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A court has ordered that a nine-year-old girl who was abducted by her father should be returned to her mother. The case involved an English father and a Polish mother who had separated after a long relationship. Following a dispute over their daughter’s residence, the English court declared that the child had become habitually resident
A father had understood what he was doing when he left his daughters out of his will and made specific provisions for the division of his estate. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of two daughters who believed their father had been subjected to undue influence shortly before his
The Brexit vote caused a significant drop in confidence and investor demand in the UK commercial property market, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Commercial Surveyors (RICS). Both the investment and occupier sides of the market have been affected and both rent and capital value expectations fell into negative territory. A survey
One of the EU’s leading law officials has found in favour of a woman who was sacked for wearing an Islamic headscarf at work. The findings of an EU Advocate General are not binding on the European Court of Justice (ECJ), although they are usually accepted. The case involved a French design engineer who wore
An agent for a software company has been awarded nearly £500,000 in damages and commission following a breach of contract dispute. The issue arose after the agent entered into an agreement to promote the company’s products. The company became dissatisfied with his work and gave him 90 days’ notice of termination in accordance with the
The regulation obliging companies to declare to Companies House who owns or controls them has now come into force. The People with Significant Control register became operative on 30 June. It includes information about the individuals who own or control companies including their name, month and year of birth, nationality, and details of their interest
An increasing number of consumers are defaulting on payments even though they have sufficient funds to cope, according to recent research. A survey of 1,500 people carried out by Echo Managed Services found that 48% had withheld payments because of customer service or billing issues. Nearly 1 in 8 people had refused to pay an
A new code providing tenants in tied pubs with more rights and greater protection has now come into effect. The Pubs Code covers businesses that own 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales. It gives around 12,000 tenants new safeguards such as increased transparency about the tied deals available, a fair rent assessment
A number of large companies including Cartier International have won a legal battle to oblige internet service providers (ISPs) to block websites that were infringing their intellectual property rights. The case involved several websites that were advertising and selling counterfeit goods. The ISPs did not dispute that copyrights had been breached but contended it was
A pub owner has won an appeal against planning permission for a large development that would almost entirely block out light from her premises. The court heard that developers had been granted permission to demolish a single storey building and replace it with a three storey block comprising of commercial premises on the first two