Latest Cases

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. 

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. 

Arbitration – Injunction. The claimant had sought an interim injunction to prevent the defendant from terminating its licence agreement until arbitration proceedings had been resolved. The High Court dismissed that application as the claimant had an adequate remedy in damages despite the fact that the licence contained a limitation clause. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that, where a party to a contract stipulated that, if he breached his obligations, then his liability would be limited or the damages he would pay would be capped, then (in certain circumstances) justice tended to favour the grant of an injunction to prevent the breach in the first place. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division endorsed an agreed order for the management of parental responsibility of the third respondent child born as a result of a partial surrogacy agreement. 

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 

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. 

Criminal law – Appeal. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division dismissed the defendants' appeal against conviction for conspiracy, together and with other persons, to be concerned in the production of a controlled drug, namely cannabis, by another in contravention of s 4(2)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The defendants' role in the conspiracy had been to make and supply bespoke equipment for the purpose of supplying cannabis farms with the said equipment throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, which were used to assist in the cannabis growing process. The defendants, amongst other things, denied that they could be involved in such a conspiracy due to their not knowing or caring what the equipment would be used for. That argument was rejected and the convictions were concluded as safe. 

Shipping – Limitation of liability. The appeal raised interesting questions as to whether it was, in principle, possible to constitute a limitation fund under the International Convention on Limitation for Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, which was scheduled to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, by means of a guarantee in the form of a letter of undertaking provided by a protection and indemnity club. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the appeal, held that, on the proper construction of art 11.2 of the Convention, it was. 

Costs – Order for costs. The Secretary of State had withdrawn the claimant's recognition as a producer organisation for the purposes of the European Union Common Agricultural policy. The claimant was granted permission to bring judicial review proceedings but also utilised the statutory appeals procedure. The statutory appeal was successful and the judicial review was discontinued by consent. The claimant sought its costs of the judicial review. The judge refused on the ground that the statutory appeal had succeeded on a different ground to that claimed in the judicial review so it could not be said that the claimant would have succeeded in its claim. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the claimant's appeal because, although the end result of the statutory appeal had been what the claimant had sought through judicial review, that had not been enough to enable the claimant to be treated as the successful party. 

Family proceedings – Evidence. A local authority instituted care proceedings in respect of a seven-year-old child with Type 1 diabetes, alleging that the mother had caused the child physical and emotional harm by giving him excessive doses of insulin, which had caused him to suffer hypoglycaemic episodes. The Family Division held that, on the evidence, the threshold criteria had been established.