UK Law Weekly

Most people would vacate a space designated for a wheelchair user on a bus but what powers does a bus driver have if a person refuses to move? To what extent should the government step in to legislate on this? Music from bensound.com

In R (on the application of Miller and Dos Santos) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5 the Supreme Court gave the final word on the process that needs to be taken for triggering Article 50 TFEU and getting Brexit underway.

In the first three cases of 2017 the Supreme Court made some major decisions on the liability of the UK government for actions committed abroad in pursuit of the foreign policy at the time. Music from bensound.com

Docherty was convicted in a criminal trial and was considered to be a 'dangerous offender'. He was sentenced to imprisonment for public protection (IPP) under the old sentencing regime of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 but argued he should have been sentenced under the new regime to an extended determinate sentence (EDS) under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. In this...

This criminal law case revolved around the interpretation of the phrase 'substantially impaired' in the context of a murder case and the purported diminished responsibility of the defendant. The underlying issue goes much deeper however and addresses the role of judges and juries in trials. Music from bensound.com

How do the courts balance the need to deport foreign criminals against their right to see their children? Music from bensound.com

The bedroom tax has proved to be one of the most controversial policies in recent times. In this judicial review the Supreme Court examined whether the impact on a range of vulnerable people breached their human rights. Music from bensound.com

Johnson has spent almost the entirety of his life in the UK but after he was convicted for manslaughter the Home Secretary tried to deport him as a 'foreign criminal'. Johnson appealed this on the basis that the current immigration rules discriminated against him because his parents were unmarried. Music from bensound.com

What happens when the prosecution wants to prove that a defendant has a propensity towards violence during a trial? After a rather vague direction in this Northern Irish case the Supreme Court had to decide how propensity works and the burden of proof required from the prosecution. Music from bensound.com

In this second special episode reporting on the Brexit case being heard in the Supreme Court we focus on the arguments of the respondent and analyse how well they hold up before concluding on their chance of success when a decision is handed down in January.

The Brexit case concerning the triggering of article 50 is underway at the Supreme Court and in this update episode we look at the government's arguments and consider just how convincing they are.

Should HMRC be allowed to disclose information about a company's tax affairs as part of a campaign to name and shame tax avoidance schemes? In this judicial review application the Supreme Court took a slightly unique approach. Music from bensound.com

At the time of this case men in the UK retired at age 65 and women retired at age 60. At what age should a woman who was born a man retire? And what happens when the Supreme Court can't make up its mind? Music from bensound.com

Ms Moreno was involved in a serious accident with an uninsured driver when on holiday in Greece. Should the compensation she is owed be based on UK or Greek law? The Supreme Court resolves an apparent contradiction between UK and EU law. Music from bensound.com

The Named Person Scheme in Scotland has proven to be a controversial policy. Some argue that it helps vulnerable young people while others see it as a further intrusion by the nanny state. This judicial review case challenged the legality of the Scheme. Music from bensound.com

In one of the most high profile cases of the year the High Court had to decide whether the government could use the royal prerogative to trigger Article 50 TFEU following the EU referendum in June 2016. Music from bensound.com

Despite Winter setting in we are off to the seaside this week. After Hastings Borough Council had to shut down their pier in 2006 one of the companies who owned an amusement arcade and bingo tried to claim compensation under the Building Act 1984. However would their alleged infractions of the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957 and Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 work against them? Music from bensou...

If an insurer is sceptical about the extent of a claimant's injuries can they later set aside a settlement that has been reached once they have more evidence of the deceit? Music from bensound.com

The killer clowns craze is sweeping the nation and the police are threatening to charge those caught with public order offences. What exactly does this mean in the context of the legal system in England and Wales? Music from bensound.com

In 2012 Lee-Hirons was recalled to a secure hospital but policy was not followed meaning he had not been given a full explanation for this decision. Did this make the detention unlawful? Music from bensound.com

In this case the Supreme Court made a decision as to whether malicious prosecution should be available in civil litigation. Music from bensound.com

The row over junior doctors' contracts has spilled over to the courts as the campaign group Justice for Health took on the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a judicial review.

In Patel v Mirza [2016] UKSC 42 a panel of nine judges were asked when illegality should bar a claim. The question goes back almost 250 years to the case of Holman v Johnson (1775) where Lord Mansfield said "no court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or an illegal act". This strict principle has however been loosened over the years and now the Supreme Court...

When a tenant trips up on the paved area just outside his block of flats is it the landlord who is to blame? The Supreme Court investigates with reference to section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1986. Music from bensound.com

After the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 reduced the availability of legal aid in the UK the Lord Chancellor sought to take this further by preparing a draft order that would introduce a residency test. The Public Law Project challenged this measure on the basis that it would be ultra vires and unjustifiably discriminatory.