Latest Cases

Housing – Homeless person. The claimant refused the defendant local authority's offer of accommodation and made further representations on review as to her confusion about the process. The reviewing officer upheld the original decision and the judge dismissed the claimant's appeal. The claimant appealed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the appeal, held that the claimant's case as to confusion struck at the heart of the fairness of the procedure. Accordingly, the review decision would be quashed on the basis that a 'minded to find' notice under reg 8(2)(b) of the Allocation of Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999, SI 1999/71 ought to have been served. 

Wales – Welsh language. National Savings and Investments decided to withdraw its Welsh language scheme. In judicial review proceedings, the Divisional Court held that NS&I had had the power to revoke the scheme. However, the Welsh Language Commissioner had had a legitimate expectation that the defendant would not make any changes to the scheme before consulting her and the consultation that had taken place had fallen short of that expectation. NS&I's decision had, therefore, been unlawful. 

Practice – Preliminary point of law. In the course of proceedings, the defendant companies made an application for an issue of ex turpi causa to be determined as a preliminary issue. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the application, held that, in all the circumstances, it would not be just and would not serve the overriding objective to order the issue of ex turpi causa to be tried as a preliminary issue. 

Club – Registered club. In the course of a dispute about the management of a working men's club, the claimant sought orders, including as to the validity of a meeting electing club officers. The judge held the meeting was valid, despite failure to comply with the club rules. The Court of Appeal, in allowing the appeal, held that the meeting had not been validly convened and the business purportedly transacted at it had been ineffective, as the irregularities had not been mere matters of form. 

Town and country planning – Planning authority. The defendant local authority designated a neighbourhood area for the claimant neighbourhood forum less than it had sought. The judge dismissed the claimant's application for judicial review and it appealed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the appeal, held that the discretion conferred by s 61G(5) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to decide what was an appropriate area to be designated as a neighbourhood area was not confined to a discretion to decide within which neighbourhood area any given site was to be included. 

Judicial review – Police disciplinary proceedings. Court of Session: Refusing a reclaiming motion in judicial review proceedings in which a police officer challenged aspects of disciplinary proceedings which had resulted in a finding of misconduct and his dismissal from the force, the court held that the plea of mora, taciturnity and acquiescence could succeed without the need for the party taking the plea to demonstrate that he had suffered, or would suffer, prejudice if the plea was not sustained, and that the Lord Ordinary had correctly sustained the respondent's pleas of mora, taciturnity and acquiescence. 

Immigration – Asylum seeker. The claimant failed asylum seeker sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's decision to grant her discretionary leave to remain rather than indefinite leave to remain (ILR). Dismissing the claim, the Administrative Court held that the delay in the instant case had not given rise to any illegality. There had been no obligation on the Secretary of State to set out reasons for refusing to make an exception to her policy and grant ILR. 

European Union – Value added tax. In considering whether the Finance (No 2) Act 2005 infringed the European Union principle of equal treatment, the Court of Appeal, Civil Division held that the introduction of an unjust enrichment defence with retroactive effect was compatible with EU law. The claimant's appeal concerning overpayment of VAT was dismissed, as the date of the claim was an essential characteristic in the context of the claim. Accordingly, a claim issued after the 2005 Act pertaining to periods before its introduction was not relevantly similar to a claim issued before the 2005 Act pertaining to the same period. 

Town and country planning – Planning permission. The claimant sought judicial review of the decision of the defendant local authority to grant planning permission to the interested parties. It contended that the committee had considered misleading remarks of a party not a member of the committee and had been denied the opportunity to comment on further documents. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that nothing T had said had flawed the decision of the committee and it had exercised its discretion in a perfectly proper manner. Further, there had been no unfairness with respect to the further documents. 

Town and country planning – Planning permission. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant local resident's challenge to the defendant local authority's decision to remove an hours of use condition on an all weather playing area as the authority's decision could not properly be characterised as