Business contracts and the law
Businesses sell goods and services between themselves and they therefore require contracts. ‘Commercial law’ is often used to refer to the legal principles that govern contracts between businesses.
The law of contract is a central element to the formation and construction of commercial contracts; however, a number of commercial transactions are also governed by their own set of rules, which modify general contract law, for example the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
You should be aware that when buying goods or services as a business, it is important to check in advance what terms and conditions you are agreeing to.
For a business contract to be valid, it must satisfy the basic requirements of contract law: an agreement (offer and acceptance), consideration (there must be something of value exchanged between the parties), both parties must be of ‘sound mind’, the terms must be clear and the contract should be in its proper form (evidenced in writing if required by law) and properly executed.
Business contracts can contain both express terms (those negotiated by the parties) and implied terms (those inferred into the contract to give it business efficacy). However, for commercial contracts, it is best to incorporate terms expressly, rather than rely on implied terms.
In addition, many business contracts contain implied statutory terms, which provide a framework of terms for particular types of contract, such as the sale of goods. Unless these terms are expressly excluded, they will form part of the contract and will relate, for example, to the description, quality and fitness of the goods. As such, express terms are often used to modify or negate terms, which might otherwise be implied, or to provide for contractual remedies.
Exclusion clauses – judicial and statutory control
An exclusion clause is an important type of express term that seeks to limit or exclude liability for breach of contract, negligence or misrepresentation. However, these are subject to judicial and statutory control. In the event of a breach (which the defendant claims was covered by an exclusion clause), the court will consider whether:
- the exclusion clause was properly incorporated into the contract, i.e. whether the buyer signed a contractual document, or if there was a reasonable attempt to draw such terms to the buyer’s attention before the contract was formed; and
- whether the exclusion clause was constructed to cover the particular breach or liability it sought to exclude. In these circumstances, the court will apply the ‘contra proferentum’ rule, so that any ambiguity in the wording of the clause will be construed against the party seeking to rely on it.
If the clause has been incorporated into the contract, and covers the breach in question, its validity will then need to be determined under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA), which offers a statutory control over exclusion clauses.
UCTA 1977
Under the UCTA, a business selling goods or service is not allowed to exclude liability for:
- death or injury – under any circumstances
- losses caused by negligence – unless to do so is ‘reasonable’
- defective or poor quality goods – unless to do so is ‘reasonable’
The UCTA does not define precisely what is meant by ‘reasonable’, but courts will usually take into account:
- the relative bargaining power of the parties and whether there was an option for the buyer to negotiate;
- the information available to both parties when the contract was drawn up;
- whether the buyer was offered any inducement to accept the clause;
- whether the buyer could have gone elsewhere.
Related article:
What is an invitation to treat?
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The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is believed to have begun asking for an abortion shortly after stopping taking the medication she is prescribed to control the mood swings that define the bipolar condition.
Bipolar Affective Disorder is a condition that features changes in mood. In its most extreme form, patients can veer from long periods of deep depression to periods of intense hyper-activity and impulsivity known as a 'manic' phase.
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"This poll provides the evidence which the Government has failed to gather. The public hugely values our legal-aid system and it is concerned about the consequences of the Government's proposal," said the chairman of the Bar Council, Maura McGowan QC.
Two-thirds said that legal aid was a price worth paying for a fair society and the same number agreed that the current legal-aid bill of 0.5% of total government spending seemed like a reasonable outlay for the protection of basic freedoms.
The Ministry of Justice consultation of tendering for legal-aid contracts opened on 9 April and runs until 4 June.
Source:
Survey finds two in three people oppose legal aid cuts (The Independent)
]]> Sufferers of the condition describe reckless behaviour during their manic phase: unable to sleep, buzzing with ideas and thoughts that can come so quickly that others find them hard to follow. Impulsivity reigns and patients can find themselves gambling, spending excessively and partaking in risky social encounters.The High Court has become involved as doctors believe that the woman is not of sound mind and lacks the capacity to understand and make such an important decision.
At present the woman is being detained for her own safety under the Mental Health Act. She has told doctors that she will kill herself if forced to give birth.
The issue of consent is vital in medicine, as patients are given the right to refuse any medical treatment. However, that right is based on the notion that the patient has the mental capacity to understand the decision they are taking.
In this case the doctors looking after the patient say that they are 100% certain that the woman lacks capacity.
The woman's husband agrees with the medical assessment, saying that his wife is unaware of what she is asking the doctors to do. The patient's mother also agrees with the assessment of the consultant psychiatrist who gave evidence to the court.
"I know my daughter when she is well and she is definitely not well," she said after the hearing.
The issue is all the more pertinent as the woman is 23 weeks pregnant and will soon pass the threshold for consenting abortion which currently stands at 24 weeks gestation for all bar serious conditions that would threaten the life of the mother, risk her serious harm or if the baby has a substantial risk of being born seriously handicapped.
Source:
Bipolar disorder woman in legal battle over abortion (BBC News)
]]>The Government completed the first tranche of its legal-aid reforms this April, with a raft of controversial changes coming into force that have seen free legal representation removed from a wide range of cases including most divorce work, housing matters, welfare disputes and employment law.
Now the Government is looking to trim additional money from the now £1.7bn-per-annum budget, with further controversial cuts to criminal legal aid and a plan to have solicitors' firms bid against each other for criminal legal-aid contracts.
]]> Under the proposals, people would lose the right to choose their solicitor when convicted of a crime and would instead be offered legal representation by the company who had bid to offer the service the cheapest, regardless of the experience of the individual or firm.The survey, commissioned by the body that represents barristers in England and Wales, revealed that 71% of those asked were concerned that the Government's plans would lead to wrongful convictions of innocent people.
"This poll provides the evidence which the Government has failed to gather. The public hugely values our legal-aid system and it is concerned about the consequences of the Government's proposal," said the chairman of the Bar Council, Maura McGowan QC.
Two-thirds said that legal aid was a price worth paying for a fair society and the same number agreed that the current legal-aid bill of 0.5% of total government spending seemed like a reasonable outlay for the protection of basic freedoms.
The Ministry of Justice consultation of tendering for legal-aid contracts opened on 9 April and runs until 4 June.
Source:
Survey finds two in three people oppose legal aid cuts (The Independent)
]]>Trainee solicitor Katie Tantum, who is 33, sued law firm Travers Smith for discrimination after she was refused a full-time job at the end of her two-year 'training contract' after becoming pregnant.
Solicitors must complete their 'Legal Practice Course' at Law School before taking on a two-year training post in industry to complete their qualification. At the end of this period many stay on at their training firm, or move on elsewhere for their first full-time permanent role.
]]> Ms Tantum was at the end of her two-year training position and was applying for a full-time role at Travers Smith. She was an outstanding performer and believed she would qualify for a full-time role.However, she then fell pregnant and, whilst she described her bosses and seniors being 'very supportive' initially, she said it quickly became apparent that they were 'not bothered' with her any more.
Ms Tantum was subsequently not offered a role at the end of her training contract and decided to sue her former employer for discrimination.
At employment tribunal her lawyers made it clear that her performance should have merited a full-time job offer and that the only explanation that they could see for her not being offered a job was the fact that she was heavily pregnant.
After informing her bosses of her news in March 2012, she said the atmosphere towards her changed. She described being criticised by her line manager on one occasion for 'leaving early', when she had in fact worked through the night and was heading out of the office at 6:30am.
The tribunal agreed with her and ruled against Travers Smith, who must now pay her significant damages. The average payout in such cases is more than £13,000, but given her significant salary and expected earnings the award is likely to be far higher.
Ms Tantum's solicitor, David Mackay, commended his client's courage for bringing the case.
"It takes courage and tremendous resilience to stand up to your employer, even more so when that employer is a leading City law firm and you are only just embarking on your legal career," he said.
Source:
Solicitor overlooked for job after becoming pregnant wins discrimination case (The Telegraph)
]]>Barney Jones worked at Google for four years from 2002 to 2006. Last week he revealed that he has been collaborating with UK tax authorities to explain to them how Google gets around paying UK tax.
According to Mr Jones, Google UK used its European HQ in Dublin to conclude many of the deals struck with UK customers, allowing it to invoice from outside the UK to draw revenue across to Ireland, where the rate of corporation tax is much lower.
]]> This was well known and is very similar to practice operated by Starbucks and Amazon, both of whom have been in hot water recently over the small amounts of tax they contribute to the UK economy.However, for the first time it is alleged that laws may have been broken, as Mr Jones claims that on occasion, some of the deals were actually completed in the UK.
Last week the Commons Public Accounts Committee mauled Google's head of operations in Europe, Matt Brittin, over the way that Google pays its tax. Margaret Hodge, who chairs the committee, said that Google was 'evil' and that it used 'smoke and mirrors' to avoid tax.
Google chairman Eric Schmidt has responded, defending Google for 'always trying to do the right thing', and denying that Google has ever broken the law on tax. Instead, Mr Schmidt welcomed tax law reform as a way to change the way businesses pay tax.
"We pay more taxes in the US than in any other country - around $2bn in corporate income taxes to the US Government in 2012," Mr Schmidt said, defending his company's tax record.
"It's tempting... to assume that [countries] will benefit [by changing tax law]... in reality, it's probably only a significant increase in corporation taxes globally that would make every country a 'winner' - and the consequences of that would likely be less innovation, less growth and less job creation," he said.
It is thought that tax avoidance and tax law reform will be top of the agenda when the UK hosts the annual summit of G8 leaders in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June.
Source:
Google boss Eric Schmidt may snub David Cameron over company's House of Commons grilling (The Independent)
Former Google employee provides evidence on tax deals (BBC News)
]]>The practice was once the preserve of the ex-lovers of Hollywood celebrities, who would trade pornographic videos of famous stars for money and notoriety in the most extreme form of kiss-and-tell.
Famous victims of the practice included heiress Paris Hilton, as well as TV celebrity Kim Kardashian, and more recently X-factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.
]]> However, in a twist on the practice, websites have now sprung up allowing individuals to post naked images of their ex-lovers online, accompanied by their name, age and even the town where they live.'Revenge porn' hit the headlines stateside two weeks ago, when revenge-porn victim Holly Jacobs, 29, finally broke her silence over the nightmare she has lived for years after her ex-boyfriend posted naked images of her on the internet.
Jacobs, a PhD student from Florida, found naked images of herself online after splitting from her then-boyfriend, Ryan Seay. Although admitting sending Seay the images of herself, she says she never consented to them being published.
As a result of the publication Jacobs had to change her name (she was called Holly Thometz at the time), and has lived in a state of shame ever since.
Now she has broken her self-imposed anonymity, and silence, to speak out against the practice. Only one US state, New Jersey, has a law on revenge porn, initiated after a man jumped to his death after images of an intimate relationship with another man were posted online.
Now Jacobs runs a site 'endrevengeporn.com' aimed at allowing victims to speak out against the practice and to encourage American legislators to introduce new laws against the practice.
The campaign looks set to extend to the UK, as revenge porn begins to gain in popularity.
What can you do if this happens to you?
Revenge porn is a serious problem and without specific laws to tackle the issue victims can feel powerless to stop the humiliation they feel. The only way to tackle revenge porn is with the help of an experienced solicitor.
Sites which display your image without your permission are breaking the law and, if requested, should remove the offending material. The issue, as Ms Jacobs found, was that as fast as one site was shut down, more sprang up.
The actions of your ex-partner are a breach of your privacy and so it may also be possible to commence legal action against them. The main issue, as pointed out by Max Moseley in his evidence to the Leveson inquiry, is the cost involved in pursuing a myriad of small-time publishers.
X-factor judge Contostavlos won an apology from her ex-boyfriend Justin Edwards, after a video of her performing a sex act was placed online. She sued Mr Edwards and won an apology and a ban on the publication of the tape.
Afterwards her lawyer said: "This judgment give[s]... confidence, that if they have the means and resolution, they can get virally distributed material off the web."
Critics argue that the law should protect those 'without means', but acknowledge that something can be done in many cases.
Privacy law expert, Margaret Tofalides, told The Independent: "Tulisa's case shows the courts are willing to take a firm line on privacy invasion when there is a clear case of rights being infringed."
Source:
High Court victory for Tulisa may encourage others to take action over web breaches of privacy, say experts (The Independent)
]]>Kristy Richardson, 38, told staff at Jamie's Italian in Portsmouth, Hampshire, that she was allergic to gluten found in wheat, and would need to be served a gluten-free meal offered to her by the maître d'.
However, after a mix-up with the kitchen staff Ms Richardson was served regular wheat pasta, making her violently sick and sparking a legal action that has resulted in the popular chain being made to pay £17,000 in fines and costs.
]]> Ms Richardson suffers from coeliac disease, an autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system attacks the lining of the stomach when exposed to a protein (gliadin) found in wheat and wheat products, as well as in barley and rye.The condition causes many symptoms, but principle among them is pain after eating wheat products, diarrhea, which can be bloody, and vomiting.
Ms Richardson, who suffers from a particularly acute form of the disease, told a court that she had asked staff at the restaurant three times to be sure that they served her gluten-free tagliatelle.
Jamie's Italian were sued by Portsmouth Trading Standards after environmental health uncovered 'lamentable failures' in the way the restaurant handled food allergy matters.
Jamie's Italian had initially claimed that the incident with Ms Richardson was the result of a terrible mistake, but last month they pleaded guilty to a charge of selling food not of the nature, substance or quality demanded by the purchaser, a breach of section 14 (1) of the Food Safety Act 1990.
Ms Richardson settled her personal complaint with the chain out of court, and signed an agreement not to disclose the details of the settlement.
Counsel for the chain, Harry Vann, said that it was sorry for falling short of food safety standards.
"(Jamie's Italian) takes this extremely seriously. It is a matter of very sincere regret to the company that any customer should suffer illness as a result of any meal served by us," he said.
Source:
Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant chain is hit with a £17,000 legal bill after serving wheat pasta to a coeliac in a 'terrible mix-up' (The Daily Mail)
]]>The laws were drafted in the wake of a series of tragic scandals involving dangerous dogs. The new laws would make it a criminal offence to allow a dog to be dangerously out of control, allowing new prosecutions in such circumstances.
However, MPs sitting on the environment committee say that the new laws on dangerous dogs do not go far enough to deal with threatening behaviour early on and to reduce the risk of attacks rather than punishing owners after the event.
]]> Figures in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) suggest that there are 200,000 dog attacks per year. The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is currently the only act to deal with the subject and is now more than 20 years old.Critics of the existing Dangerous Dogs Act say that it fails to cover dog attacks on private property, save when a dog escapes onto a neighbour's land. If someone is attacked in another person's home, for example, the dog owner would not face prosecution under the existing law.
This was the case with the recent tragic case of Jade Anderson, 14, who was mauled to death by a pack of four dogs whilst visiting a friend in Atherton near Wigan in March this year.
The new laws could see penalties for failing to control dogs increased, from the current maximum of six months in prison, to a new maximum of up to two years.
MPs sitting on the environment committee have suggested that new laws should protect dog owners who take reasonable precautions to protect others, and should exempt dog owners when their animal attacks a trespasser when they are not at home.
A government spokesman said that the laws were urgently needed to protect the public from dangerous dogs.
"We are changing the law so that owners can be prosecuted for dog attacks on private property and our anti-social behaviour reforms will give the police and local agencies more effective powers to deal with owners who fail to take responsibility for their dogs," they said.
Source:
New dangerous dogs laws do not go far enough, say MPs (BBC News)
]]>Sanika Ahmed was born in Portsmouth in July 2012 to parents of Bangladeshi origin. Her father, Muhammad Ahmed had worked in the UK legally in 2008 and 2009 but had overstayed in the UK after his work permit had expired.
Last year his wife Syeda gave birth to baby Sanika but there was a complication in labour and Sanika suffered an injury to her shoulder, damaging the nerves supplying her arm.
]]> Sanika suffered an injury called an Erb's palsy. Erb's palsy is a form of nerve damage that causes a characteristic 'waiter's tip' appearance with a straight, outstretched arm and a flexed wrist such that the hand resembles a waiter requesting a tip.The condition requires corrective surgery, but due to the family's illegal immigration status the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Middlesex initially refused to perform the operation.
Under UK law illegal immigrants are entitled to receive free emergency care and can currently register for free primary care with any GP practice; however, secondary hospital care not immediately necessary to save life can be withheld pending payment.
The Ahmeds decided to appeal the hospital's decision and instructed solicitors to seek out a judicial review. However, before the judicial review could take place the hospital changed its mind and completed the operation.
"Before Sanika's operation took place I was very sad and very tense and apprehensive but when I got the appointment I started to hope something good was going to come out of this and feel it has," Mrs Ahmed told the BBC.
Source:
]]>Under the current laws concerning fishing quotas, fish that swim near to the surface and are accidentally caught by fishermen seeking other catches must be put back into the sea dead, rather than landed and sold.
The practice is designed to avoid overfishing, but instead results in tonnes of perfectly good fish being thrown back into the sea every year.
]]> The cause of fish dumping was taken up by celebrity cook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who made it the subject of his 'Fish Fight' TV programme and campaigned to change EU law on fish dumping.The UK fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, was involved in marathon talks on the matter with other EU politicians and yesterday claimed some sort of victory on the subject of dumped fish.
"This was a difficult negotiation and, although it is not as ambitious as I would have liked, we have stuck to our key principles," he told the BBC.
It is thought that if the agreed laws are finalised, a ban on dumping of so-called pelagic fish, those that swim near to the surface like mackerel and herring, could be introduced by the beginning of 2015.
Environmental groups were more cautious over the announcement, saying that the compromises that were made had affected the ambition of the parties to make bold new laws and restore fish stocks.
The new rules will see EU laws applied in commercial fishing areas, but decisions on rules for local areas will be made by those affected and not by the entire EU membership.
The new laws will see legally binding limitations on fishing put in place, with the levels determined by scientific advice.
The UK has been negotiating with the EU over new fishing laws for more than three years.
Source:
UK claims breakthrough in fish dumping talks (BBC News)
]]>The couple, Kira Izzard and Laura Cull who live in the capital, Douglas, were refused the opportunity to rent a house on the island by a landlord who felt uncomfortable with their sexual orientation.
The shocked couple were then left further dismayed after learning that the Isle has no laws preventing this kind of archaic sexual orientation discrimination.
]]> Ms Izzard and Ms Cull have launched a petition campaigning for the introduction of the UK's Equality Act 2010 into Isle of Man law, to prevent future discrimination on the Isle on the basis of sexuality.The petition has caught the attention of the Isle's first minister, Allan Bell.
"I am extremely disappointed that this type of ugly, outdated prejudice survives after all the work that has been done over the past 20 years or so to make the island a more tolerant place," said Mr Bell.
He announced that an Equality Bill, based on the UK's Equality Act, was in the process of drafting and that preparations would be accelerated to expedite the passage of the Bill into law.
The landlord at the centre of the row is Methodist Keith Price.
"We are not homophobic but we do have a stance on the sexuality," he said, somewhat confusingly.
"We believe that God has a plan for our lives within the context of marriage, the scripture is quite clear in its teaching on this," he added.
Once the Equality Bill has been completed discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexuality or religious beliefs will be outlawed, giving couples like Ms Cull and Ms Izzard legal redress should this happen again in future.
Source:
Isle of Man lesbian couple refused rental agreement (BBC News)
]]>The experts have concluded that civil court orders made to protect children from sex offenders after they are released from prison are not working.
The panel, commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers, included representatives from the police, lawyers and staff from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).
]]> The report concluded that there were serious flaws in the civil court orders and cited the bans on overseas travel as an area where more should be done.The report criticised the standard of proof required to achieve a court order, which it says has resulted in a disproportionately low number of court orders compared to the number of sexual offenders released from prison.
One of the report's authors, Christine Beddoe, told BBC's Radio 4 programme that the statistics showed that the system was not working.
"Between 2008 and July 2012, 303 British sex offenders had been arrested abroad which is a phenomenal amount and clearly shows something is not working," she said.
The authors of the report believe that a lack of information is preventing police and lawyers going ahead to apply for a court order, believing in advance that they have no chance of winning the case.
Meanwhile CEOP announced that they have seen a sharp increase in the number of reported cases of sexual abuse and an 85% increase in the number of children they have moved to protect.
"We recognise that the world is constantly changing and offenders will continue to seek new ways to abuse children, which is why our work with partners around the globe is constantly evolving to ensure we're always one step ahead of abusers," a spokesman said.
Source:
]]>Two men with severe disabilities will this week ask the Court of Appeal for a right to die, in the latest legal battles on the subject of assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Paul Lamb, a 58-year-old from Leeds, and another man known only as 'Martin', are both seeking legal routes to allow them to die with the help of a doctor.
]]> Mr Lamb is continuing the case brought last year by locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson. His lawyers will argue that a doctor who helps someone to die by assisting their suicide should be given the legal defence of necessity to any subsequent murder charge.Mr Lamb was injured in a serious car accident in 1990 and has spent the last 23 years with no function in any of his limbs, requiring round-the-clock care and constant pain relief.
Martin's case is slightly different. He is suffering from 'locked-in syndrome', meaning he has no voluntary control of any muscles in his body apart from his eyes. Awake and alert, Martin is unable to verbally communicate and must have everything done for him by carers.
In response to a string of similar cases last year, the Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer released new guidance for prosecutors on cases of assisted suicide. The guidance states that prosecutions would be unlikely when family members help someone to die out of compassion.
In Martin's case his wife is unwilling to assist him in dying, meaning this new option is unavailable to him. He would like this guidance extended to allow doctors to act in the same way.
Lord Falconer's new law looks unlikely to help either man with long-term disabilities, not least as it faces a tough journey through Parliament. His law would allow those in the last six months of a terminal illness to request help to end their lives.
Critics argue that the law would not pass a public safety test and that introducing such a law threatens the elderly and disabled.
"Lord Falconer is using the emotions generated by hard court cases, but his agenda is very dangerous for disabled and elderly people," said Dr Peter Saunders.
Sources:
Lord Falconer to press on assisted dying law (BBC News)
Right-to-die cases heard at Court of Appeal (BBC News)
]]>It is a little-known fact that the UK is one of only two European nations that legally allow the use of Satellite Navigation devices in order to detect the location of fixed-speed camera traps.
As a result, many UK motorists frequently set up their SatNav devices to detect speed cameras, allowing them to adjust their speed to avoid detection.
]]> However, on the continent the practice is illegal and this is something that many UK drivers are unaware of when they take their car and their SatNav abroad on holiday.A survey by the Post Office has revealed that one in five UK motorists driving abroad is stopped by the police, but that 33% are unclear on the motoring laws that apply in foreign countries.
Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said that knowledge of motoring law was vital when driving abroad.
"Fines often have to be paid on the spot, sometimes in cash. It's really important to gen up on the current laws before setting out," he told The Daily Mirror.
SatNav devices generally warn motorists by having the location of cameras pre-loaded into their 'Points of Interest' dataset. Other devices are available which use detectors to locate radar or laser signals emitted by speed cameras.
Seven European countries have a legal ban on 'Point of Interest' systems, including Ireland and Germany. France brought in a law banning POI systems last January. In thirteen countries POI is permitted, but detectors are illegal, these include Austria and Italy.
The penalties for flouting the law vary from country to country. German police can fine a motorist â¬75 if their POI system is not disabled, whilst in other countries like Switzerland the police are empowered to confiscate devices that break the law.
The AA advises motorists to read up on local motoring laws ahead of any trip, and to disable the POI function on your SatNav before leaving the UK. Speed detector systems are broadly illegal everywhere, so should be left at home.
Source:
Satnav users could be fined abroad for detecting speed cameras (The Mirror)
]]>As well as seeking £200,000 in damages, Mr Fallon would like the law changed so that liability is presumed against car users, reports The London Evening Standard.
Mr Fallon, 48, hit a car door that was suddenly opened into his path in 2010 whilst cycling through Dalston on his way to work. Although he wore a helmet he suffered a brain haemorrhage as a result of the accident.
]]> Three years on, Mr Fallon says he still suffers from headaches as a result of his injuries and is now more prone to changes in mood and low energy. The injuries he sustained have left him at greater risk of epileptic fits in future.In a landmark case Mr Fallon is suing the driver of the vehicle who's door he hit, and the passenger who opened the door into his path without looking. He hopes to win £200,000 in compensation from the legal action.
The number of incidents of dooring - opening a car door into the path of an oncoming cyclist - has risen 25% nationally since 2011, as more and more people ditch cars and public transport to cycle to work. Many of the injuries are minor as cyclists are able to swerve to reduce the impact, but one in six dooring incidents results in serious injury.
Olympic cycling death
The tragic death of London cyclist Sam Harding last August brought the issue of dooring into the spotlight. Mr Harding was cycling in a bus lane when a car door was opened in front of him. He was unable to avoid the impact and was flung from his bike into the path of an oncoming bus, dying at the scene.
The driver in that case, Kenan Aydogdu, was cleared by a jury of manslaughter last December, after he admitted opening the door without looking, prompting Mr Harding's father to campaign for a change in the law.
Presumed liability
In Mr Fallon's case he would like a change in the law such that the least vulnerable road user has 'presumed liability' for any accident with a more vulnerable road user. In this case the car owner would be presumed liable after the collision with the cyclist.
The onus would then be on the driver to show that they had acted properly and safely and that the accident was caused by the cyclist's own behaviour.
The UK is one of only a few European countries that does not have a strict liability law to protect vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Many including Holland, Denmark and France operate such a policy and have done for many years.
"There are only a handful of countries in Europe which do not have a policy of strict negligence and the UK is one of them," Mr Fallon told The Evening Standard.
"It is a civil law, which would state that the motorist has to prove that he did not cause the crash," he added.
Critics argue that a new law is unnecessary, and that a campaign of driver awareness of cyclists and more cautious cycling around parked cars could reduce the number of 'dooring' incidents in future.
Source:
Cyclist injured by car door sues driver for £200,000 (The Evening Standard)
]]>Barbara Hewson, a barrister with Hardwicke Chambers, described the current police investigation into sex crimes as 'old men abuse persecutions', to the anger of child protection groups including the NSPCC.
Her comments came in the light of the recent arrests of artist and broadcaster Rolf Harris, retired BBC presenter Stuart Hall, Coronation Street actor Bill Roache and several other high-profile individuals.
]]> She described Operation Yewtree, the investigation launched by Scotland Yard following the Jimmy Savile child abuse scandal, as 'post-Savile witch hunting' of 'ageing celebs', saying that it had echoes of 'Soviet Union' trials.Her article, published in online magazine 'Spike', was not pre-vetted by her chambers, who moved quickly to distance themselves from the remarks.
Hewson described the police and judicial action as a 'manipulation of the British criminal justice system' to 'produce scapegoats on demand'. Adding that it amounted to a 'grotesque spectacle' that has nothing to do with justice or public interest.
Critics argued that the victims of these sex crimes felt they were finally receiving justice after years of suffering in silence and that the cultural shift that has taken place regarding sexual offences was encouraging more and more people to disclose details of abuse that they may have otherwise taken to their graves.
Writing for the Huffington Post, the NSPCC's Head of Strategy & Development for Sexual Abuse, Jon Brown, said that Hewson's views 'beggar belief'.
"I agree, [the crimes recently publicised] are less serious offences when compared to rape but they are still sexual offences and the impact on the victims can be huge," he wrote.
Change in the law
In her piece Hewson stated that one way of preventing the kind of 'witch hunt' she describes would be to place a statutory limitation on bringing allegations for criminal cases, effectively preventing many of the current prosecutions for events that took place decades ago.
She also advocates lowering the age of sexual consent from the current legal age of 16 down to 13, to avoid the current situation in which a person under 16 cannot legally consent to sex.
Responding to that specific suggestion, the NSPCC's Jon Brown said: "Let's get one myth out of the way. The age of consent is not there to criminalise young people who have sex with each other - it exists to protect them from sexual predators like Savile."
He went on to describe the argument that minor sexual crimes should not be prosecuted as like saying 'it is OK to go shoplifting because you could have committed armed robbery, but didn't'.
In the wake of her article Hewson was subjected to vile social media abuse, posting on Twitter that one person wanted her to be raped, whilst another wanted her 'hunted into obscurity'.
Lawyers representing some of the victims of Jimmy Savile said that the barrister's comments did 'nothing to help society come to terms with criminal behaviour identified by historic sexual abuse survivors'.
Source:
Allow legal sex at 13 to stop 'old men abuse persecutions', says barrister (The Telegraph)
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