Latest Cases

European Union – Customs and excise. In the course of proceedings between the taxpayer company and Greece concerning the refusal by the Director of the Athens Customs Office to refund the taxpayer the registration taxes paid by it following the import of passenger vehicles into Greek territory, the Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding, among other things, that art 1(3) of Directive (EC) 2008/118 should be interpreted as fulfilling the conditions for producing direct effect allowing individuals to rely on it before a national court in a dispute between them and a member state. 

Contempt of Court – Sentence. The Commercial Court imposed a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment on a defendant who had been found guilty of contempt of court for failing to comply with disclosure provisions in a freezing order. 

European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The request had been made in proceedings between X-Steuerberatungsgesellschaft (X) and the Hannover-Nord Tax Office; concerning the latter's refusal to accept X as the authorised representative of a company within the context of a turnover tax assessment procedure. 

European Union – Jurisdiction. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 19(1) of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004. The request had been made in proceedings between Imtech Marine Belgium NV, established in Belgium, and Radio Hellenic SA, established in Greece, concerning the former's application for certification, as a European Enforcement Order within the meaning of that Regulation, a judgment delivered in absentia in relation to a claim accompanied by a penalty payment and late payment interest. 

Immigration – Leave to remain. The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) allowed the claimant Kazakhstani national's application for judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's decision treat his application for further leave to remain as invalid on the basis that he had failed to submit a police registration certificate. The certificate had not been specified as mandatory in the application form or in any related guidance. 

Extradition – Discharge. The Divisional Court dismissed the United States of America's appeal against the discharge of the respondent from extradition to face trial for 19 charges of sexual assault allegedly committed against an adolescent boy. The requesting state's assurance was insufficient to obviate the risk of a flagrant breach of the respondent's rights under art 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to the danger of being subjected to a civil commitment order. 

Local authority – Contract. The Commercial Court made rulings on preliminary questions in a dispute concerning the provision of services by the claimant company to the defendant local authority. The court held that, at the time in issue, the claimant had been in breach of the agreement between the parties. The authority had been entitled to terminate the agreement. 

Costs – Assessment. The Queen's Bench Division held that the master had erred in principle in his decision in relation to the costs namely whether a retrospective success fee was allowable in all the circumstances of the case before him. In that respect the master had been wrong as there was no basis for any conclusion that the risk was different in December 2012 to that which had existed in July. 

Contract – Repudiation. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed a ship charterers' appeal regarding the measure of damages to be assessed following the charterers' repudiatory breach of contract, following which the owners sold the vessel for a higher price than would have been obtained had it been sold at the anticipated expiry of the charterparty. The court held that if a claimant adopted by way of mitigation a measure which arose out of the consequences of the breach and was in the ordinary course of business and such measure benefited the claimant, that benefit was normally to be brought into account in assessing the claimant's loss unless the measure was wholly independent of the relationship of the claimant and defendant. 

Judgment – Enforcement. The Queen's Bench Division held that the claimant was entitled to enforce a judgment obtained in the United States against the defendant in the jurisdiction of England and Wales.