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Law digests: 3 December 2021

03 December 2021
Issue: 7959 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Animal protection

R (on the application of Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) v Natural England; R (on the application of Avery v Natural England [2021] EWCA Civ 1637, [2021] All ER (D) 75 (Nov)

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appellants’ appeals against the dismissal of their judicial review claims, challenging the lawfulness of the respondent Natural England’s grant of a licence to conduct a trial into the brood management of hen harriers, pursuant to s 16(1)(a) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA 1981), and the grant of a second licence, continuing the first one. The Court of Appeal held, among other things, that the Administrative Court had correctly held that: (i) the application was properly considered as one for permission to carry out a research project falling within WCA 1981, s 16(1)(a) and not a conservation project under WCA 1981, s 16(1)(c); (ii) Natural England was required to consider alternative solutions for obtaining the evidence and not alternative conservation techniques; (iii) brood management was not designed

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Boies Schiller Flexner—Tim Smyth

Firm promotes London international arbitration specialist to partnership

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Katten Muchin Rosenman—James Davison & Victoria Procter

Firm bolsters restructuring practice with senior London hires

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

NEWS
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
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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