A husband had accidentally shot and killed his wife’s lover after threatening him with a shotgun. Held: The court confirmed the decision at first instance. He was not liable to be indemnified by his insurers for the losses claimed against him by the deceased’s estate as a result of the shooting. It is not every … Continue reading Gray v Barr: CA 1971
The Austrian District and Regional Real Property Transactions Commission refused to approve the sale of a number of plots of land. The applicant challenged the refusal alleging bias and contending that his article 6 rights were violated for that reason. The Austrian statute provided that the refusal of approval rendered the sale null and void. … Continue reading Ringeisen v Austria: ECHR 16 Jul 1971
There are limits as to what may be put to a witness by way of cross-examination as to credit. Lawton J said: ‘What, then, is the principle upon which the judge should draw the line? It seems to me that it is this. Since the purpose of cross-examination as to credit is to show that … Continue reading Regina v Sweet Escott: QBD 1971
Identification of Company’s Directing Mind In a prosecution under the 1968 Act, the court discussed how to identify the directing mind and will of a company, and whether employees remained liable when proper instructions had been given to those in charge of a local store. Held: ‘In the expression ‘act or default’ in section 23 … Continue reading Tesco Supermarkets Ltd v Nattrass: HL 31 Mar 1971
It is a defence in criminal law to a charge of assault if the defendant had an honest belief that he was going to be attacked and reacted with proportionate force: ‘If there has been an attack so that defence is reasonably necessary, it should be . .
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Citations: [2007] EWHC 2192 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 1(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 04 December 2022; Ref: scu.259842
The defendant got drunk and set fire to the hotel where he worked. Guests were present. He was indicted upon two counts of arson. He pleaded guilty to the 1(1) count but contested the 1(2) charge, saying he was so drunk that the thought there might be people never crossed his mind. Setting aside his … Continue reading Commissioner of Police v Caldwell: HL 19 Mar 1981
The defendants opposed the actions of DEFRA in trapping and then killing badgers. They were accused of criminal damage to the traps. They asserted a lawful excuse in seeking to release the badgers. While a wild animal was alive, there was no absolute property in that animal. There might however be, what was known as … Continue reading Cresswell and Another v Director Of Public Prosecutions: Admn 30 Nov 2006
Judges: Lord Justice Dyson Citations: [2002] EWCA Crim 1992 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 1(1) 1(3) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 20 November 2022; Ref: scu.175259
Citations: [2009] EWCA Crim 1441, [2010] 1 Cr App R (S) 55 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 03 November 2022; Ref: scu.425509
Attendance of fire brigade of itself aggravates arson. Citations: Times 09-Dec-1993 Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.88049
The defendant appealed against a sentence of six years imprisonment for arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He had set fire to his flat in a tower block. The neighbour was an elderly housebound lady. The offence was very serious, but nobody was hurt, and the sentence was out of line with … Continue reading Regina v Hawkins: CACD 22 Apr 1998
Video evidence of a child witness was correctly admitted in an arson trial because of the threat of injury. Citations: Times 28-Dec-1995 Statutes: Criminal Justice Act 1988 32, Criminal Damage Act 1971 12(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Evidence Updated: 08 October 2022; Ref: scu.87141
Damage done to protect one’s own child is not for the protection of property, and is no defence. Citations: Times 26-Nov-1996 Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 08 October 2022; Ref: scu.86086
Citations: [2011] EWCA Crim 1309 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 1(2) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 12 September 2022; Ref: scu.440337
The 15 year old defendant appealed his conviction on the basis of recklessness, challenging, unsuccessfully, the rule in Caldwell. Held: Because recklessness was to be judged by the standard of the reasonable prudent man, expert evidence of the defendant’s capacity to foresee the risks which would arise from his setting fire to hay in a … Continue reading Regina v Coles: CACD 1995
The defendants were children accused of arson being reckless as to the danger of damage. They were not entitled to require the jury to consider as a separate question whether the risk of damage was obvious other than to an ordinary adult. Held: The question at issue was substantial, as to the mens rea and … Continue reading Regina v G and R: CACD 17 Jul 2002
The defendant sought to sleep in a hollow in a haystack. He lit a fire, to keep warm, which set fire to the stack. He appealed against his conviction under the 1971 Act. He had a long history of schizophrenia and may not have had the same ability to foresee or appreciate risks as the … Continue reading Regina v Stephenson: CACD 1979
Citations: [2002] EWCA Crim 500, [2002] 2 Cr App R 158 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 2A Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 28 July 2022; Ref: scu.657492
The appellant had smashed a statue of Lady Thatcher on loan from the House of Commons to the Corporation of London Art Collection. He was charged with an offence under section 1 of the 1971 Act, providing: ‘A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another’ He argued that he … Continue reading Kelleher, Regina v: CACD 6 Nov 2008
Judges: Leveson LJ, Sweeney J Citations: [2009] EWHC 752 (Admin), [2009] 2 Cr App R 12, [2009] Crim LR 658 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Skipaway Ltd v The Environment Agency Admn 5-May-2006 The defendant appealed convictions for breaches of its waste management licence, in that … Continue reading M v Director Of Public Prosecutions: Admn 26 Feb 2009
The defendant was charged with criminal damage by setting fire to a building. It was owned by a company which in turn he owned. Held: There is nothing unlawful about destroying one’s own property Judges: Lord Lane LCJ, Mustill, McCullough JJ Citations: [1982] 1 All ER 65, [1981] 1 WLR 1446, [1981] EWCA Crim 4 … Continue reading Regina v Denton: CACD 22 Oct 1981
Judges: Lady Justice Hallett The Honourable Mr Justice Owen Citations: [2006] EWHC 192 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 1(1) 1(4) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 05 July 2022; Ref: scu.239939
The defendant appealed his conviction for causing criminal damage by fire saying that the charge sheet had not as required by the section, described it as arson. Held: the appeal failed. Whilst it was clearly desirable that a charge should include the word, section 1(3) was not mandatory in this respect. ‘Damage by Fire’ and … Continue reading Regina v Drayton: CACD 19 Jul 2005
The case concerned actions taken at military bases by way of protest against the Iraq war. Each raised questions arising from the prosecution of the appellants for offences of aggravated trespass. The defendants asserted, among other things, that there was ‘was a strong possibility’ that the activities being carried on at the bases were unlawful, … Continue reading Ayliffe and others v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 21 Apr 2005
The defendant, a vagrant, fell asleep in an empty house. His lighted cigarette fell onto his mattress, and a fire started. Rather than put it out, he moved to another room. He was accused of arson. Held: He was guilty. A defendant would be guilty even though he did not know he had started the … Continue reading Regina v Miller: HL 17 Mar 1982
When calculating the value of damage for the purpose of deciding whether an allegation of criminal damage could be referred to the Crown Court, the damage was the replacement value and not the consequential losses. An activist was accused of damaging genetically engineered crops. The replacement value was andpound;750, but the consequential losses amounted to … Continue reading Regina v Colchester Justices Ex Parte Abbott: QBD 13 Mar 2001
Application for judicial review of decision that a child, P, was fit to stand trial on accusations of offences under the 1971 and 1997 Acts. Judges: Wright J Citations: [2002] EWHC 734 (Admin), [2002] MHLR 304, [2002] 2 Cr App R 19, [2002] Crim LR 657, (2002) 166 JP 641 Links: Bailii Statutes: Protection from … Continue reading P (A Minor), Regina (on the Application of) v Barking Youth Court: Admn 17 Apr 2002
The court considered the extent to which the defendants in the proceedings can rely on their beliefs as to the unlawfulness of the United Kingdom’s actions in preparing for, declaring, and waging war in Iraq in 2003 in a defence to a charge of criminal damage. Held: International law was to be allowed for in … Continue reading Jones and Milling, Olditch and Pritchard, and Richards v Gloucestershire Crown Prosecution Service: CACD 21 Jul 2004
The appellant challenged the dismissal of his private prosecution of the defendant in destroying a new garden wall. The magistrates had found a lawful excuse in that the defendant said that the wall had been constructed to obstruct his private right of way. Held: The use of self redress to justify criminal damage by lawful … Continue reading Chamberlain v Lindon: Admn 18 Mar 1998
The defendants were separately tried for possession of an article with intent to damage property contrary to section 3. In each case the article in question was a hacksaw blade and it was the prosecution case that each of the applicants intended to use one to cut part of the perimeter fence of a United … Continue reading Regina v Hill and Hall: CACD 1989
The defendant had been charged with setting fire to a guest room in an old people’s home. He claimed that he had done so to draw attention to a defective fire alarm system. He sought to set up a statutory defence under section 5(2) by claiming to have had a lawful excuse in doing what … Continue reading Regina v Hunt: CACD 1978
The defendant caused damage to a car. The appeal turned on the trial judge’s direction on the meaning of ‘reckless’. Held: The conviction was set aside. The judge had not adequately explained that the test to be applied was that of the defendant’s state of mind. ‘A man is reckless in the sense required when … Continue reading Regina v Briggs (Note): CACD 1977
The defendants tried to cut the wire fence around an American Air Force base to demonstrate their opposition to nuclear weapons. They were charged with possession of an article with intent to damage property. The judge ruled that the purported reason for having the articles did not fall within the definition of a lawful excuse … Continue reading Regina v Ashford and Smith: CACD 1988
Malcom had thrown petrol bombs at the outside wall of the bedroom of a girl who he believed had informed on him in relation to a series of burglaries. He had admitted throwing the bombs but claimed he had done so to frighten the girl and without realising that if a bomb had gone through … Continue reading Regina v Stephen Malcolm R: 1984
A 14-year old girl of low intelligence entered a shed, poured white spirit on the floor and set it alight. The fire destroyed the shed after she left. The allegation was that she was reckless. The justices applied Caldwell but inferred that in his reference to ‘an obvious risk’ Lord Diplock had meant a risk … Continue reading Elliott v C: 1983
Mr Lloyd had parked his car in a private car park with five large notices boards located at the entrance to and exit of this private car park positioned at eye-level for car drivers. All those notices warned that unauthorised vehicles would be immobilised. Mr Lloyd’s car was found clamped on his return. He contacted … Continue reading Lloyd v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 1992
The applicants each took part in an occupation of pods on the London Eye. They appealed convictions for threatening criminal damage, alleging the judge had misdirected the jury on the necessary ingredients of the offence. Held: Section 2, as opposed to section 1, did not refer to recklessness, requiring under either sub-section, the threat that … Continue reading Regina v Cakmak; Regina v Cavcav; Regina v Talay; Regina v Can etc: CACD 8 Feb 2002
The defendants, young boys, had set fire to paper and thrown the lit papers into a wheelie bin, expecting the fire to go out. In fact substantial damage was caused. The House was asked whether a conviction was proper under the section where the defendant had given no thought to a risk of damage, but … Continue reading Regina v G and R: HL 16 Oct 2003
Law relating to injury of animals worrying stock should be clarified; archaic language and conflicting provisions. Citations: Times 11-Dec-1997 Statutes: Protection of Animals Act 1911, Criminal Damage Act 1971 Animals Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.82439
In a temper the defendant broke a telephone by smashing the handset violently down on to the telephone unit. Held: Applying but modifying Briggs, the defendant had been fully aware of all the circumstances and, if ‘he did not know, as he said he did not, that there was some risk of damage, he was, … Continue reading Regina v Parker (Daryl): CACD 1977
Judges: Lord Justice Fulford, the Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Mr Justice Hilliard And Lord Hughes Citations: [2022] EWCA Crim 108 Links: Bailii Statutes: Criminal Damage Act 1971 1(3) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.671932
The respondent went to the house of a partner with whom he had a dispute, and fired three shots into the house. Nobody was injured. He had successfully appealed a conviction for criminal damage being reckless as to whether somebody else’s life should be endangered, having argued that any threat to life did not arise … Continue reading Regina v Steer: HL 2 Jul 1986
Spitting on a police officer’s coat was held to be such a minor ‘damage’ to the coat as not to be criminal damage within the meaning of the 1971 Act at all. Though spitting on a raincoat which was likely to be cleaned easily with a damp cloth did not amount to damage, the same … Continue reading A (A juvenile) v The Queen: 1978
The defendant broke two windows and damaged a curtain in the house of a stranger. She was drunk. She was charged under the 1971 Act, but she raised her honest but drunken and mistaken belief that the house belonged to a friend who would have consented to her breaking in and causing damage having told … Continue reading Jaggard v Dickinson: QBD 1980
The claimant had been detained at 11.25pm. His detention was not reviewed by an inspector until 7.45am the next morning, although it had been considered in the interim at 1.45am by an officer of junior rank. The plaintiff sued for unlawful imprisonment for the period of 2 hours and 20 minutes from 5.25am (when the … Continue reading Roberts v Chief Constable of Cheshire Constabulary: CA 26 Jan 1999
The parties had married, but the male partner was a transsexual, having been born female and having undergone treatment for Gender Identity Dysphoria. After IVF treatment, the couple had a child. As the marriage broke down the truth was revealed in court, but the plaintiff said that his wife had known the true position. He … Continue reading J v S T (Formerly J): CA 21 Nov 1996
A Judge must state the reasons for recommending deportation or the order will be invalid. The defendant had been convicted of criminal damage being reckless as to whether wlife was endangered. In the absence of such reasons the defendant would be put in a position of being unable effectively to exercise his right of appeal. … Continue reading Regina v Belaifa (Idis Ali): CACD 3 Apr 1996
It is a defence in criminal law to a charge of assault if the defendant had an honest belief that he was going to be attacked and reacted with proportionate force: ‘If there has been an attack so that defence is reasonably necessary, it should be recognised that a person defending himself cannot weigh to … Continue reading Palmer v The Queen: PC 23 Nov 1970
The claimant alleged that she had been discrimated against in her work for the appellant, a member of the diplomatic staff at the Saudi Embassy in London. She now appealed against a decision that the respondent had diplomatic immunity. Held: The appeal was allowed: ‘the question whether the exception in article 31(1)(c) would have applied … Continue reading Reyes v Al-Malki and Another: SC 18 Oct 2017
The court considered the compatibility with EU law of regulations 21 and 24 of the 2006 Regulations, and the legality at common law of the appellant’s administrative detention from 3 April until 6 June 2012 and of bail restrictions thereafter until 2 January 2013. The regulations were designed to give effect to the Citizens Directive … Continue reading Nouazli, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 20 Apr 2016
The applicant had dual Iraqi and British nationality. He was detained by British Forces in Iraq under suspicion of terrorism, and interned. Held: His appeal failed. The UN resolution took priority over the European Convention on Human Rights where there was a conflict between them. ‘If the Security Council, acting under Chapter VII, consider that … Continue reading Al-Jedda v Secretary of State for Defence: CA 29 Mar 2006
The claimant had been detained by the US in Guantanamo Bay suspected of terrorist involvement. He sought to support his defence documents from the respondent which showed that the evidence to be relied on in the US courts had been obtained by torture, and in particular by the hiding of his detention for many months … Continue reading Mohamed, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 1): Admn 21 Aug 2008
The Claimant claimed on a letter of credit issued by the Defendant on behalf of Enron Ltd, who asserted it was not liable to pay there having been unlawful behaviour by Enron Ltd. Swap agreements had been entered into, and the defendant said the claimant was in effect a shell company. The bank would not … Continue reading Mahonia Limited v JP Morgan Chase Bankwest Lb Ag: QBD 3 Aug 2004
The defendant appealed against his conviction for murder, saying that he should have been allowed to rely on a plea of diminished responsibility given the changes to section 2 of the 1957 Act introduced in 2009. He said that his alcoholism should have been treated as explaining his loss of self control and amounting to … Continue reading Dowds v Regina: CACzD 22 Feb 2012
(Trinidad and Tobago) A police officer had unjustifiably roughed up, arrested, taken to the police station and locked up Mr Ramanoop, who now sought constitutional redress, including exemplary damages. He did not claim damages for the nominate torts that had certainly been committed. Counsel for the Attorney General submitted that constitutional redress, in so far … Continue reading Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago v Ramanoop: PC 23 Mar 2005
The appellant, an Iraqi national had arrived in 2000 as a child, and stayed unlawfully after failure of his asylum claim. He was convicted twice of drugs offences. On release he was considered a low risk of re-offending. He had been in a serious relationship with an English woman since 2005. However the Home Secretary … Continue reading Hesham Ali (Iraq) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 16 Nov 2016
The claimant journalist sought disclosure of papers acquired by the respondent in its conduct of enquiries into the charitable Mariam appeal. The Commission referred to an absolute exemption under section 32(2) of the 2000 Act, saying that the exemption continued until the papers were destroyed, or for 20 years under the 1958 Act. Held: The … Continue reading Kennedy v The Charity Commission: SC 26 Mar 2014
Twins were conjoined (Siamese). Medically, both could not survive, and one was dependent upon the vital organs of the other. Doctors applied for permission to separate the twins which would be followed by the inevitable death of one of them. The parents, devout Roman Catholics, resisted. Held: The parents’ views were subject to the overriding … Continue reading In Re A (Minors) (Conjoined Twins: Medical Treatment); aka In re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation): CA 22 Sep 2000
Harassment to Criminal Level needed to Convict The claimant had been a customer of the defendant, but had moved to another supplier. She was then subjected to a constant stream of threatening letters which she could not stop despite re-assurances and complaints. The defendant now appealed against a refusal to strike out the claim of … Continue reading Ferguson v British Gas Trading Ltd: CA 10 Feb 2009
The claimant was a Zimbabwean National who was to be removed from the country. He was unlawfully held in detention pending removal. He sought damages for false imprisonment. He had been held over a long period pending decisions in the courts on the legality of returning failed asylum applicants to Zimbabwe. Held: Despite allegations of … Continue reading SK, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Admn 25 Jan 2008
Challenge to imprisonment pending deportation of successful asylum applicant on release from prison after conviction of an offence specified under the 2004 Order as a particularly serious crime. Held: The appeal succeeded. ‘The giving of notice of the decision to make a deportation order, the making of the deportation order, and the detention on foot … Continue reading DN (Rwanda), Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 26 Feb 2020
The claimants had been detained under the 1971 Act, after completing sentences of imprisonment pending their return to their home countries under deportations recommended by the judges at trial, or chosen by the respondent. They challenged as unlawful the respondent’s, at first unpublished, policy introduced in 2006, that by default, those awaiting deportation should be … Continue reading Lumba (WL) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 23 Mar 2011
The Home Secretary appealed from a finding that illegally entered asylum seekers had been unlawfully detained pending removal. The five claimants had travelled through other EU member states before entering the UK. The court considered inter alia whether damages for false imprisonment were allowable under Factortame. Held: The appeals failed. Chapter 55 of the EIG … Continue reading Hemmati and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 27 Nov 2019
False Imprisonment Damages / Immigration Detention The respondent had held the claimant in custody, but had failed to follow its own procedures. The claimant appealed against the rejection of his claim of false imprisonment. He had overstayed his immigration leave, and after convictions had served a prison sentence. When about to be released, an order … Continue reading Kambadzi (previously referred to as SK (Zimbabwe)) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 25 May 2011
The insurer appealed findings of liability under the 1930 Act. Claims had been made for damages for child abuse in a residential home, whom they insured. The home had become insolvent, and the claimants had pursued the insurer. Held: The appeal was allowed in part. Liability had been found not directly on vicarious liability for … Continue reading KR and others v Royal and Sun Alliance Plc: CA 3 Nov 2006
The claimants claimed for the estate of their murdered son. He had been waiting to give evidence in a criminal trial, and had asked the police for support having received threats. Other witnesses had also suffered intimidation including acts of arson to cars and premises. The police officer had been disciplined for failing to respond … Continue reading Van Colle v Hertfordshire Police: QBD 10 Mar 2006
(Bahamas) The defendant police had appealed the quantum of damages awarded to the claimant for assault and battery and false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, saying that she had been doubly compensated. The claimant now appealed reduction of her damages. The Bahamian police had subjected her to ‘Gestapo like tactics.’ Held: The several heads of damages … Continue reading Merson v Cartwright, The Attorney General: PC 13 Oct 2005
Each defendant appealed against convictions associated variously with the cultivation or possession of cannabis resin. They sought to plead medical necessity. There had been medical recommendations to move cannabis to the list of drugs which might be prescribed by a doctor, but this had been rejected. Held: The appeals failed. There was no over-arching principle … Continue reading Quayle and others v Regina, Attorney General’s Reference (No. 2 of 2004): CACD 27 May 2005
The defendants had had confiscation orders made against them. They had appealed on the basis that the orders were made more than six months after sentence. The prosecutor now appealed saying that the fact that the order were not timely did not invalidate them. Held: The appeal was allowed. The confiscation orders made by the … Continue reading Regina v Soneji and Bullen: HL 21 Jul 2005
The claimant wished to pursue his claim for defamation against the defendant, but was reluctant to return to the UK to give evidence, fearing arrest and extradition to the US. He appealed refusal of permission to be interviewed on video tape. Held (Majority): The appeal succeeded, and the judge’s order allowing the evidence to be … Continue reading Polanski v Conde Nast Publications Ltd: HL 10 Feb 2005
The defendant appealed an award of damages in favour of the applicant for assault by police officers whilst held in police custody. The said the judge should have allowed the claimant’s criminal record in in full. Held: The judge had directed the jury correctly. However as to damages, the award of exemplary damages was exessive, … Continue reading Watson v Cleveland Police: CA 12 Oct 2001
The claimant suffered back pain for which she required neurosurgery. The operation was associated with a 1-2% risk of the cauda equina syndrome, of which she was not warned. She went ahead with the surgery, and suffered that complication. The evidence established that cauda equina syndrome was a random and inherent risk of the surgery, … Continue reading Chester v Afshar: HL 14 Oct 2004
The employer was prosecuted under the 1961 Act. Held: the burden of proving that it was not reasonably practicable to make and keep a place of work safe rested upon the defendant employer. If an exception was to be established, it was for the party claiming the exception to establish it. (Majority) Where a linguistic … Continue reading Nimmo v Alexander Cowan and Sons Ltd: HL 1967
Parliament’s Approval if statute rights affected In a referendum, the people had voted to leave the European Union. That would require a notice to the Union under Article 50 TEU. The Secretary of State appealed against an order requiring Parliamentary approval before issuing the notice, he saying that the notice could be given under the … Continue reading Miller and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Exiting The European Union: SC 24 Jan 2017
An injunction had been granted to restrain Bovis from causing a noise nuisance outside certain hours specified in a notice served by the council under the 1974 Act which created a criminal offence ‘without reasonable excuse’ to contravene the notice. A number of informations were laid against Bovis but they were adjourned and the injunction … Continue reading City of London Corporation v Bovis Construction Ltd: CA 18 Apr 1988
The defendant, out of strong conviction, entered an art gallery and knocked the head from a statue of Margaret Thatcher. Held: The court examined the breadth of the defence of ‘lawful excuse’ to a charge of criminal damage, and whether a court could direct a jury to convict. Despite the possible defects in the direction, … Continue reading Kelleher, Regina v: CACD 20 Nov 2003
The improper use of machinery had resulted in the death of an employee, and the applicant was prosecuted under the 1974 Act, but complained that the prosecution should have been under the Regulations. The directive required member states to apply its regulations in replacement of any earlier legislation. The 1974 Act, it said was therefore … Continue reading Regina v Bristol Magistrates Court and others ex parte Junttan Oy: HL 23 Oct 2003
The defendant had been sentenced for offences of violence, but an additional period was imposed to protect the public. He had been refused leave for reconsideration of that part of his sentence after he completed the normal segment of his sentence. He wanted a consideration which would parallel the new won rights of review for … Continue reading Giles, Regina (on the Application of) v Parole Board and Another: HL 31 Jul 2003
The Court considered the validity of suspicionless stop and search activities under s 60 of the 1994 Act, by police officers. Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The safeguards attending the use of the s 60 power, and in particular the requirements to give reasons both for the authorisation and for the stop and search, make … Continue reading Roberts, Regina (on the application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and another: SC 17 Dec 2015
The appellant had been detained in a mental hospital after a conviction. Later released, he was recalled, but he was not given written reasons as required by a DoH circular. However the SS referred the recall immediately to the Tribunal. He appealed from refusal of a finding that his subsequent detention had been unlawful. Held: … Continue reading Lee-Hirons v Secretary of State for Justice: SC 27 Jul 2016
The Home Secretary appealed against a finding that a non-derogating control order was unlawful in that, in restricting the subject to an 18 hour curfew and otherwise severely limiting his social contacts, the order amounted to such a deprivation of liberty as to be unlawful. Held: The appeal failed. When looking at the lawfulness of … Continue reading Secretary of State for the Home Department v JJ and others: HL 31 Oct 2007
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
The claimant had sought damages against his employer, saying that they had failed in their duty to him under the 1997 Act in failing to prevent harassment by a manager. He appealed a strike out of his claim. Held: The appeal succeeded. The issue is whether an employer may be vicariously liable under section 3 … Continue reading Majrowski v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust: CA 16 Mar 2005
The applicant sought judicial review of an ordinance made by the commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory. An issue was raised whether the High Court in London had jurisdiction to entertain the proceedings and grant relief. Held: The court had jurisdiction. An Order in Council banishing British citizens from their home island was unlawful. … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Another, ex parte Bancoult: Admn 3 Nov 2000
Bail conditions only after detention B had been held under immigration detention, but released by SIAC, purportedly in conditional bail, after they found there was no realistic prospect of his deportation because he had not disclosed his true identity. The court was asked ‘whether there exists a power under the 1971 Act to grant immigration … Continue reading B (Algeria) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 8 Feb 2018
Administrative Discretion to be Used Reasonably The applicant challenged the manner of decision making as to the conditions which had been attached to its licence to open the cinema on Sundays. It had not been allowed to admit children under 15 years of age. The statute provided no appeal procedure, and the applicant sought a … Continue reading Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation: CA 10 Nov 1947
Two men were charged with theft from a company which they wholly owned and controlled. The court considered the actions of company directors in dishonestly appropriating the property of the company, and whether since the title to the goods was transferred, the goods had remained the property of the company. Held: The actions of the … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No. 2 of 1982): CACD 1984
An application to extradite a former head of state for an offence which was not at the time an offence under English law would fail, but could proceed in respect of allegations of acts after that time. No immunity was intended for heads of state. International law prohibiting torture has the character of jus cogens … Continue reading Regina v Bartle and Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and Others, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte; Regina v Evans and Similar (No 3): HL 24 Mar 1999
Car hire companies who pursued actions in motorists’ names to recover the costs of hiring a replacement vehicle after an accident, from negligent drivers, were not acting in a champertous and unlawful manner. Lord Mustill said: ‘there exists in practical terms a gap in the remedies available to the motorist, from which the errant driver, … Continue reading Giles v Thompson, Devlin v Baslington (Conjoined Appeals): HL 1 Jun 1993
Blackmail was alleged under section 21 of the 1968 Act, the letter making the unwarranted demand with menaces having been posted from England to an intended victim in Germany. Held: The appeal was dismissed. To allow an English court to have jurisdiction where elements of the offence occurred abroad, the last act constituting the actus … Continue reading Treacy v Director of Public Prosecutions: HL 1970
Police’s Complete Immunity was Too Wide (Grand Chamber) A male teacher developed an obsession with a male pupil. He changed his name by deed poll to the pupil’s surname. He was required to teach at another school. The pupil’s family’s property was subjected to numerous acts of vandalism, which the police investigated and in respect … Continue reading Osman v The United Kingdom: ECHR 28 Oct 1998
The deceased was a prisoner known to be at risk of committing suicide. Whilst in police custody he hanged himself in his prison cell. The Commissioner accepted that he was in breach of his duty of care to the deceased, but not that that breach was caustive of the death by suicide. Held: Police and … Continue reading Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis v Reeves (Joint Administratix of The Estate of Martin Lynch, Deceased): HL 15 Jul 1999
A diesel tank was in a yard which drained into a river. It was surrounded by a bund to contain spillage, but that protection was over ridden by an extension pipe from the tank to a drum outside the bund. Someone opened a tap on that pipe so that diesel flowed into the drum until … Continue reading Empress Car Company (Abertillery) Ltd v National Rivers Authority: HL 22 Jan 1998
The prisoner challenged the decision to place him in segregation under Prison Rule 43. Under rule 43(1) the initial power to segregate was given to ‘the governor’. The case arose from the fact that the governor of one prison had purported to authorise the segregation of a prisoner on his arrival at another prison to … Continue reading Regina v Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison, Ex parte Hague, Weldon v Home Office: HL 24 Jul 1991
Presumption of Damage in Defamation is rebuttable The defendant complained that the presumption in English law that the victim of a libel had suffered damage was incompatible with his right to a fair trial. They said the statements complained of were repetitions of statements made by US authorities. The claimant had asserted that no more … Continue reading Dow Jones and Co Inc v Jameel: CA 3 Feb 2005
The defendant sought judicial review of his caution for possession of cannabis, saying that it went again the national guidance against such decisions after the reclassification of cannabis as a Class C banned substance. He had been arrested for a more serious allegation which could not be proved. Held: If the policy said that no … Continue reading Mondelly, Regina (on the Application of) v the Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis: Admn 29 Sep 2006
The claimant challenged being recalled to prison from licence after being found in an area from which he was excluded as a condition of his parole. Judges: Turner J Citations: [2017] EWHC 729 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: European Convention on Human Rights 5, Criminal Justice Act 2003 244 254 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited … Continue reading Youngsam, Regina (on The Application of) v The Parole Board: Admn 7 Apr 2017
Reference to Parliamentary Papers behind Statute The inspector sought to tax the benefits in kind received by teachers at a private school in having their children educated at the school for free. Having agreed this was a taxable emolument, it was argued as to whether the taxable benefit was the cost to the employer, or … Continue reading Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart: HL 26 Nov 1992
