Arrest for breach of a behaviour injunction (which isn’t)

Written by: Elliot Gold
Published: 1 July 2017

The courts have given another judgment, Ahmed v Crown Prosecution Service [2017] EWHC 1272 (Admin), which helps the police in considering what actions fall within the execution of their duty. In short, where a police officer genuinely and reasonably believes that they are authorised by a court order to arrest a person for breach of an injunction and that the person is in breach of it, they will be acting in the course of their duty if they arrest that person. Even where there is no valid injunction. Sort of. The case is not available on Bailii – possibly because it was given ex tempore. It is on Lawtel and Westlaw.

Winning Advocacy in the Employment Tribunal

Written by: Angus Moon KC
Published: 27 June 2017

The David Hare screenplay for the recent film Denial contains the following advice to the client: ‘stay seated, button your lip, and win.’ This article seeks to plot a path for advocates to winning in large scale discrimination claims in the employment tribunal, based on the writer’s long experience of the ET and, more recently, briefs to act for the respondents in two high stakes cases, AB v A Chief Constable[1]and Aubrey v The Chief Constable of Northumbria Police[2]. The suggested lessons apply to all types of large-scale claim in the ET.

Honesty, integrity and pleading/putting allegations

Written by: Elliot Gold
Published: 21 June 2017

The debate on whether there is a difference between honesty and integrity continues apace in Rhys Williams v Solicitors Regulatory Authority [2017] EWHC 1478 (Admin). I expressed my opinion here that there was a material difference between the two and that the decision of Mostyn J in Malins v Solicitors Regulatory Authority [2017] EWHC 835 (Admin), that the two were synonymous, was not correct – at least for the purposes of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 2012. The Divisional Court (the President of the QBD presiding) has now similarly deprecated it.

The court has also restated the principles concerning the requirement that misconduct allegations be properly pleaded and put to witnesses – with a steer that panels should look to the substance rather than technicalities.

Aubrey v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police

Written by: Catherine Calder
Published: 19 June 2017

One of the biggest and most controversial senior employee discrimination claims in recent years, Aubrey v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, has come to a close, at least in relation to liability. The Employment Tribunal gave judgment for the Respondent in November 2016, which was confirmed in the Employment Appeal Tribunal in May 2017.

The case is exceptional because of its complexity, the value of damages had Ms Aubrey been successful, and the high reputational stakes for all involved. The successful respondent was represented by Angus Moon QC and Aaron Rathmell of the Serjeants’ Inn employment law team.

Limitation and the threshold for article 3/8 investigative claims

Written by: Cecily White
Published: 11 June 2017

Lavender J in MLIA & CLEL v Chief Constable of Hampshire [2017] EWHC 292 (QB) has offered helpful guidance on the application of the limitation defence for human rights claims, in a case which failed to meet the threshold for engaging the investigative duty under Articles 3 and 8 of the Convention.

The Claimants were a mother and daughter who had been victims of abusive, aggressive, violent and threatening behaviour perpetrated by the First Claimant’s former partner prior to November 2005. Following an order by Master McCloud that there should be a trial of liability, the issues before Lavender J were:

1. Whether the claim had been commenced within “such… period as the court… considers equitable having regard to all the circumstances” pursuant to section 7(5)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998;

2. Whether Article 3 and/or Article 8 were engaged and, if so, whether the Defendant had acted in a manner which was incompatible with the duty imposed by those Articles, in particular by failing to investigate the Claimants’ allegations.