The Court of Appeal gave its judgment on 24th January 2012 which dismissed the appeal against the earlier High Court decision (HHJ Behrens) in these test cases on sale and rent back.

Last week Europe’s highest human rights court found that the UK’s ‘whole life’ tariff did not constitute inhuman or degrading punishment contrary to article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (by a narrow 4-3 majority). In an article for online magazine The Justice Gap , GCN's Lucy Mair, a current pupil, provides a closer reading of the judgment and looks at the prospects of an appeal to the Grand Chamber.

The Court of Appeal has this week given judgment in three test cases of men found guilty of killing their wives. Pete Weatherby was interviewed for BBC Radio Manchester yesterday to explain when a "loss of control" defence could be raised and also whether the qualifying trigger could be sexual infedelity.

The European Court of Human Rights has today handed down its judgment in the case of Vinter and Others v. United Kingdom (Application nos. 66069/09 and 130/10 and 3896/10). The cases concerned the applicants’ complaint that their imprisonment for life amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment as they had no hope of release.

Mark George QC from Garden Court North will be speaking on the US death penalty training programme organised by Amicus in March and April 2012.

David Norris and Gary Dobson were convicted and sentenced for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence this week. In an article for online magazine The Justice Gap , GCN's Mark George QC writes about the change in double jeopardy law which allowed this trial to go ahead.

Following the Court of Appeal judgment in Osborn & Booth v The Parole Board [2010] EWCA Civ 1409, the appellants have now been grated permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

In this month's Inside Time (January 2012), GCN's Matthew Stanbury and Sarah Holland of Murray Hennigan Solicitors provide an update on the CJIA 2008.

GCN's Mark George QC appeared on the BBC national News at Six today to provide legal context on the decision to sentence juror Matthew Banks to 14 days in a young offenders institution after a judge found him to be in contempt of court for pretending to be sick.

The European Court of Human Rights today handed down its judgment in the case of Ilyas Hanif and Bakish Khan v. United Kingdom (appn nos. 52999/08 and 61779/08). In a unanimous decision the Chamber held that the applicants’ right to a fair trial under Article 6 of the European Convention had been violated by the presence on the jury at their trial in 2007 of a serving police officer.

The Supreme Court today handed down judgement in the case of R v Gnango [2011] UKSC 59, a case heard in July 2011 on appeal by the prosecution from the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division [2010] EWCA Crim 1691.

In a recent immigration appeal the Court of Appeal has quashed the UK Border Agency's "unfair" and "obscure" decisions (§44 of the judgment) in respect of their revocation of San Michael College Ltd's sponsor licence to provide education courses to non-EEA students.

A recent out of time appeal against an IPP sentence for robbery made in 2005 found that the information before the court did not justify the conclusion that she posed a significant risk of causing serious harm. The IPP sentence was quashed and substituted a determinate sentence which resulted in immediate release from custody.

Julian Assange has failed in his appeal against extradition to Sweden where he faces questioning for alleged non-consensual sex. In its ruling, the High Court effectively offers a new exception to the general principle of mutual recognition on which the European Arrest Warrant is based. Pete Weatherby of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 21/11/11) about the ruling and its implications.

The case of Dereci concerned 5 families where third country nationals wished to join family members in Austria, all of whom were Austrian citizens but had never exercised free movement rights under EU law. The main issue in the case was the extent to which the case of Ruiz Zambrano applied to their situations. Ian Macdonald QC provides commentary on the judgment below:

Surveillance laws must be overhauled to prevent unnecessary, unwarranted and unchecked state intrusion, says human rights organisation, Justice in their report “Freedom from Suspicion: Surveillance Reform for a Digital Age”, . Philip McLeish of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 16/11/11) about the shortcomings of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The Administrative Court has quashed the decision of the Education Department at HMP Wakefield to refuse Distance Learning courses to two prisoners. The prisoners argued that they had attained the educational level required by government policy and that the local protocol at HMP Wakefield was unlawful to the extent that it was more restrictive. Further, Campbell claimed that he had a disability and the prison had not made appropriate adjustments.

Ben McCormack will speak at HLPA (Housing Law Practitioners Association) Conference 2011 which takes place in London on 14th December 2011.

BBC Inside Out this week featured the story of Liverpool's "Bloody Sunday", the Liverpool Transport Strike of 1911 in which two workers were shot dead by troops. 100 years later, the family of one victim is calling for his name to be cleared. Pete Weatherby of GCN appeared in a broadcast to provide legal opinion on the original inquest evidence.

In the case of Simpson v Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust [2011] EWCA Civ 1149, [2011] All ER (D) 102 (Oct) the Court of Appeal has ruled that an assignment of a bare cause of action in tort for personal injury was unlawful and void for reasons of public policy. Peter Hodson of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 1/11/11) about the implications of the case.

Garden Court North Chambers are pleased to anounce that on Friday 21st October 2011, Mark George QC was called to the Bar or Northern Ireland by the Honourable Society of the Inn of Court of Northern Ireland.

The case of Sheffield City Council v Norouzi (UKEAT/0497/10) has been reported in the Equality Law Reports, a new series of reports and the UK's first series of law reports covering all areas of discrimination law, published by Michael Rubenstein Publishing.

GCN has retained 1st tier ranking for Civil Liberties & Human Rights in the latest edition of Chambers & Partners. Additionally, the directory lists 15 recommendations for individuals as leaders in their field across all our practice key areas of administrative and public law, crime, employment, immigration and social housing. The directory states GCN is "highly regarded in the North for its long-standing commitment to civil liberties work" and front-line staff are considered "a real asset...helpful, friendly and easy to deal with".

Garden Court North Chambers are pleased to welcome Philip McLeish as a new tenant.

An ongoing consultation is considering the introduction of new laws to make squatting a criminal offence. Jon Robins, writing for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 12/10/11) talked to James Stark of GCN, a housing specialist, about why a recent campaign has called on the government not to criminalise squatting.

The Court of Appeal (Lord Chief Justice, President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Lord Justice Leveson) has dismissed seven out of ten appeals against sentence brought in cases arising from the civil disorder that occurred across cities in England in August 2011.

Mark George QC will be speaking alongside former death row inmate Lane Nelson at an Amicus event taking place in Manchester next week.

The Supreme Court has yesterday (12th October 2011) dismissed a challenge brought by UK insurance companies to the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009. Occupational diseases specialist Peter Hodson of GCN reviews the judgment and its wider impact below:

On Monday 10th October 2011, the new edition of the Ogden Tables was published by the Government Actuary Department. This is the first new edition since March 2007. The tables are used in personal injury and fatal accident cases to provide an aid for those assessing damages appropriate as compensation for a continuing future pecuniary loss or a consequential expense such as care costs. PI specialist Peter Hodson of GCN provides an overview of the changes in this latest edition.

Sarah Daley of GCN has been nominated for the Sydney Elland Goldsmith Bar Pro Bono Award 2011, given to an individual barrister or set of chambers in recognition of outstanding commitment to pro bono work.

The "supergrass" has come under scrutiny recently following concerns about the evidence of a key police informant in two separate criminal cases; Gary Eaton's evidence has now been dismissed by two judges as unreliable. Mark George QC of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 4/10/11) on whether the benefits outweigh the disadvantages or whether they are just too unreliable.

In a recent prison law judicial review, the High Court has quashed a Parole Board decision and ordered a new hearing, in light of concerns that the Parole Board relied, or may have relied, on unproven events and thereby erred in law; namely by proceeding on the basis of a mistake of fact.

For the second time in a week a condemned man on death row in the US was kept waiting whilst the Supreme Court heard final appeals. Following a four hour delay in the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia last week this time it was the turn of Manuel Valle in Florida.

A jury at Preston Crown Court took just 20 minutes to acquit Peter Wilson of touching and kissing young girls indecently at a Lancashire primary school. Mark George QC represented the defendant.

The 2011 edition of the Legal 500 was published yesterday with Garden Court North recommended as a Northern Circuit Leading Set who has "notable prison and immigration law practitioners and has seen the recent arrival of three new tenants". Seven individual members are now recommended, including new entrants in the employment and public law categories.

Support "Team GCN" in the Manchester 10K Legal Walk this week.

In this month's Inside Time (August 2011), GCN's Matthew Stanbury and Marcus Farrar of Chivers Solicitors consider the difficulties faced by prisoners with learning disabilities, evaluate the limited provisions currently available and look at the potential of Learning Disability Unit referrals.

Garden Court North Chambers are pleased to welcome Sara Woodhouse Davie as a new tenant.

A householder who was arrested on suspicion of murdering a burglar in Greater Manchester has been released without charge. GCN's Mark George QC appeared on ITV Granada news to provide legal context on this decision not to prosecute.

In R v K [2011] EWCA Crim 1691 the court recently examined the definition of “exploitation” in the context of the offence of trafficking. Ian Macdonald QC of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 21/7/11) and explained why this case is a reminder to practitioners that they cannot solely rely on domestic law.

The Supreme Court will next week hear the case of R v Gnango (UKSC 2010/165) the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal (26/7/10) which had quashed the murder conviction. The hearing will commence on Monday 11th July 2011.

In a judgment handed down earlier this month (14/6/11), the EAT has held that Sheffield City Council was liable under the Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) for harassment carried out by a third party to one of their employees.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill has been published today.

Mark George Q.C. , barrister at GCN, was interviewed for BBC Radio Manchester this morning on the implications of the Facebook juror trial in which the juror is expected to be sentenced today for contempt of court .

The Government has today laid a draft proposal setting out the rules they propose to be put in place for considering whether individuals should ever be removed from the Sex Offenders Register. This follows a Supreme Court ruling, which the Home Office unsuccessfully challenged.

The Ministry of Justice intends to bring forward legislation shortly which could decimate access to free legal advice. Over 650,000 people stand to lose out on this vital help through reforms to Legal Aid alone, at a time where other funding streams for free advice are under threat.

In R (GC and C) v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis [2011] UKSC 21, the Supreme Court ruled that excessive retention of DNA profiles violated a person's right to privacy under European human rights law. The UK Government will have to provide new legislation or at least new guidance restricting the retention of DNA profiles and other personal data where suspects are not charged, or defendants acquitted following a Supreme Court ruling, Pete Weatherby , of GCN, was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 27/5/11), about the issues raised by the case.

In a judgment handed down yesterday (25 May 2011), HHJ Pelling QC quashed the conviction of the Claimant for failing to provide a sufficient urine sample for a mandatory drug test.

HHJ Behrens last week (19.5.11) dismissed the Claimant’s application for judicial review arising from the recalculation of his release dates following the judgment of the Supreme Court in Noone but granted him permission to appeal.

A high-profile judicial review was recently held to challenge the policing of the Climate Camp demonstration during the G20 summit (R (on the application of Moos) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2011] EWHC 957 (Admin)). Camille Warren of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 16/5/11), about the issues raised by the case.