There had been a lengthy and contentious process of discovery. Certain documents with legal professional privilege had also been handed over inadvertently. The plaintiff sought their return and an order against them being used.Held: The documents and all copies were to be returned. The defendant was seeking to take advantage of what was an obvious … Continue reading Derby and Co Ltd v Weldon (No 8): CA 27 Jul 1990
A ship was caught in harbour when an air raid broke out. The master took the ship to sea where it suffered damage. Held: The shipowners were protected by a war risks clause in the charterparty agreement. As to waiver by election, Lord Goff of Chieveley said: ‘In the present case, we are concerned with … Continue reading Motor Oil Hellas (Corinth) Refineries SA v Shipping Corporation of India (The Kanchenjunga): HL 1990
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‘hearing in respect of the claim by Privacy International, the well known NGO, and seven internet service providers, of which Greennet Limited carries on operations in this country and the other Claimants have customers in this country, though their main operations are based abroad. The hearing has been of preliminary issues of law, whose purpose … Continue reading Privacy International v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Another: IPT 12 Feb 2016
The defendant employer had had confidential information of many of its staff taken and disclosed by a rogue employee. The employees now sought compensation. The main issue was whether the company was directly or vicariously liable for the tort. Held: The company were not directly liable, but were liable vicariously: ‘Adopting the broad and evaluative … Continue reading Various Claimants v WM Morrisons Supermarket Plc: QBD 1 Dec 2017
cw Crime – Computer misuse – Unauthorised access – Person using one computer to obtain from it unauthorised benefit – Whether unauthorised use of single computer within statute – ‘Access to any program or data held in any computer.The defendant was accused of misusing computer access to put himself in a position to carry out … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No 1 of 1991): CACD 16 Jun 1992
Judges: Lord Justice Pitchford Mr Justice Blair Citations: [2010] EWHC 1953 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Computer Misuse Act 1990 11 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 21 July 2022; Ref: scu.424777
The DPP appealed against dismissal of a charge under the 1990 Act. The defendant had been involved in a campaign of mail-bombing the complainant’s computer systems with over a half million mails, causing a denial of service. The question was whether it was the defendant or the complainant who determined whether an email would be … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Lennon: Admn 11 May 2006
The applicant sought his release from imprisonment where he awaited extradition to Germany. He was suspected of an offence of deception. He said there was insufficient evidence that the offence alleged would be an offence here. The alleged offence involved having misused the passwords of others, which was the deception of a machine. Held: Davies … Continue reading Holmes v Governor of Brixton Prison and Another: Admn 20 Aug 2004
The defendant appealed against the decision of the Magistrates to accept a prosecutor’s certificate as to compliance with time limits for commencing the prosecution. He argued that the police had all the evidence in their possession at an earlier point. Judges: Keene LJ, Roderick Evans J Citations: [2009] EWHC 1069 (Admin), (2009) 173 JP 351 … Continue reading Burwell v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 1 May 2009
Offences under sections 2 and 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1991 are extraditable offences, since they are punishable with imprisonment in excess of one year. Citations: Times 02-Jun-1998, [1998] EWHC Admin 536 Links: Bailii Statutes: Extradition Act 1989, Computer Misuse Act 1990 Extradition Updated: 27 May 2022; Ref: scu.138657
The defendant police officers had obtained information from the Police National Computer, but had used it for improper purposes. Held: The prosecution should have taken place under the 1990 Act as unauthorised access, and had not been used under the 1984 Act. Judges: Lord Justice Pill And Mr Justice Astill Citations: [1997] EWHC Admin 476, … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Bignall: Admn 16 May 1997
A person within an organisation who was authorised to access some data on a computer system at a particular level, could exceed his authority by accessing data at a level outside that authority. The unauthorised access offence under the 1990 Act was not limited to access obtained by an outsider or hacker. A section 1 … Continue reading Regina v Bow Street Magistrates ex parte Government of the United States of America; In re Allison: HL 2 Sep 1999
Policemen were convicted by the stipendiary magistrate of an offence under 1990 Act. They had requested a police computer operator to obtain information from the Police National Computer about the ownership and registration of two cars for their own purposes. They had no authority to make that request or to obtain that information for that … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Bignell and Another: QBD 6 Jun 1997
The defendant had committed the offence of incitement to commit an unauthorised modification of data by selling equipment to be used to access unauthorised cable channels on TV. The small-scale of his activities, and the high costs order against him, justified a reduction of his sentence from imprisonment to Community service. Citations: Times 02-Jan-2001, Gazette … Continue reading Regina v Maxwell-King: CACD 2 Jan 2001
Wright J said: ‘But if an individual, by misusing or bypassing any relevant password, places in the files of the computer a bogus e-mail by pretending that the password holder is the author when he is not, then such an addition to such data is plainly unauthorised, as defined in section 17(8); intent to modify … Continue reading Zezev and Yarimaka v Governor of HM Prison Brixton and another: CACD 2002
Judges: Kennedy LJ and Blofeld J Citations: [1999] QB 847 Statutes: Computer Misuse Act 1990 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Followed – Director of Public Prosecutions v Bignell and Another QBD 6-Jun-1997 Policemen were convicted by the stipendiary magistrate of an offence under 1990 Act. They had requested a police computer operator to obtain … Continue reading Regina v Bow Street Magistrates ex parte Government of the United States of America: QBD 13 May 1998
Having closed their case, the prosecution applied for and were granted opportunity to adduce evidence in the form of certificates under section 69. Held: The court had a discretion to allow further evidence. The magistrates had correctly considered the applicable law, and applied the discretion given to them properly. Citations: [1997] EWHC Admin 308 Statutes: … Continue reading Yearly v Crown Prosecution Service: Admn 21 Mar 1997
The defendant argued that once the prosecutor had all the material on which the prosecution was eventually brought, then for the purposes of section 11(2) time began to run. Held: When considering the time limits for a prosecution under the Act, the officer investigating is the prosecutor, until the case is taken over by the … Continue reading Morgans v Director of Public Prosecutions: QBD 29 Dec 1998
The defendant appealed against sentence of twleve months for causing an impairment of operation of the computer. He had repeatedly disconnected network cables on his employers main network causing very serious disruption to its business. Held: There was substantial personal mitigation: ‘. It is clear that this appellant is unlikely to re-offend. He has worked … Continue reading Feltis, Regina v: CACD 19 Aug 1996
The parties were engaged in ancillary relief proceedings. The Husband complained that the wife had sought to use unlawfully obtained information, and in these proceedings sought delivery up of the material from the wife and her solicitors. He said that the information was subject to professional legal privilege and was otherwise confidential. They had admitted … Continue reading L v L and Hughes Fowler Carruthers: QBD 1 Feb 2007
(City of Westminster Magistrates Court) The NCA had made a request to the court for an order that the now claimant surrender, under the 1897 Act, passwords to encrypted computer files. An application had already been made under the 2000 Act, to which the claimant had replied that he did not have the passwords sought. … Continue reading Love v National Crime Agency: 10 May 2016
The court has a power to make a pre-judgment worldwide asset freezing order (a mareva injunction) on satisfaction of the following conditions: 1. That the defendant can be protected against too many and oppressive actions, 2. That he can be protected effectively against the misuse of any information so obtained, and 3. That the interests … Continue reading Derby and Co v Weldon: CA 2 Aug 1988
Loss of Confidentiality Protection – public domain A retired secret service employee sought to publish his memoirs from Australia. The British government sought to restrain publication there, and the defendants sought to report those proceedings, which would involve publication of the allegations made. The AG sought to restrain those publications. Held: A duty of confidence … Continue reading Attorney-General v Guardian Newspapers Ltd (No 2) (‘Spycatcher’): HL 13 Oct 1988
Shareholder May Sue for Additional Personal Losses A company brought a claim of negligence against its solicitors, and, after that claim was settled, the company’s owner brought a separate claim in respect of the same subject-matter. Held: It need not be an abuse of the court for a shareholder to seek damages against advisers to … Continue reading Johnson v Gore Wood and Co: HL 14 Dec 2000
The defendant appealed against an unsuccessful application to exclude evidence where it was claimed there had been incitement by an agent provocateur. Held: The appeal failed. There is no defence of entrapment in English law. All evidence which is relevant is prima facie admissible in a criminal trial, although the trial judge has a discretion … Continue reading Regina v Sang: HL 25 Jul 1979
The claimant appealed against the denial of her claim that the defendant had infringed her right to respect for her private life. She was a model who had proclaimed publicly that she did not take drugs, but the defendant had published a story showing a picture of her leaving a drug addiction clinic, along with … Continue reading Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd (MGN) (No 1): HL 6 May 2004
