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18 October 2013
Issue: 7580 / Categories: Features , Civil way
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Civil way: 18 October 2013

  • Workplace blow
  • It's the court fee that counts
  • New PI guidelines
  • Court counters closed for breakfast & tea

CLAIMS INJURED

Industrial relations will deteriorate once canteen parlance moves on to s 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. It was brought into force against the wishes of the House of Lords and, no doubt, most claimant practitioners on 1 October 2013 under the Act’s third commencement order (SI 2013/2227). So what’s so enterprising about s 69 then? Far from offering organic cream as an alternative to custard with the lunch pudding course, it amends the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by scrapping the right of action for breach of duty on the strength of failing to comply with a health and safety regulation unless the regulation specifically provides for such right. This will apply whether the regulation imposed strict liability or not. Criminal liability is unaffected. The repeal only catches causes of action which arose on or after the operative date.

The effect of this monumental shift is that the claimant will be required to prove common law negligence in order to

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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