New Walk Chambers blog

School Appeals

Ian Jones — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:06:04 +0100

School appeals seem more popular than ever this year. Only a week after launching his own school appeals website, barrister Ian Jones is receiving dozens of calls from anxious parents who have been refused a place for their child at their preferred school. Ian says "I've been asked about everything from nursery admissions to judicial review, as well as lots of calls about primary and secondary school admission appeals." Ian Jones is one of a growing number of barristers at New Walk Chambers who carry out work directly for members of the public under the direct access scheme. The direct access barristers at New Walk Chambers are: Robert Rees, Ruth Manning, Ian Jones, Simon Reed and Karl Prosser.

Written by Ian Jones, Barrister at New Walk Chambers specialising in school appeals and education law.

Aviation Law

Christopher Allen — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:47:57 +0100

Aviation law is particularly topical at present in light of the problems experienced by passengers at Heathrow's Terminal 5. The Carriage by Air Acts Order 2002 (which implements the Montreal Convention 1999) governs airlines' liabilities for passengers and their baggage. It covers liability for:

death or personal injury to passengers;
flight delays;
baggage (loss, damage or delay).

There is a two-year limitation period for bringing an action for claims under any of these heads of liability. Claims for delay are limited to 4,150 Special Drawing Rights (approximately £3205) and for baggage to 1,000 Special Drawing Rights (approximately £772).

Written by Christopher Allen, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Aviation Law.

What is ADR?

Simon Reed — Fri, 9 May 2008 16:44:57 +0100

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a suitable alternative to litigation in a wide range of cases. ADR includes mediation, conciliation, expert determination and early neutral evaluation. Under the Civil Procedure Rules a court must further the overriding objective by actively managing cases, and this includes encouraging the parties to use an ADR procedure if the court considers that it is appropriate. Failure by the parties to use ADR may place the party who refuses to consider ADR at risk of adverse consequences in costs.

Written by Simon Reed, Barrister at New Walk Chambers specialising in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Private Hire Vehicles

Ian Jones — Fri, 9 May 2008 15:30:46 +0100

Taxi Licensing law has recently changed to widen the number of vehicles which need to be registered with local authorities. Previously, vehicles and their drivers were not regulated at all if they were hired on contracts that lasted at least seven days. This exempts several private hire vehicle categories, such as those contracted by local authorities to transport children to school by taxi, employment agency vehicles used to transport workers, and vehicles used to routinely take staff and clientele home from nightclubs. There was also some concern that the provision was used as a loophole by many firms, especially those hiring out limousines or "novelty vehicles" - such as fire engines complete with firemen for use on hen nights. Although intended for use on one night only, the vehicle would actually be rented for seven days, thus avoiding local authority registration.

From now on, any vehicle which meets the definition in section 80 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 of "a motor vehicle constructed or adapted to seat fewer than nine passengers, other than a hackney carriage or public service vehicle or a London cab or a tramcar, which is provided for hire with the services of a driver for the purpose of carrying passengers" will need to be licensed by the local authority.

Written by Ian Jones, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Licensing, Betting & Gaming Law.

Technology & Construction

Joseph Neville — Fri, 9 May 2008 11:40:09 +0100

Myspace, the popular social networking site, has failed in its latest efforts to procure the domain http://www.myspace.co.uk/ from its present owners. Domain names are allocated on a first come, first served basis, but the registrar of domain names in the UK, Nominet, has the power to order that they be transferred to an organisation which can demonstrate it has rights in the domain name (such as a trademark) and that the registration of the domain name is "abusive." It was on this latter criterion that Myspace foundered; the appeal committee found that the domain name was registered prior to Myspace's existence, and that the owner's usage of the domain name had not changed such that it took advantage of Myspace's success and became abusive. Read the decision here.

The Nominet dispute resolution procedure is an innovative, mediation-led process, but operates on a quasi-legal basis similar to the regular courts. Attention to detail in pleadings and on documentation, realistic and commercial advice on prospects, and effective advocacy to Experts and Appeal Panels remains vital to success .Members of the Chambers Technology team are able to provide quality advice and representation at initial stages and throughout the DRS process.

Written by Joseph Neville, Pupil at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Technology & Construction Law.

Easements Reform Consultation Launched

Simon Liddy — Fri, 9 May 2008 09:59:13 +0100

The Law Commission has launched a consultation on wide scale reform to land law, specifically in relation to easements, covenants, and profits à prendre. The executive summary of the consultation raises the perceived problems: inadvertent creation of easements coupled with the inability of the courts to remove them due to changes in circumstances; the competing, overlapping and complex relationship of proprietary and contractual interests in restrictive covenants, and a number of other areas. The main focus of the reform is the semi-abolition of restrictive covenants and replacing them with a "Land Obligation", and a significant reduction in the circumstances in which easements and profits can be created by any other means than grant. The full consultation documents can be viewed on the Commission's site, and the deadline for responses is 30^th June 2008.

Written by Simon Liddy, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Land Law.

Crackdown on Illegal Workers

Fayyaz Afzal — Thu, 8 May 2008 17:17:25 +0100

In late February new laws came into force to stem illegal working in the UK. The changes to the Asylum, Immigration and Nationality Act 2006 provided for employers knowingly employing illegal workers to be given large fines or be imprisoned for up to two years. Recent statistics shows that in the two months since the new powers came into force, the UK Border Agency has caught out 137 employers. This is 10 times the figure from 2007. Businesses can protect themselves by taking simple steps to verify which employees can legitimately work in the UK under current immigration law.

Written by Fayyaz Afzal, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Immigration Law.

Immigration Law and Maintenance

Kajal Dasani — Thu, 8 May 2008 16:30:08 +0100

Rule 297 of the Immigration Rules (HC 395) contains the requirements for leave to enter as a child of a parent, parents or a relative present and settled (or being admitted for settlement) in the United Kingdom. This Rule clarifies the criteria that needs to be satisfied prior to permission for leave to enter and remain are granted.

One of the requirements is that under R 297 (v), the child can, and will, be maintained adequately by the parent, parents or relative the child is seeking to join, without recourse to public funds.

In the recent case of MW (Liberia) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2007] EWCA Civ 1376, (2008) Times, 15 January, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a 13 year old child, under the Immigration Rules (HC 395). The mother had no income and instead relied on state benefits. There were third parties who were willing to give the mother money in order to support her child. The Court of Appeal held that the requirement of Rule 297 is not met if the child shows he will be maintained by adequate financial support from one or more third parties. Tuckey LJ confirmed that this was true even if the money was given to the parent to enable the child to be maintained.

MW was indeed remitted under Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but not under the Immigration Rules.

Written by Kajal Dasani, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Immigration and Civil Law.

Business Assets in Ancillary Relief

Rebecca Fitton-Brown — Thu, 8 May 2008 15:21:07 +0100

One complicated issue that can arise in ancillary relief proceedings upon divorce is where the marriage's only major asset is a business run by one of the parties. A business is a good example of an asset that often cannot be divided in two by the court, but this can result in injustice where there are no other assets to distribute. In the recent case of H v H [2008] EWHC 935 (Fam) the High Court considered this conundrum, and emphasised that it is useful in this case to look at periodical payments, tied if appropriate to the wealth generated by the business. This can provide a party with a de facto income stream from the business with less interruption to the business than a division of its assets.

Written by Rebecca Fitton-Brown, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Family Law.

European Law

William Hillier — Thu, 8 May 2008 13:29:24 +0100

The European Parliament is looking at ways in which national judges can improve their knowledge and application of European Union law. Few realise the extent to which European legislation drives our own domestic law, on everything from Sale of Goods to insolvency to discrimination. In a report, Diana Wallis MEP states that improvement is needed to the reference procedure where questions of EU law are referred to the European Court of Justice for determination, training on EU law for judges and (most importantly in the writer's opinion) better drafting of the legislation itself. Find the report here (pdf).

Written by William Hillier, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in European Law.