OK, first off, you have to read this amazing judgement about whether Walker's Sensations Poppadoms count as a potato-based snack for VAT purposes. Like most judgements, it is written in fairly plain and accessible language. The arguments are easy to follow and it even manages to throw in a little humour. But if you read closely, you'll see there are a few instances where an errant question-mark pops up: From context, it is pretty clear the word should be "flour" but is rendered as "?our" - …
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I recently came across a post about "The Energy Bill 2023 and the Fusion of Technology and Law - We are going to be governed under 'Law 3.0', and we won't like it one little bit". It is a superficial look at the "horrors" of being governed by technical measures. It starts off reasonably enough by describing the evolution of our legal system: Law 1.0 says "Thou shalt not kill". Law 2.0 says "Thou shalt not pollute. But, rather than specific legislation, we'll spin up a body to do the tedious…
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How will law, regulation and ethics govern a future of fast-changing technologies? Focuses on the practical difficulties of applying law, policy and ethical structures to emergent technologies both now and in the future. Covers crucial current issues such as big data ethics, ubiquitous surveillance and the Internet of Things, and disruptive technologies such as autonomous vehicles, DIY genetics and robot agents. Asks where law might go next and how to regulate new-phase technology such …
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This is mostly written so I can copy-and-paste it on to forums where people keep getting this basic information wrong. If you've ever moved house, you'll know how annoying it is to receive mail for the previous occupants. When those letters have a big red BAILIFFS ARE COMING warning on them - it is especially distressing. The relevant section of the law is: A person commits an offence if, intending to act to a person’s detriment and without reasonable excuse, he opens a postal packet which h…
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Queen of the geek scene Emma Mulqueeny has recently been asked to sit on Speaker's Commission on Digital Democracy. They're currently soliciting for comments on the question: The system of laws and law-making in the UK is complex, but is that inevitable given the highly developed and interconnected society which laws regulate? Should you need to be a lawyer to understand and use an Act? You can leave your comment on their forum - here's what I submitted. Albert Einstein said: [T]he…
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I don't usually get involved in legal blogging. I am not a lawyer, and I find the finicky details somewhat hard to follow. That said, I do appreciate how (most) judges in the UK write their judgements in a relatively clear and unambiguous manner. Jack of Kent today pointed out the recent judgement on Operation Weeting - which is looking into the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages. The full text of the judgement is fairly simple to understand - although one curious part…
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