Latest Cases

Child – Care. A local authority was concerned for the safety of five children and had been granted an interim care order in respect of them. The father had taken the children to Ireland and had not returned , as required by the order. The Family Court, in proceedings to reconsider the interim care order, held that the test for the removal of children from the family to foster care was no longer met. With the precautions in place in Ireland, it was neither necessary nor proportionate for the children to be removed. 

Human rights – Right to life. The Administrative Court, held that the Lord Chancellor's Exceptional Funding Guidance (Inquests) was inadequate, incorporated an error of law and provided a materially misleading impression of what the law was. That was by virtue of the fact that there was no recognition that there was a category of case where the investigative duty under art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights arose irrespective of the existence of an arguable breach by the state. Those errors could lead to erroneous decision being taken by caseworkers. 

Mental health – Court of Protection. The present case raised a number of issues about the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and in particular the amendments that were introduced into the 2005 Act by the Mental Health Act 2007 concerning the procedures to be followed in cases of deprivation of liberty in relation to a patient AJ. The Queen's Bench Division concluded that overall, the steps taken by the local authority in the case to ensure that AJ's challenge to the deprivation of her liberty was brought before the court had been inadequate. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed an action by Blackrock, Inc. for annulment of the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to the application by Blackrock for registration of a word sign 'INVESTING FOR A NEW WORLD' as a Community trade mark. 

Financial services – Financial Conduct Authority. The claimant firm of chartered accountants sought judicial review of the defendant Financial Ombudsman Service's decision that it had jurisdiction to consider a complaint made by the interested party. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the defendant had not erred in finding that it had had jurisdiction. Although the alleged purpose of the advice had been tax avoidance, it could also have involved investment advice. Further, the defendant had not erred in finding that the advice had concerned a 'collective investment scheme', on the basis of the 'purpose or effect' of the scheme and the day-to-day control. 

Trust and Trustee – Resulting trust. The appellant solicitors' firm (the firm) accepted monies into its client account from the respondents. The bulk of the sum was paid out in reduction of short-term borrowing of money incurred by a client of the firm, AFL. AFL entered administration. The respondents successfully commenced proceedings, seeking to recover their losses from the firm in the main basis that the firm had paid the money from its client account, or for the benefit of AFL. The Court of Appeal held that the judge at first instance had erred and that the firm's appeal would succeed. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The appellant appealed against orders for her extradition to Lithuania to serve an activated suspended sentence of three years' imprisonment for eight fraud offences with others. The Administrative Court, in allowing the appeal, held that extradition would be a disproportionate interference with the rights of the appellant and her son under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In particular, given the uncontradicted evidence as to the son's unresolved trauma arising from witnessing the abuse of his mother in the past and the likely detrimental consequences if he was moved from her care, and the appellant's current pregnancy. 

Immigration – Education. The claimant college sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's decision to refuse its application for highly trusted sponsor status and to maintain that decision. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the Secretary of State had not acted irrationally in her approach to the refusal rate of student visa applications, the enrolment rate or failure to report on unrolled students. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. Care orders were made in relation to two children, who were to live with their mother and have limited supervised contact with their father. The father appealed against the judge's order, challenging, among other things, the judge's treatment of the evidence of a clinical psychologist, G, which it was said to have been allowed to assume disproportionate importance. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the father's appeal. It held that, among other things, the judge had produced a most thorough judgment, drawing together all the strands of the evidence. From it, it was quite clear that her decision had not been based upon an unquestioning acceptance of G's evidence, whether as to physical risk or as to emotional considerations. 

Police – Powers. The claimant teenager had been arrested and taken to a police station. An assessment was made that she might use her clothes as a ligature to attempt suicide, so they were removed by three female police officers. Her claim for damages was dismissed by the county court. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that while she had been strip searched, within the meaning of s 54(6A) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and para 4.1 of Code C and para 9 of Annex A of Code C of the PACE Codes of Practice, there had been no breach of para 11 of Annex A. While the recorder had not directly applied para 11, he had made a finding that established that there had been compliance with the spirit of that requirement.