The deceased was an off-duty naval airman. The claim was based upon the alleged negligent failure of the defendant to enforce disciplinary regulations against drunkenness so as to protect the deceased against his own known proclivity for alcohol abuse. Held: The Ministry of Defence has no duty to prevent a forces member from the abuse … Continue reading Barrett v Ministry of Defence: CA 3 Jan 1995
Citations: [2008] EWHC 2833 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Health Professions Updated: 22 November 2022; Ref: scu.278423
The claimants were residents of old people’s homes run by the council and maintained under s21 of the 1948 Act. They objected to the transfer of the homes into the private sector saying that it would infringe their rights to family life, and that the protection afforded to them would be reduced. Held: The claimants … Continue reading Johnson and others v London Borough of Havering and others: CA 30 Jan 2007
The defendant had appealed his conviction for murder to the Court of Appeal. The 1968 Act required the court to consider whether the conviction was unsafe. New evidence was before the Court of Appeal, but they had rejected the appeal. Held: The Court of Appeal should reach its own view based on the unadorned words … Continue reading Regina v Pendleton: HL 13 Dec 2001
W, a registered medical practitioner, appealed by way of case stated against the decision that he had carried on an independent hospital without being registered in respect of it under Part II of the Care Standards Act 2000, contrary to section 11 (1) of that Act. Judges: Cox DBE J Citations: [2012] EWHC 1816 (Admin) … Continue reading Waghorn v Care Quality Commission: Admn 11 Jul 2012
The Secretary of State sought a disqualification order. The director argued that one shoul not be made in the absence of some breach of legal duty, some dishonesty should be shown. Held: The answer was a mixture of fact and law. A breach of duty alone was neither necessary nor sufficient. Unfitness by reason of … Continue reading The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Goldberg, Mcavoy: ChD 26 Nov 2003
Four articles in the People all covered the same story about Esther Rantzen’s organisation, Childline, suggesting that the plaintiff had protected a teacher who had revealed to Childline abuses of children occurring at a school where he taught, by keeping secret that he himself was a pervert, unfit to have any child in his care. … Continue reading Rantzen v Mirror Group Newspapers (1986) Ltd and Others: CA 1 Apr 1993
The claimants were residents of care homes. The homes were owned by charitable companies providing housing and support for persons with mental disorders. The company’s had altered the agreements so that the claimants became assured tenants. The claimants appealed the refusal of the respondents to de-register the homes. Held: The appeals were dismissed. The crucial … Continue reading Moore and others v Care Standards Tribunal and Another: CA 24 May 2005
Citations: [2010] UKFTT 641 (HESC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 68 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Health Professions Updated: 29 August 2022; Ref: scu.427837
Schedule 6: Social workers/social care workers Category Cancellation of registration Citations: [2009] UKFTT 23 (HESC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 68 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Health Professions Updated: 26 August 2022; Ref: scu.373556
The defendant had developed a draft standard for automotive body repairs. It included a requirement that any replacement parts must be either the manufacturer’s own or certified under a recognised conformity certification scheme. The claimant imported so-called ‘replica parts’ and said that the costs of such a scheme would be so disproportionate as to destroy … Continue reading Sel-Imperial Ltd v The British Standards Institution: ChD 23 Apr 2010
A school board employed staff to manage a residential school for vulnerable children. The staff committed sexual abuse of the children. The school denied vicarious liability for the acts of the teachers. Held: ‘Vicarious liability is legal responsibility imposed on an employer, although he is himself free from blame, for a tort committed by his … Continue reading Lister and Others v Hesley Hall Ltd: HL 3 May 2001
The appellant sought to restrict publication by the defendants in the Mail on Sunday of matters which he said were a breach of confidence. He had lied to a court in giving evidence, whilst at the same time being ready to trash the reputation of his opponent. The judge had refused to excise the details … Continue reading Lord Browne of Madingley v Associated Newspapers Ltd: CA 3 Apr 2007
A lower court was not bound to follow a decision of a higher court, where the decision at issue had been based, on the relevant point, on an unargued assumption about the law, which had in turn been pivotal to the decision of that higher court: ‘The ratio decidendi of a case is any rule … Continue reading Kadhim v Housing Benefit Board, London Borough of Brent: CA 20 Dec 2000
Citations: [2007] EWCST 1045(EA) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 Health Professions Updated: 14 July 2022; Ref: scu.266834
Judges: Davis J Citations: [2008] EWHC 49 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 Health Professions Updated: 13 July 2022; Ref: scu.263849
A company Managing Director had arranged for a dockside crane to be adapted, so that with the jaws of the grab bucket open bags could be attached to hooks fitted within the bucket. Jones was in the hold of a ship loading bags onto the hooks when the jaws of the bucket closed and he … Continue reading Regina v Director of Public Prosecutions, ex parte Jones: CA 2000
The appellant had contracted to purchase maintenance from the defendant of aircraft it had also purchased from them. They sought damages for negligence, saying the defendants had failed to prevent a known risk of corrosion. The defendants argued that its contract excluded liability, and under the Act, that clause was not subjected to a test … Continue reading Amiri Flight Authority v BAE Systems Plc: CA 17 Oct 2003
The claimants sought damages for defamation and breach of contract. The claimants had purchased a business from the defendant, which contract included a clause requiring the defendant to say nothing damaging about the business. The defendant asserted qualified privilege. The defendant was alleged to have told suppliers, by means of anonymous letters, that they were … Continue reading Downtex v Flatley: CA 2 Oct 2003
The court heard a care application in which the baby had sustained skull, brain and other injuries alleged to be at the hands of her parents. Held: The standard of proof was the civil standard of the balance of probabilities and directed himself according to the principles in re H. ‘Although the result is much … Continue reading Re ET (Serious Injuries: Standard of Proof): FD 2003
An employment tribunal had no power to dismiss a claim as without a reasonable prospect of success before it was begun to be heard. The power to regulate its own hearings did not include such a power, and the power to dismiss a claim as frivolous or vexatious, or for failure to comply with directions … Continue reading Care First Partnership Ltd v Roffey and Others: CA 22 Nov 2000
The court considered the factors which the court should take into account when carrying out the balancing process with regard to the defence of qualified privilege because of the public interest: ‘Some factors relate to the quality, status and importance of the material. Others relate to the conduct and decisions of the publisher or journalist … Continue reading Saad Al-Fagih v HH Saudi Research and Marketing (UK) Ltd: QBD 28 Jul 2000
The councillor appealed an adjudication that he had failed adequately to declare an interest at a meeting of the council. The officer thought the duty to withdraw was entirely objective, the applicant that it was a matter for his honest judgment. At one meeting, he had declared an interest, but failed to withdraw, and at … Continue reading Scrivens v Ethical Standards Officer: Admn 11 Apr 2005
(New Zealand) The claimants sought damages. The water authority had put in the water supply herbicides which damaged the crops they sought to grow, and which were watered from the supply. The plants were particularly sensitive to such chemicals. Held: Dismissing the company’s appeal, the water supplier had a general duty to supply water to … Continue reading Hamilton v Papakura District Council and Watercare Services Ltd: PC 28 Feb 2002
The plaintiffs each complained of negligent decisions in his or her education made by the defendant local authorities. In three of them the Court of Appeal had struck out the plaintiff’s claim and in only one had it been allowed to proceed. Held: The House unanimously dismissed the local authority’s appeal in that last case … Continue reading Phelps v Hillingdon London Borough Council; Anderton v Clwyd County Council; Gower v Bromley London Borough Council; Jarvis v Hampshire County Council: HL 28 Jul 2000
[2009] UKFTT 4 (HESC) Bailii Care Standards Act 2000 England and Wales Health Professions Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.311992
The defendant appealed the making of a sex offender order under 1998 Act. The justices had found that the defendant was a sex offender within section 2(1)(a) and that he had acted on a number of occasions in a way which brought him within section 2(1)(b). Held: The civil standard of proof is flexible and … Continue reading B v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary: QBD 5 Apr 2000
Non-resident parents in each case appealed against suspended orders of imprisonment for non-payment of child support. They argued that the procedures used were indistinguishable from those held to be human rights non-compliant in Mubarak. Held: The Commission had not taken all alternative enforcement steps first as required by the Act, and accordingly it was ot … Continue reading Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission v Gibbons; Same v Karoonian: CA 30 Oct 2012
The claimant was seriously injured in a professional boxing match governed by rules established by the defendant’s rules. Ringside medical facilities were available, but did not provide immediate resuscitation. By the time he received resuscitation in hospital he had sustained permanent brain damage which such treatment would have prevented. Held: A body which had responsibility … Continue reading Michael Alexander Watson v British Boxing Board of Control Ltd, World Boxing Organisation Incorporated: CA 19 Dec 2000
The couple going through the divorce each had substantial farms and wished to continue farming. It had been a long marriage. Held: Where a division of the assets of a family would satisfy the reasonable needs of either party on an ancillary relief application on a divorce, the court should include consideration of why any … Continue reading White v White: HL 26 Oct 2000
The section in the 1985 Act created a power to prevent rent increases for tenancies of dwelling-houses for purposes including the alleviation of perceived hardship. Accordingly the Secretary of State could issue regulations whose effect was to limit the maximum amount of rent in the proper exercise of that discretionary power. The Act as a … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Environment Transport and the Regions and another, ex parte Spath Holme Limited: HL 7 Dec 2000
A child was found to have bruising consistent with physical abuse. Either or both parents might have caused it, but the judge felt it likely that only one had, that he was unable to decide which, and that they were not so serious that he had to say that the other must have known. Held: … Continue reading In re S-B (Children) (Care proceedings: Standard of proof): SC 14 Dec 2009
The first two claimants sold exclusive rights to photograph their wedding to the third claimant. A paparrazzi infiltrated the wedding and then sold his unauthorised photographs to the defendants, who now appealed injunctions restraining them from publishing them. Held: Interlocutory injunctions restraining publication of the unauthorised photographs were lifted. A right of privacy could be … Continue reading Douglas, Zeta Jones, Northern and Shell Plc v Hello! Limited (No 1): CA 21 Dec 2000
A mandatory lifer is to be permitted to suggest the period of actual sentence to be served. The Home Secretary must give reasons for refusing a lifer’s release. What fairness requires in any particular case is ‘essentially an intuitive judgment’, changes over time, and the requirements are flexible and closely conditioned by the legal and … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Doody and Others: HL 25 Jun 1993
1267 – 1278 – 1285 – 1297 – 1361 – 1449 – 1491 – 1533 – 1677 – 1688 – 1689 – 1700 – 1706 – 1710 – 1730 – 1737 – 1738 – 1751 – 1774 – 1792 – 1793 – 1804 – 1814 – 1819 – 1824 – 1828 – 1831 – 1832 … Continue reading Acts
The claimant, aged 69 suffered from cerebral palsy. The council had provided his care but he said they had represented to him that care would be provided in a new facility, and claimed a legitimate expectation. The defendant said that its changed assessment of his needs meant that no representation could be expected to continue. … Continue reading Lindley, Regina (on the Application of) v Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council: Admn 21 Sep 2006
The applicant had failed in appeals against conviction and sentence for offences of fraud and forgery before the Belgian Cour de Cassation. He complained that he had not enjoyed the right to a fair trial recognised by Article 6(1) of the Convention because a member of the Procureur general’s department, which was attached to the … Continue reading Delcourt v Belgium: ECHR 17 Jan 1970
The appellant had been convicted of causing death by careless driving with excess alcohol. He said that he had taken alcohol after stopping driving but before being tested. He challenged the weight of the burden of proof ascribed by the statute. The judge had directed the jury that he faced a persuasive burden of establishing … Continue reading Drummond v Regina: CACD 7 Mar 2002
Where it was proposed to provisionally list care workers as been prevented from undertaking work with vulnerable adults or children, that worker should be given opportunity to make representations first. Provisional listing did engage article 6, but that a breach could be avoided by giving the care worker a right to make representations before being … Continue reading Wright and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Health and Another: CA 24 Oct 2007
Schedule 6: Social workers/social care workers – Interim suspension of registration Citations: [2011] UKFTT 158 (HESC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 Health Professions Updated: 14 November 2022; Ref: scu.471833
The claimants challenged the policy issued by the DPP on assisted suicide following the Nicklinson case. Held: The request for judicial review was refused. Sir Brian Leveson P said: ‘It is important not to misunderstand the effect either of the policy or the impact of the amendment to the policy introduced by the DPP. The … Continue reading Kenward and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v The Director of Public Prosecutions and Another: Admn 4 Dec 2015
Supreme Court of Canada Appellant testified at his trial for drug trafficking and, at the close of his defence, brought an application for a stay of proceedings on the basis of entrapment. His testimony indicated that he had persistently refused the approaches of a police informer over the course of six months, and that he … Continue reading Regina v Mack: 15 Dec 1988
The applicant challenged the terms of a non-derogating control order. It was anticipated that unless prevented, he would fight against UK forces in Iraq. Held: The section allowed the Secretary of State to impose any necessary conditions, but subject to a system of supervision by the courts. The parties now disputed whether the Act gave … Continue reading MB, Re, Secretary of State for the Home Department v MB: Admn 12 Apr 2006
The claimant sought to restrain publication by the defendant of a book recounting very personal events in her life. She claimed privacy and a right of confidence. The defendant argued that there was a public interest in the disclosures. Held: Documents showed a readiness in the defendant to seek to manipulate the claimant through threats … Continue reading McKennitt and others v Ash and Another: QBD 21 Dec 2005
The local authority sought to terminate parental contact with a child taken into care under a wardship. Held: The court had to consider the human rights of the parent as against the welfare interest of the child. Lord Oliver of Aylmerton said: ‘My Lords I do not, for my part, discern any conflict between the … Continue reading In Re KD (A Minor) (Ward: Termination of Access): HL 1988
Appeal under Section 86 (1) of the Care Standards Act 2000 against her inclusion on the list kept by the Secretary of State under Section 81 of the Care Standards Act 2000 of individuals who are considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults, the ‘POVA’ list. Citations: [2006] EWCST 636(PVA) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards … Continue reading Pain v Secretary of State: CST 1 Jun 2007
Citations: [2008] UKFTT 1 (HESC) Links: Bailii Statutes: Care Standards Act 2000 81 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Health Professions Updated: 10 July 2022; Ref: scu.311987
The claimant said that his continued detention after the custody time limits had expired was an infringement of his human rights. He faced continued detention having been refused bail because of his arrest on a grave charge, having a previous conviction for another grave offence. Held: The appeal was dismissed. Insofar as the the word … Continue reading O v Crown Court at Harrow: HL 26 Jul 2006
Complaint was made that the decision of a planning committee had been biased because of the presence on the committee of two freemasons, and where the interests of another Lodge were affected. Held: The freemasonry interests had been declared. A possibility of bias might be seen, but a fair minded and informed observer having regard … Continue reading Port Regis School Ltd, Regina (on the Application of) v Gillingham and Shaftesbury Agricultural Society: Admn 5 Apr 2006
Each applicant sought judicial review of the refusal of the tribunal to authorise their release from detention under the 1983 Act, saying that the Tribunal had accepted evidence to a lower standard of proof. Held: Neither the criminal standard of proof nor the level of proof set down in Addington applied. To raise the standard … Continue reading Regina (DJ) v Mental Health Review Tribunal; Regina (AN) v Mental Health Review Tribunal (Northern Region): Admn 11 Apr 2005
The care worker’s appeal failed. The system for disciplining care workers and placing them on lists was required to be human rights compliant. Lord Justice May said: ‘There is an obvious and unchallenged public interest in having an appropriate system for protecting vulnerable adults and children from the risk of harm from unsuitable carers. It … Continue reading Regina (Wright) v Secretary of State for Health: CA 2 Jan 2008
The applicant, a suspected Mafioso, had been detained in custody pending his trial. At the end of the maximum period of detention pending trial, he had been taken to an island where, he complained, he was unable to work, keep his family permanently with him, practise the Catholic religion or ensure his son’s education. Held: … Continue reading Guzzardi v Italy: ECHR 6 Nov 1980
(Medical Act 1983) Dr Roylance was the chief executive of a hospital in which there had been excessive mortality rates of children who underwent cardiac surgery and had failed to take steps to deal with the problem. Held: A doctor who carried out purely administrative functions within a hospital still had a doctor’s duties and … Continue reading Roylance v The General Medical Council (No 2): PC 24 Mar 1999
The defendant having provided sufficient evidence of his means, a court awarding prosecution costs, where the other penalty is a fine, should not allow these to be completely disproportionate to the fine. Where a defendant failed to provide sufficient information the justices were entitled to draw reasonable inferences about what they might be. Costs orders … Continue reading Regina v Northallerton Magistrates, ex parte Dove: QBD 17 Jun 1999
An employee did not return to work after a presentation to him of a good service award, because he had drunk alcohol. A new policy required staff not to return to work after consuming alcohol, but had also said that alcohol would not be provided. Held: The tribunal had failed to look properly at how … Continue reading Haddon v Van Den Bergh Foods Ltd: EAT 10 Nov 1999
The court considered the questions arising from the use of information acquired by an employee during his employment after that employment had ended, and noted that information the future use of which will not be restrained is information not readily separable in the mind of the employee from other information which he is free to … Continue reading Printers and Finishers Limited v Holloway: 1965
The court was asked whether in a complaint under the Act, conduct before the Act could be considered. Held: The Tribunal could rely on misconduct which had taken place, or the relevant provider’s opinion had been formed, before the commencement of the Act. Stanley Burnton J said: ‘If the 2000 Act operates unfairly, the court … Continue reading Regina (Wright) v Secretary of State for Health: QBD 2008
Limitation of Loss from Negligent Mis-statement The plaintiffs sought damages from accountants for negligence. They had acquired shares in a target company and, relying upon the published and audited accounts which overstated the company’s earnings, they purchased further shares. Held: The duties of an auditor are founded in contract and the extent of the duties … Continue reading Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman and others: HL 8 Feb 1990
The respondent’s child lived with the estranged father for most of each week. She was obliged to contribute child support. She now lived with a woman, and complained that because her relationship was homosexual, she had been asked to pay more than someone in a heterosexual relationship. Held: The claim failed. The regulations had now … Continue reading Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M: HL 8 Mar 2006
[2009] UKFTT 3 (HESC) Bailii Care Standards Act 2000 81 Health Professions Updated: 22 January 2022; Ref: scu.311991
The appellant was detained under section 37 of the 1983 Act as a mental patient with a restriction under section 41. He sought his release. Held: The standard of proof in such applications remained the balance of probabilities, but that standard was flexible, and varied according to the seriousness of the allegation. The only misdirection … Continue reading AN, Regina (on the Application of) v Mental Health Review Tribunal (Northern Region) and others: CA 21 Dec 2005
The appellant care worker fell in snow when visiting the respondent’s client at home. At issue was the admission and status of expert or skilled evidence. Held: Mrs Kennedy’s appeal succeeded. ‘There are in our view four considerations which govern the admissibility of skilled evidence: (i) whether the proposed skilled evidence will assist the court … Continue reading Kennedy v Cordia (Services) Llp: SC 10 Feb 2016
The court was asked whether proceedings in a military court against soldiers for disciplinary offences involved criminal charges within the meaning of Article 6(1): ‘In this connection, it is first necessary to know whether the provision(s) defining the offence charged belong, according to the legal system of the respondent State, to criminal law, disciplinary law … Continue reading Engel And Others v The Netherlands (1): ECHR 8 Jun 1976
The court was asked: ‘Does the Court of Protection have power to make an order which authorises that a person who is not a child (ie who has attained the age of 18) may be deprived of his liberty in premises which are a children’s home as defined in section 1(2) of the Care Standards … Continue reading Liverpool City Council v SG and Others: CoP 18 Jun 2014
Tenants of council flats with ineffective sound insulation argued that the landlord council was in breach of the covenant for quiet enjoyment in their tenancy agreements. Held: A landlord’s duty to allow quiet enjoyment does not extend to a positive duty to require an improvement in the sound-proofing of a building, well beyond standards which … Continue reading Southwark London Borough Council v Mills/Tanner; Baxter v Camden London Borough Council: HL 21 Oct 1999
The court was asked whether the decision of the Visitors to the Inns of Court dismissing Mr McCarthy’s appeal from the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal should be quashed with a view to the underlying matter being remitted to the Tribunal. The Tribunal disbarred Mr McCarthy following a finding that after a dispute had arisen he had … Continue reading McCarthy, Regina (on The Application of) v The Visitors To The Inns of Court and Another: CA 20 Jan 2015
Unreasonable Behaviour must reach criteria W appealed against the judge’s refusal to grant a decree of divorce. He found that the marriage had broken down irretrievably, but did not find that H had behaved iin such a way that she could not reasonably be expected to live with H. Held: W’s appeal failed. ‘What the … Continue reading Owens v Owens: CA 24 Mar 2017
Discrimination – History of interactions relevant When a tribunal considered whether the motive for an act was discriminatory, it should look not just at the act, but should make allowance for earlier acts which might throw more light on the act in question. The Tribunal should assess the totality of the evidence on any material … Continue reading Dr Anya v University of Oxford and Another: CA 22 Mar 2001
The prosecutor had lead and relied at trial on evidence obtained by compulsory questioning under the 1986 Act. Held: In doing so the prosecutor was acting to give effect to section 433. The decision in Lambert to disallow retrospective effect of Human Rights decisions in appeal cases may have been incorrect, but will be followed. … Continue reading Regina v Kansal (2): HL 29 Nov 2001
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy. Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law because it is the antithesis of fairness. It brings the law … Continue reading Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza: HL 21 Jun 2004
The applicants had been made subject of anti-social behaviour orders. They challenged the basis upon which the orders had been made. Held: The orders had no identifiable consequences which would make the process a criminal one. Civil standards of evidence therefore applied, and hearsay evidence was admissible. Nevertheless, the test as to whether it was … Continue reading Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others: HL 17 Oct 2002
The claimant appealed against the denial of her claim that the defendant had infringed her right to respect for her private life. She was a model who had proclaimed publicly that she did not take drugs, but the defendant had published a story showing a picture of her leaving a drug addiction clinic, along with … Continue reading Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd (MGN) (No 1): HL 6 May 2004
The authority sought orders to prevent the respondent children travelling to countries controlled by the ISIS groups. The parents being unlikely to be effective to restrain them, the court had made them wards of court. Held: ‘the status of a Ward of the High Court of England and Wales has achieved international recognition. For this … Continue reading Tower Hamlets v M and Others: FD 27 Mar 2015
The appellants were teachers in Christian schools who said that the blanket ban on corporal punishment interfered with their religious freedom. They saw moderate physical discipline as an essential part of educating children in a Christian manner. Held: The appeal was dismissed. For Article 9 to be engaged (aside from certain other threshold conditions) the … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for Education and Employment and others ex parte Williamson and others: HL 24 Feb 2005
Conditions for new evidence on appeal At the trial, the wife of the appellant’s opponent said she had forgotten certain events. After the trial she began divorce proceedings, and informed the appellant that she now remembered. He sought either to appeal admitting fresh evidence, or for a retrial. Held: The Court of Appeal refused to … Continue reading Ladd v Marshall: CA 29 Nov 1954
The deceased had committed suicide on escaping from a mental hospital. The Trust appealed against a refusal to strike out the claim that that they had been negligent in having inadequate security. Held: The Trust’s appeal failed. The fact that she was detained for her own protection rather than to protect others required different standards … Continue reading Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MIND intervening): HL 10 Dec 2008
The Sentence Review Commissioners had decided not to order the release of the prisoner, who was serving a life sentence. He had been released on licence from a life sentence and then committed further serious sexual offences against under-age girls and was recalled. In considering his application for a further licence he complained that the … Continue reading In re D; Doherty, Re (Northern Ireland); Life Sentence Review Commissioners v D: HL 11 Jun 2008
Will Drafter liable in Negligence to Beneficiary A solicitor drawing a will may be liable in negligence to a potential beneficiary, having unduly delayed in the drawing of the will. The Hedley Byrne principle was ‘founded upon an assumption of responsibility.’ Obligations may occasionally arise outside the terms of the retainer or where there is … Continue reading White and Another v Jones and Another: HL 16 Feb 1995
The BMA sought to challenge the validity of the rules governing the procedure of Fitness to Practice panels. In particular the BMA challenged the new absence of a requirement that the panel’s legal advice and assistance be available to the parties. Held: The claim failed: ‘I am wholly unconvinced that a legally qualified chair has … Continue reading The British Medical Association, Regina (on the Application of) v The General Medical Council and Another: Admn 4 May 2016
The claimants complained of their segregation while in prison. Several preliminary questions were to be decided: whether damages might be payable for breach of a Convention Right; wheher the act of a prison governor was the act of the executive; whether time ran from the date of the first breach, whether want of proportionality is … Continue reading Somerville v Scottish Ministers: HL 24 Oct 2007
When a licence is really a tenancy The document signed by the occupier stated that she understood that she had been given a licence, and that she understood that she had not been granted a tenancy protected under the Rent Acts. Exclusive occupation was in fact granted. Held: This was a tenancy not a licence. … Continue reading Street v Mountford: HL 6 Mar 1985
Reasobaleness of Investigation Judged Objectively The employer appealed against a decision that it had unfairly dismissed the respondent. The majority of the Employment Tribunal had decided that the employers had not carried out a reasonable investigation into the employee’s alleged misconduct which consisted of stealing an article found in his locker at work, because other … Continue reading J Sainsbury Ltd v Hitt; Orse Sainsburys Supermarkets Limited v Hitt: CA 18 Oct 2002
Rejection of Submission of No Case to Answer The defendant had faced a charge of affray. The court having rejected his submission of having no case to answer, he had made an exculpatory statement from the dock. He appealed against his conviction. Held: Lord Lane LCJ said: ‘How then should the judge approach a submission … Continue reading Regina v Galbraith: CCA 1981
The claimant worked as a residential social worker. Allegations were made against him of inappropriate behaviour with a child. The girl’s allegations varied. A criminal investigation took place but insufficient evidence was found. The investigation took over two years during which time the claimant was prevented from speaking to anybody at the home, and therefore … Continue reading A v B: EAT 14 Nov 2002
B had been dismissed for allegedly being involved with a number of other employees in acts of dishonesty relating to staff purchases. She had denied the abuse. The tribunal had found the dismissal unfair in the methods used to decide to dismiss her. Held: The company’s appeal was allowed. The store had reasonable grounds for … Continue reading British Home Stores Ltd v Burchell: EAT 1978
The defendant appealed against her conviction for assaulting a police constable in the execution of his duty. He had sought to caution her with regard to activity as a prostitute. The 1959 Act gave no power to detain, but he took hold of her. She resisted, and injured him. Held: There was no arrest, and … Continue reading Collins v Wilcock: QBD 1984
In each case, the other parent appealed care orders where she had been found to have injured her children. In each case the sole evidence was the injury to the child’s health and expert medical evidence. The cases were referred following the Cannings case. Held: The appeals failed. It was wrong to diminish the difference … Continue reading In re LU (A Child); In re LB (A Child) (Serious Injury: Standard of Proof); re U (A Child) (Department for Education and Skills intervening): CA 14 May 2004
The directors appealed against disqualification orders made against them under the 1986 Act. Their company had become insolvent, owing substantial arrears of PAYE and NI contributions. The revenue had said that they had paid other creditors first. Held: When considering appeals to avoid disqualification, a court would be better guided by the use of the … Continue reading Cathie and Another v Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills: CA 1 Jun 2012
The student, a Muslim wished to wear a full Islamic dress, the jilbab, but this was not consistent with the school’s uniform policy. She complained that this interfered with her right to express her religion. Held: The school’s appeal succeeded. The school had acted responsibly and carefully seeking to balance and respect several interests when … Continue reading Begum (otherwise SB), Regina (on the Application of) v Denbigh High School: HL 22 Mar 2006
A newspaper company appealed against an order preventing it naming a footballer who, they claimed, had been unfaithful to his wife. Held: There remains a distinction between the right of privacy which attaches to sexual activities within and outside a marriage. An order restricting the freedom of the press requires positive and clear justification. The … Continue reading A v B plc and Another (Flitcroft v MGN Ltd): CA 11 Mar 2002
Posthumous Appeal – Clear Purpose and Care Needed An appeal was presented against the conviction for a murder many years earlier. The prosecution sought to introduce DNA evidence to support its case. The appellant party objected. Held: The purpose of the appeal was to achieve justice, and fresh evidence could be presented by the prosecution, … Continue reading Regina v James Hanratty (Deceased): CACD 10 May 2002
A judgment summons, issued was issued by the wife to enforce a lump sum order made against her husband in their divorce proceedings. The judge had performed his statutory duty which included having to satisfy himself under s. 25 of the 1973 Act of the income, earning capacity, property and other financial resources of the … Continue reading Mubarak v Mubarak: CA 2001
The claimants had been provisionally listed as ‘people considered unsuitable to work with vulnerable adults’ which meant that they could no longer work, but they said they were given no effective and speedy opportunity to object to the listing. Typically the process took many months. Held: The procedure asked only if the employer reasonably considered … Continue reading Wright and Others, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Health and Another: HL 21 Jan 2009
Need for Advocate’s Immunity from Negligence The appellant had obtained the services of the respondent barrister to defend him on a dock brief, and alleged that the respondent had been negligent in the conduct of his defence. Held: The House considered the immunity from suit of barristers acting in court. An advocate should remain immune … Continue reading Rondel v Worsley: HL 1967
Evidence allowed – Care Application after Abuse Children had made allegations of serious sexual abuse against their step-father. He was acquitted at trial, but the local authority went ahead with care proceedings. The parents appealed against a finding that a likely risk to the children had still been been found. Held: A care order could … Continue reading In re H and R (Minors) (Child Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof): HL 14 Dec 1995
Oral Agreement Creating Proprietory Estoppel The defendant offered to give to the Plaintiff, a builder, the ground floor of a property in return for converting the house, and then managing it. They were friends, and the oral offer was accepted. The property was then actually bought in the name of the first defendant, the second … Continue reading Yaxley v Gotts and Another: CA 24 Jun 1999
The claimant appealed against a decision of the Care Standards Tribunal regarding misconduct, and being placed on the list to prevent her working with vulnerable adults. She was said to have fallen asleep while on night duty. The court considered . .
The court was asked as to the fiduciary obligations owed by members of the board of a limited liability company.
Held: Sales J said that: ‘there is nothing in the Act to qualify the usual fiduciary obligations which an agent owes his principal . .
The various applicants sought judicial review of the operation of the Protection of Vulnerable Adults List insofar as they had been placed provisionally on the list, preventing them from finding work. One complaint was that the list had operated . .
A solicitor had failed to register an option as a land charge over property. The court was asked what steps should have been taken by a solicitor in the conduct of a claim: ‘Mr Harman [leading counsel for the plaintiff] sought to rely upon the fact . .
