Latest Cases

European Union – Customs duties. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of r 3(b) of the General Rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1214/2007. The request had been made in proceedings between VAD BVBA and its managing director and Belgium, concerning the tariff classification of combined video-audio systems and loudspeakers. 

Police – Investigation of crime. On references by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, pursuant to s 9 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that the defendants' convictions for murder and manslaughter had not been rendered unsafe. Amongst other things, the new evidence, which had not been available at the time of the defendants' trials, had not, in the circumstances, impacted upon the safety of the convictions. 

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. 

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. 

Company – Member. The Chancery Division dismissed a petition brought by a minority shareholder and employee of a company, under s 994 of the Companies Act 2006, alleging that he had been the victim of unfair conduct by the majority shareholders in the company after he had been dismissed and the compulsory transfer of his shares mechanism in the company's articles of association had been invoked. The relationship between the parties could not be described as a quasi-partnership. The present cases concerned an arm's length deal on agreed documentation; it was not a venture founded on the sort of considerations which were likely to give rise to the possibility of overriding equitable considerations under s 994 of the Act. 

European Union – Customs duties. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 948/2009, and decided that it had to be interpreted as meaning that a soya protein concentrate, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, came under heading 2309 of that nomenclature. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by credentis AG against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), relating to opposition proceedings between Aldi Karlslunde K/S and credentis AG, regarding the application by the latter for registration of the word sign 'Curodont' as a Community trade mark. 

Criminal law – Rape. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that a sentence of 24 months' imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, imposed for a category 3B rape had been unduly lenient and would consequently be quashed. In all the circumstances, a sentence of two-years-and-six months' imprisonment would be imposed accordingly. 

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. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by The Body Shop International plc (The Body Shop) 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 The Body Shop and Spa Monopole, compagnie fermière de Spa SA/NV concerning the application by the former for registration of the word sign 'SPA WISDOM' as a Community trade mark.