Latest Cases

Immigration – Non-patrial. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal by the Secretary of State in circumstances where the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunals (Immigration and Asylum Chambers) had allowed the respondent's appeal against the Secretary of State's refusal to grant a Certificate of Entitlement giving the respondent a right of abode in the United Kingdom. The respondent, as a matter of statutory application, did not have a right of abode through either his father, his mother or through being a Commonwealth citizen. 

Negligence – Causation. The Queen's Bench Division held, in a personal injury claim by the claimant against two defendant doctors in relation to her allegedly untimely admission to hospital, that neither defendant had breached their duty of care to the claimant and therefore the claim would be dismissed. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division made rulings concerning, among other things, the mother's application to increase periodical payments for her son and the father's cross-application to strike out a number of claims made by the mother relating to providing for their son, C, who was seven years old. The court held that, with the exception of points relating to the trustee of and upkeep of the house where the mother lived, the issues in the application were not justiciable and would be dismissed. 

European Union – Regulations. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) against a judgment of the General Court of the European Union, by which that court had dismissed NIOC's application seeking annulment, first, of Council Decision 2012/635/CFSP (concerning restrictive measures against Iran), and, secondly, of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 945/2012, implementing Regulation (EU) No 267/2012 (concerning restrictive measures against Iran), in so far as those acts related to NIOC. 

Sentence – Mandatory life sentence. The Administrative Court reduced the offender's tariff for murder, committed when he was aged 14, from a minimum term of 9 years, less 202 days spent on remand to 8 years, less 202 days. The offender had made exceptional progress which had, by no means, been expected to that degree, from when he had committed the offence and had been sentenced for it. 

Vicarious liability – Crown. The Supreme Court, in dismissing the appellant's appeal, held that the respondent had been injured as a result of negligence by a prisoner in carrying on the activities assigned to him, and the prison service was, therefore, vicariously liable to her. The court considered what sort of relationship had to exist between an individual and a defendant before the defendant could be made vicariously liable in tort for the conduct of the individual, with particular regard to Various claimants v Catholic Child Welfare Society ([2013] 1 All ER 670). 

Minor – Custody. The Family Division, on a mother's application under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980 and Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003, ordered the summary return to France of her three children. The mother's words in email exchanges had not amounted to 'a clear and unequivocal consent' and, even if they had been, manifestly that consent had been withdrawn before the children had been retained. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by UTi Worldwide, Inc., and other companies, active in the sector of international air freight forwarding services, for annulment of Commission Decision C(2012) 1959 final of 28 March 2012 relating to a proceeding under art 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and art 53 of the European Economic Area Agreement (Case COMP/39462 — Freight forwarding), in so far as it concerned the applicants, and, in the alternative, for annulment or reduction of the fines imposed on them in that decision. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The Divisional Court dismissed the appellants' appeals against orders for their extradition to Poland to serve activated suspended sentences. It gave guidance on the distinction between a person 'unlawfully at large', within s 14(b) of the Extradition Act 2003 and a 'fugitive', before finding that the appellants could not rely on the passage of time to bar their extradition. Further, their extradition would not be disproportionate to their rights under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Child – Protection. The Family Division granted a local authority's application for permission to withdraw its previous application for injunctive orders against a man who had been wrongly identified as a possible perpetrator of a child sexual exploitation of a young girl. It further held that the provisions in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, read with the statutory guidance, made it clear that a magistrates court had the power to make an interim sexual risk order prior to the making or not making of a final order.