12 January 2015
Watch this space: Domestic CCTV cameras and public areas
The presence of CCTV cameras has become an accepted, if not always welcome, part of the background to modern life. Although both the Information and Surveillance Commissioners have provided clear guidance with respect to the use of CCTV by businesses and organisations, “domestic” surveillance has been treated as an exception. Following the decision of the European Court of Justice in the case of Ryneš (C-212/13), this may be about to change.
27 November 2014
The new Duty of Candour: The first priority for NHS managers
The regulations implementing a new statutory duty of candour come into force today. For those responsible for managing NHS services, what is going to change? In short, this is the first time a clearly defined standard has been applied across the NHS. This is also the first time that NHS trusts which are not open with patients in the aftermath of harmful incidents face the possibility of criminal proceedings.
29 October 2014
At last some hope: defeat in the House of Lords of Judicial Review Proposals
Studies may have found Tuesday to be the most depressing day of the week, but this Tuesday, many legal practitioners received a small mercy for which to be grateful. The news was in that the previous evening’s Report Stage consideration of Part 4 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill had taken place, and the government had experienced heavy defeats in several important votes on proposals to restrict access to judicial review.
19 June 2014
Should we follow the Scots by having a written constitution?
The words were coy, but there was no mistaking their meaning. The SNP’s proposals, published in February, for a new, post-independence, constitution involved “embedding” the rights of its citizens by ensuring that they could not be taken away by the Scottish Parliament. So, having taken advantage of our constitution to secure independence by a majority vote of the Westminster Parliament, the SNP proposed to remove that right from its own people.
This article was first published in The Times on the 19th June 2014.
23 May 2014
eBay and the biggest hack in history - what can the Information Commissioner do now?
eBay has been the victim of what has been described as the “biggest ever cyber-attack in history” with 233 million customers worldwide being potentially affected. Although customers’ passwords remain safely encrypted, personal information including names, addresses and dates of birth have been hacked. In the wake of this news, it has been confirmed that the Information Commissioner is working with European data authorities to take action against eBay, alongside the various investigations already underway in the US.