The Internet is unfortunately fertile ground for those intent on wholesale infringement of copyright. However, as one case involving a music lover who made more than 600,000 pirated tracks available online showed, such behaviour does not go unpunished. The man operated three websites that were
Anyone involved in international trade will know that ports get busy and that vessels are often required to anchor offshore and wait for a berth. Such delays can have serious financial consequences and, in an important decision, the Court of Appeal has given guidance on
British Employment Tribunals (ETs) can in some circumstances hear claims brought by foreign nationals or those who work abroad. However, as one case concerning a merchant seaman revealed, their territorial scope is not without limit. The mariner was employed by a company based in Aberdeen.
In a ruling that will be required reading for landlords and tenants, the Court of Appeal has given authoritative guidance on the distinction between ‘repairs’ and ‘optional improvements’. The decision means that tenants’ views will in future be far more influential when it comes to
Following an investigation by Insolvency Service (IS) specialists, a director has been given the maximum bankruptcy restriction order of 15 years after he was found to be acting as a director of a limited company despite having previously agreed to a 10-year disqualification order and
Employers who sponsor employees from outside the European Economic Area under a Tier 2 visa will have to pay the ‘immigration skills charge’ from 6 April 2017. The charge will be levied at £1,000 per employee per year, but small organisations and charities will pay
Insolvency professionals are familiar with so-called ‘spinning top’ schemes, whereby money is moved in a perpetual circle to create an illusion of loss or investment with the sole objective of avoiding tax. The High Court delved into one such alleged scheme but rejected claims that
Housebuilding on green fields can be intensely controversial but objections often have to give way before the ever-widening gap between supply and demand. In one case that illustrated the point, the High Court opened the way for construction of 377 new homes close to an
Some forms of misconduct may appear so serious that dismissal is the only option. However, one case in which a hospital radiographer was sacked for mishandling confidential patient information showed that blanket policies are rarely a good idea and that room should be left for
Fraud can be difficult to detect but judges are alert to the problem and will bend over backwards to assist victims of deceit. In one case, a tribunal came to the aid of a divorcee whose ex-husband used forged documents to defraud her of her
