High Court

Exclusive: Adrian Fulford will also examine wider national security vetting system after Foreign Office controversyUK politics live – latest updatesA retired high court judge is expected to review Peter Mandelson’s vetting process and the wider national security vetting system.The review, commissioned by Downing Street, comes after a Guardian investigation revealing that security officials decided Mandelson should not receive developed vetting clearance, but were overruled by the Foreign Office to allow him to become US ambassador. Continue reading...

Risks from cancer and other diseases could be hidden with little accountability if justices favor big firms, critics warnThe US could face foreign attacks, food shortages and agricultural “devastation” if the supreme court rules against Monsanto in a closely watched case over pesticide regulation that is set for arguments later this month, according to a series of legal briefs supporting the company.In contrast, opposing legal briefs warn that if the court sides with Monsanto, consumers will be stripped of their rights to sue when they develop cancer or other serious diseases they attribute to exposure to dangerous chemicals. Companies will be able to hide product risks with little accountability, they warn. Continue reading...

Court finds law – which effectively meant protesters could not march without risk of arrest – is unconstitutionalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales’ highest court has struck down an anti-protest law brought in after the Bondi beach terror attack which gave police the power to restrict marches, including at the anti-Herzog rally earlier this year.The court of appeal handed down its findings on Thursday after three activist groups – the Blak Caucus, the Palestine Action Group and Jews Against the Occupation ’48 – filed a constitutional challenge in early January against the legislation. Continue reading...

Section of state’s electoral act that introduced caps on political donations but carved out an exemption for major parties ruled unconstitutional The high court has ruled Victoria’s political donation laws are unconstitutional, in a move that has been described as “enshrining a level playing field”.The unanimous decision, handed down by Australia’s highest court on Wednesday, struck out an entire section of Victoria’s electoral act that introduced caps on political donations but carved out an exemption for major parties. Continue reading...

Claimants say lost documents hide scale of alleged unlawful information gathering at publisher of the Daily MailThe amount of lost or destroyed documents relating to the Daily Mail publisher’s use of private investigators is “stark in the extreme”, the high court has heard.However, the thin surviving evidence of payments to private investigators contains “conspicuous and often shocking evidence”, according to lawyers for a group of claimants accusing the publisher of using unlawful techniques. Continue reading...

Former Sinn Féin leader, who is being sued for symbolic damages, also denies any prior knowledge of the attackGerry Adams has told the high court he was stunned by the 1996 Docklands bombing as he denied being at the nerve centre of the IRA’s operations.The former Sinn Féin leader also denied having any prior knowledge of the bombing of the commercial district of east London, which shattered a 17-month old ceasefire. Continue reading...

Labor’s preventative detention regime suffers blow as court finds tough laws for NZYQ group are unconstitutionalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDozens of former immigration detainees who have already served prison sentences will have ankle bracelets removed and curfews scrapped, with the high court again striking down laws targeting the group.On Wednesday, the Albanese government’s preventative detention regime suffered another blow as the court ruled the tough laws to deal with the NZYQ cohort were unconstitutional. Continue reading...

Party’s former leader, who is being sued for symbolic damages, says opponents have repeatedly tried to conflate Sinn Féin and IRAGerry Adams has told the high court that opponents of Sinn Féin have repeatedly sought to conflate the political party he led with the IRA, as he denied ever being a member of the Irish Republican Army.Giving evidence in London watched by victims of IRA bombings, the 77-year-old, credited with helping to bring about the peace process that ended the Troubles, said he had “never been a senior, let alone most senior, figure in the IRA”. Continue reading...