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14 October 2019
Issue: 7859 / Categories: Legal News , Human rights , Brexit , EU
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Protecting human rights

The Human Rights Act, which enacts the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, may come under attack again in the current ‘isolationist’ climate, Geoffrey Bindman QC has warned.

If there is another Conservative government, especially if it follows the UK’s departure from the EU, ‘we may expect it to renew plans to leave the Convention and repeal the Act,’ Bindman writes in this week’s NLJ.

‘There is no necessary connection between our adherence to the Convention and our membership of the EU but leading Conservative politicians have long disliked both, seeing human rights law, like the EU, as an encroachment on British sovereignty. The Conservative Party manifesto of 2015 commits a future Conservative government to withdraw from the Convention and repeal the Act, replacing both with a British Bill of Rights.’

Although some politicians have ‘relied on the occasional adverse Strasbourg decision to justify their criticism of what they see as foreign interference’, Bindman says the Strasbourg court’s margin of appreciation doctrine minimises disharmony by giving weight to the traditions and preferences of individual member states.   

Issue: 7859 / Categories: Legal News , Human rights , Brexit , EU
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Kennedys—Milan Devani

Chief information officer appointment strengthens technology leadership

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Maguire Family Law—Hannah Barlow & Sophie Hughes

Firm strengthens Wilmslow team with two solicitor appointments

DWF—Ian Plumley

DWF—Ian Plumley

Londoninsurance and reinsurance practice announces partner appointment

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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