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The appellant had a contract for a package holiday to Sri Lanka with the respondent tour operator, Kuoni. While on that holiday, she had been raped and assaulted by a hotel employee in the course of directing her to the hotel reception. She successfully appealed against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, to the effect that in those circumstances, the tour operator would be liable for damages. The Court of Appeal took…
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The appellant failed in its challenge to the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme Guidance (the Guidance), as amended in 2012, issued by the Secretary of State in exercise of her common law powers. In dismissing the appeal, the Supreme Court held, among other things that: (i) assessed by reference to the test in Gillick v v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority[1985] 3 All ER 402, the Guidance (in the version in issue in…
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If the parties’ children had been habitually resident in England and Wales when the English proceedings under the Children Act 1989 had commenced, Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (BIIa) (prior to the 2020 Withdrawal Agreement) applied to them, including the jurisdiction provisions, and art 13 of the 1996 Hague Convention did not apply. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in so ruling, held that art 61(a) of BIIa provided, without qualification, that BIIa ‘shall apply’ if…
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About 12% of the professionals supervised by anti-money laundering authorities are ‘at risk’, according to the latest annual report of supervisory activity published by HM Treasury. Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing: Supervision Report 2019-20 concludes that efforts should continue to address ‘significant deficiencies’ in supervision by the 22 legal and accountancy sector supervisors. The report covers the activities of the Solicitors Regulation Authority as well as bodies such as the Financial Conduct Authority and Gambling Commission. The SRA…
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The High Court today issued a warrant for the arrest of a prominent solicitor after she failed to attend a hearing to answer allegations of contempt of court. Soophia Khan, 41, was automatically suspended in August after the Solicitors Regulation Authority intervened in relation to her Leicester practice Sophie Khan & Co Limited over suspicions of dishonesty. She later announced that the firm had been taken over by a charity called Just for Public Ltd (JFP), adding: ‘Client work continues…
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The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has awarded the SRA a declining amount in costs in recent years, new figures reveal. A freedom of information request has found that in the past two years, the tribunal granted the regulator £3.9m in costs following a prosecution. This compares with £6m costs awarded in the previous two years. The figures could be distorted by a particularly expensive case, but do nevertheless suggest that the tribunal is becoming tougher on…
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Increased workloads for law firms, partly due to the recent boom in