The applicants complained that they had been made subject to non-derogating control orders as suspected terrorists, but that the failure to inform them of the allegations or evidence against them was unfair and infringed their human rights. The material was withheld in the interests of national security. Held: The failure to supply the defendants with … Continue reading Secretary of State for the Home Department v AF AN and AE (No 3): HL 10 Jun 2009
The claimants sought damages after the loss of business when the defendants’ premises were the source of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The organism had escaped from their premises via a broken drain. Held: Much of the damage claimed was for economic loss. The number of people who would be brought within the … Continue reading D Pride and Partners (A Firm) and Others v Institute for Animal Health and Others: QBD 31 Mar 2009
Costs of Wrongly Appointed Receiver ‘The contest in this case is about who should bear the costs and expenses of a receiver appointed under an order which ought not to have been made. The appellant, who is a former partner in a well known firm of accountants, was appointed to act as management receiver of … Continue reading Barnes (As Former Court Appointed Receiver) v The Eastenders Group and Another: SC 8 May 2014
Application for directions in a pending appeal. The claimant alleged negligence against his former solicitors. After his successful claim was substantially overturned on appeal, he was made bankrupt.
Held: If the trustee adopted and pursued . .
ECHR Article 6Civil proceedingsArticle 6-1Impartial tribunalIndependent tribunalStructural defects of the system of judicial discipline: violationFair hearingAbsence of limitation period for imposing disciplinary penalty on judges and abuse of electronic vote system in Parliament when adopting decision on judge’s dismissal: violationsTribunal established by lawComposition of chamber examining applicant’s case defined by a judge whose term of … Continue reading Oleksandr Volkov v Ukraine: ECHR 9 Jan 2013
The claimant sought damages after it had been established in 2001 that the defendants had engaged in an unlawful cartel to maintain the prices of vitamins. The defendants had paid fines, and now argued that the claims, begun in 2008, were out of time, the limitation period being 2 years from the infringement decision. The … Continue reading BCL Old Co Ltd and Others v BASF Plc and Others: SC 24 Oct 2012
The court considered the liability of insurers of companies now wound up for mesothelioma injuries suffered by former employees of those companies, and in particular whether the 1930 Act could be used to impose liability. The insurers now appealed against findings that some policies, those which insured against injury ‘sustained’ during the policy period, as … Continue reading Employers’ Liability Insurance ‘Trigger’ Litigation: BAI (Run Off) Ltd v Durham and Others: SC 28 Mar 2012
UTIAC 1) Whilst section 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its associated case law requires United Kingdom tribunals in general to give effect to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, including that Court’s guidance on how to approach evidence in international protection cases, the weighing of evidence and the drawing … Continue reading AMM and Others (Conflict; Humanitarian Crisis; Returnees; FGM) Somalia CG: UTIAC 28 Nov 2011
The tenant appealed against an order granting possession. The tenancy, being held of a mutual housing co-operative did not have security but was in a form restricting the landlord’s right to recover possession, and the tenant resisted saying that it was worded to create a lease for life (applying the LRB case). Held: The tenant’s … Continue reading Berrisford v Mexfield Housing Co-Operative Ltd: SC 9 Nov 2011
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
A husband and wife had each executed the will which had been prepared for the other, owing to an oversight on the part of their solicitor; the question which arose was whether the will of the husband, who died after his wife, was valid. The parties disputed whether the will have been validly executed, and … Continue reading Marley v Rawlings and Another: SC 22 Jan 2014
The council tenant had wished to appeal following a possession order made after her tenancy had been demoted. The court handed down a supplemental judgment to give effect to its earlier decision. The Court had been asked ‘whether article 8 of the . . Convention . . requires a court, which is being asked to … Continue reading Manchester City Council v Pinnock: SC 9 Feb 2011
Criminality of Assisting Suicide not Infringing The court was asked: ‘whether the present state of the law of England and Wales relating to assisting suicide infringes the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the code published by the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to prosecutions of those who are alleged to have assisted a … Continue reading Nicklinson and Another, Regina (on The Application of): SC 25 Jun 2014
Mrs Nolan had been employed at a US airbase. When it closed, and she was made redundant, she complained that the appellant had not consulted properly on the redundancies. The US denied that it had responsibility to consult, and now appealed. Held: The appeal failed (Lord Carnworth dissenting). That the exact situation might not have … Continue reading The United States of America v Nolan: SC 21 Oct 2015
The claimant company said that the 2010 Act was outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament insofar as it severely restricted the capacity of those selling cigarettes to display them for sale. They suggested two faults. First, that the subject matters were reserved to the UK Parliament under the 1998 Act. Second that the Act … Continue reading Imperial Tobacco Ltd v The Lord Advocate: SC 12 Dec 2012
The court refused leave to appeal from the High Court. It would be absurd if, when an order was made restricting commencement of proceedings by a vexatious litigant, that the High Court should not have power to restrain by the same order also commencement of proceedings in the County Court. Judges: Lord Woolf LCJ Citations: … Continue reading Ebert v Venvill (Trustee In Bankruptcy); Woolf; Midland Bank Plc and Rabinowicz (a Solicitor): CA 5 Jul 1999
Standard of Proof for Narrative Verdict ‘This appeal arises out of the inquest held into the death of Mr James Maughan. It concerns the standard of proof, or degree of conclusivity, required for the determination of the result of an inquest into a death where the question is whether the deceased committed suicide. The result … Continue reading Maughan, Regina (on The Application of) v Her Majesty’s Senior Coroner for Oxfordshire: SC 13 Nov 2020
The local authority had commenced care proceedings, alleging abuse. After lengthy proceedings, of seven men and two grandparents, all but one were exonerated. The grandparents had not been entitled to legal aid, and had had to mortgage their house for legal costs. Despite being exonerated, the judge followed the normal practice of not awarding costs … Continue reading In re T (Children): SC 25 Jul 2012
The liquidators of Bilta had brought proceedings against former directors and the appellant alleging that they were party to an unlawful means conspiracy which had damaged the company by engaging in a carousel fraud with carbon credits. On the pleaded facts, Mr Chopra and Mr Nazir were the directing organ of Bilta under its constitution. … Continue reading Jetivia Sa and Another v Bilta (UK) Ltd and Others: SC 22 Apr 2015
Standing to Claim under A1P1 ECHR The appellants had written employers’ liability insurance policies. They appealed against rejection of their challenge to the 2009 Act which provided that asymptomatic pleural plaques, pleural thickening and asbestosis should constitute actionable harm for the purposes of an action of damages for personal injury. Held: The insurers’ appeals failed. … Continue reading AXA General Insurance Ltd and Others v Lord Advocate and Others: SC 12 Oct 2011
The appellant challenged a decision that he did not qualify for asylum or humanitarian protection and that his further representations were not a fresh human rights claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules. He argued that the return to the UK of his wife and daughter changed the circumstances requiring a fresh application. Held: … Continue reading Zoumbas v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 27 Nov 2013
The respondent had arrived and claimed asylum. Three claims were rejected, two of which were fraudulent. She had two children by a UK citizen, and if deported the result would be (the father being unsuitable) that the children would have to return with her. Held: The mother’s appeal succeeded. The court had to consider the … Continue reading ZH (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 1 Feb 2011
The claimants challenged the 2004 Order which prevented their return to their homes on the Chagos Islands. The islanders had been taken off the island to leave it for use as a US airbase. In 2004, the island was no longer needed, and payment had been made (ineffectively) to assist the dispossessed islanders, but an … Continue reading Bancoult, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (No 2): HL 22 Oct 2008
The Court considered the guidance given to UK Border Agency case workers when considering document submitted by persons applying for leave to enter or stay in the UK as foreign students. M had applied to study here, but had not accompanied his application with evidence of his financial means. He said that the application should … Continue reading Mandalia v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 14 Oct 2015
The tenant had been secure but had his tenancy had been reduced to an insecure demoted tenancy after he was accused of anti-social behaviour. He had not himself been accused of any misbehaviour, but it was said that he should have controlled his family members. The county court had been unwilling to allow any challenge … Continue reading Manchester City Council v Pinnock: SC 3 Nov 2010
The three claimants had each been convicted of murders and served time. Their convictions had been reversed eventually, and they now appealed against the refusal of compensation for imprisonment, saying that there had been a miscarriage of justice. Held: The appeal of Adams was denied, but those of MacDermott and McCartney allowed (by majority). The … Continue reading Adams, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice: SC 11 May 2011
Short issue as to the requirements for valid ‘service’ of a completion notice so as to bring a newly completed building within liability for non-domestic rates. The notice had been served by email where no statutory authority existed for this. Held: The LA’s appeal succeeded. ‘Against the background of the detailed scheme established by or … Continue reading UKI (Kingsway) Ltd v Westminster City Council: SC 17 Dec 2018
Objection had been made that a plan, used to register a right of way before it would disappear if un-registered, was to the wrong scale and that therefore the application was ineffetive. Held: The Council’s appeal failed. The plan was too large a scale, and that could not invalidate the application. The only question is … Continue reading Trail Riders Fellowship and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Dorset County Council: SC 18 Mar 2015
ECHR Article 3 Torture Effective investigation Extradition Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment during and following applicants’ extraordinary rendition to CIA: violations Article 5 Article 5-1 Lawful arrest or detention Detention during and following operation involving extraordinary rendition to CIA: violations Article 6 Criminal proceedings Article 6-1 Fair hearing Extraordinary rendition to CIA despite real … Continue reading Husayn (Abu Zubaydah) v Poland: ECHR 24 Jul 2014
ECHR Article 3 Torture Effective investigation Extradition Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment during and following applicants’ extraordinary rendition to CIA: violations Article 2 Extradition Article 2-1 Death penalty Extraordinary rendition to CIA of suspected terrorist facing capital charges: violation Article 5 Article 5-1 Lawful arrest or detention Detention during and following operation involving extraordinary … Continue reading Al Nashiri v Poland (Legal Summary): ECHR 24 Jul 2014
Capacity for Litigation The claimant appealed against dismissal of his claims. He had earlier settled a claim for damages, but now sought to re-open it, and to claim in negligence against his former solicitors, saying that he had not had sufficient mental capacity at the time to accept the offer. Held: There is no definition … Continue reading Masterman-Lister v Brutton and Co, Jewell and Home Counties Dairies (No 1): CA 19 Dec 2002
The claimant had entered as a student, and then stayed under a work permit. New rules were brought in, and because his occupation as a physiotherapy assistant was not listed, he was not credited with sufficient points for a permit. The Court of Appeal upheld his claim saying that the use of a list not … Continue reading Alvi, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 18 Jul 2012
The claimants, airline pilots, and the company disputed the application of the 1998 Regulations to their employment. They sought pay for their annual leave made up of three elements: a proportionate part of the fixed annual sum paid for their services, a supplementary payment which varied according to the time spent flying, and thirdly an … Continue reading British Airways Plc v Williams and Others: SC 17 Oct 2012
The appellant complained that the respondent had imported into the European Economic Area disk drives bearing its trade marks in breach of the appellant’s rights. The respondent had argued that the appellant had abused its position by withholding information which would allow it to trade lawfully. The Court was now asked: ‘whether a person who … Continue reading Oracle America Inc v M-Tech Data Ltd: SC 27 Jun 2012
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
The court was asked whether the 1977 Act required a local authorty to obtain a court order before taking possession of interim accommodation it provided to an apparently homeless person while it investigated whether it owed him or her a duty under Part VII of the 1996 Act, and (ii) whether a public authority, which … Continue reading ZH and CN, Regina (on The Applications of) v London Boroughs of Newham and Lewisham: SC 12 Nov 2014
Guidance for Wasted Costs Orders Guidance was given on the circumstances required for the making of wasted costs orders against legal advisers. A judge invited to make an order arising out of an advocate’s conduct of court proceedings must make full allowance for the fact that an advocate has to make decisions quickly and under … Continue reading Ridehalgh v Horsefield; Allen v Unigate Dairies Ltd: CA 26 Jan 1994
The Court was asked ‘whether, and if so, in what circumstances, an order or judgment of a foreign court . . in proceedings to adjust or set aside prior transactions, eg preferences or transactions at an undervalue, will be recognised and enforced in England. The appeals also raise the question whether enforcement may be effected … Continue reading Rubin and Another v Eurofinance Sa and Others: SC 24 Oct 2012
Under the 1998 and 2006 Acts, the Welsh Assembly was empowered to pass legislation subject to confirmation by the English Parliament Secretary of State. The Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill 2012 was passed by the Assembly and purported to remove the requirement for confirmation and to add to the list of legislation which might be … Continue reading Local Government Byelaws (Wales) Bill 2012 – Reference By The Attorney General for England and Wales: SC 21 Nov 2012
The claimant beneficiary in the estate sought damages against solicitors who had acted for the claimant’s brother, the administrator, saying they had allowed him to take control of the assets in the estate. The will provided that property was to be transferred only if the claimant’s brother paid all the Inheritance Tax. It was transferred … Continue reading Roberts v Gill and Co Solicitors and Others: SC 19 May 2010
The respondent had made a personal injury claim, but had then been discovered to have wildly and dishonestly exaggerated the damages claim. The defendant argued that the court should hand down some condign form of punishment, and appealed against refusal of a strike out of the claim. The Court of Appeal said that it was … Continue reading Fairclough Homes Ltd v Summers: SC 27 Jun 2012
The claimants were subject to deportation, but had settled here and begun a family. An earlier concession would have allowed him to stay, but it was withdrawn. The court was now asked whether statements by the Secretary of State of her policy as regards the granting of concessions outside the immigration rules and of their … Continue reading Munir and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: SC 18 Jul 2012
Recovery of damages after Refusal of Injunction The plaintiff appealed against the award of damages instead of an injunction aftter the County court had found the defendant to have trespassed on his land by a new building making use of a private right of way. Held: The appeal failed. A court may substitute damages for … Continue reading Jaggard v Sawyer and Another: CA 18 Jul 1994
Notice of dismissal begins when received by worker The court was asked: ‘If an employee is dismissed on written notice posted to his home address, when does the notice period begin to run? Is it when the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post? Or when it was in fact delivered … Continue reading Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood: SC 25 Apr 2018
A woman, X, had made an allegation in confidence she had been sexually assaulted as a child. The court was asked whether that confidence could be overriden to allow an investigation to protect if necessary a child still living with the man. Evidence suggested that a disclosure of her complaint may cause X further damage. … Continue reading In re A (A Child): SC 12 Dec 2012
The appellants had been refused refugee status on the ground that they were suspected of having been guilty of terrorist acts. They said that the definition of terrorism applied within the UK was wider than that in the Convention which contained the . .
The Commission challenged the compatibility of the NI law relating to banning nearly all abortions with Human Rights Law. It now challenged a decision that it did not have standing to bring the case.
Held: (Lady Hale, Lord Kerr and Lord Wilson . .
The court was asked ‘Is it lawful for a Christian hotel keeper, who sincerely believes that sexual relations outside marriage are sinful, to refuse a double-bedded room to a same sex couple?’ The defendants (Mr and Mrs Bull) appealed against a . .
The two prisoners, serving life sentences for murder, had had their appeals rejected. They continued to protest innocence, and sought to bring their campaigns to public attention through the press, having oral interviews with journalists without . .
A trustee has a duty to exploit any available opportunity for the trust. ‘Rules of equity have to be applied to such a great diversity of circumstances that they can be stated only in the most general terms and applied with particular attention to . .
References: [1976] 1 WLR 989, [1976] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 621, [1976] 3 All ER 570 Coram: Lord Wilberforce Ratio:In construing a contract, three principles can be found. The contextual scene is always relevant. Secondly, what is admissible as a matter of the rules of evidence under this heading is what is arguably relevant, but admissibility … Continue reading Reardon Smith Line Ltd v Yngvar Hansen-Tangen (The ‘Diana Prosperity’): HL 1976
References: [1976] 1 WLR 989, [1976] 2 Lloyd’s Rep 621, [1976] 3 All ER 570 Coram: Lord Wilberforce In construing a contract, three principles can be found. The contextual scene is always relevant. Secondly, what is admissible as a matter of the rules of evidence under this heading is what is arguably relevant, but admissibility … Continue reading Reardon Smith Line Ltd v Yngvar Hansen-Tangen (The Diana Prosperity”): HL 1976″
References: [2004] UKHL 27, [2004] 3 WLR 58, Times 21-Jun-04, [2004] 2 AC 369, [2004] 3 All ER 821, [2004] INLR 349 Links: House of Lords, Bailii Coram: Lord Bingham of Cornhill, Lord Steyn, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Carswell The claimant resisted removal after failure of his claim for asylum, … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Razgar etc: HL 17 Jun 2004
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