News & Events
News & Events
In Gregory & Stroilov v (1) Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (2) Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman [2025] EWHC 201 (Admin), Dove J refused permission for the Claimants to proceed with their judicial review claim. Alex Line represented the First Defendant, against whom five of the six judicial review grounds relied on were against. The First Claimant is the father of Indi Gregory, who was terminally ill and tragically passed away in 2023 following the implementation of a care plan permitting the withdrawal of life support treatment. That decision was sanctioned by the High Court (Peel J) against whose decision an appeal was made. Permission to appeal was refused by the Court of Appeal by Peter Jackson LJ, King LJ and…
News 4 Feb, 2025
In long running group litigation, the Ministry of Justice and Lord Chancellor, represented by Andrew Allen KC and Alex Line, who were instructed by the Government Legal Department, have successfully defended claims brought by judges under the Part-time Worker (Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 in relation to their pay and pension conditions. Background The case concerns Circuit Judges who are authorised under s.9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 to sit in the High Court. When doing so, the Claimants (who form part of a wider cohort of judge claimants) contended that they were part-time workers, and treated less favourably compared to salaried judges of the High Court in respect of pay and pension. Another Claimant was a salaried District…
News 13 Nov, 2024
In R (Williams) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2144 (Admin) Alex Line, instructed by the Government Legal Department, successfully represented the Defendant before Hugh Mercer KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court), who dismissed the claim. The Claimant is serving an indeterminate prison sentence having been found guilty of serious sexual offences against children. The case concerned a decision of the Parole Board, who recommended that he be released from closed to open prison conditions. The final decision on this issue is reserved to the Secretary of State for Justice, who declined to follow the Parole Board’s recommendation, and determined that Claimant should remain in closed conditions due to risk that he would abscond.…
News 16 Aug, 2024
In Clayson and others v Ministry of Justice and others [2024] EAT 99, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (Mr Justice Kerr) dismissed an appeal brought by Claimant Circuit Judges in relation to their pension rights. Andrew Allen KC and Alexander Line successfully represented the Respondents. The three test Claimants (who formed part of a larger cohort) were each former Recorders who were appointed to the office of Circuit Judge on or after 31st March 1995. That date was important, as it was the date on which a new judicial pension scheme under the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 (‘JUPRA’) came into effect. They contended that the terms of this scheme were less favourable than the scheme under the Judicial Pensions…
News 28 Jun, 2024
Education Law Specialist, Alex Line, has recently been involved in an important Upper Tribunal decision concerning families of armed forces personnel who have children with special educational needs. Alex Line recently appeared in the Upper Tribunal in Hampshire County Council v GC & GC [2024] UKUT 128 (AAC), acting for the local authority. This is an important case (described by Upper Tribunal Judge West in his decision as a ‘test case’) concerning a family who moved to Dubai for two years because the father was deployed there as part of his naval service. The local authority ceased to maintain their child’s EHC Plan pursuant to s.45 of the Children and Families Act 2014, on the basis that the family were…
News 5 Jun, 2024
Alex Line, instructed by the government legal department, recently represented the Secretary of State for Education in Averre-Beeson v Secretary of State for Education [2024] UKFTT 00385 (HESC). This was an appeal under s.129 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, which went to the Health, Education and Social Care Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal (in its Care Standards jurisdiction). These were long running proceedings emanating from a high profile and widely reported collapse of a large multi-academy trust. The Appellant, a well-known figure in the schools industry, held various positions of responsibility within the trust. Following the trust’s demise, the Department for Education investigated concerns into his conduct including relating to the nature and propriety of the commercial relationships…
News 24 May, 2024
The Upper Tribunal has recently handed down judgment on the case of Governing Body of T School v AA and RA [2023] UKUT 311 (AAC). Education law specialist, Alex Line, represented the appellant in this case concerning disability discrimination in schools. In Governing Body of T School v AA and RA [2023] UKUT 311 (AAC), Alex Line represented the successful appellant in a case which provides important analysis of the time limit provisions of the Equality Act 2010 concerning schools (a point covered extensively in relation to Employment Tribunal jurisdiction, but hitherto not in relation to the First-tier Tribunal’s jurisdiction under that Act). The primary time limit for bringing a claim for disability discrimination against the governing body of a…
News 1 Mar, 2024
The Employment Tribunal has handed down its judgment in Clayson & Ors v Ministry of Justice & Lord Chancellor in which Andrew Allen KC and Alexander Line represented the successful party. Judgment was handed down on 31st August 2023 by the Employment Tribunal in a group claim brought by salaried Circuit Judges, relying on their former Recorder status, in Clayson & Others v Ministry of Justice & Lord Chancellor (Case No: 2204416/2022 & Others). Andrew Allen KC and Alexander Line represented the successful party in this part-time worker challenge. Following their recent success in the EAT in Ministry of Justice & Lord Chancellor v Dodds [2023] UKEAT 31, Andrew Allen KC and Alexander Line, instructed by the Government Legal Department,…
News 1 Sep, 2023
The High Court has recently handed down judgment in an important case relating to school admissions arrangements, and the Office of the School Adjudicator’s (‘OSA’) functions when considering complaints about them. Alex Line acted for London Borough of Bromley. Alex Line acted for the second Interested Party, London Borough of Bromley, in a judicial review that was brought against the OSA by Mr Sharpe. Another interested party, the Impact Multi Academy Trust (which was the admissions authority in relation to the schools considered in the case) was also involved. The Secretary of State for Education intervened. The decision can be viewed here: Robert Sharp, R (on the application of) v The Office of the Schools Adjudicator. The case, had it…
News 26 May, 2023
Judgment was handed down by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (‘EAT’) on 7th March 2023 in a group claim brought by salaried judges; Ministry of Justice & Lord Chancellor v Mr R Dodds & Others [2023] EAT 31. Andrew Allen KC and Alexander Line represented the Ministry of Justice and Lord Chancellor. The Background Claims had been brought by a group of salaried judges under the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. Representative claims from that group were determined by the Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) in December 2021. Three of the representative claimants were salaried Circuit Judges who each had authorisation to sit in the High Court under s.9(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981. They claimed that, when…
News 10 Mar, 2023
We are pleased to share that Alex Line has recently been appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. Outer Temple’s Alex line has recently been successful in joining the Attorney General’s London B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. He will be appointed for a period of 5 years, starting on 1st September 2022 and Ending in August 2027. We congratulate Alex on his success. Find out more Alex Line specialises in the areas of employment and education law. He has extensive employment and discrimination law experience, having practised in these areas throughout his career at the Bar. He has a broad range of experience in education law matters, with particular expertise in the law relating…
News 17 Aug, 2022
In A Parent v Governing Body of XYZ School, Alex Line successfully represented the Defendant in a judicial review challenging a school exclusion decision, which has been dismissed by the High Court. The case concerned A Pupil, who had been permanently excluded from a maintained school for sending obscene images of a sexual nature to a younger female pupil from his mobile phone. This was against a background whereby the female pupil had made disclosures alleging serious sexual misconduct towards her by a number of pupils, including A Pupil, which had been referred to the police for investigation. The Head Teacher’s decision to exclude had initially been upheld by the school’s governing body. A Pupil’s parent then exercised her right…
News 16 May, 2022