Latest Cases

Practice – Civil litigation. In the course of a building dispute, the claimants sought a declaration in relation to the right of adjudication. The Technology and Construction Court refused to give the directions that the claimants were seeking. The claimants persisted in seeking directions as to that issue. The court held that no useful purpose was to be served by the pursuit of the claimants' application for a declaration. The claimants' application would be stayed and the proceedings would continue. 

Criminal law – Appeal. The defendant was convicted of murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, in circumstances where the victims had been stabbed in the street by a group of youths. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the defendant's appeal, rejecting his contentions that there had been material non-disclosures or fresh evidence which undermined the safety of his conviction. 

Trade mark – Infringement. The proceedings concerned alleged infringement and passing off of the claimant's Community trade marks. The claimant sought permission to carry out a survey and adduce the results as evidence of passing off. The Chancery Division dismissed the application, holding that, among other things, there was nothing in the present case such as would tend to suggest that the trial judge was likely to need, or derive assistance from the admission of, the results of the survey. 

Contract – Construction. In a claim by the claimant bakery against the defendants cupcake manufacturers regarding the defendants right to manufacture products. The Queen's Bench Division dismissed an appeal against the grant of summary judgment in favour of the defendants. It did so on the basis that the claimant's case that there was a temporal limitation on the defendants' right to manufacture was hopeless. 

Family proceedings – Jurisdiction. The Family Division had held the habitual residence of a child, S, was in the United Kingdom. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the father's appeal, held that the judge's determination that the mother had always retained her habitual residence in the UK, and that that had not been lost during an extended stay in Morocco, was not perverse. His conclusion that S's habitual residence was effectively determined by her mother's habitual residence, given the degree of dependence that the one had had on the other, was uncontroversial. 

Criminal evidence and procedure – Wilful fire raising – Discussion in chambers – Sufficiency of evidence. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was convicted of two charges involving wilful fire raising in areas of forestry, the court held that a discussion in chambers, which took place after a juror informed the clerk of the court on the first day of the trial that he knew one of the witnesses, was not a fundamental irregularity which had caused a miscarriage of justice, that there was sufficient evidence to prove that the fires had been set deliberately, and that it was permissible to apply the principle of mutual corroboration. 

Solemn procedure – Defective representation – Misdirection – Sentencing. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal against conviction by an appellant who was found guilty of abducting his 11 year old son, the court rejected contentions that a miscarriage of justice had occurred as a result of defective representation, that the defence of necessity should have been argued at the trial, and that the sheriff had a duty to direct the jury on the question of lawful authority despite counsel conceding that that defence was not being advanced, however it upheld a submission that the 2-year custodial sentence imposed on the appellant excessive and substituted one of 9 months. 

European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 15, 15a and 15b of Council Directive (EEC) 92/49 (on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance, as amended by Directive (EC) 2007/44. The request had been made in proceedings between CO Sociedad de Gestion y Participacion SA and others and Netherlands Central Bank, concerning the requirements to which the latter had subjected the approval of proposed acquisitions of the qualifying holding in the capital of Atradius NV. 

Minor – Medical treatment. The Family Division, in an emergency application by the applicant NHS Trust held that it was in the child's best interests to withhold invasive ventilation despite the wishes of the parent to have such treatment administered. 

European Union – Transport. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that art 12 of (EC) 2006/126 (on driving licences) should be interpreted as precluding legislation of a member state under which the only way in which a person who applied for the issue or renewal of a driving licence in that member state could prove that he satisfied the condition of 'normal residence', within the meaning of that article, in the territory of that member state, set out in art 7(1)(e) and 7(3)(b) of that directive, was to establish that he had a declared place of residence in the territory of the member state concerned.