Latest Cases

Criminal procedure – Sheriff's charge – Theft – Mens rea. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was convicted of the theft of a substantial amount of stock from the company of which he was the managing director, the court rejected contentions that the sheriff had failed to give adequate directions on the mens rea of theft and had failed to direct the jury appropriately not to speculate. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The Divisional Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against orders for his extradition to Latvia to face prosecution for four thefts alleged to have been committed in 2007. In particular, it rejected the submission that he should have been discharged because the issue of his surrender was res judicata on account of his discharge in Scotland in extradition proceedings for substantially the same matters, as the principle of res judicata had no application in extradition proceedings. 

Khan v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis & others 

European Union – Consumer protection. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 7 of Council Directive (EEC) 93/13. The requests had been made in proceedings between, in one case, Mr Sales Sinués and Caixabank SA and, in the other, Mr Drame Ba and Catalunya Caixa SA, both relating to the annulment of contractual terms in mortgage loan agreements. 

European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning art 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The request had been made in proceedings between Sparkasse Allgäu and the Kempten tax office, Germany, concerning the refusal of that credit institution to disclose to the Kempten tax office information relating to the accounts held with its dependent branch established in Austria by persons who, at the time of their death, had their place of residence for tax purposes in Germany. 

Immigration – Deportation – Certification of human rights claim. Court of Session: Refusing a judicial review petition by a Pakistani citizen who had been notified of his liability to deportation following convictions for sexual offences against children and who sought reduction of a decision to certify his human rights claim, the court held that although the certification process did not comply with the requirements of procedural fairness and it was not clear from her decision letter that the respondent carried out the separate proportionality assessment in respect of certification which she had to carry out, reduction would be pointless because there was no doubt the respondent would reach the same decision if she followed the correct approach. 

Trade mark – Infringement. The Chancery Division dismissed an application by the claimant company, Marussia Communications Ireland Ltd, for summary judgment in a case concerning the alleged breach of the claimant's trade mark in the use of the name of its car by the defendants' Formula One team. Although the evidence came nowhere near suggesting that the claimant had consented to the defendants using the name, issues concerning art 9.1 of Council Regulation (EC) 207/2009 on the Community Trade Mark would have to be determined at trial. 

Criminal procedure – Warrant to take fingerprints – Suspension. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing to pass a bill of suspension in which the complainer sought suspension of a warrant the sheriff granted to police to take his fingerprints while summary proceedings were in progress, the court held that it was competent for it to hear the bill, as a bill to suspend a warrant of the kind granted in the instant case was not included in the transfer of powers to the Sheriff Appeal Court and such bills remained subject to the High Court's supervisory jurisdiction; and the sheriff was entitled to regard the circumstances as special and to exercise his discretion in way that he did. 

Contract – Construction. The Chancery Division, Companies Court dismissed the employer's application for an injunction to restrain the contractor from presenting a winding up petition on the basis that the contractor had followed the procedure set out in the contract and there was no doubt concerning the liability of the employer to make the interim payments claimed in applications. 

Solicitor – Costs. The Queen's Bench Division allowed the claimant solicitors claim for recovery of 50% of the final sum recovered on behalf of the defendants from the bank under a Contingency Fee Agreement on that basis that the agreement properly construed had not required that any offer of compensation by the bank needed to be obtained through the claimant's efforts, nor was such a term necessary to give the agreement business efficacy.