Thomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, KG PC QC FBA one of Britain’s most senior jurists as former Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and Senior Law Lord died on 11th September 2010 at the age of seventy six in London at his home. Lord Bingham who was described by the Kent Law School as “one of the most important judicial figures of the last 50 years” took silk and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1972 after working at the Department of Employment. He was then subsequently appointed as a Recorder, Justice of the High Court in the Queen’s Bench Division, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice and then Senior Law Lord.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

As a first year student it has been really difficult trying to obtain any legal work experience. After sending what felt like hundreds of CV’s & covering letters to no avail, I became of the opinion that nobody really wants first year law students; the demand is for second year’s so that training contracts could be secured. There are very few work experience options available to first year students over the long summer break: either simply do nothing, write several letters in the hope that something will arise, or find work elsewhere. I was fortunate enough to obtain work experience with a barrister for four weeks, and experience with a charity based company for six weeks.

[Read the rest of this entry...]

The ban on the niqaab in France has divided opinion; will the ban affect British Muslims living in the UK?
The hot topic of the summer has been the French ban on the niqaab. Although the niqaab issue has been often thrown across between the media and politicians, a bill has been passed by the French government and has brought the issue up in another glossy, dramatised soap opera style angle. The core of the matter remains the same but the topic is raw and the French seem to be rubbing salt into the wounds of Muslim women all over the country. For many of us, the ban was something imminent it was only a matter of time before such provisions were implemented. After all article one of the French constitution highlights, ‘France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic.’ Therefore France is a country proud of its secularism and the niqaab was simply a barrier – both literally and symbolically to the French values. However only days after the ban was revealed to the public, Syria also banned the niqaab from universities. This, for some, can be seen as more of a shock than France’s controversial decision. It seems that there has been a domino effect regarding the niqaab issue and will it seep into our own British laws?

[Read the rest of this entry...]

The past has been marked by great civil rights and feminist movements. . However the movement for gay rights, which is still in progress, seems to have lacked in the much-needed support from the general population and the media. Despite this, the summer of 2010 has managed to be successful for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community within the law of the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States of America. In the UK, the Supreme Court has ruled that gay asylum seekers could not be forced back to their home countries and be made to be discrete over their sexuality within society (HJ (Iran) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; HT (Cameroon) v Secretary of State for the Home Department). One of the appellants, HT, is a Cameroonian citizen and he comes from a country well known for criminalising homosexuality. As a country it institutionalises homophobia, with the LGBT community fearing police brutality and living in a culture of fear and persecution. The Court of Appeal previously ruled that in this case, the appellants would not face a “well-founded fear of persecution” in Cameroon and therefore will not be entitled to protection under the 1967 Refugee Convention protocol. This is due to the assumption that HT would conceal his sexuality if he returns. If he does so successfully, HT would not be under the attention of the state and would not need to fear persecution; thus HT would be able to live a “reasonably tolerable” life. The Supreme Court over-ruled this, holding that the “reasonable tolerability” test is contrary to the Convention and thus is not good law.
[Read the rest of this entry...]

In June 2010 the G20 summit was held in Toronto, Canada. This was the forth meeting of the G20 heads of Government to discuss the global financial system and economy. The same month I finished my first set of grueling Kent Law exams, spout with appendicitis and began living in the middle of an international dignitary summit. Whoever said good things come in three’s was spot on. The exams and the appendicitis became a memory as the G20 engulfed my summer.

Initially I was prepared for G20; or at least I thought I was. The way it would work would be that there was going to be the mobs of people wanting to express their points of view regarding government policy. Then the hundreds of police officers would control the mob, and ensure the security of the government leaders. The cherry on top would be the journalist watching the conflict between the mob and the police and reporting it to the general public. I had everything figured.

[Read the rest of this entry...]