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10 March 2023
Issue: 8016 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Human rights
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NLJ this week: Diplomatic immunity, trafficking & modern slavery

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The Supreme Court case of Basfar v Wong on diplomatic immunity comes under the scrutiny of Joseph Dyke and James McGlaughlin, of McNair International, in this week’s NLJ

The case concerned claims brought against a member of Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic staff and centred on whether the circumstances fell into the ‘commercial activity’ exception to diplomatic immunity.

The claimant was given an employment contract to work in the defendant’s household but alleged she was treated so poorly she was eventually forced to escape. The Supreme Court held the ‘commercial activity’ exception applied which meant the defendant lost their immunity.

Dyke and McGlaughlin respectfully argue that the majority decision represents ‘a dilution of diplomatic immunity in the English jurisdiction. Overall, the minority’s reasoning is preferable as more consistent with the English courts’ previous approach to diplomatic immunity principles’. 

Read the full article here.

Issue: 8016 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Human rights
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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