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Law in 101 words

18 November 2010 / Roderick Ramage
Issue: 7442 / Categories: Blogs
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Snippets from The Reduced Law Dictionary by Roderick Ramage

Definitions—where the context admits

Some definition clauses include the words “unless the context otherwise admits” or “where the context admits”, which may be implied: Meux v Jacobs [1875]. The better course is to use defined terms, whenever practicable, in such a way that there are no circumstances where the defined meanings do not apply. The usual means of doing so is by using capital initial letters for the defined terms: this requires a scrupulous avoidance of the all too common secretarial “pepper pot” technique of applying capitals to initial letters more or less at random to important looking words, such as “this Agreement” or “Director”.

Data protection & the police

The Information Tribunal held that certain old convictions should be removed from the Police National Register on the ground that the only purpose for which the data could be retained was for core or operational police purposes. In Chief Constable for Humberside and others v Information Commissioner and another [2009] the CA disagreed. The grounds were

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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