Latest Cases

Housing – Local authority. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant local authority's decision not to consider whether her circumstances were exceptional and to treat her as eligible for housing allocation despite her not fulfilling the residency criteria in the housing allocation scheme. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the scheme had not empowered the authority to disapply the eligibility criteria in an exceptional case. Further, the scheme had not unlawfully fettered the authority's statutory powers and there was no evidence that, in devising the scheme, the authority had failed to have regard to the ministerial guidance and such failure could not be inferred. 

Sentence – Imprisonment. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, increased an offender's sentence for rape, where the judge had erred in giving a discount of three years to reflect the offender's courage in pleading guilty or his previous good character. The sentence of seven years' and two months' imprisonment was quashed and substituted for a sentence of ten years' imprisonment. 

European Union – Civil and commercial matters. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 5(1)(a), 5(3) and 15(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters). The request had been made in proceedings between Mr Kolassa, domiciled in Vienna (Austria), and Barclays Bank plc, established in London (United Kingdom), concerning an action for damages based on the contractual, precontractual, tortious or delictual liability of that bank as a result of the loss in value of a financial investment made by Mr Kolassa through a financial instrument issued by that bank. 

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 a wind farm and an access track. The Planning Court, in dismissing the application, held that the authority had had full regard to the development plan and the priority which should be given to its provisions, and had applied the two-stage analysis proposed by the claimant. Further, the conditions imposed appeared to satisfy the applicable test and no positive evidence that a condition could be met was required. 

Criminal law – Child sex offences. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that a community sentence imposed on a dance instructor who had had sexual relationships with two 15 year old students had been unduly lenient. The sentence was substituted for one of four years' imprisonment. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled, amongst other things, that arts 2 and 6(1) of the Council Directive (EC) 2000/78, should be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which, to end discrimination based on age, took account of the periods of service prior to the age of 18, but which, simultaneously, included a rule, applicable in reality only to employees who were subject to that discrimination, which extended by one year the period required for advancement in each of the three first salary steps and which, in so doing, definitively maintained a difference in treatment based on age. 

Constitutional law – Foreign sovereign state. The parties had been engaged in arbitration and the claimants issued an arbitration claim form to seek to enforce the defendant's compliance with the tribunal's order. The claimants obtained the court's permission to serve the claim form on the defendant's solicitors and a further order for an expedited timetable for the determination of the arbitration claim and an abridgement of the time for filing an acknowledgement of service. The Commercial Court granted the defendant's application to set those orders aside. Section 12(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978 had applied as, under that section, the issue of an arbitration claim form constituted the institution of proceedings. Further, there had been no, or no operative, agreement as to the manner of service under s 12(6) of the Act. Finally, the defendant had not, in the circumstances, waived its right to rely on s 12 of the Act. 

Sentence – Imprisonment. The offenders, Z and J, were part of a group of men who had been involved in the sexual exploitation of vulnerable young girls. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that the offenders' sentences had been unduly lenient. J's sentence, for one count of sexual activity with a child, was increased to one of three years' detention. In respect of Z, a consecutive term of five years' imprisonment was imposed in respect of the offence of trafficking within the United Kingdom for the purposes of sexual exploitation. 

Immigration – Refugee. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, considered the three appeals where an issue arose as to whether, notwithstanding the defendants' guilty pleas, their convictions were unsafe by reason of the failure of their legal representatives to advise them adequately or at all of the availability of a defence under s 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999; and whether, had they been so advised, there was a reasonable prospect that they would have been able to successfully advance a defence under that section at trial. On the facts, two of the appeals were allowed, and the third was dismissed. 

European Union – Value added tax. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that the making available of a stadium to a football club constituted a supply of services rather than a letting of immovable property within the meaning of art 13B(b) of the Sixth Directive where, amongst other things, the owner permanently controlled the access to the sporting facilities and 80% of the charge payable represented services of management, maintenance and cleaning.