argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Online Pornography: Age Verification — House of Lords, 2019-10-17
Topic: Technology
Merlin Hay (Crossbench, Unknown): Okay, right. The question was right at the start. Several AV providers have spent a lot of money on implementing this and getting it all ready to go. Who is going to compensate them? A lot of money has been spent to get this ready in time.
Queen’s Speech — House of Lords, 2019-10-17
Topic: Energy
Karan Bilimoria (Crossbench, Unknown): I am sorry. I apologise. I need to make a correction to the House. In my speech, I said that energy from renewable sources over the last three months was more than from conventional, but that was only for electricity. Electricity makes up only 18% of our energy, so we still have a lot to do. This was pointed out by a professor at Cambridge University.
Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-23
Topic: Law and Crime
Simon Denis Brown (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, it is plain that anyone trying to dazzle or distract someone in control of a vehicle by using any laser device ought to be guilty of a criminal offence. The critical question raised by this group of amendments is whether the dazzling or distracting light produced by every sort of laser device can properly be described as a beam. If it can, there is no need for this amendment. But if, as I understand is being suggested by my noble and gallant friend Lord Craig of Radley, supported by no less distinguished a scientist than my noble friend Lord Oxburgh, other laser devices such as a laser gun or rifle can reasonably be said to produce light not by beam, but in some other way—by pulse, burst or whatever—the Bill as drafted may well not catch these other sorts of laser misuse As a lawyer, I thought to remind myself of the cardinal legal principles that apply to the construction of statutes. To this end, I consulted Bennion on Statutory Interpretation, the sixth edition of which runs to no fewer than 1,200-odd pages. The only relevant principles perhaps worth mentioning here are what is called the principle against doubtful penalisation and the principle that ordinary words in the English language should be given their ordinary meaning, understood as they are in common language As to the principle against doubtful penalisation, the court’s approach will be that a person should not be penalised except under clear law, so that penal enactments require a strict construction. As to the principle that words should bear their ordinary meaning, it could perhaps be argued that a pulse or a burst of light is not, in the ordinary use of the English language, properly to be described as a beam. I am certainly not saying that if this issue were to reach the courts, it is likely that the Bill as drafted would be found wanting. Indeed, I strongly suspect that it would be held to encompass all laser misuse, as so plainly it is intended and right that it should. But if there is any scintilla of doubt about that, and if that doubt can be quite simply removed by adopting this amendment, then why on earth not do that? That surely is the sensible question the Minister should ask herself today I add only that if the Bill team is wedded to the word "beam", then why not simply add to that, "or device"? Alternatively, we could go down the road suggested by my noble friend Lord Oxburgh and in the definition provisions at the end explicitly put the matter as he has suggested, which would take it beyond the reach of any lawyer, however imaginative.
Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-23
Topic: Law and Crime
David Brownrigg Craig (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I suggested at Second Reading that a horse-drawn vehicle or carriage should be included for completeness. In her reply to that debate, the noble Baroness merely stated that horse-drawn carriages would not be covered by this Bill as, "We have not seen any evidence of a problem".—[Official Report, 9/1/18; col. 176.] In her letter of 15 January, the noble Baroness did not further refer to my raising this omission at Second Reading, but I feel the list of vehicles is incomplete without it. While no such attack may have yet taken place, that alone is no reason not to include it. I gave the example of the coachman driving the state coach with Her Majesty on board. There are many more uses of horse-drawn carriages or vehicles which also deserve consideration so that we give the driver protection I hope that, on reflection, the Minister will agree that a horse-drawn vehicle has as much of a place in the Bill as all the other road vehicles listed, including even pedal cycles, and they should also be added to Clause 1(7) at line 11 on page 2. I am not proposing that horse riders should also be included, though I do wonder about the risk of an attack on huntsmen by hunt saboteurs. Such an offence may already be covered by other legislation. I beg to move.
Laser Misuse (Vehicles) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-23
Topic: Transportation
David Brownrigg Craig (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I thank those who have spoken in this very short debate. I listened, obviously, to what the Minister had to say. I am still a little uneasy about the argument that, because this has not happened, therefore we do not need to worry about it. Pedal cyclists are already covered by the Bill. I wonder how many attacks on pedal cyclists have taken place to justify including them in the Bill. Having said that, I again thank everybody who has spoken and the Minister, and beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Law and Crime
Igor Judge (Crossbench, Unknown): I agree—and I do not propose to add anything to that, with no discourtesy to the noble Viscount. That is the reality. These powers are not to be given, save in the most exceptional circumstances—and I would not define them, but I would invite some suggestion of what is exceptional here So here we have it. There is no self-evident necessity for this. The criminal law covers what is proposed to be covered in the regulations that are proposed to be allowed to be created. Without this amendment, which I am advancing, we would once again be allowing an alarming accretion of power to the Executive. We should not do it; we did not do it on Monday; let us not do it today. I beg to move.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Government Operations
David Pannick (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I simply add to the very powerful statement made by the noble and learned Lord that it is the generality of the power that is so objectionable—its unrestricted nature. If the Minister can bring forward an amendment at Third Reading that confines and restricts this power to some specific purpose, of course the House would consider it. At the moment, the Bill confers a completely unrestricted and unregulated power on Ministers, which is what is so objectionable.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Government Operations
Dafydd Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I do not have anything to add to give force to the argument that has been put so forcefully by my noble and learned friend and the noble Viscount. All I will do, if I may, is add an anecdotal note. In 1936, I believe, a former Attorney-General and former Lord Chief Justice, Lord Hewart, wrote a book called The New Despotism. He was worried about the very powers that we are talking about today being delegated in a dictatorial way to Ministers. If it was a new despotism then, what is it now?
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Law and Crime
Igor Judge (Crossbench, Unknown): I thank all noble Lords who have taken part. I fear that the disappointment I expressed about the Minister’s reaction remains. Of course it is true that from time to time, following primary legislation, Parliament allows regulations to be created which would impose a criminal sanction. However, I underline that we are not dealing here with a regulation made on the basis of primary legislation which identifies a criminal offence: this is a regulation to create offences based on something that is only a regulation. In other words, the Minister will have complete power, subject to the affirmative resolution procedure, to decide what should fall within the ambit of the regulations, and then complete power—quite apart from all the millions of provisions in the schedule—to create criminal offences. That is simply wrong in principle Although I have listened very carefully, there has been no suggestion from the Minister that, in reality, there are any serious available offences that are not adequately covered, for deterrent and punishment purposes, by the endless stream of legislation to which I referred when I began my submission. What is more, none of the letters to which the Minister referred, from the CPS and so on, pointed out that here is a gaping hole which must be filled. This House took a decision on Monday; it would be astonishing if I did not give it a chance to consider again what the position should be. Therefore, I seek to divide the House.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Law and Crime
Vivien Stern (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I am grateful to all those who have spoken—my co-signatories and those who supported the amendment, and those who did not. I say to them that I have never thought it was acceptable to say that one has to carry on doing dodgy business because, if we do not do it, someone else will. If one followed that line, nothing would ever get better. Since the amount of corrupt criminal money being hidden in various parts of the world grows every month, and the number of those who suffer from that is growing all the time, I would like to test the opinion of the House.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-17
Topic: Government Operations
David Pannick (Crossbench, Unknown): The noble Lord, Lord McNally, and the noble Baroness have made a powerful case that this House is signalling clearly to Ministers that it is simply not prepared to accept clauses of this nature. The great fear and regret is that Ministers are putting these clauses into each and every Bill as a matter of course without thinking about whether they are needed or if there is a way of adopting a more narrow and tailored approach Perhaps I may add to that by giving Ministers some legal advice. It is not simply this House that is not prepared to accept such clauses. We are arriving at the point where the courts are not prepared to accept them and are showing every sign that they will give them the narrowest possible interpretation because, as a matter of constitutional principle, they are objectionable. I draw to Ministers’ attention the judgment of the Supreme Court with the noble and learned Lord, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, presiding. He gave the judgment last year in the Public Law Project case. The noble and learned Lord quoted with approval what had been said by Lord Donaldson, who was then the Master of the Rolls, in a case in 1989; this is not a new problem. I shall quote from paragraph 27 of the judgment: "‘Whether subject to the negative or affirmative resolution procedure, [subordinate legislation] is subject to much briefer, if any, examination by Parliament and cannot be amended. The duty of the courts being to give effect to the will of Parliament, it is, in my judgment, legitimate to take account of the fact that a delegation to the Executive of power to modify primary legislation must be an exceptional course and that, if there is any doubt about the scope of the power conferred upon the Executive or upon whether it has been exercised, it should be resolved by a restrictive approach’" Ministers should be in no doubt whatever that the courts recognise that clauses such as this are constitutionally objectionable and that they will do everything they can to ensure that any exercise of such a power is subjected to the most rigorous scrutiny in the courts. If Ministers do not accept that and respect it, they will find that exercises of these powers will be struck down by the courts I agree entirely with the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, that this House is indicating its willingness to look closely at such clauses. Ministers should think very carefully indeed, in relation to further legislation, whether it really is appropriate and necessary to include them in the Bill.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Igor Judge (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I had not intended to speak again—your Lordships have been patient with me already—but there is a slight problem. Someone in the Minister’s office must have had a Homeric nod, because Clause 43 makes the express provision that regulations under subsection (1) may not make provisions that create new criminal offences. That was consequent on the vote in the House last week. Unfortunately, criminal offences remain in Schedule 2. Regulations under Section 43, in paragraphs 18 and 19, provide for the creation of criminal offences. Something has gone wrong and I look forward to the Minister telling the House how he proposes to deal with it A similar point arises in connection with Clause 17. The original clause made provision for the creation of criminal offences punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment. That proposal was defeated in this House and does not appear in Clause 17, which is the former Clause 16. However, in Clause 17(6) there is a provision that: "Regulations may provide that a particular offence which is … created by virtue of this section" There is no such power, so I wonder whether the Homeric nod extended to both parts of the Bill.
Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-24
Topic: Law and Crime
Dafydd Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, I am sympathetic to and fully support the sentiments tendered by the two noble Lords who have spoken. During the years I spent as a judge, I often came to the conclusion that violence could eat like acid into the mentality and the heart of a lawful society. What we often forget is that although we are horrified by the idea of violence taking place in the open street—fights with knives, bicycle chains and so on—so much of it takes place behind the closed door of the ordinary home. That is why we should concentrate as much as we possibly can on this aspect There is often a cavalier attitude on the part of police officers, although only among a minority, and in local government. I came across the phrase, "It’s a domestic matter", as if it were somehow or other beyond the pale of respectability and therefore not to be taken all that seriously. The fact that it is often a one-to-one situation and that no third or fourth party is present does not mean that it ends there. If we think about it, the vast majority of rape cases are one-to-one situations. If we were to demand that there should be a third or fourth party present, most rape prosecutions would never get off the ground at all. You have to do the best you can by sifting and analysing the evidence on the basis of a one-to-one situation. Of course sometimes there will be corroborative evidence by way of injury or something of that nature, but there is nothing inherently wrong in a one-to-one situation where you have to decide whether a serious charge being made by one person is in fact true in the circumstances. If I speak the obvious, I apologise for that, but more often than not worthy complaints are dismissed in this way There is a fundamental reluctance in the weaker party, who inevitably in most cases is the woman, to take the matter further. Sometimes that is out of consideration of the children and sometimes due to the fact that she wants to remain in the home. It can be because of her total economic dependence on the man. In many cases, the odds are stacked against her and therefore anything that can be done to ease her path to a just and proper settlement is very much to be commended.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-15
Topic: International Affairs
David Pannick (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, Amendment 1, which is in my name and that of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and the noble Lord, Lord Collins of Highbury, is provoked by the very wide discretion which Clause 1 confers on Ministers to make regulations when they think it "appropriate" to do so for defined purposes. It seeks to impose a degree of rigour and control by substituting a test of "reasonable need" I am very pleased that the Minister has tabled his own Amendment 9, to which I have added my name. That amendment recognises that apart from those cases where the United Kingdom has a UN or other international obligation, the Minister can make regulations only where he considers there are good reasons to do so and that the imposition of sanctions is a reasonable course of action to take. Amendment 9 would also require the Minister to lay a report before Parliament explaining his reasoning when making the regulations. I am satisfied that this will impose a real discipline on the Minister, backed up of course by the prospect of judicial review, for which I was delighted to see over the weekend that the Government have a new enthusiasm The distinction between the requirements in Amendment 9 and a test of reasonable need is more theoretical than practical. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, and I have had a number of productive meetings with the Minister and the Bill team since Committee on this and other issues. I thank them for their patience, courtesy and flexibility in responding to the issues that we raised in Committee and that are the subject of amendments today and on Wednesday This group includes Amendment 3 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Collins of Highbury, to which I have added my name. It identifies further purposes for which sanctions regulations may be made, particularly—and I think importantly—to promote respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good governance. I hope the Minister can be persuaded by the noble Lord, Lord Collins, to accept Amendment 3. There is a reasonable need for it, or at the very least it is appropriate to include that provision in the Bill, if only for its symbolic value that these admirable goals should be recognised in the Bill. To do so would of course not commit Ministers to making any regulations; it would simply give them the power to do so. I look forward to hearing the noble Lord, Lord Collins, explaining the case for Amendment 3. If he decides to test the opinion of the House, he will have my support. I beg to move.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-15
Topic: Law and Crime
David Pannick (Crossbench, Unknown): My Lords, Amendment 10 is in my name and those of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, and the noble Baroness, Lady Northover. The amendments in this group are concerned with the powers that the Bill confers for the Minister to make sanctions regulations relating to a person connected to a specified country or to make sanctions regulations that allow for designation of a person by description rather than identification I am persuaded by the points made by the Minister in meetings and correspondence on the need to have a power to designate by connection with a specified country. I am sure the Minister will want to say more about that when he replies to this short debate. Designation by description is a more troubling issue. The concern is that if designation is by description, banks and others who have to comply with the designation will find it difficult to identify who is covered by it. Obviously designation by membership of al-Qaeda would be problematic since you cannot find a membership list published on the internet. The concern is that, when persons are designated by description, banks and other institutions will inevitably adopt a cautious approach. Those who then find that their funds are frozen will have great difficulty securing legal redress because the banks and other institutions have, in general, no contractual obligation to maintain a relationship with a client or potential client. That is the problem Again, I am most grateful to the Minister and the Bill team because they have responded positively to this concern. Government Amendment 34, to which I have added my name, confines the power to designate by description to those cases where the description is such that "a reasonable person" would know whether a particular individual falls within the description, and that, "at the time the description is specified, it is not practicable for the Minister to identify and designate by name all the persons falling within the description at that time" That government amendment meets my concerns. I am grateful to the Minister and the Bill team for considering this difficult problem and responding so positively I find it very difficult to envisage that there will be many circumstances, if any, where it is not practicable for the Minister to designate by name and a reasonable person would know from the designation by description whether a particular person fell within it. It seems there will be very few cases where designation by description can occur, but I am very content with the government amendment. Therefore, I beg to move.
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill [HL] — House of Lords, 2018-01-15
Topic: Government Operations
David Pannick (Crossbench, Unknown): I am very grateful to the Minister, who has shown exemplary constructive engagement throughout discussions on the Bill. I am sure all parts of the House are very grateful to him and the Bill team for that Amendments restricting Ministers’ powers to designate by description are far from technical, and I simply point out one matter in response to the Minister. I think he suggested that, in relation to government Amendment 34, the issue would be whether the individual himself or herself would be able to identify from the description whether they were covered. In fact, government Amendment 34 goes a lot further than that, because the test under it is whether, from the description, a reasonable person would know whether the individual falls within the description. That is the test. But I am very grateful to the Minister and beg leave to withdraw Amendment 10.
Carillion — House of Lords, 2018-01-15
Topic: Labor
Dafydd Elystan-Morgan (Crossbench, Unknown): On the issue of pensions, is it not the case that the statutory body that will be reimbursing loss will do so not to the tune of 90% but 85%? If I am wrong in that, I am very happy to be corrected. However, in any event, and whatever the figure, do the Government accept a moral responsibility in this matter to ameliorate so far as they possibly can the loss that many people will feel in respect of quite modest pensions?