Issue 273  24th December 2022

His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of 95 barristers and solicitors as new King’s Counsel (KC) in England and Wales. His Majesty has also approved the appointment of 9 legal figures to receive Honorary King’s Counsel awards.

Justice secretary Dominic Raab has vowed to hand judges power to compel serious offenders to face their victims while being sentenced for their crimes, after the family of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena hit out at the current rules as “unjust”...

Asked separately by the paper about the fact that McSweeney was able to remain in his cell, the justice secretary said: “Those convicted of serious offences should face the judge and their victims at sentencing. That is part of justice being seen to be done.” Mr Raab plegded to legislate “as soon as parliamentary time allows” to ensure judges have the power to compel offenders to come to court...

Assaults on police and emergency service workers have nearly doubled despite tougher sentences, according to new research. The number of assaults on police has increased from 23,000 to more than 40,000 since ministers quadrupled the maximum sentence from six months in jail to two years for assaulting an emergency worker.

Research by the charity Transform Justice suggested tougher sentences are failing to deter assaults, with increasing numbers apparently committed by people with mental health conditions. The data, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, showed that two-thirds of those imprisoned for assaults on PCs and emergency workers reoffended in 2020, the same rate as before the introduction of the tougher laws. It also found that as many as three-quarters of those being prosecuted are suffering from mental ill health, with official watchdogs warning that courts are being “choked up” with minor assaults at the expense of more serious cases, like rape. Andrew Cayley, chief inspector of the Crown Prosecution Inspectorate, said increasing the sentences had led to more cases being elevated to the crown courts, which are already suffering record backlogs following the pandemic and barristers’ strike.

Unlimited fines and prison sentences are amongst a package of new powers to be introduced as part of a crackdown on illegal tree felling in England, Defra and the Forestry Commission announced today (Friday 23 December).

Delivered as part of the world-leading Environment Act, changes to the Forestry Act 1967 will deliver more proportionate, impactful and enduring enforcement options. The key changes are:

• Felling trees without a felling licence, where one was required, will carry the penalty of an unlimited fine – up from the current limit of £2,500 or twice the value of the trees felled;
• Failure to comply with a Forestry Commission Enforcement Notice and a subsequent court-ordered Restocking Order (meaning any trees felled must be replanted) will put offenders at risk of imprisonment, in addition to an unlimited fine;
• Restocking Notices and Enforcement Notices will be listed on the Local Land Charges Register, making them visible to prospective buyers of the land – potentially reducing the land’s value.

Sharing passwords for online streaming services such as Netflix is against the law, according to a government agency. The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said on Tuesday the practice broke copyright law. It is common in the UK for people who do not live together to share their streaming service passwords, despite this typically being against terms of service agreements. Netflix has never indicated it would take any legal action in such cases. The IPO has since removed the reference to password sharing in its guidance on the government website. However, a spokesperson confirmed the legal position on password sharing had not changed - and nor has the IPO's guidance. It said password sharing was both a criminal and civil matter...

One interesting part of the IPO's response is the reference to criminal law - suggesting that people could theoretically face prosecution from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for password sharing... In other words, before the CPS could take action, there would first need to be a police investigation. There is no evidence to suggest any police forces in the UK would open an investigation into someone for sharing their password to a streaming service.