Month: August 2023

23.08.23

The law on hearsay in fitness to practise proceedings illustrated

The recent case of Mansary v Nursing and Midwifery Council [2023] EWHC 730 (Admin) provides a practical guide as to how fitness to practise panels should approach hearsay evidence. What is hearsay evidence? Hearsay evidence is a statement made by a person other than while giving oral evidence at a hearing repeated during the hearing…

The tragic case of Andrew Malkinson

It is beyond contention that in the early hours of the morning on 9 July 2003 a young woman ‘C’ was brutally attacked and raped during which she sustained serious injury including the severance of her nipple. She gave a description of her attacker whom she said she had scratched down the face with her…

The difficulty with forcing defendants to attend their sentencing hearings

Last week, Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others. She refused to attend Court on Monday for her sentence hearing when she received a whole life order. This follows other high-profile cases where defendants have refused to attend their sentence hearings, including Thomas Cashman who shot and…

11.08.23

Contractual interest: plead it or lose it

In most monetary claims, a party will seek to recover interest on the debt or damages claimed.  In most circumstances, section 35A of the Senior Courts Act 1981 gives the Court a discretion to award interest on debt or damages at a rate they see fit.  Ordinarily this means that, even if you have not…