Latest Cases

Proceeds of crime – Restraint order. The applicants appealed against a judge's refusal to discharge and vary ex parte orders, restraining them from dealing with property said to be worth more than £1m, under s 41 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, discharged the orders against the third and fourth defendant companies, as there was no reasonable cause to believe that they had been laundering money. It further imposed a cap of £720,000 on the orders against the first and second applicants, as there was no realistic possibility that a confiscation order would follow in excess of that sum. 

European Union – Public procurement. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that where the contractor under a public contract was a non-profit association which, at the time of the award of the contract, had as partners not only public sector entities but also private social solidarity institutions carrying out non-profit activities, the requirement for 'similar control', established by the case-law of the Court in order that the award of a public contract could be regarded as an in-house operation, was not met, so that Directive (EC) 2004/18 of the European Parliament and of the Council (on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts) applied. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) applied under s 41 of the County Courts Act 1984 for an order to transfer the personal injury claims, made by serving and former service personnel alleging noise induced hearing loss caused by service from existing County Courts all around the country to the High Court. A master dismissed the application. The MOD appealed. The Queen's Beench Division decided that the master had considered the various factors and had come to a decision which had been correct. 

Criminal evidence – Admissibility of evidence – Judge's direction. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing appeals against conviction by two appellants who were found guilty of charges of murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice, the court rejected contentions that the trial judge had erred in eliciting prejudicial and irrelevant evidence from a police witness and that he had misdirected the jury in relation to the concept of an 'accessory after the fact'. 

Criminal evidence – Admissibility of evidence – Sheriff's charge. High Court of Justiciary: Allowing an appeal by an appellant who was convicted of two charges involving his having exposed himself to complainers, the court held that the jury were prevented from considering the appellant's admissions in the light of all the material evidence relating to them, the trial sheriff having erred in sustaining the Crown's objection to a line of evidence about how the appellant felt during his police interview and in directing the jury to disregard his evidence about how he felt during the interview and that that there was no challenge to the fairness of the interview. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action by Rani Refreshments FZCO against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) concerning opposition proceedings between Aujan Industries Co. and Global-Invest Bartosk Turek (Global-Invest) relating to the application by Global-Invest for registration, as a Community word mark, of a figurative sign depicting the word 'Sani.' 

Contract – Breach of contract. The claimants alleged that the defendant had, at the relevant time, acted as the de facto director of the second claimant company (NL), in which he had shares. The first claimant brought a claim against the defendant for damages for breach of contract, contending that the defendant had failed to transfer shares in NL which he had sold to it within the time specified in two agreements. NL brought a claim, contending that the defendant had acted in breach of his fiduciary duty to NL. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the claims, held that, whilst the first claimant had established a breach of contract by the defendant in failing to transfer the shares in NL on or after the relevant date, it had failed to establish the loss it claimed to have been caused by that breach. Further, NL had failed to prove that the defendant had been a de facto director of NL during the relevant period and, accordingly, the claims had to fail. 

Criminal law – Murder. The defendants, aged between 16 and 18, appealed against their convictions for of murder and attempted murder. The second defendant further appealed against his sentence of detention at Her Majesty's pleasure with a minimum term of 19 years for murder and 14 years' detention in a young offender institution for attempted murder. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the appeals against conviction. However, it held that an age difference of between 18 months and two years in the case of teenagers was significant, and the second defendant's significantly younger age had warranted a minimum term of 17 years. 

European Union – Applicant company seeking registration of word mark 'THE SPIRIT OF CUBA' as Community trade mark. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by 1872 Holdings vof. (1872 Holdings) against the decision of the First Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) concerning invalidity proceedings between Havana Club International and 1872 Holdings regarding the application by 1872 Holdings for registration of the Community word mark 'THE SPIRIT OF CUBA' as a community trade mark. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by The Hut.com Ltd (The Hut), established in the United Kingdom, seeking annulment of a decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to opposition proceedings between Intersport France and The Hut concerning the application by The Hut for registration of the word sign 'THE HUT' as a Community trade mark.