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12 March 2015 / Joseph Dalby
Issue: 7644 / Categories: Opinion
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Small aircraft, big future

dalbysethi

Joseph Dalby & Ruhi Sethi explore the legal implications of increased drone use

Last week the House of Lords called for an EU-wide register of drone owners, or remotely piloted aircraft systems (which are part of the wider category of unmanned aerial systems/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)). Last month, drones were spotted over Paris landmarks, at obviously a very sensitive time. In January, Scotland Yard declared central London a “no-drone zone”, while the police nationwide have announced plans to use drones for surveillance. To add to this, there have been several reported “near misses” at national airports. Meanwhile, the idea of flying drones is capturing the imagination of professionals and hobbyists. While the development of drones is not as revolutionary as driverless cars, they do represent an impressive technological advance. There are some fanciful figures about the future value of the industry worldwide: $130m in revenue in 2015, with unit sales of consumer drones expected to reach $400,000m, $1bn in three years and $89bn in 10 years.

New understanding required

Amidst all this practitioners will

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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