Assault is an offence that has been part of English criminal law for centuries. It is a ‘common law’ offence, meaning that it has not been created by statute (an Act of Parliament), but by case law (court judgments). Subsequent case law has developed the offence of Assault and defined its scope. Assault has, however, been acknowledged in statute. Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 indicates that the offences of common assault and battery “ shall be summary offences

Landlord and Tenant disputes are a common occurrence. In many cases, tenants raise arguments regarding the state of the property, namely that it is in disrepair. This sometimes results in the tenant refusing to pay their rent until the situation is addressed. The issue here is that this can spectacularly backfire on the tenant. After much debate, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 (‘the 2018 Act’) has been passed. The 2018 Act addresses these scenarios by impl

Asbestos is a material that was widely used as a building material between approximately 1950 - 1970. Whilst asbestos can be dangerous, it does not present a health risk if it is left undisturbed. But if material containing asbestos is damaged, it can release a fine dust that contains asbestos fibres. It is therefore essential that specialists are enlisted to remove asbestos. Owing to the advances in science and medicine, exposure to asbestos fibres has been proven to cause a

It is always stressful having a flight delayed. It is even more so when a flight is cancelled, leaving passengers stranded in a foreign country and an unfamiliar environment. This particular scenario has given rise to an interesting legal question: can a commercial airline (in this instance, Ryanair) refuse to compensate passengers when their flights have been cancelled due to substantial strikes ? It also raises questions as to whether these intense strikes amount to an ‘exe

Euthanasia has always been a contentious topic which attracts an array of opinions. It is also an emotionally charged topic. Newell Legal previously reported on assisted dying in August 2017 , providing a general background into the topic from a legal perspective. In that piece, Newell Legal referred to the current battle being fought to legalise euthanasia. There have been fresh developments in the case concerning Noel Conway, as well as recent controversy on this topic in B

There have been many important decisions regarding workers’ rights in the gig economy recently. Amongst those decisions are the following companies: Pimlico Plumbers , Uber and eCourier . There is currently an appeal being prepared regarding a decision involving Deliveroo . The appeal itself is using the Judicial Review procedure; it is being argued that a ban on collective bargaining by Deliveroo couriers is a breach of their human rights. Further, Newell Legal has also co

America has been facing ever-increasing scrutiny over its current stance on gun control. It would seem that in 2018, hardly a day passes where the mainstream media do not report a mass shooting. As of Thursday 8th November, there have been 307 mass shootings in the United States in 2018 alone . This number has increased during the time this article has been written and refined for publication. For the purposes of this article, any reference to ‘mass shooting’ means: the cir

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is a legal contract between two or more parties. It signifies that the relationship between them is confidential. Once signed, it is a legally binding contract. Therefore, the parties are bound to keep any dealings and details of those dealings to themselves. NDAs have become more popular in the 21st century; this is often due to commercial entities wanting to keep their transactions out of the public sphere. This could relate to mergers and

This article explores a concept which is a substantive category of judicial review proceedings – ‘unreasonableness’. The ground received its name from the brilliant, landmark case of Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corp [1948] 1 K.B. 223. This ground is also known as ‘irrationality’. As a result the following are used synonymously throughout the article: “Wednesbury Unreasonableness”, “Unreasonableness” and “Irrationality” (irrationality was a term coin

The debate surrounding gender recognition has picked up traction since the turn of the millennium. In this vein, the government has recently announced its intention to update the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (‘the 2004 Act’). It is a highly intimate and personal subject for many individuals. At the time of writing, the UK is not the only country where transgender issues have been under scrutiny - the US has recently seen outcry over prospective changes to gender recognition