All posts tagged: legal

Wales urges Ministry of Justice to ‘expedite’ legal recognition of humanist marriages

Wales urges Ministry of Justice to ‘expedite’ legal recognition of humanist marriages

Published by skeptic

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in Wales, Jane Hutt MS, has called on the UK Government to grant legal recognition to humanist marriages in England and Wales without delay. A letter to the Marriage Minister Lord Ponsonby urges the UK Government to ‘expedite progress in looking at this issue’. Humanists UK has welcomed the intervention. Humanist marriages are already legally recognised in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, and Guernsey, but not in England and Wales. Marriage law is not devolved to Wales but is a matter for the UK Government for both England and Wales. The Welsh Government has long supported legal recognition of humanist marriages, and in 2021 told the UK Government that this issue should be resolved now, or else devolved. Legal recognition in England and Wales has been under constant UK Government review since 2013. The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act gave it the power to enact legal recognition of humanist marriages through secondary legislation. But in the years since, it has not done this. Instead the matter has been reviewed three times, …

Elon Musk’s X is moving its legal disputes to Northern Texas

Elon Musk’s X is moving its legal disputes to Northern Texas

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Lawsuits against X (formerly Twitter) will soon be heard in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The shift was first announced last month as part of a broader set of changes to X’s terms of service and privacy policy. Now, with the changes set to take effect on November 15, The Washington Post spoke to a number of legal and tech experts about what the move might mean. X owner Elon Musk also recently moved the social media company’s headquarters from San Francisco to Bastrop, Texas — near Austin — but Bastrop lies in Texas’ Western District. The Northern District, meanwhile, has become a destination for conservative activists seeking to challenge Democratic policies, with 10 of its 11 active judges appointed by Republican presidents. While it’s normal for companies to specify in their terms of service where lawsuits against them may be filed, Cornell law professor G.S. Hans described choosing the Northern District of Texas as “weird” compared to the Northern District of California, which most tech companies choose. Hans said …

Private school body launches legal action over VAT plan

Private school body launches legal action over VAT plan

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The Independent Schools Council said the decision ‘has not been taken lightly’ but it is ‘defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education’ The Independent Schools Council said the decision ‘has not been taken lightly’ but it is ‘defending the rights of families who have chosen independent education’ More from this theme Recent articles A body representing private schools is launching legal action against the government’s decision to levy VAT on their fees. Julie Robinson, chief executive of the Independent Schools Council, said the decision “has not been taken lightly and has been under consideration for many months”. Robinson At yesterday’s budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed plans to go ahead with the introduction of VAT on private school fees from January 2025.  The ISC, an umbrella body for seven associations representing such schools, said its case would centre around alleged breaches of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Human Rights Act 1998. Robinson said: “At all points throughout this debate, our focus has been on the children in our schools who …

Libbie Mugrabi in Legal Battle with Art-Backed Lending Company

Libbie Mugrabi in Legal Battle with Art-Backed Lending Company

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Libbie Mugrabi, the New York–based socialite, art collector, and ex-wife of top art collector David Mugrabi, is embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with the art-backed lending company Art Capital Group (ACG) and its executives, Ian Peck and Terence Doran, over a $3 million loan that never materialized.  In court documents, ACG claimed that Mugrabi failed to pay fees associated with a loan application. As collateral, Mugrabi allegedly put up a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting stained with the artist’s blood worth at least $30 million. When Mugrabi couldn’t come up with the $12,500 due diligence fee, the suit claims, she offered another picture, a $1.5 million Andy Warhol portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as security.  Related Articles When the loan was denied “due to her checkered credit history and one or more substantial judgments against her,” the lawsuit said, ACG claimed that Mugrabi reported the Warhol as stolen to the police in Southampton. The suit also alleges that she posted “Wanted” posters with the faces of both Peck and Doran, along with their names, ages, race and …

Cross-party peers call for immediate legal recognition of humanist marriages

Cross-party peers call for immediate legal recognition of humanist marriages

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Humanists weddings are not legally recognised in England and Wales, unlike Scotland, Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey, and Ireland Peers from the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties, from the Crossbenches, and even a bishop spoke in favour of the immediate legal recognition of humanist marriages in England and Wales in the House of Lords today. During oral questions, the cross-party peers pressed the Government on its reluctance to set out a timescale on giving humanist couples to marry in line with their beliefs. Humanists UK leads the campaign for the legal recognition of humanist marriages and welcomed the calls made by peers. But it expressed its disappointment that the Government did not commit to immediate reform, despite supporting this measure for over ten years while in opposition. Labour peer Baroness Thornton, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG), tabled the question. She asked whether the Government plans to give legal recognition to humanist weddings and said: ‘Not only did this House put humanist marriage in the Equal Marriage Act of 2013 but, in …

Green Party Spend £1m on Legal Fees In Four Years As Gender Rows Continue

Green Party Spend £1m on Legal Fees In Four Years As Gender Rows Continue

Published by Sam

4 min read14 October The Green Party has spent £1m over four years fighting legal battles against its own members, as divisions over gender continue to threaten the party’s finances. The Greens have faced at least four legal cases since 2022 – the majority relating to members claiming they have been discriminated against over their gender critical beliefs. The most prominent case was brought forward by former deputy Green Party leader Shahrar Ali, who received a £90,000 payout from the Greens after he claimed senior party figures had “collaborated” to remove him from his post as policing spokesman over his “gender critical” views. He was also paid £9,100 in damages in February by the party. The party’s financial auditors had previously noted Ali’s case left ”uncertainty” about its ability to keep running normally. In consequence, party members voted to increase membership fees from £3.33 a month to £5 a month at their conference last year. The amount spent by the party on legal fees has infuriated party members. One member, who preferred …

Backlash, legal threats as inclusion push turns sour

Backlash, legal threats as inclusion push turns sour

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More from this theme Recent articles Schools are setting aside cash for potential legal action, being asked to “make the case” to secure SEND cash and signing up to inclusion charters as cash-strapped councils try to boost inclusion. The government’s key plan to fix the broken SEND system is to make mainstream schools more inclusive. Buckling under huge deficits on their high-needs funding, some councils are already attempting to get their mainstream schools to educate more pupils with complex needs. But plans in some areas have led to huge backlash from heads, with threats of legal action and fears over more cuts by the back door – providing a stark warning sign for future reforms. Schools Week investigates… Special schools ‘turn away most complex’ kids Kent council – the country’s largest – plans a raft of changes to get its spending on pupils with additional needs under control. It was criticised by Ofsted previously for failing to tackle “a lack of willingness” among some schools to “accommodate” children with SEND. One of the more controversial …

Private Christian schools to take legal action against UK Government’s VAT plans

Private Christian schools to take legal action against UK Government’s VAT plans

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Three private Christian schools and a group of parents are to sue the UK Government over its plans to impose VAT on English private school fees, the Times reports, claiming that the plans are a breach of the parents’ human rights. Lawyers have written to ministers arguing the proposal would unlawfully discriminate against parents wishing to provide their children with a Christian education because it would force Christian schools to close. But Humanists UK disputes this. Even if the schools in question did have to close, human rights don’t guarantee their existence and state-funded Christian schools continue to operate.  One parent named in the letter said they would not send their child to a state school as they wanted to make sure their children received ‘a positively Christian education and not a secular education’. But the European Convention on Human Rights provides that ‘In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity …

Academy trust settles three-year Bromcom MIS legal battle

Academy trust settles three-year Bromcom MIS legal battle

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Management information systems Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools after missing out on a £2m deal to supply its MIS Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools after missing out on a £2m deal to supply its MIS More from this theme Recent articles One of England’s biggest academy trusts has settled a three-year legal battle, ending the latest high-profile spat in the £200 million management information system (MIS) turf war. Technology company Bromcom filed a High Court claim against Lift Schools, previously called Academies Enterprise Trust, after missing out on a £2 million deal to supply its MIS. Schools Week understands the contract – which was for 57 schools – was awarded to Arbor, one of Bromcom’s biggest rivals. But today, Bromcom and Lift confirmed they have ended the dispute “on confidential terms”. Ali Guryel, Bromcom’s managing director, said: “We weren’t driven by financial gain, but by a passionate commitment to raising awareness of best practices.” “In fact…we agreed not to seek our costs from Lift Schools in the …

“Is That Even Legal?!” An Extra On Harry Potter Has Revealed What She Was Paid Per Day

“Is That Even Legal?!” An Extra On Harry Potter Has Revealed What She Was Paid Per Day

Published by Sam

Of course, we’re all well aware of the stars of Harry Potter by now. The film series kicked off the careers of the main child stars including Daniel Radcliffe, but there was so much more to the films than the three protagonists. The films primarily took place in the enormous wizarding school of Hogwarts which was filled with students. With this in mind, hordes of kids were hired to perform alongside the main three, One of these child stars was Samantha Clinch. Samantha originally performed as an extra but went on to play the uncredited role of Eloise Midgen in both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. These days, Samantha is a presenter and on her TikTok channel, she shares the secrets of her time on the Harry Potter set. What Harry Potter extras were paid First, Samantha said that when she went from being just an extra to playing the small role of Eloise Midgen, there was “a big jump in cash.” She explained: “For …