It appears that the Government has climbed down, in part, from some of its controversial secret justice proposals. According to the Telegraph, the Justice and Security Bill, which will be published this week, will include a provision whereby judges, not the Government, has the final say on whether a Closed Material Procedure (CMP) is used. [...]
Archive for the ‘Freedom of Information’ Category
A secret justice climb down? Perhaps not
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Freedom of Information, In the news, Politics / Public Order, Terrorism on May 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »
“Thinking the unthinkable”? Freedom of information and the NHS Risk Register – Robin Hopkins
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case summaries, Freedom of Information, Medical, Politics / Public Order, tagged NHS Risk Register on April 16, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Department of Health v IC, Healey and Cecil(EA/2011/0286 & EA/2011/0287) - Read Decision In a recent post, Panopticon brought you, hot-off-the-press, the Tribunal’s decision in the much-publicised case involving publication, under Freedom of Information Law, of the NHS Risk Register. Somewhat less hot-off-the-press are my observations. This is a very important decision, both for its engagement [...]
Security bodies, private emails: parallels between the UK and US – Robin Hopkins
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case comments, Freedom of Information, Politics / Public Order, Terrorism, tagged extraordinary rendition, freedom of information on April 12, 2012 |
Today was one of striking parallels between the USA and the UK in terms of litigation concerned with access to information. APPGER and security bodies First, one of The Independent‘s main stories this morning concerned a case brought in the US by the UK’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition (APPGER). Readers will recall that [...]
Common-law open justice lets in the light; Strasbourg not the key
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case comments, Case law, Criminal, Freedom of Information, International, Media on April 10, 2012 | 4 Comments »
R (o.t.a Guardian Newspapers) v. City of Westminster Magistrates Court, USA as Interested Party, 3 April 2012, Court of Appeal: read judgment No, not a case about secret trials, but about the way in which newspapers can get hold of court papers in open oral hearings. And, as we shall see, it led to a [...]
The right to receive information; journalists and inquiries
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case comments, Freedom of Information, In the news on March 21, 2012 | 2 Comments »
Kennedy v. Charity Commission et al, Court of Appeal, 20 March 2012, read judgment Tangled web, this one, but an important one. Many will remember George Galloway’s Mariam Appeal launched in response to sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1998, and the famous picture of GG with Saddam Hussein. Well, the Appeal was then inquired into [...]
Justice wide shut
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Damages, Freedom of Information, In the news, Judges and Juries, Terrorism, tagged Justice and Security Green Paper on March 1, 2012 | 3 Comments »
Yesterday I spoke at Justice Wide Open, an excellent conference organised by Judith Townend. I mounted my usual open justice hobby horses (to coin a topical phrase) on how to make the justice system more accessible to the public, including a moan about human rights reporting. Someone told me during the break that according to [...]
Does a risk of an explosion engage Article 8?
Posted in Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Environment, European, Freedom of Information, In the news on February 15, 2012 |
Hardy & Maile v. United Kingdom, ECtHR, 14 February 2012 read judgment This Strasbourg decision is the end of a long saga. Our applicants Hardy and Maile lived near proposed Liquified Natural Gas terminals at Milford Haven. In 2003 and 2004, an oil refiner obtained various consents to enable the LNG to be imported, and the applicants challenged [...]
Supreme Court rules BBC need not reveal internal Israel-Palestine coverage report
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case summaries, Freedom of Information, Media, tagged Balen Report, Freedom of Information Act 2000, israeli palestinian conflict, Sugar v BBC on February 15, 2012 |
Sugar (Deceased) (Represented by Fiona Paveley) (Appellant) v British Broadcasting Corporation (Respondent) [2012] UKSC 4 – Read judgment / press summary The Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that an internal BBC report into its coverage of the Israeli Palestinian conflict was “information held for the purposes of journalism, art or literature” and therefore need not be [...]
More secret trials? No thanks
Posted in Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Costs and Procedure, Freedom of Information, In the news, Inquests and Inquiries, Judges and Juries, Police, Politics / Public Order, Terrorism, tagged civil proceedings, consultation responses, Justice and Security Green Paper, terrorism legislation on January 31, 2012 | 3 Comments »
A child learns early that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it. Thankfully that principle does not apply to Government consultations and this is aptly demonstrated by a group of responses to the consultation into whether “closed material” (secret evidence) procedures should be extended to civil trials. Of the responses that [...]
R (Associated Newspapers) v Lord Justice Leveson: Challenge to Anonymity Ruling Dismissed
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case summaries, Freedom of Information, Inquests and Inquiries, Media, tagged associated newspapers on January 22, 2012 |
Associated Newspapers Ltd, R (on the application of) v Rt Hon Lord Justice Leveson [2012] EWHC 57 – Read judgment On Friday 20 January 2012 the Administrative Court dismissed the second application for judicial review of the Leveson Inquiry. The Court dismissed an application by Associated Newspapers (supported by the Daily Telegraph) to quash the [...]
Freedom of information – no longer the Cinderella of rights
Posted in Animals, Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Information, In the news, tagged climate change, freedom of information, Freedom of Information Act 2000, Newcastle university on November 17, 2011 | 1 Comment »
BUAV v Information Commissioner and Newcastle University (EA/2010/0064) – read judgment There is no doubt that freedom of expression plays a starring role in the human rights fairy tale. While she is carried aloft on the soaring rhetoric of citizens’ rights from the newsrooms to protesters’ rallies, the right to information, her shy stepsister, is [...]
Climate change: No right to know effect of new EU rules
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case summaries, Environment, European, Freedom of Information, Politics / Public Order on November 16, 2011 |
Sinclair v Information Commissioner and Department of Energy and Climate Change EA/2011/0052 (08 November 2011) – Read ruling The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“EIR”) did not require the Department of Energy and Climate Change (“DECC”) to disclose information concerning the government’s analysis of the potential cost to the UK of strengthened climate change commitments by [...]
Leveson goes live
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Art. 6 | Right to Fair Trial, Art. 8 | Right to Privacy/Family, Freedom of Information, In the news, Media, Technology, tagged Leveson Inquiry on November 14, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Updated |Today marks a minor landmark for open justice. For the first time, a public inquiry is being shown live over the internet. The Leveson Inquiry into Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press has taken over Court 73 in the Royal Courts of Justice, so when Counsel to the Inquiry Robert Jay QC begins [...]
Prince Charles, oysters and environmental information
Posted in Case comments, Environment, European, Freedom of Information, In the news, Public/Private on November 6, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Bruton v IC and The Duchy of Cornwall & The Attorney General to HRH the Prince of Wales (EA/2010/0182) 3 November 2011. This significant decision of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) is well described on 11 KBW’s Panopticon blog. So just a few thoughts on a case which has the hallmarks of going to appeal. The underlying [...]
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Recommended- Latest human rights developments in the UK: 21/5/2012 – 27/5/2012 - Law Think May 27, 2012
- UK Blawg Review #10 – Part 1 - May 27, 2012
- Can the UK suspend free movement? - Free Movement Blog May 27, 2012
- Prisoners’ votes: Ballot and chain | The Economist May 25, 2012THE vexed issue of voting rights for prisoners combines two of the Conservative Party’s main preoccupations: penal policy and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)...
- We must defy Strasbourg on prisoner votes - David Davis and Jack Straw, Telegraph May 24, 2012
- Sunlight is the best disinfectant: open justice and company law proceedings May 24, 2012
- Names and CVs of Candidate Judges for Eight Countries May 24, 2012
- UK to resist giving prisoners the vote despite European court ruling | Law | The Guardian May 23, 2012
- Case law
- SCOPPOLA v. ITALY (No. 3) - 126/05 [2012] ECHR 868 (22 May 2012) May 23, 2012ECtHR Grand Chamber: automatic and indiscriminate disenfranchisement of prisoners unlawful but up to individual states how to implement changes were such a ban exist
- Dishonesty in entry clearance applications May 21, 2012An Upper Tribunal (UT) decision confirms that, where an application for entry clearance is “marred by dishonesty” – whether in the applicant’s knowledge or not and even where the applicant is presently eligible for entry – it is not a disproportionate response for the Home Secretary to refuse the application, even in light of Article 8
- MM and AO (A Child), R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2012] EWCA Civ 668 (18 May 2012) May 18, 2012Secretary of State acted lawfully in not ordering independent inquiry into 2009 protest at Immigration Detention Centre. Challenge by children separated from parents during protest and claiming pschiatric damage as result.
- British Sky Broadcasting Ltd & Ors, R (on the application of) v Chelmsford Crown Court [2012] EWHC 1295 (Admin) (17 May 2012) May 17, 2012Sky, BBC, ITN etc. succeed in JR of decision by court to order production of 100+ hours of video footage to Essex Police of Dale Farm protesters: "... there were no reasonable grounds for believing that the footage of over 100 hours included material likely to be of substantial value to the investigation"
- Humphreys v Revenue and Customs [2012] UKSC 18 (16 May 2012) May 16, 2012Supreme Court: paying child tax credit to "main" care giver not discriminatory under art.14 ECHR to father caring for child 3 days per week. The specific test for justifying discrimination in the context of state benefits is that with questions of social and economic strategy the Court will generally respect the legislature’s policy choice unless i […]
- Hounga v Allen & Anor [2012] EWCA Civ 609 (15 May 2012) May 16, 2012Court of Appeal: Person knowingly working illegally cannot bring racial discrimination claim against "employers"
- SCOPPOLA v. ITALY (No. 3) - 126/05 [2012] ECHR 868 (22 May 2012) May 23, 2012
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UKHRB on Twitter
- Weekend catchup from Wessen Jazrawi- prisoner voting, Bratza's replacement and peaceful protest- human rights roundup ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/05/27/pri… 3 hours ago
- #Prisonervotes is generating some strong and contrasting opinions- see Aitken v David and Straw: guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/… telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/la… 2 days ago
- Fresh on the blog by Reuven Ziegler: the case for letting prisoners vote ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/05/24/the… 2 days ago
- New from @rosalindenglish- police denied TV footage of Dale Farm evictions ukhumanrightsblog.com/2012/05/24/pol… 3 days ago
- Prisoner votes ruling continuing to have political repercussions guardian.co.uk/law/2012/may/2… #prisonervotes 3 days ago
- SC: for Art 6 compliance, cts can, in exceptional circumstances, extend period for filing and serving notice of appeal #extradition 3 days ago
Adam Wagner on Twitter
- RT @MsLods: UK: Barrister who called opposing lawyers "slimebags" on twitter struck off. telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/la… (ping @journlaw) 33 minutes ago
- Is David Mitchell being serious or not? Human rights … or just an excuse for Strasbourg to tell Britain what to do? gu.com/p/37pfb/tw 2 hours ago
- Prisoner voting, Bratza's replacement and peaceful protest > this week's UK #humanrights roundup just posted wp.me/pJiO3-3Fb 2 hours ago
- It's here! @charonqc tells it as it is > UK Blawg Review #10 – Part 1 j.mp/JG8V4Y 6 hours ago
- Oh! Extraordinary goings on at Charles Taylor's war crimes trial... > More on the Removal of Judge Sow j.mp/LnNQH1 2 days ago
- RT @koldo_casla: One of the best pieces I´ve ever read on the case for letting prisoners vote - Reuven Ziegler wp.me/pJiO3-3F7 via ... 2 days ago
- Recent posts
- Prisoner voting, Bratza’s replacement and peaceful protest – The Human Rights Roundup May 27, 2012 Wessen Jazrawi
- The case for letting prisoners vote – Reuven Ziegler May 24, 2012 1 Crown Office Row
- Police denied TV footage of Dale Farm evictions May 24, 2012 Rosalind English
- Time extended for appeals under Extradition Act May 23, 2012 Rosalind English
- Why no public appointment hearings for UK’s new European Court of Human Rights judge? May 23, 2012 Adam Wagner
- Don’t rely on human rights in a dismissal claim May 22, 2012 Martin Downs
- European Court of Human Rights retreats but doesn’t surrender on prisoner votes May 22, 2012 Adam Wagner
- Pssst… no secret hearings in naturalisation cases May 22, 2012 Isabel McArdle
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Anemometers and wind farms once more: PINS now win the day
Posted in Art. 10 | Freedom of Expression, Case comments, Case law, Environment, European, Freedom of Information, In the news on May 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
DCLG v. Information Commissioner & WR [2012] UKUT I have previously posted on the decision leading to this successful appeal by the Planning Inspectorate, against an order that they produce their legal advice concerning a planning appeal. The decision of the First-Tier Tribunal in favour of disclosure was reversed by a strong Upper Tribunal, chaired [...]
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