Hounga v Allen: Trojan Horse Comes to the Rescue of ‘Illegal’ Migrants
In Hounga v Allen [2014] UKSC 47 the Supreme Court took the opportunity to overrule one of the most controversial Court of Appeal decisions on employment rights in recent times,...
Clinical Legal Education as an Access to Justice Innovation
Imagine you got grant funding to develop an access to justice research agenda. Your grant application proposes the appointment of a team of law graduates to conduct research within a...
Searching for the “T” in LGBT Advocacy
On August 30, 2014, the prominent UK lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) rights group, Stonewall, held a workshop with representatives from Britain’s transgender community to consider whether that organization could,...
Searching for the "T" in LGBT Advocacy
On August 30, 2014, the prominent UK lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) rights group, Stonewall, held a workshop with representatives from Britain’s transgender community to consider whether that organization could,...
Anti-Terrorism Review Reform: Some Considerations
In mid-July, the UK government announced its intention to abolish the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation – the office tasked to review the UK’s anti-terrorism laws – and replace it...
Presumptive Costs Orders: A Threat to Public Interest Interventions (Part II)
In a previous post, I reviewed the terms of the Government’s proposed new costs rule for interventions (cl 67, Criminal Justice and Courts Bill), and queried the Government’s characterization of...
Presumptive Costs Orders: A Threat to Public Interest Interventions (Part I)
The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill received its second reading in the House of Lords on 30 June 2014 and has now been referred to committee stage. Part 4 of...
Religious anti-gay refusal – valuing dissent without making it lawful
According to Supreme Court judge, Lady Hale, the law has yet to find the right balance between accommodating people’s beliefs and avoiding anti-gay discrimination. Her remarks, made during a lecture...
The Irrelevance of Residence: The Unlawful ‘Residence Test’ for Legal Aid
In R (Public Law Project) v Secretary of State for Justice, the Administrative Court held that the Government’s proposed residence test for legal aid was ultra vires and discriminatory. The...
When does being better qualified provide you with fewer opportunities?
The answer: when you’re a member of one of the UK’s many ethnic minorities. Figures from the University of Manchester’s Centre on Dynamics of Ethnicity, visualised in a recent infographic,...
‘Children in an Age of Austerity’: The Impact of Welfare Reform on Children in Nottingham
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 has introduced the biggest changes to state welfare since the establishment of the Welfare State. Many of the changes have had a direct impact on...
What will the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 mean for employers and employees?
“That which yields is not always weak” (Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel’s Dart). From 30 June 2014, changes to the Flexible Working Regulations mean that any employee meeting the minimum service eligibility...
