Given that most of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 is not yet in force, including the provisions which empower the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance, it seems slightly odd that statutory guidance which purports to have...
“Mere likelihood” not enough to engage section 149
Swan v Gill [2013] EWCA Civ 1566 apparently attracted quite a bit of attention at the HLPA conference this year, the general consensus being that the Court of Appeal was wrong in its approach to s.149 Equality Act 2010 and I’m inclined to agree. Mr Gill, an...
Human Rights Round-up
3 cases have recently been decided by the ECtHR Chamber Busuioc v Republic of Moldova [2013] ECHR 684 (16/7/13) The Applicant (B) complained to the Court under Arts 3 and 8 ECHR about the State's failure to protect her and her two children under the...
The Tolerated Trespasser Rides Again!
OK, so the title of this post may be an exaggeration of what is only a passing reference to an old friend in Fareham BC v Miller [2013] EWCA Civ 159. But it is interesting to see it used as part of the 'nuts and bolts' of an Article 8/proportionality...
A bit too widely cast…
You may recall the discussion that took place on this blog of Wandsworth's secure tenancy terms, introduced in 2009, that sought to introduce a list of things that the tenant, "lodgers, friends, relatives, visitors and any other person living in the property...
ASB and Possession
Birmingham CC v Ashton is a case which illustrates the difficulty that judges face when they are invited to make possession orders on the grounds of nuisance and anti-social behaviour against tenants with mental health problems. The Council relied on four...
Consultations, bills and mysterious advisors
A bit of a miscellany, with Government skullduggery and posturing galore. First up, Grayling's MoJ has announced a consultation into revising the rules on Judicial Review. Broadly, he is against it. Responses are due by 24 January 2013, so a busy holiday for...
Not round these parts
R(Carney) v Bolton-at-Home Limited [2012] EWHC 2553 (Admin) Did historic ASB by the daughter of a former evicted tenant allow the local authority to refuse to allow her accommodation in the same area? This was the issue in this judicial review of...
Strengthening Powers of Possession for Anti-Social Behaviour
You may recall that, on August 3, 2011, the Government launched a consultation paper on its proposals to introduce a “mandatory power of possession” against tenants who are responsible for acts of anti-social behaviour. On August 15, 2011, following the...
Sentencing guidance for committal hearings
In Amicus Horizon Ltd v Thorley , Court of Appeal, May 30, 2012 (no transcript available yet), Mr Thorley appealed against an order sentencing him to prison for four months. Amicus Horizon had claimed for possession and an anti-social behaviour injunction...
Barking and Dagenham LBC v Bakare; too little too late
Just a brief note on this. As yet no transcript. This is another example of a fairly robust antisocial behaviour decision being upheld on appeal and it reinforces the well established principle that an appellant who is essentially attacking the discretion of...
Full of Sound and Fury…
Signifying nothing* (*And yes, I am aware that the preceding line is 'A tale told by an idiot'.) The much trumpeted Wandsworth riot related eviction has stalled even before possession proceedings were issued. According to a press release from Liberty,...