The claimant sought damages. She had been injured after the negligent erection of a stand which was known to be potentially hazardous. The contractor was uninsured, and the claimant sought damages from the Hospital which had arranged the fair in its grounds to raise funds. Held: The hospital was liable under the Act. A splat … Continue reading Gwilliam v West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust and Others: CA 24 Jul 2002
ECJ Articles 3(2) and 4(1)(a) and (d) of Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 – Imposition of public service obligations on scheduled air services serving a peripheral region – Compatibility with Member States’ power to restrict cabotage until 1 April 1997 – Interpretation of Article 1(e) of Decision 94/698/EC Judges: F. Macken R P Citations: C-181/00, [2002] … Continue reading Flightline v Secretario de Estado dos Transportes e Communicacoes: ECJ 9 Jul 2002
A case had been originally dealt with under the fast track procedure, but after amendment, the amount at stake came to exceed andpound;15,000. Held: It was permissible for a judge to continue to deal with a matter under the procedure. Relevant factors are the amount by which the claim comes to exceed the limit, and … Continue reading Melissa Maguire v Ricardo David Molin: CA 24 Jul 2002
Several cottages and adjacent open land had been in common ownership. The cottages were sold off individually with rights of way over the plot, but the land had been used as garden by the cottagers. The land owner removed a flower bed. Held: The use of the land over the years as a communal garden … Continue reading Mulvaney v Jackson, Gough, Holmes and Holmes: CA 24 Jul 2002
ECJ Public service contracts – Directive 92/50/EEC – Procedure for the award of public service contracts – Directive 89/665/EEC – Scope – Decision to withdraw an invitation to tender – Judicial review – Scope. Citations: C-92/00, [2002] EUECJ C-92/00 Links: Bailii Statutes: Directive 92/50/EEC, Directive 89/665/EEC Cited by: Cited – Montpellier Estates Ltd v Leeds … Continue reading HI Hospital Ingenieure Krankenhaustechnik PlanungsgesmbH: ECJ 18 Jun 2002
A firm of accountants had agreed to provide their services as experts in a case on the basis that they would be paid by taking part of any damages awarded. The respondent claimed that such an agreement was champertous and unlawful. Held: The tort of champerty as such had been abolished, but the rule remained … Continue reading Regina (Factortame Ltd and Others) v Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (No 8): CA 3 Jul 2002
ECFI In principle, the issue of the admissibility of the main application must not be examined in proceedings relating to an application for interim measures so as not to prejudge the substance of that case. Where, however, it is contended that the main application from which the application for interim measures is derived is manifestly … Continue reading Commerzbank v Commission: ECFI 5 Dec 2001
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 5-4; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses (domestic proceedings) – claim rejected‘In the present case, the Court cannot speculate as to whether the applicant would have been detained if the procedural guarantees of Article 5 ss 4 of the Convention had been … Continue reading Migon v Poland: ECHR 25 Jun 2002
ECJ Community trade mark – Term VITALITE – Absolute ground for refusal – Article 7(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94. Citations: [2001] EUECJ T-24/00 Links: Bailii European, Intellectual Property Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.173779
ECJ Actions for annulment – Natural or legal persons – Measures of direct and individual concern to them – Regulation concerning the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure provided for in Article 17 of Regulation No 2081/92 – Action brought by producers of `tourons’ – Inadmissible (EC Treaty, Arts 173, … Continue reading Biscuiterie confiserie LOR and Confiserie du Tech v Commission: ECFI 26 Mar 1999
ECJ 1 Applicants for, and beneficiaries of, EAGGF financial aid are required to satisfy themselves that they are submitting to the Commission reliable information which is not liable to mislead it; otherwise the system of controls and evidence set up to determine whether the conditions for granting aid are fulfilled cannot function properly. In the … Continue reading Conserve Italia v Commission: ECFI 12 Oct 1999
ECJ 1 It is clear from the wording of Article 2(3)(b)(ii) of the basic anti-dumping regulation, Regulation No 2423/88, which sets out three methods of calculating the constructed normal value, that those methods must be considered in the order in which they are set out. It is only where none of those methods can be … Continue reading Acme v Council: ECFI 12 Oct 1999
ECJ 1 Common commercial policy – Protection against dumping – Anti-dumping procedure – Right to a fair hearing of the undertaking alleged to have engaged in dumping – Institutions’ duty to provide information – Scope(Council Regulation No 2423/88, Art. 7(4))2 Actions for annulment – Pleas in law – Actions against a Council regulation imposing definitive … Continue reading Ajinomoto and The NutraSweet Company v Council: ECFI 18 Dec 1997
1. An action under Article 175 of the Treaty for failure to act may lie only where the institution has an obligation to act, so that the alleged failure to act is contrary to the Treaty.Where a complaint is made to the Commission under Article 3 of Regulation No 17 alleging breach of Article 85 … Continue reading Ladbroke Racing v Commission: ECFI 24 Jan 1995
ECJ 1. Both Article 72 of the Staff Regulations and Article 3 of the Rules on sickness insurance for officials of the European Communities take as their starting point the idea that, as far as possible, an official’ s spouse who is in gainful employment must seek reimbursement of his or her medical expenses under … Continue reading Holtbecker v Commission: ECFI 17 Dec 1992
ECJ 1. Under Article 2(4) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations, the treatment, as a dependent child, of a person whom an official has a legal responsibility to maintain and whose maintenance involves heavy expenditure constitutes an exceptional step. The condition that the official must have a legal responsibility to maintain a person other … Continue reading Josu Miguel Dyaz Garcya v European Parliament: ECFI 18 Dec 1992
ECFI Procedure – Allocation of jurisdiction between the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance – Proceedings instituted by a natural or legal person on the basis of the second paragraph of Article 173 of the Treaty concerning the implementation of the competition rules applicable to undertakings and pending before the Court of … Continue reading PTT Nederland and others v Commission: ECFI 21 Jun 1991
ECJ A selection board may not depart from the terms of the notice of competition with respect either to the purpose of the tests or to their nature and, as regards the order in which the candidates are short-listed, it may not award an overall mark instead of adding the marks awarded for the different … Continue reading Raiola-Denti and others v Council: ECFI 11 Feb 1993
ECJ Where both granting a suspension of operation of a Commission decision prescribing interim measures relating to competition and refusing to grant such suspension would in practice have the effect of depriving the final decision of the Court of First Instance of any effects in so far as such a decision could not in all … Continue reading Langnese-Iglo and Scholler Lebensmittel v Commission: ECFI 8 May 1992
ECJ 1. The action before the Court, even if formally directed against the rejection of the official’ s complaint, has the effect of bringing before the Court the decision adversely affecting the applicant against which the complaint was submitted. 2. The fact that in the staff reports, under the heading ‘Knowledge required for post occupied’, … Continue reading Williams v Court of Auditors of the European Communities: ECFI 10 Dec 1992
The applicant sought damages from the defendant who had released from custody pending deportation a man convicted of violent sexual crimes and who had then raped her. She appealed against a strike out of her claim. She had been refused information about the decision to release the offender because it was anticipated that her claim … Continue reading K v the Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 31 May 2002
The tenant sought a renewed tenancy under the Act, and the landlord opposed it saying that the property was to be redeveloped. The tenant contended that since his was an ‘eggshell’ tenancy, having a tenancy of surfaces within the property and not any part of the structure of the building, his tenancy could not be … Continue reading Pumperninks of Piccadilly Ltd v Land Securities Plc and others: CA 10 May 2002
The court considered whether the criminal complaint that the defendants had been part of a conspiracy to set a bomb aboard an airliner which exploded over Scotland, was justiciable in Scotland. Lord Sutherland: ‘Where however, a crime of the utmost gravity has been in fact committed in a particular country and it can be shown … Continue reading Her Majesty’s Advocate v Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi and Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah: HCJ 8 Dec 1999
Three asylum-seekers brought claims of breach of their Article 8 rights. One complained of a local authority’s failure to provide accommodation to meet special needs, the other two of maladministration and delay in the handling of their asylum applications. Held: All three claims failed. The essential object of article 8 is to protect individuals against … Continue reading Anufrijeva v Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 22 Mar 2002
Judges: Lord Mackay of Drumadoon Citations: [2000] ScotCS 243 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: Scotland Licensing Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.169220
EXCISE DUTIES – excise goods and vehicle seized from travellers entering UK from France – conclusion that importation of goods commercial or partly commercial reasonable – refusal to restore goods upheld – failure to consider proportionality of refusal to restore vehicle – review decision not reasonably arrived at – appeal allowed in part and further … Continue reading Marriott v Customs and Excise: Excs 24 Feb 2005
Europa Competition – Article 81 EC – Article 82 EC – Distribution of replacement parts – Parallel imports – Complaint – Rejection decision Citations: T-204/03, [2006] EUECJ T-204/03, [2006] EUECJ T-204/03 Links: Bailii, Bailii Jurisdiction: European Commercial Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.245145
VICTIMISATION Following the hearing of a (second) ET claim against the Respondent (which included claims for race discrimination and victimisation) in February 2017 the Claimant was suspended and then dismissed by the Respondent on the grounds that there had been an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between him and the staff in the Unit where … Continue reading Fullah v Medical Research Council and Others (Victimisation): EAT 24 Jun 2021
Land having been conveyed under the Act, and it no longer being needed as a school, it had to be decided to whom the land reverted. Held: The tracing of beneficiaries had to be in the basis under section 2, that the land had never been so conveyed. It would so have passed not as … Continue reading Rector of Wrington and The Bath and Wells Diocesan Board of Finance v Jenkinson and Others: ChD 26 Feb 2002
The prisoner had been convicted in his absence in 1991 of offences in Italy. He was resident in England at the time, and many years later extradition was sought. He had not hidden his whereabouts, and the Italian State seemed not to have pursued him. He now said it would not be in the interests … Continue reading Spinnato, Re v Governor of HM Prison Brixton and Another: Admn 20 Dec 2001
The claim was against a solicitor for negligence. The claimant had purchased a property in respect of which there was an unsettled dispute, He claimed that the solicitor had accepted a condition under which he accepted a proportion of the liability for the action. The estate of the client now appealed a finding of no … Continue reading Petersen v Personal Petersen (Deceased), Representative of: CA 31 Jan 2002
A part 36 offer had been made and declined. A significant amendment was made to the defendant’s pleadings on the basis of information which had always been available to him. The claimant then accepted the payment in. Should the claimant be regarded as the successful party for costs purposes. Held: Costs remain at the discretion … Continue reading Factortame Ltd and others v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions): CA 28 Jan 2002
Where a full time student became pregnant and had to suspend her studies, the regulations still treated her as a student, and disentitled her from benefits. The claimant alleged that this was sex discrimination. Held: It was not. The starting point had to be that the Regulations made no explicit distinction between a man and … Continue reading Secretary of State for Social Security v Walter: CA 6 Dec 2001
The claimants sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from publishing a report in breach of a contractual duty of confidence. This was granted but then discharged on the defendant undertaking only to publish a redacted version. On an application for permission to appeal, it was alleged that Sullivan J had wrongly conducted a balancing … Continue reading London Regional Transport, London Underground Limited v Mayor of London Transport for London: CA 24 Aug 2001
The applicant appealed a refusal of permission to use a computer for preparation of materials for his litigation save under conditions imposed by the Prisons Service. He was dyslexic, and with a low IQ. He claimed that the conditions operated so as effectively to restrict his access to justice, and to interfere with his right … Continue reading Regina (Ponting) v Governor of HMP Whitemoor, Secretary of State for the Home Department: CA 22 Feb 2002
Statutory provisions which reversed the burden of proof in cases involving drug smuggling and other repeat offenders, allowing confiscation orders to be made were not necessarily in contravention of the article 6 right. However the question of whether the statutory provision infringed the right to a fair trial was for each particular case which came … Continue reading Regina v Benjafield, Regina v Leal, Regina v Rezvi, Regina v Milford: HL 24 Jan 2002
Having been convicted of theft, a confiscation order had been made against which the appellant appealed. The Court of Appeal certified a question of whether confiscation provisions under the 1988 Act were in breach of the defendant’s human rights. Are applications for confiscation orders criminal proceedings under the Convention, and if so do the assumptions … Continue reading Regina v Rezvi: HL 24 Jan 2002
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 Court was asked whether and in what circumstances a lower court may follow a decision of the Privy Council which has reached a different conclusion from that of the House of Lords (or the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal) on an earlier occasion. Held: The court set out the position in law and … Continue reading Willers v Joyce and Another (Re: Gubay (Deceased) No 2): SC 20 Jul 2016
ECJ Judgment – Reference for a preliminary ruling – Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 – Articles 2(g), 3(2) and 27 – Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Main insolvency proceedings – Secondary insolvency proceedings – Conflict of jurisdiction – Exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction – Determination of the applicable law – Determination … Continue reading Comite D’Entreprise De Nortel Networks And Others v Cosme Rogeau: ECJ 11 Jun 2015
The Court limited itself to article 5(1)(e), when it stated that: ‘the notion of ‘lawfulness’ in the context of article 5(1)(e) of the Convention might have a broader meaning than in national legislation. Lawfulness of detention necessarily presumes a ‘fair and proper procedure’, including the requirement ‘that any measure depriving a person of his liberty … Continue reading Zagidulina v Russia: ECHR 2 May 2013
The applicant had been convicted of murder. He complained to the European Commission of Human Rights that one of the prosecution witnesses had identified him when he was brought into a room where the witness was being questioned. For identification purposes he ought to have been placed in a room along with others of similar … Continue reading Tani v Finland: ECHR 12 Oct 1994
Mistreatment was found to be only localised in India, allowing an asylum seeker to be returned. Citations: [2001] EWHC Admin 925 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Contrasted – Regina (Husan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department QBD 24-Feb-2005 The applicant sought asylum from Bangladesh. His application was refused, and the … Continue reading Singh v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Another: Admn 14 Nov 2001
The defendant solicitors acted in obtaining and holding a deposit on the sale of land. They issued interpleader proceedings which decided that the deposit was payable to the purchaser. The vendor then sued the solicitors in negligence. The solicitors were faced with two courts making different and contradictory decisions on the same facts as to … Continue reading Gribbon v Lutton and Another: CA 19 Dec 2001
ECJ Consumer protection – Doorstep selling – Right of cancellation – Agreement to grant credit secured by charge on immovable property. Citations: [2004] CEC 202, C-481/99, [2001] ECR I-9945, [2001] EUECJ C-481/99, [2004] All ER (EC) 1, ECLI:EU:C:2001:684, [2003] 2 CMLR 42 Links: Bailii Cited by: Cited – Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National … Continue reading Heininger v Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG: ECJ 13 Dec 2001
The appellant had sought injunctions against the respondent US companies to restrain their commencing proceedings in the US against him. The parties had negotiated for the purchase of the run-off liabilities of a defunct insurance company. Allegations included conspiracy to defraud. The agreements included exclusive jurisdiction clauses, requiring matters to be tried in England. The … Continue reading Donohue v Armco Inc and others: HL 13 Dec 2001
Where a mortgage was taken out by business partners, their liability was joint and several. Partners had taken out a loan, but the terms of the mortgage appeared to make each debtor liable for all sums due from either of them, including for debts to the mortgagee unconnected with the business. Under the clause they … Continue reading AIB Group (UK) Plc (Formerly Allied Irish Banks Plc and AIB Finance Limited) v Martin and Another: HL 13 Dec 2001
The claimant had sought to amend her claim for damages for personal injuries. The application had been rejected as introducing a claim not based on the same facts. She had suffered severe head injuries, and had no memory of the accident. She served a statement of claim based upon the defendant’s statement. The defendants defence … Continue reading Goode v Martin: CA 13 Dec 2001
The Lord Chancellor’s action in appointing to a special adviser’s post someone he already knew and trusted, without first advertising the post openly, was not an act of sex or race discrimination. Had they applied, they would not have been appointed because they were not personally known to the Lord Chancellor. In practice a post … Continue reading Coker and Osamor v The Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chancellor’s Department: CA 22 Nov 2001
The court was asked to decline jurisdiction pending the outcome of related proceedings between the parties abroad. Judges: Newey J Citations: [2014] EWHC 2243 (Ch) Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Jurisdiction, Litigation Practice Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.533826
The claimant asserted involvement by the defendant bank in a fraud perpetrated against him. Jurisdiction had already been admitted for one trust , and now the claimant sought to add two further claims. Held: ‘None of the gateways to English jurisdiction in CPR PD 6B paragraph 3.1 expressly permit a putative claimant to pursue a … Continue reading Williams v Central Bank of Nigeria: QBD 24 Jan 2012
The patient was detained on the application of an AMHP. In purported pursuance of section 11(4) the AMHP had consulted the patient’s mother as her nearest relative. However, the patient’s mother was not ordinarily resident in the UK, and, according to the statutory definition of ‘nearest relative’, the AMHP ought to have consulted the patient’s … Continue reading Regina v Managers of South Western Hospital and Another, Ex Parte M: QBD 24 Mar 1993
The General Medical Council, when they conducted a preliminary proceeding, should not, in any case involving substantial conflicts of evidence, seek itself to resolve those conflicts. To do so would be to usurp the function of the professional conduct committee. The task of the council was to act to screen out cases, not to decide … Continue reading Regina v General Medical Council, ex parte Richards: QBD 24 Jan 2001
The claimant objected to the use by the respondent of orders under the 1988 Act to produce records for investigation and tracing proceeds. Held: Simon Brown LJ said: ‘In my judgment, therefore, it would be wrong to construe the words in section 93H(1) ‘an investigation into whether any person has benefited from any criminal conduct’ … Continue reading Regina v Guildford Crown Court, Ex Parte Director of Public Prosecutions; Regina v Southwark Crown Court, Ex Parte Bowles: QBD 29 Oct 1996
The claimant, a solo musician appointed the defendant to be his manager collecting the fees and royalties due to him and paying his expenses. Rye was to account to him annually for his net income after deducting his own commission. When the relationship came to an end the plaintiff claimed an account, and the question … Continue reading Nelson v Rye and Another: ChD 5 Dec 1995
Application for Judicial Review challenging the lawfulness of bail conditions (a curfew monitored by electronic tagging) imposed by the defendant during deportation proceedings under section 32(5) of the 2007 Act. Judges: Edis J Citations: [2015] EWHC 2786 (Admin), [2015] WLR(D) 405 Links: Bailii, WLRD Statutes: UK Borders Act 2007 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: … Continue reading Gedi, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: Admn 9 Oct 2015
Claim for damages for false imprisonment brought in judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of a curfew imposed upon the claimant, purportedly under paragraph 2(5) of Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971. Held: The Court of Appeal in Austin and in Walker were right to say that there could be imprisonment at common law … Continue reading Jalloh, Regina (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: SC 12 Feb 2020
Challenge to two child limit for child tax credit. Judges: Patten, Leggatt, Nicola Davies LJJ Citations: [2019] EWCA Civ 615, [2019] 4 All ER 787, [2019] 1 WLR 5687, [2019] WLR(D) 233 Links: Bailii, WLRD Statutes: Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Appeal from – SC, CB and 8 … Continue reading SC and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Others: CA 16 Apr 2019
High Court of Australia – The Plaintiff paid a penny on entering the wharf to stay there till the boat should start and then be taken by the boat to the other side. The Defendants were admittedly always ready and willing to carry out their part of this contract. Then the Plaintiff changed his mind, … Continue reading Robertson v The Balmain New Ferry Company Ltd: PC 10 Dec 1909
The applicant was an adult autistic, unable to consent to medical treatment. Treatment was provided at a day centre. He had been detained informally under the Act and against the wishes of his carers, but the Court of Appeal decided he should have been formally detained. Held: The appeal succeeded. His detention had not been … Continue reading In Re L (By His Next Friend GE); Regina v Bournewood Community and Mental Health NHS Trust, Ex Parte L: HL 25 Jun 1998
ECHR Judgment : Article 8 – Right to respect for private and family life : First Section Committee Citations: 24984/20, [2022] ECHR 331 Links: Bailii Statutes: European Convention on Human Rights Jurisdiction: Human Rights Human Rights Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.676960
Europa Community trade mark – Opposition proceedings – Application for Community figurative mark emergia – Earlier Community word mark EMERGEA – Likelihood of confusion – Refusal of registration – Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 40/ 94 Citations: T-172/04, [2006] EUECJ T-172/04 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: European Intellectual Property Updated: 05 June 2022; Ref: scu.245153
An injunction was sought to prevent retailers marketing in the EEA products which had been obtained outside the EEA for resale within the EEA but outside the controlled distribution system. Held: Silence alone was insufficient to constitute implied consent for the resale within the EEA of goods otherwise than in accordance with a licence from … Continue reading Zino Davidoff SA v A and G Imports Ltd etc: ECJ 20 Nov 2001
Permission was sought to use alternative service to serve proceedings on a company. There was no exceptional difficulty in ordinary service, but the claimant wanted to ensure that a claim was heard within the UK jurisdiction, and expected that he would have to serve the proceedings by surprise in order to prevent them first issuing … Continue reading Knauf UK GmbH v British Gypsum Ltd and Another: CA 24 Oct 2001
The claimant requested the defendant authority to remove his details from the electoral register before it was sold on to third parties. They refused. He claimed that the information had been obtained from him under penalty of criminal charges, and that to sell it on was an interference with his right to a private and … Continue reading Reid, Robertson v City of Wakefield Metropolitan Council, Secretary of State for the Home Department: Admn 16 Nov 2001
The respondent farmers charged the farm by way of an agricultural floating charge to the claimants. On coming into difficulties, they set up a limited company and granted a tenancy in its favour and transferred assets to it. The bank obtained declarations that the charges remained valid and that the new tenancies and assignments should … Continue reading National Westminster Bank plc v Jones and Others: CA 24 Oct 2001
ECJ Inapplicability of Community law to compulsory military service – Equal treatment of men and women – Article 2 of Directive 76/207/EEC – Compulsory military service in Germany limited to men only – Directive not applicable Citations: C-186/01, [2003] EUECJ C-186/01, [2003] ECR I-2479 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: European Armed Forces Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: … Continue reading Dory v Federal Republic of Germany: ECJ 24 Oct 2001
The requirement to pay fees to civil courts in connection with claims they are asked to determine could not in itself be regarded as a restriction on the right of access to a court that was incompatible with article 6(1). Article 6(1) secures to everyone the right to have any claim relating to his civil … Continue reading Kreuz v Poland: ECHR 19 Jun 2001
The Grand Chamber considered executive interference in the appointment of the Chief Mufti of the Bulgarian Muslims: ‘Where the organisation of the religious community is at issue, Article 9 must be interpreted in the light of Article 11 of the Convention which safeguards associative life against unjustified State interference. Seen in this perspective, the believer’s … Continue reading Hasan and Chaush v Bulgaria: ECHR 26 Oct 2000
Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and the self-fulfilment of each individual. Criminal penalties imposed in respect of the reporting of a sexual relationship could not be said to violate Article 10 – notwithstanding that the persons concerned were … Continue reading Tammer v Estonia: ECHR 6 Feb 2001
The accused had been convicted. After exercising his right to silence, there were read to the court accounts of statements made by co-accused but without an opportunity for him to cross examine the witnesses. Held: Saunders had established the integral part of a fair trial played by the right of silence. The inability to cross … Continue reading Luca v Italy: ECHR 27 Feb 2001
A young prisoner was known to be at risk of suicide, but nevertheless was not provided with adequate specialist medical supervision. He was punished for an offence, by way of segregation which further put him at risk. Held: Inhuman and degrading treatment had to achieve a certain standard of seriousness before it became an infringement, … Continue reading Keenan v The United Kingdom: ECHR 3 Apr 2001
Mr Cornwell’s wife had died on 24 October 1989, leaving a dependent child. On 7 February 1997 his representative had ‘contacted’ the Benefits Agency to enquire about widow’s benefits. On 14 February 1997 the Agency ‘answered’ to say that legislation provided only for widows and not widowers. On 28 March 1997 the Agency confirmed that … Continue reading Cornwell v United Kingdom; Leary v United Kingdom: ECHR 25 Apr 2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-1; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Costs and expenses award – domestic proceedings. Citations: 33082/96, [2000] ECHR 424, [2000] ECHR 425 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Jurisdiction: Human Rights Human Rights Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.165929
Where a parole board took two years to consider the applicant’s parole, this was unreasonable, and a breach of the Article 5.4 requirement to deal with such matters speedily. Accordingly the continued detention of the applicant became unlawful. The provisions apply not only to original proceedings, but also to statutory automatic reviews of detention. No … Continue reading Oldham v The United Kingdom: ECHR 26 Sep 2000
The applicant complained under Articles 2, 6, 13 and 14 of the Convention in respect inter alia of the alleged ineffective investigation into the death in police custody of Mr Tsonchev, the man with whom she had been living. Held: ‘The Court recalls that the State’s obligation under Article 2 to protect the right to … Continue reading Velikova v Bulgaria: ECHR 18 May 2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 2 in respect of failure to protect life; Violation of Art. 2 in respect of ineffective investigation; Not necessary to examine Art. 10; Violation of Art. 13; Not necessary to examine Art. 14; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award; Costs and expenses … Continue reading Kilic v Turkey: ECHR 28 Mar 2000
The defendants had been required to enter into a recognisance to be of good behaviour after disrupting a hunt by blowing of a hunting horn. They were found to have unlawfully caused danger to the dogs. Though there had been no breach of the peace, they had acted contrac bonos mores. They complained that the … Continue reading Hashman and Harrup v The United Kingdom: ECHR 25 Nov 1999
Grand Chamber – The defendants had been convicted after the prosecution had withheld evidence from them and from the judge under public interest immunity certificates. They complained that they had not had fair trials. Held: The right was breached insofar as the prosecution had themselves sought to make that assessment without judicial involvement. Disclosure at … Continue reading Jasper v The United Kingdom: ECHR 16 Feb 2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) No violation of Art. 10; Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion, estoppel); Violation of Art. 6-1; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses partial award – domestic proceedings; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedings Citations: [1999] ECHR 53, 24735/94 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Human Rights Updated: 04 … Continue reading Surek v Turkey (No 3): ECHR 8 Jul 1999
Member states have obligations to ensure that citizens of each state were given opportunity to vote in European elections. Britain failed to give the vote to its citizens in Gibraltar in breach of the convention right to participate in free elections. The European Parliament is for these purposes a legislature within the meaning of A3P1 … Continue reading Matthews v The United Kingdom: ECHR 18 Feb 1999
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 11; Not necessary to examine Art. 9; Not necessary to examine Art. 10; Not necessary to examine Art. 14; Not necessary to examine Art. 18; Not necessary to examine P1-1; Not necessary to examine P1-3; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation … Continue reading The United Communist Party of Turkey And Others v Turkey: ECHR 30 Jan 1998
The claimant, who was disabled, said that his Article 8 rights were infringed because, in breach of Italian law, there were no facilities to enable him to get to the sea when he went on holiday. Held: ‘Private life . . includes a person’s physical and psychological integrity; the guarantee afforded by Article 8 of … Continue reading Botta v Italy: ECHR 24 Feb 1998
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 6-1; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedings Citations: [1998] ECHR 63, 24767/94 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Human Rights Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.165649
An allegation of violence by a police officer did require a thorough, impartial and careful investigation by a suitable and independent state authority: ‘The court considers that in these circumstances, where an individual raises an arguable claim that he has been seriously ill treated by the police or other such agents of the State unlawfully … Continue reading Assenov and Others v Bulgaria: ECHR 28 Oct 1998
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (victim); Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); No violation of Art. 2; Violation of Art. 2 (effective investigation); Violation of Art. 13; Not necessary to examine Art. 10; Not necessary to examine Art. 14; Not necessary to examine Art. 18; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award; Costs and expenses … Continue reading Yasa v Turkey: ECHR 2 Sep 1998
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) No violation of Art. 3; No violation of Art. 9; No violation of P1-2; Violation of Art. 13+P1-2; Violation of Art. 13+9; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedingsA child was punished by her school for refusing to attend a National … Continue reading Valsamis v Greece: ECHR 18 Dec 1996
Mr Johnson awaited trial for crimes of violence. He was diagnosed mentally ill, and on conviction made subject to a hospital order, and restricted without limit of time. He made progress, but was not discharged or re-classified. At a fourth tribunal hearing in June 1989 the opinion was that he was no longer suffering from … Continue reading Johnson v The United Kingdom: ECHR 24 Oct 1997
ECHR Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (non-exhaustion); Not necessary to examine Art. 5; Not necessary to examine Art. 6; Violation of Art. 13; No violation of Art. 14; No violation of Art. 18; No violation of Art. 2; No violation of Art. 3; No violation of Art. 5; No violation of Art. … Continue reading Mentes and Others v Turkey: ECHR 28 Nov 1997
The applicant, an AIDS sufferer, resisted his removal to St Kitts where lack of medical treatment would hasten his death. Held: The deportation of a convicted person suffering from Aids to a country with less care facilities was inhuman or degrading treatment. ‘In its Vilvarajah and Others judgment and its Soering judgment the Court considered … Continue reading D v The United Kingdom: ECHR 2 May 1997
The court refused to find that the failure of United Kingdom law to recognise a female to male trans-sexual as the father of a donor insemination child, born to his partner and brought up as their child, was a breach of their rights to respect for their family life under article 8. The de facto … Continue reading X, Y and Z v The United Kingdom: ECHR 22 Apr 1997
Hudoc Sweden – communication, without the patient’s consent, of personal and confidential medical data by one public authority to another and lack of possibility for patient, prior to the measure, to challenge it before a court (Secrecy Act 1980 and Industrial Injury Insurance Act 1976)The applicant having sustained an injury objected to disclosure of medical … Continue reading MS v Sweden: ECHR 27 Aug 1997
Hudoc Violation of Art. 6-1; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses award – Convention proceedingsAn alleged Article 6 breach has to be considered in the overall context of the case, and is not to be addressed in relation to any one, discrete aspect of it. The court emphasised the significance of … Continue reading Mantovanelli v France: ECHR 18 Mar 1997
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (six month period); Violation of Art. 6-1; Not necessary to examine Art. 14+6-1; Not necessary to examine Art. 13+6-1; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses – claim rejected Citations: [1997] ECHR 86, 24628/94 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Human … Continue reading Papageorgiou v Greece: ECHR 22 Oct 1997
ECHR Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Lack of jurisdiction (new complaint); Violation of Art. 3; Pecuniary damage – claim rejected; Non-pecuniary damage – finding of violation sufficient; Costs and expenses partial award – domestic proceedings; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedingsThe court noted that Somalia (the country to which Austria had proposed expelling … Continue reading Ahmed v Austria: ECHR 17 Dec 1996
The court had to consider a permanent placement of a child with a view to adoption in oposition to the natural parents’ wishes. Held: Particular weight should be attached to the best interests of the child, which may override those of the parent: ‘These measures were particularly far-reaching in that they totally deprived the applicant … Continue reading Johansen v Norway: ECHR 7 Aug 1996
The applicant had been refused a certification certificate for his video ‘Visions of Ecstasy’ on the basis that it infringed the criminal law of blasphemy. The Court found that the offence was prescribed by law and served the legitimate aim of protecting the rights of others. Held: The provision of a system which would allow … Continue reading Wingrove v The United Kingdom: ECHR 25 Nov 1996
There was no human rights breach where the victims of sex abuse had been refused a right to sue for damages out of time. The question is whether and to what extent differences in otherwise similar situations justify a different treatment in law: ‘Limitation periods in personal injury cases are a common feature of the … Continue reading Stubbings and Others v The United Kingdom: ECHR 22 Oct 1996
A court had considered itself bound by a decision of the Provincial Executive within the Netherlands adverse to the applicant company. Held: That was in breach of article 6(1). There was not access to a tribunal with sufficient jurisdiction to decide the case before it. Citations: [1996] ECHR 66, 20641/92, (1997) 24 EHRR 456 Links: … Continue reading Terra Woningen BV v The Netherlands: ECHR 17 Dec 1996
No violation of Art. 8; No violation of P1-1. A restriction on a landlord’s right to terminate a tenant’s lease constitutes control of the use of property within the meaning of the second paragraph of the article Citations: [1995] ECHR 49, 18072/91 Links: Worldlii, Bailii Cited by: Cited – Salvesen v Riddell and Another; The … Continue reading Barreto v Portugal: ECHR 21 Nov 1995