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27 June 2019
Issue: 7846 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 28 June 2019

Divorce bill conclusive; lift news; case pipeline; CICB change; appealing odds

BREAKING DOWN

‘My dear Parliamentary Counsel,

Further to my instructions published in the New Law Journal for 19 and 26 April 2019 (‘Civil way’, p17), you’ve done a magnificent job with the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Bill which was due to receive its second reading on 25 June 2019. Not sure about the title, though. I think The Great Escape might be better. I know I suggested an irrebuttable presumption of irretrievable breakdown but I was jesting. A statement by one of both the parties that the marriage or civil partnership has irretrievably broken is to be taken as conclusive evidence that this is so, may be going too far. Expect trouble. We need to squeeze into the primary legislation savings for fraud, coercion, mistake, lack of a dictionary to check the meaning of ‘irretrievably’ situations, don’t you think?

And thanks for the new s 10 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and s 48 of the Civil Partnership

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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