Latest Cases

Human rights – Inhuman or degrading treatment. The respondent judicial authority sought the appellant's return to Romania to serve a three-year sentence, which could potentially be served in the third most over-crowded Romanian prison. The senior district judge ordered the appellant's surrender to Romania and the appellant appealed. The Divisional Court ruled that to return a prisoner to serve three years in a collective cell where the personal space was approximately 1.5 metres would amount to a violation of art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. Following the murder of the mother by the father, the local authority sought care and placement orders for the three children of the family. The maternal grandmother and the other members of the family opposed the making of such orders. The local authority made the orders sought applying the criteria of the welfare of each individual child being considered paramount.t 

Costs – Order for costs. The claimant bank withdrew proceedings for possession against P. A dispute arose as to whether costs should be paid by the bank on the standard basis or the indemnity basis. The Chancery Division held that, on the evidence, the bank had not acted for a collateral purpose that had been beyond its abilities, and its proceedings had not been an abuse of the process of the court. Consequently, costs would be awarded on the standard basis. 

Personal injury – Liability. Court of Session: In an action in which the pursuer sought damages for an injury sustained when she fell onto steps after a seagull swooped at her outside a building owned, occupied and operated by defenders, the court held that the pursuer had failed to prove on the balance of probabilities that the gull which attacked her came from the defenders' building, and in any event her case under the Occupiers' Liability (Scotland) Act 1960 fell on the first hurdle of reasonable foreseeability and her statutory cases under regs 5 and 17 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 also failed. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. Pursuant to s 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1969, a judge of the High Court could grant a 'leapfrog' certificate to enable the case to proceed directly to the Supreme Court. In the instant case of several hundred claims by Iraqi civilians seeking damages from the defendant Ministry of Defence for their allegedly unlawful detention and/or unlawful treatment by British armed, the Queen's Bench Division granted the application. 

Immigration – Leave to appeal – Judicial review. Court of Session: Allowing a reclaiming motion in judicial review proceedings in which the Lord Ordinary granted the prayer of the petition and reduced a decision of the Upper Tribunal (UT) refusing the petitioner leave to appeal against a decision of the First Tier Tribunal, the court held that there was nothing in the Lord Ordinary's opinion to persuade it that he had considered and decided the merits of the judicial review and it was clear that he failed to recognise that the court's interlocutor following a procedural first hearing did not determine the merits. 

Criminal evidence and procedure – Admissibility of evidence – Prejudicial publicity. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing appeals by two appellants who were convicted after trial of carrying out a fraudulent scheme, the court held that a sheriff had not erred in repelling an objection to the Crown leading evidence of parts of a co-accused's police interview, nor had he erred in refusing a motion to desert the trial following publication by the Scottish Government of a news release concerning human trafficking during the trial. 

Public Procurement – Public services contracts. The proceedings concerned a procurement for the provision of air traffic control services at Gatwick airport. A dispute arose as to the claimant company's tender. The Technology and Construction Court held that, among other things, the applicable test in the circumstances was that laid down in the case of American Cyanamid Co v Ethicon Ltd [1975] 1 All ER 504 , and that, in the circumstances, it would not be appropriate to lift an automatic suspensions provision preventing the defendant from entering into contracts with the successful tenderer. 

Landlord and tenant – Commercial lease – Construction. Court of Session: Allowing an appeal in a dispute as to the construction of the dilapidations provisions that applied on the termination of a commercial lease, the court held that the tenants' construction of the relevant clause was to be preferred, namely that they were not obliged to make payment to the landlords of whatever sum happened to be the total of the various cost estimates contained in a schedule of dilapidations and instead the clause was intended to reflect and reinforce the common law, under which the landlords would be entitled to the actual loss they sustained, which might be calculated using a number of different methods. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. In a trademark infringement case relating to Community trademarks the claimant sought to re-amend its particulars of claim so as to include other member states in addition to the United Kingdom. The defendants had previously agreed to other amendments and opposed the re-amendment. The Chancery Division allowed the amendment to cover both the territory of the United Kingdom and/or France.