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Month: July 2016


31.07.16

Right to jury trial for theft, burglaries and minor assaults under review

Last month Lord Justice Fulford told the Commons Justice Committee that senior judges back a review of the right to jury trial for thefts, burglaries and minor assaults. The purpose would in fact be to reserve the right to jury trial for the most serious cases, such as sex crimes, terrorism and homicide. “We need…

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Defamed by Persons Unknown

The case of Smith v Unknown Defendants [2016] EWHC 1775 (QB) was a libel action against unknown defendants who had published defamatory material on a website.  The Queen’s Bench Division granted the claimant’s application for default judgment against the second defendant in his absence and granted summary relief of £10,000 in damages as well as injunctions…

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18.07.16

Appeal in Google v Vidal-Hall withdrawn

Google has withdrawn its appeal to the Supreme Court in  Vidal-Hall v Google Inc [2015] EWCA Civ 311.  Therefore the landmark Court of Appeal decision, discussed here on this blog, that damages can be awarded under the Data Protection Act 1998 for distress and anxiety, even if no financial loss suffered, will stand as good law. Google had been seeking…

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Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.