Latest Cases

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant local planning authority's grant of outline planning permission for the development of up to 400 dwellings and full planning permission for the change of use from agricultural land to use as a suitable alternative natural greenspace. The Planning Court, in dismissing the application, held that, reading the officer report as a whole and in the context of oral advice given to members, it could not be said that the members had been significantly misled by the advice given to them. 

Company – Scheme of arrangement. The Chancery Division sanctions schemes of arrangement in respect of the Apcoa group, a leading pan European car park operator. 

Mental health – Persons who lack capacity. The Court of Protection gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that neither reg 17A of the Children's Home Regulations 2001, SI 2001/3967, and/or para 3.19 of the National Minimum Standards for Children's Homes (the NMS) prevented the court from authorising any deprivation of liberty of the patient, P, in a registered children's home if a court concluded that such a deprivation of liberty pursued a legitimate aim and was necessary, proportionate and in P's best interests in the present case. 

Child – Abduction. The mother and father of two children had divorced and the mother had taken the children from Hungary, where they had lived, to the United Kingdom. The father made an application, under the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980, for the children's summary return to Hungary. The Family Division held that there had been a wrongful removal of the children and that the mother had not succeeded in establishing any of her defences. Accordingly, the children would be returned to Hungary. 

European Union – Access to information. The General Court of the European Union granted the application by the applicant Mr Ionnis Ntouvas for annulment of the decision of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) refusing the applicant access to the final audit reports carried out on the ECDC by the Internal Audit Service of the European Commission. 

Costs – Indemnity. The claimant had issued proceedings, to which the third defendant (GT) had issued a counterclaim by way of set off. The claimant discontinued its proceedings and it fell to the court to determine the matters on the counterclaim. The Chancery Division held that, on the true construction of the contractual documents that the parties had entered into, GT was entitled to an indemnity for its costs in defending the proceedings and bringing its counterclaim, provided that such costs were reasonable costs reasonably incurred. 

European Union – Environment. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 4 and 19 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and arts 13, 22, 23 and 30 of Directive (EC) 2008/50 of the European Parliament and of the Council (on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe). The request had been made in proceedings between ClientEarth, a non‑governmental organisation interested in protection of the environment, and the United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, concerning that organisation's request for revision of the air quality plans drawn up by the UK under Directive 2008/50 for certain of its zones and agglomerations. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that arts 2(2), 4(1) and 6(1)(c) of Council Directive (EC) 2000/78 (establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation) should be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which set the maximum age for recruitment of local police officers at 30 years. 

Court of Appeal – Practice. Five renewed applications for permission to appeal were considered by the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division. The court held that each of the applications was unmeritorious, and made a loss of time order in each case. The court gave guidance on the circumstances in which a loss of time order should be made. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The local authority care plan in respect of a child had included an option for adoption and, if not achieved within six months, a dual track approach of pursuing adoption and long term fostering arrangements. The judge granted a placement order and the mother appealed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that it was not necessary for an authority to have a contingency in a care plan, although it was desirable and that an authority was not precluded from adopting a dual planning approach in an appropriate case. They also clarified that the phrase 'nothing else will do' was the conclusion of a proportionality evaluation after a process of deductive reasoning and not a new presumption or standard of proof.