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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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
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