Law and the Justice System

Electronic signatures automatically generated at the bottom of emails can bind businesses to contracts.

Consumer rights laws will apply to providers of 'free' digital services who gather personal data from consumers for the first time under wide-ranging new rules set to be written into EU law.

https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/eu-consumer-laws-extended-to-digital-services-traded-for-data

A CONVICTED fraudster who fled the UK before being jailed for trying to fleece a £148 million lottery winner has been given extra prison time.

A woman who was made the subject of a confiscation order under “proceeds of crime” legislation after being convicted of a £50,000 tax fraud has failed in an appeal against her sentence.

https://www.scottishlegal.com/article/tax-fraudster-fails-in-appeal-against-proceeds-of-crime-confiscation-order

Property worth up to £8.1 million have been recovered by the NCA following a civil recovery and tax investigation.

Two senior judges have spoken about the challenges they have faced in the justice system.

Conditions inside youth prisons have worsened and reoffending rates are higher

The SFO has today confiscated the realisable assets of Nicholas Levene, the former City trader who was found guilty of fraud in 2012. When Levene was handed a confiscation order in March 2013, due to bankruptcy proceedings, his available realisable assets totalled £1. Today, the SFO has confiscated approximately £118,000 of Levene’s assets.

https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2019/10/31/ponzi-fraudsters-assets-confiscated/

When is a crime not a crime? In Scotland, one might ponder whether an example is when fraud is committed during a civil claim. In personal injury claims, the F word is still a dirty one. To paraphrase Verbal Kint, the greatest trick the Scottish fraudster ever pulled was convincing the courts he didn’t exist. Coincidentally, those with experience in the field may question whether the final scene of The Usual Suspects was inspired by a fraudulent claimant leaving a medical examination.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/crime/steven-smart-without-reform-scotland-s-civil-courts-will-attract-fraudsters-1-5037467

Following a comprehensive, evidence-based review of advocate fee schemes, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will implement a range of reforms to the fees paid to prosecution Counsel from 1 February 2020. This follows the introduction of an interim package of measures on 1 September this year.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/revised-fees-schemes-prosecution-advocates