Latest Cases

Income tax – Earnings from employment. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners concerning schemes used by UBS AG and DB Group Services (UK) Ltd, which were designed to avoid the payment of income tax on bankers' bonuses. The court held that the tax exemption in s 423 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, did not apply in the present case in respect of the schemes whereby shares were awarded to employees in place of bonuses. The court ruled that, on the true construction of s 423 and in the circumstances of the present case, income tax was payable on the value of the shares on the date of their acquisition. 

Immigration – European Economic Area (EEA) national. The Administrative Court referred a question to the Court of Justice of the European Union. It was unclear whether the amendment to the definition of 'EEA citizen' in the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/1003, and the decision that the claimant's wife, who was a Spanish national, could no longer rely on her rights as a European Union citizen under European Parliament and Council Directive (EC) 2004/38, within the United Kingdom following naturalisation as a British citizen, unlawfully restricted the right to free movement, under art 21 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Directive. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Court held that it was in the best interests of an eleven-year-old child, C, to remain in the care of his maternal aunt. It accordingly made a child arrangements order in favour of the aunt, which provided that C would live with her, and which would also confer on the aunt parental responsibility in respect of C for the duration of the order. 

Criminal law – Alternative offence. The Divisional Court allowed the appellant's appeal by way of case stated against his convictions for harassment, where he had previously been convicted of racially aggravated harassment against the same victims and arising out of the same facts. The court gave guidance on how to proceed in such circumstances. 

Design – Design right. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, reversing the judge's decision that the respondent's 'Kiddee Case' infringed the appellant's Community design right, which had become the 'Trunki'. The Court of Appeal had addressed the question of infringement on the correct basis in law and there were no grounds for questioning its decision. 

Police – Pension. The Administrative Court allowed the claimant former police officer's application for judicial review of the Police Medical Appeal Board's decision that he was not permanently disabled and so not entitled to an ill health award, under reg B3 of the Police Pension Regulations 1987, SI 1987/257. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division on a return date in the case of an ex-parte freezing injunction in the context of a divorce agreement held that there had been full and frank disclosure at the ex parte hearing in December but in any event there had been no real risk of dissipation and therefore there were no grounds for making an injunction on new terms. 

Immigration – Leave to remain. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the Secretary of State's appeal regarding the respondent's application to extend his leave to remain as a Tier 4 (general student) migrant. Where a sponsor college's licence was revoked and a student then re-submitted his application for further leave to remain with a new confirmation of acceptance for studies from a new provider, that re-submitted application amounted to a variation of the purpose of his application for leave that fell within para 34E of the Immigration Rules. Therefore, the mandatory requirements of the Immigration Rules had to be met at the time of re-submission. 

Agent – Commercial agent. The Commercial Court awarded the claimant commercial agent damages for breach of contract, the termination of the agency on insufficient notice and compensation under reg 17 of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053. The defendant had not accepted the claimant's repudiatory breach as having brought an agency agreement to an end and had affirmed the agreement. 

Criminal evidence and procedure – Admissibility of hearsay evidence – Right to fair trial. Sheriff Appeal Court: Refusing an appeal against conviction for assault by an appellant at whose trial the sheriff admitted the hearsay evidence of a child witness in the form of a police statement after she refused to enter a room where she had been due to give evidence by CCTV, the court concluded that the sheriff was entitled to be satisfied that the witness had refused to be admonished to tell the truth such that the evidence of her statement was admissible under s 259 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, and that the admission of the hearsay did not render the trial unfair in terms of art 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights.