Latest Cases

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant applied for an order quashing the decision of the first defendant Secretary of State, dismissing his appeal against the second defendant local planning authority's refusal of planning permission for a bungalow and associated curtilage. The Planning Court, in dismissing the application, held that the Secretary of State's inspector had applied para 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework, had not elided the impact on the openness of the Green Belt and visual impact, and had given adequate reasons. 

Barrister – Disciplinary proceedings. The appellant barrister appealed against the Council of the Inns of Court disciplinary tribunal's finding that he was guilty of professional misconduct. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the appeal, held that the tribunal had given adequate reasons and had been fully aware of the context, and that the conduct was sufficiently serious as to amount to professional misconduct. 

Shipping – Collision. In two cases concerning collision actions in the Admiralty court, the claimant ship owners had been refused an extension of time for issuing their actions in personam. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appeal in the first case and refused permission to appeal in the second. The claims had been time-barred and, in the case of the appeal, the relevant proceedings to which the time limit had applied had been the in personam action and not the earlier, within time, in rem action. 

European Union – Freedom of movement. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that EU law, in particular the principles of equivalence and effectiveness, should be interpreted as not precluding, in circumstances such as those in the dispute in the main proceedings, a situation where there was no possibility for a national court to revise a final decision of a court or tribunal made in the course of civil proceedings when that decision was found to be incompatible with an interpretation of EU law upheld by the Court after the date on which that decision had become final, even though such a possibility did exist as regards final decisions of a court or tribunal incompatible with EU law made in the course of administrative proceedings. 

Medical practitioner – Professional conduct committee. The appellant consultant cardiologist appealed against findings by the Fitness to Practise Panel (the Panel) of the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service that he had been guilty of misconduct, that his fitness to practise was impaired and against the sanction of six months' suspension. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the appeal, held that the Panel had not erred in having found the relevant allegations proved or in its findings of dishonesty. Accordingly, the finding of impairment and the sanction imposed could not be said to have been wrong. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division made a child arrangements order for indirect contact in favour of the biological father of two children and his male partner. The court further ordered that a preamble about the biological father's entitlement to the children's school reports would be attached to the final order and it made an order restricting further applications, under s 91(14) of the Children Act 1989. 

Transport – Private hire vehicle. The claimant Transport for London sought a declaration that the first defendant's, Uber, network private hire vehicles (PHVs) were not equipped with a taximeter in contravention of s 11 of the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998. The Administrative Court, in granting a declaration, held that Uber's PHVs were not equipped with a taximeter as defined by s 11(3) of the Act. The driver's smartphone with a driver's app was not a device for calculating fare by itself or in conjunction with a server and even if it was, the vehicle was not equipped with it. 

Child – Care. A local authority contended that a judge had been wrong not to make findings on the evidence that fractures discovered during a post-mortem examination of a ten month old child had been the result of non–accidental injury and to identify the probable perpetrator or pool of possible perpetrators. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the authority's appeal, held that the judge's fact-finding exercise had been fatally flawed in all matters relating to the central and significant issue of the child's injuries, and the judgment rendered unreliable. 

Company – Shares. The Companies Court made findings regarding a claim brought by B, concerning her dismissal from the directorship of an optician's practice and the alleged devaluation of shares that she held. The court held that two of her six claims succeeded, and those matters warranted an adjustment to the price payable for B's shares. 

Sentence – Mandatory life sentence. The offender, when aged 15 years, with his brother, had stabbed their sister's former boyfriend 40 times, for which he was convicted of murder and a minimum term of 14 years, less time spent on remand, had been imposed. The present proceedings concerned the review of the minimum term. The Administrative Court refused to recommend a reduction of the tariff, as the offender's very good progress was not such that it could cross the extremely high hurdle of exceptional and unforeseen.