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Law in 101 words

24 July 2014 / Roderick Ramage
Issue: 7616 / Categories: Features
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Snippets from The Reduced Law Dictionary by Roderick Ramage

Capital punishment

The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 sections 1 and 4 suspended the death penalty in Great Britain for murder for five years and substituted life imprisonment. Motions to make the Act permanent were carried in the Commons on 16 December and the Lords on 18 December 1969. The death penalty for murder was abolished in Northern Ireland on 25 July 1973 under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973. The death penalty remained for causing a fire in a naval dockyard, ship etc, espionage, piracy with violence, treason, and some military offences until abolished at dates up to 1998.

Changing names & Christian name

A person acquires a name by registration at birth: Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953, s1 and SI 1987/2088, reg 7. He may take a new name except for fraudulent purposes: Davies v Lowndes (1835). A name may be changed by no more than usage but is commonly changed by a deed poll enrolled at the

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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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