Latest Cases

Practice – Striking out. In proceedings arising from a negligence claim relating to the Sea Containers 1990 Pension Scheme (the 1990 scheme), the defendants' claim against the third party law firm had disclosed reasonable grounds and was not bound to fail. Further, the claim had a realistic, as opposed to a fanciful, prospect of success. Accordingly, the Chancery Division dismissed the third party's application to strike out various paragraphs of the defendants' additional claim which asserted that the law firm had an alleged retainer with the claimants, with responsibility to advise on the 1990 scheme.

Immigration – Asylum seeker. The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (the UT) was to determine afresh the appellant Sri Lankan national's appeal against the refusal of asylum. The claim was based on alleged detention and torture by the Sri Lankan authorities. The Supreme Court held that, in the light of the serious lack of the appellant's credibility in several other areas of his evidence, the UT had been correct to address the possibility of wounding self-inflicted by proxy. However, in assessing the strength of the possibility, it had failed to weigh certain important matters. Further, the expert's handling of the evidence had been in accordance with the 1999 'Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment', known as the 'Istanbul Protocol'.

Legal adviser – Reserved legal activities. The claimant Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales's claim for judicial review had to be dismissed in so far as it challenged the defendant Lord Chancellor's decision not to make orders designating it as an approved regulator and licensing authority under the Legal Services Act 2007 in relation to the exercise of rights of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities and notarial activities. However, the Divisional Court quashed his decision in so far as it concerned the administration of oaths and remitted it to the Lord Chancellor for reconsideration.

Sentence – Sexual offences prevention order. The sexual offences prevention order imposed on the defendant following his conviction for 12 sexual offences had failed to comply with R v Smith ([2012] 1 All ER 451), which identified as a principle of broad application that a blanket prohibition on computer use or internet access was not permissible. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, in partially allowing the appeal, held that the failure to take into account the principles in Smith had been an error which had to be corrected.

Environment – Environmental health officer. The first and fifth appellants succeeded in their appeals by way of case stated against their convictions for offences, under s 110(1) of the Environment Act 1995, of intentionally obstructing officers of the Environment Agency in the exercise of powers to enforce provisions of the Act designed to prevent pollution. However, the Divisional Court, having set out the proper construction of ss 108 and 110, dismissed the appeals of the second to fourth appellants.

European Union – Freedom of establishment. Article 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be interpreted as precluding tender specifications governing the conditions to which a reprivatisation process of an air carrier company was subject from including a requirement that the purchaser of those shares had to ensure that the existing national hub was maintained and developed. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in a preliminary ruling in proceedings concerning the validity of a decision setting out certain conditions in the tender specifications for the process of indirectly reprivatising Transportes Aéreos Portugueses SA.

Patent – Infringement. The Chancery Division made rulings in a case concerning products used to treat plaque psiorasis and psoriatic arthritis in adults. The court held that, among other things, the claimant company's proposed amendments to the claims were allowable, subject to some minor exceptions. Claims 1, 2, 13, 14 and 15 of the patent were obvious over two pieces of prior art, as were claims 12, 20 and 22, in so far as they were directed to the condition RA, a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that mainly affected the small joints of the body.

Bankruptcy – Petition. Although the district judge had erred in making a retrospective order for substituted service of a bankruptcy petition issued by the first respondent wife, all the indications were that the appellant husband had been deliberately seeking to evade service. Accordingly, the Chancery Division, save as regards setting aside the order for substituted service, dismissed the husband's appeal against the bankruptcy order arising from non-payment of costs orders made against him in divorce proceedings.

Confidential information – Anonymity. The relatives of a child (JB) who had been tortured and murdered in 1993 unsuccessfully applied to vary or discharge an injunction (as amended), so as to permit the reporting of the charges and conviction of one of the persons convicted of JB's murder, namely the person formally known as 'Jon Venables'. The Family Division, in dismissing the application, held that the case for varying the injunction had simply not been made out on the facts.

Negligence – Duty to take care. The appellant local authority's appeal against a decision awarding damages to the respondent, its former employee, concerning a knee injury he had suffered after being repeatedly kicked by a student at school, was dismissed. The Queen's Bench Division held that the judge had been entitled to find that the respondent had been repeatedly kicked by the student and that there had been a breach of duty, because of another teacher's failure to intervene to prevent the student repeatedly kicking C. The court further ruled that the judge had been right to implicitly find that causation had been established.