Latest Cases

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. 

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had not amounted to 'a clear and unequivocal consent' and, even if they had been, manifestly that consent had been withdrawn before the children had been retained.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 Schenker Ltd, 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 applicant, and for variation of the fine imposed on it in that decision. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division held, in assessing whether and to what extent to grant disclosure of certain documents following alleged police brutality in Peru in which it was alleged by the claimants that the defendant copper mine owners had been involved, that certain disclosure would be ordered having regard to the fact that the mining company had adopted the voluntary principles on security and Human Rights. 

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. 

Immigration – Refugee. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant Iranian nationals' challenge to the defendant Secretary of State's certification of their asylum claims on safe third country grounds and certification of their human rights claims as clearly unfounded. Although articles other than art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and art 4 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union could be prayed in aid to prevent returns under Council Regulation (EC) 343/03 (Dublin II), there was no flagrant breach of art 5 of the Convention in Cyprus for Dublin returnees who had had a final decision on their claim. 

Criminal law – Trial. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, found that the first defendant had been fit to plead at his trial for burglary and dismissed his appeal. However, the second defendant's delusional beliefs would have affected his ability to understand the proceedings and to give evidence at his trial for breach of a restraining order. Accordingly, his conviction was quashed and substituted by a finding he had done the acts charged, and a hospital order with a restriction order without limit of time was made.