Latest Cases

European Union – Freedom of movement. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that arts 10, 11 and 13 of Directive (EC) 95/46 had to be interpreted as precluding national measures, such as those at issue in the main proceedings, which allowed a public administrative body of a member state to transfer personal data to another public administrative body and their subsequent processing, without the data subjects having been informed of that transfer or processing. 

Minor – Removal outside jurisdiction. On the father's application, under the 1980 Hague Convention of the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the Family Division ordered that his son be returned to Israel forthwith. It was a condition of the order that, among other things, the father signed written undertakings. The court held that the mother's retention of the child in England had been wrongful. On the basis of the undertakings offered by the father, the mother had failed to establish the defence under art 13(b) of the Hague Convention. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Verus Eood against the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) concerning opposition proceedings between Verus Eood and Joie International Co., Ltd, regarding the application by the latter for registration of the word sign 'MIRUS' as a Community trade mark. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division approved an agreed order with regard to the reporting of a case in which the local authority had initially sought to obtain a reporting restriction order. The court found it necessary to point out that it was important that if and when local authorities and the media came to realise that there was an issue between them about how much should be reportable and on what terms, there should be sensible and responsible dialogue as soon as possible, with a view to finding an early modus vivendi. 

Coroner – Jury. The Divisional Court, in dismissing the claimant's application for judicial review, upheld the defendant senior coroner's decision, that the deceased had not been 'in state detention', within the meaning of ss 7(2)(a), and 48(1) and (2) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, at the time of her death in intensive care. 

Specific performance – Option to purchase land. The Chancery Division, in allowing the claimant's application for specific performance of an option agreement, rejected the defendants' arguments that the agreement should be rectified, a term should be implied, the claimant had waived a requirement of the agreement and claims of estoppel. 

Practice – Costs. The Technology and Construction Court dismissed an application by the claimants, Caribbean property developer Harlequin and its operator, to vary an order for security for costs to take account of the claimants' increased disbursements. It ruled that it had no power to do so where the parties had, following the court's earlier judgment, amended an after the event (ATE) policy, which the claimants had offered as security, and had agreed to its terms. It would wrong to establish a precedent that, if one part of the preparation exercise costed the claimants more than they expected, the defendant should be penalised by having the level of its own security reduced. Further, disclosure was ordered where the administration of justice, and the need to dispose fairly of the issues in the present highly contentious case, outweighed any public interest in the withholding certain documents generated by a Serious Fraud Office investigation. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of age enshrined in art 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and given specific expression by Directive (EC) 2000/78 should be interpreted as not precluding national legislation under which an end-of-contract payment, paid in addition to an employee's salary on the expiry of a fixed-term employment contract where the contractual relationship was not continued in the form of a contract for an indefinite period, was not payable in the event that the contract was concluded with a young person for a period during his school holidays or university vacation. 

Bankruptcy – Trustee in bankruptcy. The present case concerned a pier, the freehold of which was owned by H until he was made bankrupt and the freehold vested in his trustee in bankruptcy. Among other things, the Chancery Division dismissed H's application for a vesting order, holding that it would not be appropriate in all the circumstances to make an order vesting in H the pier or any part of it. 

European Union – Consumer protection. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that arts 6(1) and 7(1) of Directive (EEC) 93/13 did not preclude national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which allowed a notary who had drawn up, in due form, an authentic instrument concerning a contract concluded between a seller or supplier and a consumer, to affix the enforcement clause to that instrument or to refuse to cancel it when no review of the unfairness of the contractual terms had been performed at any stage.