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A recent decision involving development proposals in the Green Belt will be of interest to those considering making planning applications over Green Belt land. It involved a planning application granted by Epping Forest District Council for a glasshouse...

In a unique decision, which will give hope to people who have family members being denied experimental treatments by the NHS on costs grounds, the NHS has been ordered to provide a pioneering new drug to a teenager whose bright future was threatened by a...

Harassment is an unfortunate fact in some relationship breakdowns. In a bid to reduce the incidence of harassment and molestation following splits, the Family Law Act 1996 made it a criminal offence to breach a non-molestation order, rather than a contempt...

Divorce is seldom straightforward, especially as regards the negotiation of the financial settlement. The lengths that some people will go to in order to disguise their assets or prevent assets from passing to their ex-spouse are also considerable. When...

Air travellers will be familiar with the X-ray scanners used as part of the security measures in airports, and the international market for such systems is massive. One of the leading names in the industry is Rapiscan, whose devices are widely used in many...

Not all action against directors when a company goes broke is initiated by the Insolvency Service. Recently, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued a warning to rogue directors that it will take strong measures to enforce the payment of fines it...

According to the Chartered Institute of Taxation, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are using data collection powers to uncover the ultimate beneficial ownership of offshore companies and trusts. The information is being obtained from UK-based providers of...

Planning rules relating to home extensions are complex but a householder's victory in a High Court test case is expected to make it significantly easier for some people to enlarge their homes without the need for planning permission. The man had already...

The complexity of the law relating to people of diminished mental capacity has long been a bone of contention and, with an ageing population, the courts are being increasingly tied up with mental capacity issues. One of the most problematic areas is that of...

Many cases arise each year in which the validity of a will is challenged on the ground that the will's creator (the testator) was not of sound mind when it was made – which is known in legal parlance as 'having mental capacity'. The outcome of such...