International Law

Bank robbers in court

Posted on April 24, 2008
Bank robbers in courtWhilst I am delighted that the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has won the first round in its legal battle over unfair bank charges, I am disappointed that I have to wait for a second hearing to discover if I can reclaim back all the bank charges NatWest has stolen from my Job Seekers Allowance.

Dead Man Talking

Posted on April 23, 2008
Dead Man TalkingLiving testimony from a former Death Row inmate that wasting him would have been society's loss.

In the Family way...

Posted on April 23, 2008
In the Family way...Surely alarm bells should have been ringing in the prison department when the female governor of an Italian prison fell in love with a Mafia inmate being held on Remand in her prison? Instead, the relationship developed to the stage that the couple got married and had a child when the Mafia man was released...

I'm alright Jack

Posted on April 23, 2008
I'm alright JackI was amused by the interviewee stating, on the BBC 10 O' Clock News last night, that he sympathised with the view that prisoners in jail are more honest than MEPs. Certainly, if you or I misappropriated £160,000 of public money every year we would be in trouble with the law...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

The McCanns new clothes...

Posted on April 23, 2008
The McCanns new clothes...If ITV have not yet chosen a title for the Gerry and Kate McCann show next week how about calling it (no not Murder Most Foul) Crocodile Tears? You will note from the link that a famous example is Susan Smith, "later convicted of murdering her children, pretended to cry in early press conferences when she claimed to be a victim of a carjacking, exhibiting all the signs of weeping without actually producing tears"...

Thatcher getting slain

Posted on April 23, 2008
Thatcher getting slain I don't know what this is all about.Could this be a clue?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer chap

Posted on April 23, 2008
Couldn't have happened to a nicer chapOh dear, I feel a 'what about the victim's of crime?' rant coming on.1st car thief: We've never had it so good.2nd car thief: Yeah, couldn't have happened under Thatcher or Major.What if the car thieves were watching Mr and Mrs putting all their valuables in the boot of the car?

Firing squad in the firing line

Posted on April 23, 2008
Firing squad in the firing lineUnarmed and naked in bed, obviously he was not pleased to see the armed police in his bedroom. Could it have been a piss stalk that the police officer mistook for a gun?Gun death family can sue police

Tesco: Every little libel writ helps...

Posted on April 22, 2008
Tesco: Every little libel writ helps...This case has all the hallmarks of being a loser like the McLibel Trial. Even if Tesco succeeds in proving that it was libelled it has already lost the public relations battle.

Mam...it's the dustbin men

Posted on April 22, 2008
Mam...it's the dustbin menAs a child I remember seeing the dustbin men come into the yard once a week and hump the galvinized metal dustbin on their back and tip the contents into the back of the dustbin lorry. Their job was rubbish collection. If there was other rubbish in bags or boxes next to the dustbin they would take this too...

No sex please let's talk the night away

Posted on April 22, 2008
No sex please let's talk the night awayCould it be that Lembit Opik has charged his romantic visit to Rome and the engagement ring on his MPs expenses?As Miss Irimia, 25, smiled and laughed at Lembit going down on one knee and proposing, Mr Opik added: "We were euphoric afterwards, walking around the city and then sipping champagne and chatting away in our hotel suite until the early hours...

Custody Officer arrested and in custody

Posted on April 22, 2008
Custody Officer arrested and in custodyYou wont find this story in the latest news section on the Serco website. I don't suppose the driver, of the prison van taking prisoners from the courts to HM Prison Brixton, thought at the start of the shift that he or she would find himself or herself arrested and in custody before the end of the shift? That's all it takes is one slip.

Its official: The Treasury is a department for security

Posted on April 22, 2008
Its official: The Treasury is a department for securityAccording to the H.M. Treasury website:"The Treasury is the United Kingdom's economics and finance ministry. It is responsible for formulating and implementing the Government's financial and economic policy...

Mayor fit to fiddle disability benefits

Posted on April 22, 2008
Mayor fit to fiddle disability benefitsBenefit fraud is a crime, no ifs no buts, claims the government. Nevertheless, this did not stop Keith McNiffe, the Mayor of Pembroke, from claiming more than £9,000 in disability benefits, whilst fit enough to be a referee and linesman at football matches...

It's not unusual...

Posted on April 22, 2008
It's not unusual...My initial reaction upon reading this story was 'You've got to be joking!'. He was convicted of the murder and two attempted murders of police officers. Each attempted murder offence carries a maximum life sentence and the murder a mandatory life sentence...

Torture: What torture?

Posted on April 21, 2008
Torture: What torture?If I was being generous this case may be an argument to support Jacqui Smith's call for the detention limit to be extended to 42 days. And even that might not be long enough. Al-Qahtani was interrogated in Guantanamo Bay for 48 days...

Row over shepherd's pie ends in court

Posted on April 21, 2008
Row over shepherd's pie ends in court"A row over the correct way to make shepherd?s pie ended up in court after a disagreement between two brothers turned violent. After a day spent drinking, Michael Garvin cooked his brother John the traditional English dish for dinner, expecting a grateful response...

Cherie Blair's firm hired to stop EU treaty

Posted on April 21, 2008
Cherie Blair's firm hired to stop EU treaty"One of Britain's richest men has hired Cherie Blair's law firm to advise him on a £750,000 High Court battle that could force Gordon Brown to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.Stuart Wheeler will go to the High Court in London tomorrow to seek a judicial review of the Government's decision...

Bruce Forsyth examines his death mask

Posted on April 21, 2008
Bruce Forsyth examines his death maskEither that or he's receiving the BAFTA Fellowship Award.

Learco Chindamo's release from prison may be delayed by 12 months

Posted on April 21, 2008
Learco Chindamo's release from prison may be delayed by 12 monthsThis report from This is London.I would question Learco Chindamo's lawyer's decision to ask the Parole Board to delay making a decision whether to direct his release for another 12 months to give him a better chance at success...

Wake up call for Gordon Brown

Posted on April 20, 2008
Wake up call for Gordon BrownBob Piper's ring of confidence. Will Gordon Brown answer the phone?

Hain to be questioned as a suspect under police caution

Posted on April 20, 2008
Hain to be questioned as a suspect under police caution"Peter Hain will be interviewed as a suspect within days by police investigating secret donations to his deputy leadership campaign.The former cabinet minister will be questioned under caution about more than £100,000 in gifts reported late to watchdogs, in apparent breach of election law...

Journalist shares cell with cockroaches

Posted on April 20, 2008
Journalist shares cell with cockroaches"Charged with 'practising journalism', the Sunday Telegraph's Stephen Bevan was locked up in Harare. Here he describes the misery endured by him and the hundreds of others jailed routinely for 'arbitrary' reasons".

Billy Bragg drowns out political blogger

Posted on April 20, 2008
Billy Bragg drowns out political bloggerHere's a turn up for the books John Prescott had his snout in the trough until he made himself pig sick.Photo: RonskneesrantsandravesStill on the subject of pigs. I note that Iain Dale, top political blogger, was on the Andrew Marr show this morning...

One way to stamp out crime

Posted on April 19, 2008
One way to stamp out crime"One of Britain's leading philatelists is to put his stamp collection on eBay to pay back £70,000 he plundered from church funds".

Woman guard thrust breasts at gay colleague

Posted on April 19, 2008
Woman guard thrust breasts at gay colleagueA gay airport security guard was sexually harassed by a female colleague who thrust her breasts against him and pestered him for sex, an employment tribunal has ruled.Allwyn Rondeau, 46, is in line for compensation of around £30,000 following the unwarranted advances from Lucy Chilton, 42...

Asbo for man after 10,000 council calls

Posted on April 19, 2008
Asbo for man after 10,000 council callsA disabled man has been given an anti-social behaviour order for bombarding a council with more than 10,000 telephone calls in four months.In just one day, Robert Bullough, 59, contacted officials to complain 681 times...

Teenager cautioned for wiping snot on David Cameron's back

Posted on April 19, 2008
Teenager cautioned for wiping snot on David Cameron's back"David Cameron encountered an unusual hazard of the political walkabout when a teenager sneezed into his hand and wiped its contents on the Tory leader's back".

Sex offender absconds from hostel

Posted on April 19, 2008
Sex offender absconds from hostel"A sex offender has gone missing from the bail hostel that he was required to stay at under the terms of his licence.Jason Reed, 35, was convicted of rape in 2004 after attacking a sex worker and sentenced to five years in prison...

Labour MP charged with criminal damage

Posted on April 19, 2008
Labour MP charged with criminal damage"Rob Marris, MP for Wolverhampton South West, is alleged to have climbed over the bonnet of a parked van to board a bus in Pennfields, Wolverhampton.The incident is alleged to have taken place last month. Mr Marris, 53, was charged on Thursday and will appear before magistrates later this month...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.