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07 July 2022
Issue: 7986 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
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Crime & punishment

Profoundly deaf people who need a BSL interpreter can now sit on juries―part of a clutch of reforms in force from last week, under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act

Other measures include allowing criminal courts to maximise the use of video and audio tech to minimise travel, mandatory life sentences for the unlawful killing of an emergency worker in the line of duty, and increased penalties for child cruelty up to life imprisonment for causing or allowing their death.

An offence of breastfeeding voyeurism has been created, as well as an offence of causing serious injury by careless driving. The six-month prosecution time limit for domestic abuse-related common assault and battery has been extended to two years.

It is now illegal for sports coaches and religious leaders to engage in sexual activity with 16 and 17-year-olds. Crown Courts can hear cases on criminal damage to memorials regardless of monetary value.

Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: ‘Our new laws will mean serious offenders spend longer in jail.’

Issue: 7986 / Categories: Legal News , Criminal
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
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
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