Blog
Private prosecutions – A route to justice for the charity sector
Sophie Tang
10 February 2016
New Fraud Taskforce - A step in the fight against fraud or political posturing?
Today saw the announcement by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, and Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, of a new Joint Fraud Taskforce. The Taskforce has gathered organisations hailing from the public, private, and non-profit sector in the interests of fighting fraud more effectively.
10 February 2016
The CMA warns of ‘substantial fines’ – big players, big fines - a sign of things to come in 2016?
The Competition and Markets Authority (‘CMA’) has warned that UK companies and in particular large pharmaceutical companies are to expect “substantial fines”. Alex Chisholm, Chief Executive of the CMA wants to see “a big step up in the scale and impact of [their] enforcement activity”. Whilst he acknowledges that this is not the goal by which the CMA’s success should be measured, it is, however one element which acts as a credible deterrent. He goes on to say that in high value markets involving big players, such players should be ready to face big fines.
10 February 2016
Scorecard for UK competition regime
In a report published on 5 February, the National Audit Office (NAO) congratulated the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for “significant progress” in improving how the UK’s competition regime works confirming that, it is now “more coherent than ever”. However, it called for further action to step up the flow of successful enforcement cases and the need for greater awareness amongst business of competition law. Flexibility of resourcing and greater co-operation to secure a coherent approach across the regime is called for.
10 February 2016
A critical analysis of Sir Keir Starmer’s Victims of Crime Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) Bill
Sir Keir Starmer’s Victims of Crime Etc (Rights, Entitlements and Related Matters) Bill was published on 28 January 2016 in anticipation of its second reading in the House of Commons on 29 January 2016. The full text of the Bill can be found here. Owing to a shortage of parliamentary time, the Bill’s second reading did not in fact take place on 29 January; it has instead been re-scheduled for consideration on 11 March 2016.
9 February 2016
EU criminal justice - promoting fair and effective cooperation
The annual conference of LEAP (the Legal Experts Advisory Panel) took place in Budapest on 5 and 6 February 2016. This provided an opportunity for legal experts from across Europe to discuss the various challenges faced by criminal justice systems. I was pleased to attend the debate as a practitioner expert from the UK and found the key note speeches and break-out sessions allowed for lively debate and in-depth discussion.
- Controlling and coercive behaviour
- Corporate crime
- Corporate manslaughter and health and safety
- Crime and justice
- Cyber crime
- Extradition and international crime
- Financial crime and financial regulatory enforcement
- Fraud
- Internal investigations
- Legal Updates
- Online Safety Regulation
- Police investigations
- Proceeds of Crime
- The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act
- Unexplained Wealth Orders
- Youth crime and justice