Insights: Publications - May 2013

With the high profile sale of Banksy’s Slave Labour on 2 June 2013, it is opportune to consider some of the legal issues that arise from the creation and sale of “street art”. Street art is graffiti painted or sprayed by an artist, who is usually anonymous, onto someone else’s property, usually a wall or […]

Adjudication works. It is an effective way to resolve disputes but it is not necessarily cheap. Adjudicators’ fees are often a bone of contention, especially if it is clear to the paying party that the award, whilst enforceable against him, is wrong in fact or law. But what happens if the award is unenforceable? The […]

English law works on the basis of precedent – previous judgments are relied on to work out what the law is on any particular issue. So what happens when, over the years, there are more and more judgments on an issue, each giving an interpretation of slightly different wording? Sometimes a judgment includes statements which […]

Arbitration is the most popular alternative to litigation. This is because arbitration awards are binding and enforceable. Other forms of alternative dispute mechanism include negotiation, mediation, conciliation and adjudication. It is possible to tailor these mechanisms to suit an individual contract. Advantages of arbitration Arbitration is known to have the following advantages over litigation: Speediness: […]

The Supreme Court judgment in the conjoined appeals of Pitt v Holt and Futter v Futter[1] was handed down on 9 May 2013. Lord Walker, with whom Lords Neuberger, Mance, Clarke, Sumption, Carnworth and Lady Hale all agreed, gave the judgment of the court. That judgment confirms the circumstances in which the exercise of discretions […]

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The Banksy “street art” hacked off a wall in Wood Green, North London is back in the press. The piece, now known as “Slave Labour”, depicts a Third World child working over a sewing machine making Union Jack bunting. A few months ago it surfaced in Miami, where it was due to be auctioned. In […]

Marissa Mayer’s announcement that all flexible arrangements at Yahoo! will end this June has been widely reported in the press recently. Ms Mayer is not the only leading business figure of late to view flexible working as a barrier, rather than a bridge, to a productive working environment. Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, agrees […]

Developers rushing to celebrate the Law Commission’s proposal to do away with the acquisition of rights to light by prescription should remember that the government has a poor record of following the advisory body’s recommendations, says Roy Perrott. Rights of light are a major impediment to property development in this country, so the Law Commission’s […]