Latest Cases

European Union – Regulations. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by the Council of the European Union by which the Council had sought to set aside a judgment of the General Court of the European Union in which the General Court had annulled certain European Union decisions, regulations and implementing regulations concerning restrictive measures against Iran in so far as they had concerned Bank Mellat, following the placing of Bank Mellat's name by the Council on the lists of persons, entities and bodies to whom the restrictive measures decided upon under those acts applied. 

Value added tax – Input tax. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) which had allowed the taxpayers' appeal against a determination that they were not entitled to a repayment of VAT as they should have known that their purchases were connected with fraud. The Upper Tribunal had erred in a number of respects, including have addressed the evidence in a compartmentalised fashion, and the earlier determination of the First-tier Tribunal, that the only reasonable explanation which the taxpayers could have drawn from their prior knowledge and the circumstances was that the relevant transactions were connected with a fraud by a previous buyer was reinstated. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by LG Developpement (LG) against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), relating to opposition proceedings between Bayerische Motorenwerke AG and LG, concerning the application by the latter for registration of a figurative sign 'MINICARGO' as a Community trade mark. 

European Union – State aids. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Greece by which Greece sought to have set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 16 July 2014 in Greece v Commission: Case T‑52/12, in which the General Court had dismissed its action for annulment of Commission Decision 2012/157/EU of 7 December 2011 concerning compensation payments made by the Greek Agricultural Insurance Organisation (ELGA) in 2008 and 2009. 

Judgment – Default of defence. The Commercial Court allowed the second defendant company's application to set aside a judgement in default in proceedings relating to an alleged fraud carried out by the defendants concerning property purchased by the claimant. The second defendant had a real prospect of defending the claim. Weighing up the relevant factors, the balance fell strongly in favour of setting aside the default judgment. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The Divisional Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against the decision of a district judge to order his extradition to Spain, pursuant to a European arrest warrant, to face a charge of rape. The court held that the district judge's conclusion that the delay by the Spanish Judicial Authority did not prevent the appellant from having a fair trial and he had correctly concluded in respect of art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights that the public interests in extradition outweighed the factors against it and he had rightly concluded that the appellant had failed to establish abuse of process. 

Contempt of court – Committal. The Family Division, on the father's application for committal to prison (or other penalty) of the mother for the alleged contempt of an order, namely, in having failed to return two children to England and Wales from India, held that the mother was in contempt of court. However, the question of sentence was adjourned to give the mother a time for reflection and time to mitigate, should she wish to do so. 

Medical treatment – Human fertilisation. The Queen's Bench Division dismissed an appeal from a master striking out the defendant fertility clinic's counterclaim in relation to the claimant regulatory authority's claim for fees in respect of unpaid fees in connection with the defendant's provision of IVF treatment cycles. The case remained struck out with the claimant to be awarded its cost. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division continued a freezing injunction against the first respondent, against whom judgment had been granted in favour of the applicants, and discharged ab initio the freezing injunction against his wife, the second respondent, in respect of whom no judgment had been granted. The eagerness with which the applicants had approached the seeking of freezing relief against the first respondent had misled them into an approach that targeted particular assets in a proprietary way, and thence to obtaining, wrongly, a wholesale freezing order against the second respondent. 

Charity – Appeal. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, considered the appeal of the appellant charity and its trustees against the refusal of permission to apply for judicial review of the respondent Charity Commission's decision to initiate an inquiry, under s 46 of the Charities Act 2011, and of a production order, issued under s 52 of the Act, on the sole ground that they should have appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber). It dismissed the appeal in respect of the inquiry decision, and allowed the appeal in respect of the production order, holding that s 320 of the Act did not permit an appeal on the grounds that a s 52 order had been unlawfully made.