The Employment Appeal Tribunal has today handed down judgment in which women workers at Trafford Borough Council have successfully defended Trafford Borough Council's appeal against earlier Employment Tribunal findings which had rejected the Council's arguments to justify differences on the basis of "genuine material factor" defences.

Sex offenders, kidnappers and burglars are among criminals who have been given cautions or warnings instead of being taken to court, the BBC has found. GCN's Mark George QC has been interviewed for a BBC investigation into these figures, due to be broadcast today across the Yorkshire region (on BBC Look North).

GCN's Mark George QC has written a blog for online magazine The Justice Gap considering the Sam Hallam miscarriage (Sam Hallam was released today following the CCRC referral to the Court of Appeal - he had been convicted of murder in 2005).

A claimant’s application for judicial review of a refusal of permission to appeal can succeed although it faces a high test, the Queens Bench Divisional Court has held in a recent ruling involving a tenant’s claim against her landlord. GCN's James Stark was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 25.4.12) about the implications of this unusual case.

This article was originally published on the Current Awareness service on LexisLibrary on 25th April 2012. The article is reproduced below with kind permission.

A debate has been running in the social meda since last week on whether Legal Aid clients get a second class service. This debate was triggered by the Law Society Gazette article Legal Aid equality a myth says solicitor advocate Kelcey which reported on solicitor advocate Ian Kelsey's address at the Law Society’s Criminal Law Conference on 8th May 2012. GCN's Mark George QC has joined the debate and his comments are reproduced below:

GCN's Mark Barlow will be speaking at FACT's Spring Conference which takes place in Birmingham this weekend (12th May 2012). Mark's talk will be based on his considerable experience in defending falsely accused carers and teachers especially those accused of historical abuse.

The Inquest into the deaths of Romario and Delayno Mullings-Sewell, aged 2 and 4 months, was held between 30 April and 4 May 2012 and has now been adjourned for several weeks for legal submissions and the Coroner’s verdict. The two young boys were tragically stabbed to death by their mother, Jael Mullings, who was in the throes of a psychotic episode.

The Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) has held, in R v Chinn [2012] All ER (D) 130 (Mar), that not all of a witness statement should have been put before the jury; however the jury had not heard any inadmissible evidence of importance. Sara Woodhouse Davie of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 16.4.12) and welcomed this clarification of hearsay rules but said further guidance is needed.

A high level conference on the future of the European Court of Human Rights took place in Brighton last week (19 and 20 April 2012). Human Rights barrister Kate Stone , of GCN, reflects below on the Brighton Declaration , adopted at the conference, and the impact this may have.

GCN's Mark Barlow will be speaking at a human rights conference taking place in Belfast this weekend. Mark will co-present a workshop on SOCPA 2005 at the "Action for Community Transformation Justice and Human Rights Conference" which also features guest speakers from Ireland's leading human rights organisation and leading academics.

Against the backdrop of the conference taking place in Brighton this week considering the future of the ECHR, media coverage of cases concerning human rights issues have been dominant. GCN's Pete Weatherby QC appeared on BBC TV's Breakfast News programme this morning (18.4.12) to discuss the latest arrest of Abu Qatada and the deportation process. Pete also commented on the recent claims against Jack Straw MP in relation to his alleged role in “extraordinary rendition”.

GCN are pleased to congratulate Mark George QC who has been bestowed the title of Visiting Practitioner at the Centre for American Legal Studies (CALC) at Birmingham City University, a centre for excellence for the study of the law of the USA.

GCN's Pete Weatherby QC appeared on BBC TV's Breakfast News programme yesterday morning (10.4.12) to discuss the possible extradition of radical preacher Abu Hamza and others including Babar Ahmad in anticipation of yesterday's judgment from the European Court of Human Rights.

GCN's second home grown QC became official on Friday. Pete Weatherby QC attended the appointment of Queen's Counsel ceremonies on Friday 30th March 2012 in Westminster Hall and the Royal Courts of Justice. Pete was appointed to QC following the 2011-2012 competition.

So what is an IPP sentence? And what is the difference between an IPP and a life sentence? And what is an extended sentence? And who might be in line for those types of sentences? In a sentencing blog for online magazine The Justice Gap , GCN's Matthew Stanbury outlines the difference between these types of sentences.

GCN's Jared Ficklin is speaking on the legal protection framework in relation to trafficking at a conference on "Modern Slavery, Women and Resistance" being held in Hull today to mark International Women's Day.

Chambers is pleased to congratulate Pete Weatherby on his appointment as Queen's Counsel in 2012.

The Administrative Court yesterday quashed the refusal of a County Court judge to grant permission to appeal in a claim for unlawful eviction and breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment and trespass.

The Prime Minister recently called for reform of European Court of Human Rights after accusing it of unnecessarily overturning judgments reached in credible national courts. Kate Stone of GCN was interviewed for Lexis Nexis Current Awareness (published 9/2/12) and assesses whether the ECtHR is in danger of turning into a "small claims court" as asserted by David Cameron in his recent speech to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

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.