The 27th Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will meet in London at IMO Headquarters from 21 to 30 November 2011.
All 170 Member States and three Associate Members are entitled to attend the Assembly, which is IMO’s highest governing body. The intergovernmental organizations with which agreements of co-operation have been concluded and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO are also invited to attend.
Severely injured man celebrates European Court of Justice ruling
THOUSANDS of people who have suffered serious accidents while visiting other countries within the EU have breathed a sigh of relief following today’s decision of the European Court of Justice, but many thousands more may lose out in future if they have an accident aboard.
At the end of March two protagonists in a bitter court battle that had gone on for two years agreed a truce in the American courts. The case concerned the staging and conduct of the 2010 America’s Cup yacht race and involved two of the world’s richest men representing two high-profile yacht clubs in the USA and Switzerland.
The America’s Cup is the most prestigious yacht race in the world, yet this round in the on-going competition was seen by most as a side show to the series of high-level court cases involving just about every aspect of the race: who could take part, what the boats could be made of and where the material should come from.
A court in America has ruled that expert witness fees are not recoverable by parents who win actions under the country’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
In a judgement that would seem perverse to British experts, the US Supreme Court held that: “the term ‘costs’, as it appears in the statute, is a ‘term of art’ that did not include expert expenses.”
The judgement came in the case of Arlington Central School District Board of Education vs Murphy.
The applicable provision of the IDEA [20 USC 1415(i)(3)(B)] states that “[i]n an action or proceeding brought under this section, the court, in its discretion, may award reasonable attorneys’ fees as part of the costs to the parents of a child with a disability who is the prevailing party.”
In May last year the Psychoactive Substances Act came into force. One year on there have been a number of articles published reflecting on the Act and its effectiveness, particularly with reference to the availability of new psychoactive substances, or so-called ‘legal highs’ as they were termed prior to the Act.
In April Home Office Minister Sarah Newton (pictured) reacted to criticism from some quarters of the legislation.
“We have known about the devastating consequences of Spice for some time,” she wrote, “and we have acted to give police the powers they need to take action, making third generation synthetic cannabinoids Class B drugs on a par with ketamine and amphetamines. We will continue to monitor its impact and if we need to do more, we will.”
