Tuesday, July 16

 Latvian Authorities Failed To Protect Journalistic Sources
In Chamber judgment in the case of Nagla v. Latvia (application no. 73469/10), which is not final, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:

A violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention onHuman Rights.

The case concerned the search by the police of a well-known broadcast journalist's home, and their seizure of data storage devices. Her home was searched following a broadcast she had aired in February 2010 informing the public of an information leak from the State Revenue Service database.

The Court emphasised that the right of journalist's not to disclose their sources could not be considered a privilege, dependent on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of their sources, but rather as an intrinsic part of the right to information that should be treated with the utmost caution. In this case the investigating authorities had failed to properly balance the interest of the investigation in securing evidence against the public interest in protecting the journalist's freedom of expression.

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Early Day Motion 414: Maximum Working Temperature
That this House notes that whilst there is a legal minimum workplace indoor temperature there is no legal maximum workplace temperature, so that conditions can vary greatly from employer to employer; further notes that whilst Regulation 7 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the associated Approved Code of Practice suggests that the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable, this guidance leaves considerable uncertainty as to the upper limit beyond which control measures must be in place; understands that employees in a wide range of workplaces - from industrial bakeries to school classrooms - are often subjected to high temperatures which can impact seriously on their health and well-being, with effects ranging from discomfort, stress, irritability and headaches, to extra strain on the heart and lungs, dizziness and fainting and heat cramps due to loss of water and salt; observes that the consequent reduction in cognitive function, attention span and visual motor tracking can contribute to workplace accidents and fatalities; commends the Trades Union Congress for passing a resolution in 2012 adopting a maximum working temperature as its official policy; and therefore urges the Government to resolve uncertainty for employers about their duty to combat excessive heat in the workplace by introducing a maximum working workplace temperature of 30C (86F) and of 27C (81F) for those doing strenuous work.

<>   House of Commons: 15.07.2013 - Sponsors: Riordan, Linda/ Anderson, David / Crausby, David / Engel, Natascha / Lavery, Ian / McDonnell, John

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