Latest Cases

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. 

Trust and trustee – Removal of trustee. The Chancery Division considered an application to remove the trustees administering the testator's will, where tension had arisen between the testator's family and workers in a company that he had established. The court held that it was appropriate to remove the trustees, who were perceived as having close links with the company, and to appoint the testator's daughters in their place. 

Practice – Summary judgment. The Chancery Division dismissed the defendant's application for summary judgment on the claimant's claim that the defendant had been party to a contract for the sale and purchase of property, which it had signed on behalf of an unregistered company, and had been in repudiatory breach of it, pursuant to s 36C(1) of the Companies Act 1985 (s 36C). Nothing in the contract allowed the defendant to argue that there had been a contrary agreement, pursuant to s 36C of the Act. 

Food and drugs – Food unfit for human consumption. The issue for determination was whether there was a right of appeal against an official veterinarian's assessment of the fitness of meat for human consumption. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the claimants' application for judicial review, held that a right of appeal was entirely inconsistent with the applicable European Union regulations. Further, as the EU regulations had not made clear or indicated that member states should enact rights of appeal, there was no duty to interpret any provision of domestic law so as to give full effect to EU law and there was no infraction of the right to property. 

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. 

Copyright – Infringement of copyright. The claimants were the owner and licensee, respectively, of the worldwide copyrights in eight songs performed by the Beatles at their first concert in the Unitest States of America in 1964 (the copyright works). The Chancery Division, in allowing their claims against the defendants for infringement of copyright, held that the inclusion of the copyright works in a documentary made by the second defendant did not amount to fair use; that there had been no binding contract obligating the claimants to issue a licence to the second defendant; and that the defendants could not rely on proprietary estoppel where the representations relied on had been expressly stipulated to be subject to contract. 

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant local planning authority's grant of planning permission for the development of 39 private sheltered apartments for the elderly with associated communal facilities. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the authority had failed to comply with its statutory duty to notify English Heritage of the application and to send it a copy of each of the required notices. However, there was no doubt that the decision would have been the same had English Heritage responded on the application as a result of notification and the discretion not to quash the decision would be exercised. 

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 – 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.