Sharia Law Would Focus on Fairness And Equality for Women

Home Secretary Theresa May said Sharia Law and Courts would be refocused to achieve fairness and equality for all women.

The Home Office will conduct an independent review that would establish if Sharia law and courts in England and Wales have discriminated against women and if it is being "misused.

The review would re-focus Sharia law to integrate with its compatibility with UK laws.

Sharia councils had pushed to legitimise forced marriage and issue unfair divorces, an issue that the 

Home Office is deeply investigating.

Islamic and inter-religious studies from the University of Edinburgh Professor Mona Siddiqui would lead the review.

The regulation of Sharia law and courts is part of the UK's anti-extremism strategy, allowing the government to regulate the courts. The prevention of rogue Sharia courts would ensure women who may be abused by the courts are protected by the UK government. The councils have no legal powers in the United Kingdom and can only deal in civil and theological matters.

Upon receiving reports and evidence that some courts had mis-used the laws and had worked them into a discriminatory and unacceptable manner, the Home Office proceeded to create a fully independent review putting forward the rights and security for all UK citizens.

UK Will Ban 10-Pack Cigarettes and New Law Introduced To "Drab" Packaging

To curb cigarette smoking levels in the United Kingdom, the government will ban 10-pack cigarettes. Also, cigarette box packaging will be banned from having 'attractive' packaging. The boxes would have a uniform appearance covered with health warnings.

The 'standardisation' will ensure the packaging will have the same colour, opening mechanism and font. About 60 per cent of the casing will be covered by text and images with warnings and images of how smoking can affect your health.

By May 20, all cigarette manufacturers would have sold old stock of cigarettes.

May 15 the previous year, the EU Tobacco Products Directive had agreed to implement the new laws and policies on tobacco. The law would also ban flavoured and menthol tobacco.

The new laws were made in response to a review conducted by paediatrician Sir Cyril Chandler which guarantees that a change in packaging could create a "small dent" in the number of young people taking up smoking.

His research shows that young people smoke about 600 cigarettes per day.

Tobacco companies had heavily opposed the decision. However, the ECJ ruled the TPD was lawful and implemented the changes.

The 10-pack ban would also reduce the number of youth smokers by increasing the prices of tobacco.

Brexit Economic Impact Could Cost Families About £4300 Per Year

The economic challenge of the Brexit, following plummeting exports, rising prices and a possible recession, could mean funding for the NHS, schools and defence would be reduced. To compensate for such, the Government would be forced to take about £4300 families per year as the entire country adjusts.

This Monday, BoE Chancellor George Osborne would publish a landmark Treasury report that would warn Britain about the economic perils of a Brexit.

Voting to leave, the report would say, would mean "permanent" economic damages leaving Britain in a poorer economic state "for decades to come."

Speculations include a 6 per cent shrunk economy by 2030.

Meanwhile, Vote Leave and Eurosceptic Minister Chris Grayling said the document is only spurring "doom and gloom" from the treasury.

However, Osborne said Vote Leave campaigners are "economically-illiterate" and "not being honest".

The chancellor pointed out that the poorest people in Britain would have trouble with the economic shock of the exit.

He said the UK's negotiating hand outside the EU is far different from its reach when backed by the European Union. About 44 per cent of UK exports head to EU countries. About 8 per cent of EU's imports head to the United Kingdom.

Hundreds Of UK Lawyers Says IPB 'Not Fit For Purpose'

Hundreds of UK lawyers have signed an open letter addressed to the UK government that declares the Investigatory Powers Bill as "not fit for purpose".

The 200 lawyers who signed the cases have a fraction of high-profile QCs involved in cases where evidence of the new powers' inefficiency has been present.

According to the letter "a law that gives public authorities generalised access to electronic communication compromises the essence of the fundamental right to privacy and may be illegal."

According to the letter, it fails to include verification of "reasonable suspicion" for an instance of data interception and does not need a demonstration or evidence of criminal involvement or a threat to national security for the use of powers.

Meanwhile, the Conservative government has pushed the IP Bill as having passed their expectations. They said it has an 'adequate balance between privacy and security."

The Labour party said it will abstain from the second reading. The party also threatened to vote against the bill if significant changes are not made. The Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party are heavily opposed to the bill.

Tech companies have warned that the IP bill could compromise existing communication technologies because of the use of a backdoor. The new bill also threatened tech companies of arrest or suspension if they will not comply with a hack-on-demand.

UK Government Dropped Passage On Obligation To Uphold International Law

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is to launch a legal case against the UK government for abandoning 13 words that could alter its decisions regarding the use of military force abroad. The Ministerial Code had been missing the section that indicated all ministers have an "overarching duty" to fulfil Britain's international agreements.

Lawyers from the GCHR said key issues involved decisions about involvement in international conflict , the UK's adherence to human rights legislation and the impact of International court rulings on British Law.

According to GCHR's Melanie Gingell:

“We cannot call these governments to account if at the same time western governments are diminishing their commitments to international law and the separation of powers.

“Removing international law from the code weakens ministers’ accountability to parliament and clearly signals a watering down of the UK’s respect for human rights law. I hope the court will recognise the profound consequences of removing just 13 words from ministers’ duties.”

Former Government Legal Service Head Paul Jenkins said:

“It is disingenuous of the Cabinet Office to dismiss the changes to the ministerial code as mere tidying up. As the government’s most senior legal official I saw at close hand from 2010 onwards the intense irritation these words caused the PM as he sought to avoid complying with our international legal obligations, for example in relation to prisoner voting.”

It Seems Scotland Played Into Britain's Hands

You've probably followed everything that transpired during the Scottish Independence Referendum. The SNP and Tories went head-on explaining their platforms and the consequences of both outcomes, positive or negative. Eventually, the Tories won over majority of Scots by offering them devolved, state-only powers and the exclusion of Britons from Scottish lawmaking.

It sounds like a great deal. Without having to leave the pound sterling, Scotland is soon set to prosper.

Or at least so it thought.

Scottish MPs are complaining that Scotland is now unable to vote for English-only laws. They could not criticise laws that only concern the Brits.

I mean, that's common sense for devolved powers, right?

SNP Spokesman Pete Wishart, I think was having a force-of-habit moment when he said the English have been ignoring Scotland.

But sometimes, there's that looming feeling that the tories knew what was going to happen. 

In fact, I think the tories intended Scotland to be flushed out of Westminster's issues and they agreed Holyrood's issues should be its own problems.

It's just as well because the English just submitted their first English-only law. This would mean less opposition, which usually comes from Scotland's MPs.

But that also means more English Nationalism, and also more Scottish Nationalism. Which brings us once again, to a probable new Independence Referendum in the next few years.

Law Society Condemns Small Claims Court Limit Rise For Personal Injury

To crack down on "crash for cash" incidents, the UK Chancellor George Osborne plans to increase the small claims court's compensation amounts from £1000 to £5000. The Law Society expressed its criticism.

According to the society, the proposals may undermine the ordinary citizens' right to receive proper compensation when they are hassled or injured through no fault of their own.

The Law Society said that serious injuries from employer and traffic accidents lead to complex cases and the small claims courts' £5000 can severely limit victims' compensation.

The limit would mean even facial scarring, which typically receives £10,000-20,000 in compensation including emotional and psychological damages, would only receive £5000 as it is a soft-tissue injury.

The Select Transport Committee (STC) had pushed the same complaint forward. They said victims cannot find proper legal consultation and will be forced to represent themselves before the small claims court.

This would be difficult for those who are living alone and have no legal counsel. They will also have to take care of their personal arrangements for the matter.

Britain is today known as Europe's whiplash capital following exaggerated or fraudulent claims have a 90 per cent chance of successfully earning recompense through personal injury claims.