The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill 2012-13 was introduced in the House of Commons in January 2013. The Bill is intended to make provision for the marriage of same sex couples in England and Wales as well as provisions about gender change by married persons and civil partners. If passed, it would allow same-sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies, where a religious institution has formally consented. The Church of England will be banned from offering same-sex marriages because of their strongly stated opinion. The Bill has led to much debate but was approved by the House of Commons on second reading on 5 February 2013 by a 225 vote margin.

The mind is like a muscle; in the same way as a muscle, the mind cannot be in tension and relaxed at the same time.

Visualisation has proved one of the most effective ways to relax. It is well worth taking time to practise this as a relaxation skill. It is an experience of focused attention on images and feelings which are positive and nourishing for you, allowing you to cultivate an ever-greater sense of freedom from the distractions of mood or circumstances. 

Spring will soon be upon us, and we can therefore reflect on how the winter has affected legal services to clients. Winter is the most common time for personal injury accidents to happen due to slipping on ice and snow. The first question on most people’s minds would be “Whom can I sue?” Whilst a civil litigation personal injury claim may be considered, one must not forget that there are also other aspects of private law which could be considered, including Occupier’s Liability.

While not the most glamorous of subjects in Conveyancing terms, who owns the sewers to a property is very important. Few people will have realised that just over a year ago the ownership of more than 200,000km of private sewers and drains transferred from property owners to six water companies. 

This mass transfer of ownership is actually a good thing for property owners, as in the future it may save owners from having to pay costly repair bills if things go wrong. The reason for the change was to make ownership of the sewer network clear and help improve long-term maintenance.

A question a lawyer is often asked is, “How can you defend a client when you know he or she is guilty?” The answer to that, of course, is that you can only know if a client is guilty if he admits it, and if he does admit it, then, of course, you cannot run a ‘not guilty’ plea – you can plead in mitigation, bringing to the attention of the court any circumstances that you think will help the court in determining the sentence to pass, but you cannot put forward a defence to the charge, because such a defence would be spurious. However, what about a situation where your client’s instructions show that an offence has, or may have, been committed, but it is not the offence that he has been charged with?

With spring just around the corner, now that you might have a little more of a ‘spring’ in your step, this exercise builds on some of the previous relaxation exercises in a rather more active way. Believe it or not, walking promotes our relaxation response; any physical exercise produces natural, feel-good chemicals in your brain. It need not be a long walk – even 10 minutes once or twice a day makes a positive difference. Building on this distance can enhance the relaxation response and turn walking into something you can add to your relaxation repertoire in order to promote better physical and mental health overall. With practice, walking can become part of your routine of simply going to work, going home after work or, if you have a particularly stressful day, taking 10 minutes to step outside and feel refreshed.

When studying Land Law, few students expect to come across what ordinary people might regard as legalised theft. The part of the law I am referring to is known as adverse possession, which can allow a squatter to obtain rights over land – commonly referred to as ‘squatter’s rights’. This concept may seem controversial, but it is based on the notion that unused land does not benefit society as a whole. In other words, on some occasions it is better for everyone that a limited resource like land should be used by someone rather than by no one. 

The basic rules for someone to gain adverse possession are that they must prove the following:

Education in modern society has largely been a regimental process. A person is born, begins their education at an appropriate age, continues to higher schooling, and achieves education until they can secure employment! But in fact, learning is a lifelong process; we learn things constantly, every day of our lives. A variety of surveys have shown that people who undertake formal study later in life not only have the obvious benefit of gaining new knowledge, but also receive related benefits that improve their overall well-being. 

On 21 January 2013, the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) published its ‘Review of Government action on United Nations’ recommendations for strengthening children’s rights in the UK’. The report criticises the Government for failing to implement the changes recommended in a 2008 report by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child – changes which, in 2010, the Government had committed to take into consideration when enacting law and policy. 

In its autumn 2012 budget statement, the Government announced a 1% increase per annum in the rate of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for the next three years. SSP is meant to “provide a measure of earnings replacement for employees who are off work through illness.” From 6 April 2013, the SSP is due to rise by 85p, from £85.75 to £86.80 per week. The length of time that SSP will be paid to sick employees has remained at 28 weeks, and in order to qualify for SSP, the employee will need to have been off work for four or more working days. However, the weekly earnings threshold has risen from £107 to £109, meaning that any person earning less than this figure will not be entitled to SSP.