Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 1d

"Lawyers should never suffer adverse consequences because they are identified with their clients or clients’ causes. Those who are unpopular or despised are entitled to access courts just as much as anyone else. Nobody is above the law, including politicians. Nobody is beneath law’s protections".

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 1d

"Politically motivated attacks on the legal profession are irresponsible and dangerous. They weaken public confidence in rule of law and erode foundations of justice. Barristers, solicitors and judges have been subjected to violence, death threats and rape threats. Some received threats to family".

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 1d

Law Society of England and Wales, Bar Council of England and Wales, Law Society of Scotland, Faculty of Advocates, Bar of Northern Ireland and Law Society of Northern Ireland unite to express grave concern about increasing hostility towards lawyers and judges.
www.lawsociety.org.uk/contact-or-v...

Joint statement on attacks on the legal profession

Organisations representing 250,000 lawyers have come together to express grave concern about the climate of increasing hostility towards lawyers and judges.

www.lawsociety.org.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 1d

Law Society guidance has been altered to ask members to stop using ‘Dear Sirs’ at the start of letters. If they do not know the identity of the recipient, members are encouraged to use words like ‘Dear legal team’, ‘Dear all’, ‘greetings’ or ‘good morning’.

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/goodbye...

Goodbye to ‘Dear Sirs’, as Society changes guidance

Chancery Lane says outdated term is no longer accurate or representative of legal profession.

www.lawgazette.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 1d

The outgoing UK judge of the European Court of Human Rights has said the institution is more vital than it has been for decades. He said he ‘hardly recognised’ the court he knew from the recent commentary and criticism of its work.

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/ecthr-m...

ECtHR 'more necessary and relevant' now, says outgoing UK judge

Leading silk says he 'hardly recognises' the good work of the ECHR from recent criticism of Strasbourg court.

www.lawgazette.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 4d

Not that the Leader of the Free World is a deranged, unstable, egotistical thug, but:

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 5d

Court of Appeal allows asylum seeker's appeal on the basis that the Secretary of State failed to conduct a s.55 “best interests” exercise in relation to the application of her family reunion policy to child refugees.

www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWC...

Access denied

www.bailii.org

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 5d

North Wales solicitor Mark Evans today became the 181st president of The Law Society. He is the third president to come from Wales.

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/new-pre...

New president takes the reins at Chancery Lane

Lecturer Mark Evans, a property and private client specialist, becomes the 181st president of the Law Society - and the third from Wales.

www.lawgazette.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 5d

"However, the report, which was supposed to launch on Thursday at a landmark event in London, has been delayed, and concerns have been expressed to the Guardian that it may have been blocked by number 10".

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 5d

UK national security is under severe threat from the climate crisis and the looming collapse of vital natural ecosystems, with food shortages and economic disaster potentially just years away, a report by the UK’s intelligence chiefs is due to warn. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

National security threatened by climate crisis, UK intelligence chiefs due to warn

Report by joint intelligence committee delayed, with concerns expressed that it may not be published

www.theguardian.com

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 5d

Three armed police officers involved in last week's fatal terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester have been cleared of misconduct. A member of the public was mistakenly killed by police gunfire as they aimed for the suspect. www.lbc.co.uk/article/manc...

Three armed police officers involved in Manchester synagogue terror attack cleared of misconduct | LBC

Three armed police officers involved in last week's fatal terror attack on a synagogue in Manchester have been cleared of misconduct.

www.lbc.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

A barrister wrongly imprisoned for alleged contempt of court has failed in his latest attempt to have the responsible judge investigated for misconduct.

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/wrongly...

Wrongly jailed barrister fails in latest disciplinary challenge to judge

Application for judicial review of JCIO rejection was 'not arguable' and matters complained of 'fell outside of misconduct'.

www.lawgazette.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

A new YouGov survey shows that the public are generally opposed to leaving the ECHR, with 46% saying we should remain a member compared to 29% saying we should withdraw from it – the remaining 24% are unsure.

More depressingly, "Only 24% correctly identified that the ECHR is not an EU body".

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

Hi, Jeremy. Sure, it has been published. Hopefully you can access it from here for now. It should be up on the website later this week.

bsky.app/profile/shoa...

Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

The complete text of the brilliant and thought-provoking Human Rights Lawyers Association Inaugural Annual Lecture delivered by the phenomenal Robert Spano last week:

www.linkedin.com/posts/shoaib...

HRLA Inaugural Annual Lecture 2025 by Robert Spano | Shoaib Mahmood Khan

"Human rights, as a political and moral value system, is losing ground; history appears to be repeating itself. One even fears that a hurricane of horrors might be brewing. It may be a tropical storm ...

www.linkedin.com

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

The complete text of the brilliant and thought-provoking Human Rights Lawyers Association Inaugural Annual Lecture delivered by the phenomenal Robert Spano last week:

www.linkedin.com/posts/shoaib...

HRLA Inaugural Annual Lecture 2025 by Robert Spano | Shoaib Mahmood Khan

"Human rights, as a political and moral value system, is losing ground; history appears to be repeating itself. One even fears that a hurricane of horrors might be brewing. It may be a tropical storm ...

www.linkedin.com

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

There's argument in favour of ECtHR recalibrating caselaw by progressively limiting scope of qualified rights when issues are not considered to lie at core of the right. ECHR should be more forcefully leveraged as framework of fundamental freedoms targeting arbitrary use of state power: Robert Spano

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

There is simply no factual or substantive nexus between the ECHR and the cadence of boats illegally arriving on the shores of this country. Article 8 does not preclude the UK from expelling foreign criminals and any limitations imposed can only apply in really exceptional circumstances: Robert Spano

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

It is crucial to inform the public narrative in plain language that the ECHR does not mandate the negation of national sovereignty, border controls, language, local customs and traditions. It simply outlaws arbitrary, vindictive and oppressive measures by Government: Robert Spano

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

The biggest legal claim ever brought in the UK over environmental pollution in the country has been filed at the High Court. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

River Wye pollution prompts UK's largest environmental lawsuit

Livestock and water companies are accused of “extensive” pollution in the Wye, Lugg and Usk rivers.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

"Now, more than ever, ECHR’s guarantees against dangers of unrestrained and oppressive majoritarianism are needed. There is no question the fundamental freedoms embedded in ECHR continue to be worth fighting for, and calls in to withdraw from ECHR system are unprincipled and unwise": Robert Spano

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

"We must reconsider a purely individualistic rights-based model of human rights law and attempt to progressively revert back to its genesis as a framework of human freedoms, constraining arbitrary and oppressive government power, also encompassing individual duties & responsibilities": Robert Spano

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 6d

"Human rights, as a political and moral value system, is losing ground. One fears a hurricane of horrors might be brewing. It may be a tropical storm at present, but rapid intensification into Category 4 or 5 is by no means unlikely": Robert Spano, ex-president of the European Court of Human Rights.

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 7d

Nothing sinister at all.

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 7d

Robert Jenrick will pledge to sack “activist” judges in a crackdown on “pro-migration bias” in the judiciary.

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

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Shoaib M Khan @shoaibmkhan.bsky.social · 7d

"The European Convention on Human Rights: 75 years on": an event with Lord (David) Alton,
@womaninhavana.bsky.social, Professor Parosha Chandran,
@katywatts.bsky.social and Charles Brasted.

Thank you to Hogan Lovells for hosting.

echr75hrla.eventbrite.co.uk

Anastasia (@ana.bsky.social)

Fellow @KERNEL0x 🌱 | Privacy research @UTAustin | @Cornell | Word rotator | Full-stack plaintext developer. http://ana.mirror.xyz

ana.bsky.social

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