to withhold a proprtional amount of pay. For the college this was based on the number of working days in the year but the teachers argued that the correct calculation should be based on the total number of days in a calendar year. As the Supreme Court came to a final decision in this case they made reference to an 1870 Act of Parliament called the Apportionment Act. In this episode we al...
Sep 04, 2017•7 min
On 15th September 2008 Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and became the most high profile casualty of the financial crisis that rocked the global economy. Nearly a decade on and the repercussions are still being felt in the legal and political climate. This case in particular looks at the administration and liquidation of Lehman Brothers International Europe through the eyes of insolvency legislation in the UK. Music from bensound.com
Aug 28, 2017•9 min
Whn it comes to statutory interpretation there are rules that the courts have to follow but the situation is less clear for interpreting non-statutory texts such as frameworks and guidance. In this episode we explore the method that should be adopted by judges and how they have to tread a fine line between interpretation and policy. Music from bensound.com
Aug 21, 2017•7 min
When a public body undertakes a procurement exercise it should be carried out in an open and transparent fashion that is fair to all of the bidders. In this case the process was not carried out in the correct manner and this presented the Supreme Court with a number of questions about when and how a case may be brought. In this episode we also consider just how effective the EU's regime in this area really is. Music from bensound.com
Aug 14, 2017•9 min
Under the current regime of the Access to Justice Act 1999 a publisher can be liable for costs arising from a defamation case even where those costs include premiums associated with conditional fee agreements and after the event insurance. In this case three publishers challenge the law as an infringement on their right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. In this episode we also consider proposals to change the law and also press regulation. Music from bensoun...
Aug 07, 2017•8 min
The Scottish smoking ban in hospital grounds has been a source of contention since being passed by the Scottish Parliament and in this case we see a challenge from a detained mental health patient. The ban in this instance also invovled searching for and confiscating tobacco and so the case reliednot only on domestic legislation but human rights grounds as well. Music from bensound.com
Jul 31, 2017•9 min
When SXH came to the UK as an asylum seeker she arrived on a false passport. The Crown Prosecution Service decided that it was in the public interest to pursue a prosecution under the Identity Cards Act 2006. Further research into SXH's case changed their mind but in this case before the Supreme Court she argued that the original decision was a breach of her human rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Music from bensound.com
Jul 17, 2017•7 min
When Mr Platt took his daughter out of school during term time for a holiday in Florida he was landed with a penalty notice from Isle of Wight Council. The case made its way up to the Supreme Court and garnered national headlines as the following question had to be decided: what does it mean to attend school regularly? Music from bensound.com
Jul 03, 2017•7 min
