Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2001

A refusal of permission to seek judicial review on the papers is wholly subsumed when the applicant exercises the right to renew the application before an…

A judge making a child-contact order need not explain why a provisional view changed during an adjournment, provided the final conclusion is reasoned. Where an…

On an application for permission to appeal in child-arrangements proceedings, the court may refuse permission while recording agreed steps to obtain further…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or where there is another compelling…

In an asylum case, an adjudicator must resolve material tensions in the evidence. Where important evidence is referred to without express rejection, yet the…

A judicial review claim concerning an offer of council accommodation requires a sound legal basis for impugning the authority’s decision. Where the applicant…

An action may be struck out as an abuse of process where extraordinary delay, coupled with breach of a procedural requirement, makes a fair trial impossible or…

An application to reinstate a dismissed employment appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of success and no other compelling…

In judicial review of a local authority’s decision on student-support eligibility, the court does not rehear disputed facts or substitute its own assessment.…

Judicial review of an Immigration Appeal Tribunal’s refusal of permission to appeal remains subject to the limits of judicial review. The exceptional Robinson…

Article 6 requires a prompt hearing conducted under fair rules for all parties. Case management must take account of the respondent’s interests as well as…

Permission to appeal from the Employment Appeal Tribunal should be refused where the challenged tribunal findings are unequivocal, fact-based and unappealable.…

In group litigation, cost-sharing orders must reflect the differences between collective proceedings and ordinary individual claims. The court should not make…

An appellate court will not readily interfere with factual findings substantially based on a trial judge’s assessment of witnesses. A trial judge may reject…

Under the Rome Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations, an implied choice of law must be a genuine common choice demonstrated with…

At the interim-injunction stage, whether conduct amounts to abuse of a dominant position is ordinarily a complex question of mixed fact and law for trial. A…

In group litigation, a costs-sharing order should not crystallise a claimant’s liability for common costs merely because the claimant discontinues during an…

Professional disciplinary proceedings do not become criminal proceedings under European Convention on Human Rights article 6 merely because they may seriously…

When confidential material from Children Act proceedings, including related medical records, is sought for medical disciplinary purposes, the court must…

An Employment Appeal Tribunal must confine a full hearing to the grounds permitted at the preliminary stage, subject only to properly reasoned case-management…

A students’ union is not an integral part of a university merely because it is created by the university’s charter, represented on university organs…

For State aid purposes, a tax measure is not selective merely because its practical impact differs between sectors. The relevant comparison is within the tax…

At a preliminary hearing under the Practice Direction (Employment Appeal Procedure) 1996, the Employment Appeal Tribunal must identify which alleged points of…

Applications to dismiss for want of prosecution under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 must be decided under the CPR and its overriding objective, rather than by…

Where an applicant’s legal representation ends unexpectedly before a permission application is heard, the court should ensure that the applicant has a real…

In a private nuisance claim involving recurring physical intrusions onto neighbouring agricultural land, the nuisance may be confined to the area directly…

Permission to appeal may be refused where an application is substantially out of time, lacks merit, and has become wholly academic. An appeal against a care…

In an application for return under the Hague Convention, an Article 13 B defence must be determined on reliable evidence of the practical arrangements and…

An apparent failure by an immigration tribunal to address an important allegation raised before it may justify permission to appeal, particularly where the…

Permission to appeal may be adjourned where a genuinely new and arguable Article 6 issue has not previously been considered, even though earlier challenges to…

The common law afforded no general tort of invasion of privacy. Privacy interests could receive protection through established torts and breach of confidence…

A delayed onset of severe psychiatric symptoms does not, by itself, prevent a finding that an accident caused post-traumatic stress disorder. Nor is a return…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no realistic prospect of success. An appellate court will not interfere with findings of…

Where an appellate judge misunderstands which order is under challenge and consequently decides a different issue, the resulting decision is unsafe and should…

On an application to extend time for appealing, the court may examine the merits. It is appropriate to refuse an extension where the proposed appeal has no…

Permission to appeal should be confined to an issue having a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success, unless another compelling reason justifies an…

A serious financial or personal consequence of a strike-out order does not, by itself, make the decision unfair or contrary to Convention rights. A party must…

For limitation purposes, a claimant cannot postpone the commencement of time under section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 where, with reasonable diligence, the…

A judge should hear a listed matter unless there is a good reason for recusal. The governing question is whether a fair-minded and informed observer, having…

An appellate court cannot properly assess an application concerning an earlier order without the underlying applications, relevant evidence and the reasons, if…

An order refusing permission to appeal from a lower appellate court is not itself appealable to the Court of Appeal. Where permission to appeal has not been…

In police disciplinary proceedings governed by regulations with a criminal-law character, an aggravating fact relied upon to justify a more severe punishment…

A penal notice should be attached to a contact order only where necessary because there is a real risk of disobedience. If attached, the order must define the…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal will rarely interfere with findings of fact based on the trial judge’s assessment of witnesses…

A lessor who has granted a right to park cannot treat a power to specify parking areas as a power to extinguish that right at will. The rule against derogation…

A comprehensive statutory code governing the revocation and discharge of full legal aid certificates excludes any residual power to embargo further work…

A bank dealing with a documentary credit examines stipulated documents for apparent conformity only. Subject to the established fraud exception, it must honour…

For non-domestic rates under section 43(1) of Local Government Finance Act 1988, a receiver's status depends on the substance of the occupation, not merely on…

A public inquiry's procedural discretion remains subject to judicial review for fairness. A decision alleged to expose witnesses to lethal danger requires…

A party seeking an extension of time to appeal must give a good reason for non-compliance. The 14-day period for appealing promotes finality and enables a…

The validity of a statutory notice initiating an assured shorthold tenancy depends on a single question: whether the notice is in the prescribed form or in a…

Permission to bring a second appeal may be granted where a serious point of principle concerns a solicitor’s ostensible authority to bind a public planning…

A vexatious litigant order under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 may require permission before existing proceedings are continued. The court need not…

An asylum appeal under section 8 of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 may be used to challenge a refusal to recognise refugee status, even where the…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success or another compelling reason for a hearing. At this stage, the…

A stakeholder’s agreement governs the custody and payment of a deposit. It does not itself determine the respective entitlement of the principals, which must…

An appellate tribunal which overturns a decision on one of several independently raised human-rights grounds must ensure that any remaining ground is…

An insurer could not annul an Italian-law insurance contract under Article 1892 of the Italian Civil Code unless an undisclosed circumstance was objectively…

A Norwich Pharmacal application is not an ordinary adversarial proceeding. In the normal case, an innocent intermediary required to disclose information should…

A claimant is not adequately protected from persecution merely because legal recourse or redress may be available after severe ill-treatment in detention.…

A purported forfeiture or re-entry cannot terminate a lease where the premises are lawfully occupied as a residence unless the statutory requirements for…

Judicial review is ordinarily unavailable where an effective statutory appeal exists. The fact that an appeal must be exercised from abroad does not, by…

An appeal does not itself stay enforcement. When deciding whether to grant a stay, the court assesses the risks of injustice to both parties, including whether…

The normal rule in judicial review proceedings is that an interested party separately represented alongside the respondent does not receive its costs. That…

In an application for permission to appeal against a discretionary refusal to transfer proceedings, the applicant must show a real prospect that a full appeal…

Section 35 of the Limitation Act 1980 may permit the substitution of a defendant after expiry of the ten-year long-stop in section 11A(3), provided that…

Knowledge or suspicion that the complainant has done a protected act is a pre-condition to victimisation under section 2(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976.…

An application to reinstate a refused application for permission to appeal may be dismissed where the applicant fails to attend and provides no satisfactory…

A party who expressly decides not to give oral evidence, after being informed of the consequences, cannot ordinarily complain that the resulting hearing was…

Freezing orders affecting assets held abroad by third parties should normally derive their effectiveness from recognition and enforcement by local courts…

Permission to apply for judicial review may properly be refused where the proposed challenge is brought after extreme delay and the facts do not justify…

A defaulting trustee who has a beneficial interest in a trust fund is treated as having received that interest in advance to the extent of the breach. The…

Where an order has already been appealed to the High Court, a further appeal cannot be brought to the High Court against that order. A deputy High Court judge…

On an appeal concerning children’s care, an appellate court should not interfere with an evidence-based discretionary assessment unless the judge was plainly…

Permission to appeal is highly unusual where the only order below is an interim care order, particularly when the parties are progressing towards a final…

In a second-tier family appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason, under section 55 of the Access…

In contact proceedings, the children’s welfare remains paramount. Where domestic violence has seriously affected children, the court must weigh the seriousness…

Judicial review is directed to a specific decision of a public authority. The court examines legality and the manner of decision-making, rather than the merits…

Before imposing imprisonment for contempt, a judge must pause after determining liability and invite submissions in mitigation. Committal serves both to punish…

Where a possession order was made in the absence of a party who may not have received notice through the court’s error, the court should investigate the…

Permission to appeal out of time, particularly on a second-tier appeal, requires a compelling explanation for the delay and a proper assessment of prejudice…

Permission to appeal may be refused where success would serve no useful purpose or merely lead to a renewed application without substantive advantage. A…

Privilege is tied to the purpose and dispute for which a document was created. Legal professional privilege protected correspondence concerning a partnership…

A prison governor may act on a valid county court committal warrant. The nomination of the prison is an administrative matter under section 120 of the County…

In ancillary-relief enforcement proceedings, refusal to extend time for payment of a lump sum is discretionary. The Court of Appeal will interfere only where…

An appellate court will rarely interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact based substantially on witness credibility. The question is whether the findings…

Costs in complex patent litigation are governed by the court’s wide discretion under CPR 44.3 and the overriding objective. The successful-party principle…

Judicial review should not proceed, save for good reason, where a significant part of the dispute can be resolved through a complaints procedure, mediation or…

A statutory appeal limited to a point of law does not become an appeal on fact merely because Article 6 requires the decision-making process as a whole to be…

A patent claim must receive a purposive construction which gives fair protection to the patentee while preserving reasonable certainty for third parties. A…

Permission to appeal may be granted on grounds that are merely arguable, particularly where the lower court may have proceeded on an incomplete or mistaken…

When deciding whether to extend time for a very late appeal, the court should consider the merits as well as the absence of a satisfactory explanation for…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s firm resolution of conflicting factual evidence merely because criticisms of the reasoning may be…

In a second-tier appeal, the restriction in the Access to Justice Act 1999 does not justify shutting out an applicant where the lower courts may have made a…

On an appeal from the exercise of a judge’s discretion, the Court of Appeal reviews the decision rather than exercising the discretion afresh. Intervention is…

After an appeal has been heard by a High Court judge, permission for a further appeal requires an important point of principle or practice, or another…

Whether a new tenancy has been created depends, in the final analysis, on the intentions of both parties. The issue must be assessed on the material before the…

The Local Government Ombudsman has a discretionary power, rather than a duty, to investigate a complaint under Local Government Act 1974, section 26. That…

A company resisting a winding-up petition must show that the petition debt is bona fide disputed on substantial grounds. The Companies Court may assess the…

In a claim for recovery of payments based on alleged total failure of consideration, that failure does not necessarily conclude whether retention of the money…

Permission to appeal against discretionary case-management orders should be refused where there is no real prospect that the Court of Appeal would find that…

A contempt finding based on breach of a freezing order must identify whether the transaction exceeded the order’s monetary limit. Where the respondent’s assets…

The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction under section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 to entertain an appeal against an appeal court’s refusal of…

For permission purposes, a challenge to an immigration decision may be arguable where the decision-maker’s treatment of a non-molestation order and the…

Permission for a second-tier appeal under the Civil Procedure Rules, rule 52.13, requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. Serious allegations of fraud, perjury…

Where a petition under section 459 of the Companies Act 1985 establishes unfair prejudice, the court must grant relief which addresses the matters proved. In…

In ancillary relief proceedings, a court must ensure that a lump sum order is supported by a realistic means of payment. A valuation which includes an asset’s…

A new cause of action arising from facts already in issue on an existing claim may include facts introduced by the defence. Section 35 of the Limitation Act…

When sentencing for contempt arising from breach of a family injunction, the court must balance two objectives: marking its disapproval of disobedience and…

Permission to appeal will be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no solid basis for disturbing findings of fact, discretionary orders or conclusions on…

When an appeal is automatically dismissed for failure to provide security for costs, reinstatement is governed by the checklist in rule 3.9(1) of the Civil…

When deciding whether to extend time for an appeal, the court must consider the length and explanation of the delay, the merits of the proposed appeal and the…

Section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 bars an appeal against a court’s decision to grant or refuse permission under section 54, subject to any…

An appointed representative may be an exempted person for the purposes of financial-services indebtedness rules even where it is regulated by a different…

A disagreement with an Employment Tribunal’s assessment of the evidence and findings of fact does not, by itself, raise a question of law. The Employment…

Permission to appeal against the limitation of an Employment Appeal Tribunal appeal was refused. The applicant had lost no substantive issue: the EAT had…

On a second appeal concerning a discretionary ancillary-relief decision, the court may intervene only for an error of law or principle, or where the conclusion…

For VAT purposes, the transfer of the whole property in goods is a supply of goods even where the recipient acquires them for destruction or another public…

For the purposes of a certificate of inadequacy under section 83(1)(a) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, property which is legally classified as realisable…

Where applicants for permission to appeal make clear that they no longer wish to proceed, the proper course is to dismiss the application. The court may…

An applicant’s class number forms part of the application when the application is construed as a whole. Changing the specified class at the applicant’s request…

An occupier may owe adjoining occupiers a duty concerning fire deliberately or carelessly started by trespassers where the occupier knew, or had means of…

Where a landlord has accepted a tenant’s established practice of making slightly late rent payments by cheque, it is estopped from insisting on strict…

A VAT exemption must be construed strictly because it is an exception to the general charge. Strict construction nevertheless requires a fair interpretation of…

A lease must be construed objectively, in its commercial context and against the background reasonably available when it was made. The same word may bear…

Criminal conduct does not become persecution for a Convention reason merely because the criminal group has political aims or the victim may be regarded as…

For the purposes of statutory trade-dispute immunity, a self-employed person may be a “worker” under a contract to perform services personally, even where the…

An adjournment is not required merely because a litigant has recently lost legal aid. The court must assess the applicant’s ability to present the case, the…

Where an applicant alleges that an appellate decision may have been influenced by material supplied by an interested party, procedural fairness may be secured…

Contractual conditions must be construed by identifying what the agreement says in its commercial context. The court should not speculate about the parties’…

A renewed application for permission to appeal may be granted where viable arguments capable of succeeding remain available and were not fully addressed below…

For occupational mesothelioma following asbestos exposure during more than one employment, a claimant must ordinarily prove on the balance of probabilities…

Access to a child protection register may be restricted where the restrictions are objectively justified by confidentiality and child-protection…

Where a regulatory scheme is an integrated arrangement, the legality of one provision cannot be determined in isolation if severing it would alter the scheme’s…

The Court of Appeal may receive fresh evidence on appeal where the Ladd v Marshall principles are satisfied, viewed in the light of the overriding objective of…

The incidence and amount of costs are matters for the trial judge’s discretion. The general rule that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party’s costs…

Capacity to manage property and affairs for litigation may depend on the subject matter of the litigation. A person may manage business affairs and property…

The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal against a High Court judge’s decision granting or refusing permission to appeal where the statutory…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no real prospect of success. A challenge to declarations of title and an easement…

A trial judge must engage with the principal issues in dispute and explain why one case is preferred over another, particularly where expert evidence is…

Judicial review must ordinarily be commenced promptly. When assessing delay, the court may consider the events occurring during the delay, the availability of…

A costs order made when a county court judge refuses permission to appeal may be appealable even though Access to Justice Act 1999, s 54(4) bars an appeal…

On an unsuccessful appeal involving public interest groups, the court may exceptionally make no order for the appeal costs where the public importance of the…

Permission to appeal from a High Court order made on an appeal from a lower court may be granted by the Court of Appeal only where the proposed appeal raises…

Permission to appeal against a costs order may be granted where there is an arguable question whether, under the modern approach reflected in the Civil…

For work to be remunerative, it must have been done in a realistic expectation of payment. The question is assessed at the time the work was performed. Later…

A court may refuse a late application to adjourn proceedings so that an unrepresented party can seek publicly funded representation. Relevant considerations…

Section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 creates a mandatory bar against appealing a decision granting or refusing permission to appeal. The appellate…

Judicial review must be sought promptly. A very long delay, coupled with an unconvincing explanation, may mean that an application for permission to appeal has…

An appellate court should set aside a family judgment for an unfair hearing only where the complaint is established on the totality of the evidence and the…

In probate proceedings, proof of testamentary capacity and due execution will ordinarily support an inference that the testator knew and approved the will.…

Under Article 6.1 of Directive 96/29/Euratom, justification is required for a generic class or type of radiation-producing practice, rather than ordinarily for…

Under Civil Procedure Rules Part 13.3(2), promptness is a mandatory consideration when seeking to set aside a default judgment. A delay of about 12 months may…

Under regulation 13(2)(d) of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 1993, a claim could be struck out as frivolous or…

For land-registration purposes, actual occupation bears its ordinary meaning. Physical acts such as edging, turfing, cultivating and constructing upon land may…

A without-notice search and seizure order requires an extremely strong prima facie case, very serious potential or actual damage, and clear evidence of…

Applications to extend time for appealing in employment proceedings require a strict and structured assessment. The tribunal or court should identify the…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success. On the assumed facts, a person could not establish such a prospect by asserting that a bank which…

The equal-treatment principle does not mean that every disadvantage connected with pregnancy is direct sex discrimination. The court must identify the reason…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal against refusal of a late amendment, permission may properly be confined to a distinct issue that was not…

An employment tribunal must explain why the primary facts justify an inference of racial discrimination. The parties must be able to understand why they won or…

The Employment Tribunal is the primary fact-finding body. Appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal and thereafter to the Court of Appeal lie only on a point…

The duty to maintain work equipment in an efficient state under regulation 6(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992 is absolute as to…

On a second appeal, the Court of Appeal may intervene only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of practice or principle, or there is another…

Where an application for permission to appeal may be followed by a substantive judicial review, a short adjournment may be appropriate to resolve legal aid…

Notice incorporating contractual terms is effective only where the party relying on it has done what is reasonably necessary to bring the terms to the other…

Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd [2001] 2 AC 127 requires an objective assessment of responsible journalism. In public-interest defamation cases, privilege…

A Civil Proceedings Order under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 does not, merely by restricting access to the courts, infringe Convention rights. The…

In assessing future earnings and pension loss, the court should use the standard approach where medical evidence permits a best estimate of the age at which…

Section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 protects an employee while employed from detriment short of dismissal for bringing prescribed health and safety…

In an application for permission to appeal, an imbalance between costs and the amount in issue is relevant but is not, by itself, decisive. Permission should…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no sensible prospect of success. A complaint that solicitors wrongly believed they were…

Under section 348(1) of the Housing Act 1985, the power to impose management conditions on registration is separate from the power to refuse registration…

A statutory decision-maker must give reasons that are proper, adequate and intelligible, addressing the substantial issues raised and enabling the affected…

Summary judgment is unsuitable where the identity of the contracting parties depends on genuinely disputed evidence and the claimant has a real prospect of…

An appellate court should increase a sentence for undue leniency only where the sentence falls outside the proper discretionary range and the leniency is of a…

No legal principle was adjudicated. The appeal was resolved by agreement between the parties. The agreed settlement was to be recorded in a Tomlin order…

The Court of Appeal treated the proposed challenge as raising a point of law of general public importance for consideration by the House of Lords. It granted a…

For the purposes of Article 8, “home” is an autonomous Convention concept. Whether a habitation is a person’s home depends on the factual circumstances…

Pre-action disclosure under CPR 31.16 is not available merely because the jurisdictional conditions can be met. The court must separately decide, on the…

In construing a debenture, “other debts” is not a term of art. It ordinarily bears its legal meaning unless the instrument and its commercial background…

An appellate court should rarely interfere with findings of fact based on oral evidence. Intervention requires exceptional circumstances, such as a material…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success or some other compelling reason. An appeal against a trial judge’s evaluation of facts or inferences…

A procedural bar on appealing a decision refusing permission to appeal applies according to the substance of the decision. It does not prevent a further appeal…

An appellate court should not interfere with an interim holding order once the proceedings have been compromised and the order has become of purely historic…

A creditor may release a principal debtor under an individual voluntary arrangement while reserving rights against a surety. The reservation need not appear…

Judicial review is not a substitute for a statutory appeal or an avenue for challenging decisions where the statutory route governs. The Court of Appeal could…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to intervene, under…

For vicarious liability for an unauthorised employee tort, the question is whether the wrongdoing was sufficiently closely connected with the employment to…

Permission to appeal may be confined to a particular issue where that issue has a realistic prospect of success. An applicant cannot use a later appeal against…

A claim in negligence may lie for an inaccurate, misleading or unfair employment reference. Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal…

A covenant whose burden is expressly personal to the original landlord is not a landlord covenant within Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995. It is not an…

Summary judgment does not breach Article 6 merely because it determines an issue without a full oral trial. It is appropriate where the legal position is clear…

A refusal by an appeal court to grant permission to appeal cannot itself be appealed under section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, although the rules…

A statutory restriction on further appeals applies even where the proposed appeal alleges a breach of a Convention right. Turner v Lewisham Hospital NHS Trust…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal will not re-evaluate a trial judge’s factual findings merely because the appellant advances a…

On an application for security for costs by an overseas company, the court should assess what is just in the circumstances. Under Part 25.13(2)(b), the…

On an application to extend time for payment of costs pending a possible appeal, the Court of Appeal must assess whether enforcement would create a real risk…

Where an interim injunction has been granted and the defendant did not appeal against it, an application to discharge it is not a rehearing of whether it was…

Where a claimant asserts that a property registered in the name of an existing person was acquired under an alias, the claimant bears the burden of proving…

In committal proceedings for breach of a contact order, the application should make clear that the applicant bears the burden of proof and that breach must be…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason justifies allowing it to…

Permission to appeal may be discharged where the proposed appeal, even if successful, would yield no substantial practical benefit. The court may take account…

An appeal from an Employment Tribunal lies only on a question of law. The Employment Tribunal is the exclusive fact-finding body, and neither the Employment…

A failure to pay an interim sum is repudiatory only where, viewed objectively and in context, its seriousness and implications go to the root of the contract…

A judgment against one of several defendants does not invariably establish an irrevocable election barring proceedings against another. The court must examine…

On a second appeal from a county court decision made on appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, another compelling reason, and…

A party who has freely agreed to a genuine consent order cannot appeal against that order. Any challenge must be pursued through the appropriate procedure for…

Judicial review must be brought promptly from the date of the challenged decision and, in any event, within three months. Only the most exceptional…

Future loss of earnings must reflect the real prospect of a claimant obtaining hypothetical employment, rather than treating that outcome as certain where it…

Permission to appeal should be refused where a full review shows no arguable basis for reversing first-instance findings of fact. In particular, the…

The court may require a party’s attendance at a case management hearing under CPR 3.1.2(c), including to facilitate settlement or consider consensual ADR.…

In slander proceedings, a trial judge may direct a jury to make one damages award for several slanders where they bear the same meaning. That choice is…

For entry-clearance applications governed by section 19 of the Immigration Act, the relevant question is whether, at the date of decision, the applicants would…

In judicial review, an internal guidance note need not impose a binding obligation before it becomes relevant to an operational decision. The question is…

The domestic classification of proceedings and the autonomous classification of a sanction under article 7 of the Convention are distinct questions.…

For disqualification based on incompetence, it will usually be necessary to establish both that the company traded while insolvent and that the director knew…

In wardship proceedings, the children’s welfare is paramount and their wishes and feelings are important but cannot be determinative. The court must assess…

In child-care proceedings, the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. It may prevail over serious hardship, unfairness or perceived injustice to a…

Permission for a second appeal requires more than a real prospect of success. The proposed appeal must raise an important point of principle or practice, or…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds do not identify any sustainable criticism of the order or reasoning below. A complaint about…

In relocation cases, the trial judge retains the discretion and responsibility to assess parental motivation, resilience, the children’s relationships and the…

An appellate court should respect a trial judge’s discretionary costs order where the judge has considered the parties’ relative success and the conduct of the…

An appellate court should not interfere with findings of fact based on a trial judge’s assessment of witnesses unless the judge misused the advantage of seeing…

A prior Court of Appeal decision deciding a human-rights challenge to adverse possession legislation adversely is binding when permission to appeal is…

Section 271(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 confers a limited residual discretion to dismiss a bankruptcy petition where a creditor has unreasonably refused an…

For environmental assessment under the Directive, a member state may identify one effective stage of its consent procedure at which the required information…

A contact order presupposes identification of the person with whom the child lives. It cannot lawfully be used to create an alternating arrangement under which…

In long-stale litigation, applying the overriding objective may justify striking out a remaining head of claim where procedural inactivity and inadequate…

Permission to appeal in ancillary relief proceedings depends on whether the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success. Financial arrangements made on…

A wasted costs order under section 51(6) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 requires the person concerned to be a legal or other representative in relation to the…

A renewed application for permission to appeal confined to factual findings will fail where the trial judge heard the competing accounts and gave a compelling…

Under the Race Relations Act 1976, the three-month limitation period runs from the act complained of, not from communication of an internal grievance outcome.…

Permission to appeal out of time depends principally on whether the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success and whether there is any compelling reason…

An appellate court may correct an order under the slip rule where it does not accurately record the order actually intended. Permission to appeal may be…

An appeal from an Employment Tribunal is confined to questions of law and must not become a retrial or rehearing of factual issues. Employment Tribunals are…

In child contact proceedings, the court should not close the door to future contact merely because present arrangements have broken down or the child expresses…

Judicial review examines the legality of a public authority’s decision, not whether an underlying medical assessment was correct. Where an authority relies on…

At the permission stage, an appeal may properly proceed where there is a real prospect that a first-instance assessment of contributory negligence was plainly…

In assessing future loss of earnings for a personal injury, a trial judge may adopt the claimant’s pre-injury earning capacity as the multiplicand and assess…

In a professional negligence claim by an identifiable client, the special control mechanisms governing secondary-victim psychiatric injury claims do not apply.…

A building scheme requires a defined area and sufficiently disclosed obligations. Each purchaser must know the extent of the reciprocal burden and benefit. A…

An appellate court should not interfere with trial findings based on an assessment of the evidence where there is no real prospect of demonstrating error.…

Permission for a second appeal requires reasonable grounds of success and an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason for the…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the employment tribunal’s findings disclose no real prospect that an alleged change to working arrangements…

On an appeal from a personal injuries assessment, the Court of Appeal will not substitute its own view on disputed facts, credibility, causation or damages for…

When deciding whether to extend time for judicial review, the court should examine the reasons for the delay. An arguable injustice may justify an extension…

On an application for summary judgment, a defence has a real prospect of success if it is not fanciful. Cumulative circumstantial evidence may require a trial…

An application for permission to appeal on costs raised an important point of principle: whether a public authority whose inactivity has generated repeated…

Judicial review is concerned principally with the legality of the decision-making process and reasoning, rather than with substituting the court’s decision for…

Permission to appeal should be granted only where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success. An appeal from an Employment Tribunal must identify an…

Reasonable costs incurred in defeating foreign proceedings may be recovered as damages where those proceedings were brought in breach of an exclusive English…

A shareholder cannot ordinarily found a proprietary estoppel upon detriment suffered by his company. The claimant must show substantial personal detriment…

Section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971 imposes strict liability only where the statutory conditions are met and the damage is causally attributable to the…

The Evidence (Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975 permits assistance to foreign courts only through steps available for obtaining evidence in English…

MIRAS relief at source depends on statutory eligibility and prescribed entry conditions. A remortgage advance used partly to repay a qualifying housing loan…

On a second-tier appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. Unsupported allegations of procedural…

Where an immigration decision is quashed, the decision-maker may, and sometimes must, remake it by reference to the facts and law prevailing when the fresh…

On a second appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. Fresh evidence will generally be refused…

Permission for a second-tier appeal must be refused unless the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, new factual complaints or events arising after the county court’s order will ordinarily be treated as fresh…

A renewed oral application for permission to appeal is an important safeguard, but it must serve a genuine purpose. It is appropriate where the provisional…

An appellate court should interfere with a discretionary decision only where it was made contrary to legal principle, relevant matters were ignored, or the…

An appellate court has no jurisdiction to entertain an appeal from a judge’s refusal of permission to appeal where the judge did not entertain the underlying…

An appeal against refusal of permission to appeal is generally outside the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal. A further order, including a costs order, may…

Permission to appeal should not be refused merely because the trial judge’s decision depended substantially on oral evidence, although that creates a serious…

A director of an insolvent company breaches his duty by extracting company money for his private benefit without a corporate purpose. Agreement by the ultimate…

On a second appeal, disagreement with the lower court’s factual findings does not itself raise a question of law or an important point of principle. Permission…

For VAT purposes, a payment is taxable only where an identifiable supply is made for that payment. The necessary connection is a direct link or reciprocity…

Authorities answering standard conveyancing enquiries about highway maintenance may owe a duty of care to a searcher who relies on the reply when deciding…

The tort of interference with business by unlawful means is committed where a defendant threatens conduct intended to harm the claimant’s business, and the…

A statutory notice must satisfy the requirements imposed by the particular statutory scheme. The court must first identify those requirements and then decide…

Terms agreed in pre-contract correspondence may be incorporated into a land-sale contract by express reference to another document, satisfying section 2 of the…

Patent claims receive a purposive construction, but construction cannot turn a conduit into a liquid-permeable closure. A variant falls within the claim only…

Costs ordinarily follow the event, but the court may make separate orders reflecting success and failure on discrete issues. In a suitably exceptional case, an…

In a permission application arising from a disrepair counterclaim, an apparently impracticable remedial order can provide an arguable ground of appeal. Where…

Under section 2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, the duty owed by a joint occupier depends on what control that occupier has over the premises. An owner in…

Registration as a veterinary surgeon under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 requires more than an overseas qualification. The applicant must also satisfy the…

A registered transferee of a legal charge may enforce the charge under Land Registration Act 1925, even if other persons may hold beneficial interests arising…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, an appeal is ordinarily a review. A rehearing is exceptional and depends on whether justice in the individual case requires…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no realistic prospect of success. A renewed application cannot be used to reopen an issue…

Expedition of an appeal is discretionary. The guidelines in Unilever Plc v Chefaro Proprietaries Ltd identify circumstances in which expedition will ordinarily…

In an Employment Tribunal costs dispute, a renewed application for permission to appeal should not necessarily be refused or granted immediately. Where the…

Where the authenticity of an immigration document is challenged, the burden lies on the Secretary of State to show that it is not genuine. That burden does not…

An application for permission to appeal under section 55(1) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 succeeds only if the court is satisfied that the proposed appeal…

A bankruptcy petition presented against a debtor does not automatically abate when the debtor dies before the petition is heard. The proceedings may continue…

Security for costs may exceptionally be offered by a charge over a claimant’s property, but the court need not accept that form where its adequacy or…

Copyright claims for copying and public performance require separate proof. Copying substantial passages into an audio recording does not, without evidence…

An agreement that settles a running account is a compromise, not merely an acknowledgment of whatever balance later proves accurate. Consideration is supplied…

Where parties operate under a continuing distribution agreement, a later change allowing the distributor’s customer to send orders directly to the manufacturer…

A restraint order under section 77 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 carries an implicit power to require disclosure of information about the defendant’s…

A gratuitous bailee must take reasonable care of goods until they are collected in accordance with the agreed arrangement. Where goods are delivered to a…

On a second appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose neither an important point of principle or practice nor another compelling…

The tort of intentionally causing harm requires actual physical harm or a recognised psychiatric illness. The defendant must intend to violate the claimant’s…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a court has a broad discretion to strike out a claim or maintain a stay where a party has seriously failed to comply with…

Regular payments towards household outgoings do not, without more, establish a beneficial interest in a property already owned by the other cohabitant. The…

In ancillary relief appeals, a Circuit Judge should review the District Judge’s decision rather than rehear the case. Intervention is justified for procedural…

A trial judge who hears the witnesses is primarily responsible for assessing their credibility and the reliability of their evidence. An appellate court will…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the lower court’s construction of an earlier order was properly open on the evidence, its discretionary reasoning…

An appellate court should be slow to interfere with findings of fact based on conflicting witness evidence where the trial judge identified the evidence…

An appellate court may grant a further adjournment where it accepts that a party’s intended representative is too unwell to attend and that the party…

Where an application for permission to appeal and an application for an extension of time arise from connected proceedings, the Court of Appeal may adjourn…

A legal assignment of a tenancy requires a deed, even where the tenancy itself was not created by deed. An ineffective assignment may give rise to estoppel…

An employment tribunal may determine the effective date of termination by relying on the employee’s own evidence and on a date treated as common ground in the…

Section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act prevents a further appeal from a decision granting or refusing permission under the statutory appeal-permission…

In child residence appeals, the Court of Appeal does not substitute its own assessment merely because another outcome might have been preferable. Intervention…

In family proceedings, a directions hearing is ordinarily for case management rather than final welfare decisions. A definitive order may be made only where…

An agreement under which a claims consultant assists in pursuing litigation in return for a percentage of any judgment or settlement may be champertous. The…

A former employer’s duty to take care in preparing a reference does not create a cause of action where no reference was actually given. The principle in Spring…

Whether to adjourn an appeal is a discretionary case-management decision. The court should weigh the prospect of avoiding duplicated hearings and costs against…

An employer’s personnel policy may become a contractual term where the documents and circumstances objectively indicate that it states an entitlement rather…

Permission to appeal should be granted where a proposed statutory-construction argument is viable and raises an issue of public importance, without requiring…

An indemnity costs order following a failed committal motion may fall within the court’s jurisdiction, although such orders are unusual. Particular caution is…

The Court of Appeal’s discretion to admit fresh evidence under rule 52.11(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules is governed by principles, rather than rigid rules.…

A police force does not generally owe an individual a duty of care to prevent a crime committed by a third party. Such a duty arises only exceptionally where…

Community law does not require a national provision to receive a Community-law construction when it is applied to a case wholly outside the Community legal…

Where an inferior public-law tribunal acts unlawfully, the High Court ordinarily has power to quash its decision and order reconsideration. A quashing order…

Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 requires an equitable balancing exercise, having regard to all the circumstances and the statutory factors. The claimant…

Pending an appeal, the court may stay detailed assessment of costs where success could lead to a retrial and the costs order being set aside, making assessment…

When an employee is found guilty of gross misconduct, fairness under section 98(4) may require a proper opportunity to address the appropriate penalty. Failure…

A withdrawal of part of an originating application is governed by Rule 13(2)(a) of the Employment Tribunal Rules 1993, not the notice procedure in Rule 13(3)…

A freezing injunction preserves assets against improper dissipation. It does not provide security for the claimant or ordinarily prevent a defendant from…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s assessment of conflicting witness evidence where the judge had the advantage of seeing and hearing…

The fixing of a tariff for a mandatory life prisoner is, in substance, a sentencing exercise because it determines the punitive period required for retribution…

On an application for permission to appeal a case-management decision, the Court of Appeal will recognise that it should interfere cautiously, particularly…

A party to an anti-competitive agreement may have an Article 85 claim where it was not significantly responsible for the distortion of competition, subject to…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds invite reconsideration of factual findings which the trial judge was entitled to make after…

A shared residence order must reflect the child’s actual living arrangements and welfare needs. It should not be used merely to express the equal status of…

An instalment order made after a charging order nisi does not remove the court’s jurisdiction to make the charging order absolute. The charging order is issued…

A court may use the slip rule to correct a perfected order where the document fails accurately to record the order the judge intended to make. Such a…

In assessing future loss of earning capacity, a trial judge may use the claimant’s pre-injury earning capacity as the basis for the multiplicand and deduct the…

A costs discretion requires consideration of all material circumstances, including conduct, relative success on different issues and relevant settlement…

Judicial review is a discretionary remedy and will ordinarily be refused where an alternative remedy is available and appropriate. An appeal from a county…

Permission to appeal may properly be granted where a mandatory life sentence prisoner raises an arguable legitimate-expectation issue about whether the Parole…

A refusal of permission to appeal is not itself appealable where Access to Justice Act 1999, section 54(4), removes the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction. The…

Permission to appeal may be justified where an appellate judge exercises discretion afresh on the basis that a lower judge wrongly assessed material that was…

A policy cannot qualify as a short-term life policy where it carries benefits into a later policy after the initial term. A right to transfer reversionary…

An oral agreement to procure finance is construed by reference to the parties’ essential commercial requirements as they developed. A fee becomes payable where…

Damages for gratuitous care should provide proper recompense for the family carer’s services. Quantification is a broad, fact-sensitive assessment rather than…

A parallel-imported plant protection product need not have a formulation literally identical in every respect to the product authorised in the importing Member…

The decision whether to release a serving prisoner on home detention curfew is entrusted to the Home Detention Curfew Board. Judicial review is unavailable…

A bankrupt is generally divested of any interest in property and liability connected with the bankruptcy estate. Accordingly, the bankrupt lacks standing to…

A High Court judge cannot reopen or reverse another High Court judge’s refusal of permission to appeal. A proposed second appeal requires an important point of…

In private law Children Act proceedings, appointing a children’s guardian with separate representation is an unusual discretionary course. The decision must be…

Where an applicant fails to attend a renewed application and provides no explanation for the absence, the court may dismiss the application for want of…

An appeal from an employment tribunal lies only on a question of law. It is not a rehearing of factual findings. Unsuccessful job applications, failures to…

Where an application for permission to appeal raises substantial additional arguments or potentially material fresh evidence, the Court of Appeal should have…

Fresh evidence on appeal must satisfy the three requirements in Ladd v Marshall: it could not reasonably have been obtained earlier, it might materially affect…

Professional negligence is assessed by reference to the Bolam test. A practitioner is not negligent merely because another respectable body of professional…

The Secretary of State may make anti-abuse housing-benefit regulations identifying relationships in which a claimed rent liability is presumed not to qualify…

On an application by a civil contemnor to purge contempt, the court may order release, refuse release, or defer release. It has no jurisdiction to release the…

In determining the meaning of defamatory words, the court must consider the whole publication and the impression it would make on an ordinary reasonable…

Variation of a freezing order may permit payment of a bona fide obligation arising in the ordinary course of business. The obligation need not be an…

On a renewed application for permission to bring a second appeal, permission should be granted where the proposed appeal raises an arguable point of principle…

A restriction under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 may be imposed where repeated applications are meritless or potentially disruptive, provided the…

On a second appeal, permission requires the applicant to show that an important point of principle or practice arises, or that there is another compelling…

Where a party seeks to challenge a decree absolute but had time and opportunity to appeal the decree nisi, Supreme Court Act 1981, section 18(1)(d) removes the…

A public authority deciding whether to move a person with severe learning difficulties from institutional care must consider her wishes and those of her…

On a second appeal, permission should be refused unless the application raises an issue of principle in law or practice, or another compelling reason. Where a…

Permission to adduce late expert evidence is a case-management decision requiring a balance between procedural discipline, efficient litigation and the…

Where appellate proceedings become moot because of a respondent’s concession, the court should make the just order as to the costs of the now-unnecessary…

A person seeking solicitor training must satisfy the standards of honesty and integrity expected of a solicitor. Deliberately misleading omissions from…

When an adjournment of an asylum appeal is sought on medical grounds, the evidence should address both the applicant’s fitness to attend and the likely…

For a scheme of arrangement under Companies Act 1985, section 425, a class need not include every creditor with similar pre-scheme rights. The proposer may…

In determining whether an asylum claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution, the appellate authorities must assess whether the fear is objectively well…

Under Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, section 2(2), an occupier's duty is to take reasonable care in all the circumstances to keep visitors reasonably safe. The…

An insured’s recovery under an insurance policy is generally independent of damages recoverable from a contractor responsible for the same loss. The contractor…

An extension of time for appealing is discretionary. Substantial delay may justify refusal where allowing a late appeal would unfairly give one party a further…

Under section 41 of the Solicitors Act 1974, protection of clients and maintenance of public confidence are independent considerations. Proposed safeguards may…

Where a freezing order expressly contemplates compensation for loss suffered by a company, the court may award compensation to that company following an…

Whether an amendment adds a new cause of action after limitation depends on comparing the essential facts pleaded before and after amendment at the highest…

Where an application for permission to appeal raises a credible concern about procedural unfairness, or suggests that potentially material grounds were not…

An appeal may be refused as academic where the order has ceased to serve a practical purpose. Where a lower court has given no reasoned judgment and the merits…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal may adjourn the application where substantial unease exists about findings of fact that may…

On a second appeal, the applicant must show an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. Before…

An appellate court should not interfere with a carefully reasoned discretionary decision about child contact. A material change in circumstances may…

Internal relocation is not unduly harsh merely because an asylum seeker would face social and economic difficulties common throughout the proposed area, or…

An express promise to procure the release of a surety from security may justify an implied obligation to use best endeavours, subject to the creditor’s…

An appellate tribunal’s decision to adjourn or review a hearing is discretionary. Its exercise of that discretion will be disturbed only where it proceeded on…

A Mental Health Review Tribunal must give adequate reasons when deciding between materially conflicting medical opinions. Where expert evidence is central, it…

A party may not have private access to a single joint expert without every other instructing party's consent. The joint instruction requires openness about the…

Rule 30 of the Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 1994 is not confined to decisions made in proceedings in which the solicitor was formally a party. A…

An extension of time for appealing to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is an exceptional indulgence. A party has no entitlement or reasonable expectation of…

Qualified privilege may protect a newspaper’s neutral report of allegations exchanged during a political dispute, even though the newspaper has not verified…

A needs assessment under section 17(1) of the Children Act 1989 does not convert the authority’s general duty to provide an appropriate range and level of…

A judge may give judgment for the defendant at the close of the claimant’s evidence where the claimant has no real prospect of success and is bound to fail.…

An extension of time for an application for permission to appeal requires a sufficient explanation for the delay, a real prospect of success, or another…

Summary judgment on contractual construction is inappropriate where an obscure agreement gives rise to reasonably arguable competing interpretations. This is…

An appellant cannot ordinarily enlarge the grounds of appeal at the hearing by adding issues for which permission was not granted. A late application should be…

Permission to appeal may be granted where a technical challenge raises factual and legal questions concerning the trial judge’s jurisdiction, and those…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s factual findings merely because another view of the evidence is possible. A challenge to findings…

Contractual language should not be ignored merely because it creates tension within the document. The court must construe the provision against its factual…

An employer responsible for a special school must devise a safe system of work on adequate information about a pupil’s known violent behaviour. The assessment…

In a fact-rich asylum appeal, a further appeal requires an arguable error of law or procedure and a realistic prospect of success. Mere disagreement with an…

Where a right of way gives the dominant owner access to land, it includes the practical right to manoeuvre vehicles into and out of that land. The servient…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success. An appeal is not a retrial. A proposed appellant cannot obtain permission merely by rearguing…

When deciding whether it is just and equitable to extend time for a discrimination claim, the tribunal must address the actual grounds relied upon. That…

For an environmental impact assessment, a severe effect on a particular property does not necessarily amount to a significant effect on the environment. The…

A statutory complaints authority does not err in law by omitting a later, separate complaint when deciding an earlier complaint, where the later complaint…

In a professional negligence claim, allegations of clinical negligence ordinarily require relevant expert evidence unless the case is obvious without it. A…

Welfare legislation is not reviewed in court as a forum for general debate about its merits. A claimant must identify an incompatibility with Convention…

The Court of Appeal may refuse to reopen an order made when a party was absent where the party had a fair opportunity to attend and no sufficient injustice is…

In marine insurance, an assured’s valuation of a yacht or fishing vessel will ordinarily be treated as a statement of honest belief rather than an objectively…

In an application for permission to appeal, accepted medical evidence that the applicant could not attend justified an adjournment. The applicant could not…

Section 103(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 permits a constable to arrest a person suspected of disqualified driving after the vehicle has stopped, provided…

A judicial review permission application may properly be refused as academic where the challenged writ has been executed, the applicants have left the land…

An employment claim presented outside the statutory three-month limit may proceed only if it was not reasonably practicable to present it in time. Personal…

A person seeking redemption of a charge must ordinarily ascertain and tender the amount properly secured. Where the parties disagree about valuation or the…

Where the evidence of the origin of a fire is sparse, a trial judge may find causation on the balance of probabilities if there is a tenable explanation…

Where a litigant in person seeks disclosure or permission to appeal and the issues are insufficiently clear for the court to determine the application fairly…

The discretion to award costs on the indemnity basis under the Civil Procedure Rules is not confined to conduct involving moral lack of probity or deserving…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason to grant permission.…

On a second-tier application for permission to appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. A…

Permission to appeal requires a proposed ground to have a real prospect of success or to raise another compelling reason. Mitigation does not apply to a claim…

An appellate court may refuse permission to appeal where the proposed ground was not raised at first instance, was not foreshadowed by the pleadings, and was…

On an application under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981, the court determines whether the applicant’s past conduct satisfies the statutory description…

For limitation purposes, the relevant injury under the Limitation Act 1980 is the injury for which the action is brought. Where a claimant’s condition is later…

On a second appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. The Court of Appeal is slow to interfere…

Permission to appeal may be granted under Rule 52.3(6) either because the appeal has a real prospect of success or because another compelling reason makes a…

An employment tribunal chairman may sit alone where the statutory discretion to do so has been properly exercised. The existence of a dispute of law may make…

Permission to appeal should be granted where there is a properly arguable case that an appellate tribunal exercised its discretion to exclude fresh evidence on…

Patent claims must be construed purposively by reading the claims with the specification. The court must avoid both strict literalism and an unfettered use of…

Permission to appeal is refused where the proposed appeal has no realistic prospect of success and no other compelling reason for a hearing. A litigant’s…

The discretion under section 51 of the Supreme Court Act to order an individual to pay another party’s costs personally must be exercised according to what is…

On a second-tier appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

An application for permission to appeal relying on fresh evidence may be adjourned for determination by a full appellate court where the evidence is arguably…

Permission for a second-tier appeal should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

An ordinary relationship between a bank and the acceptor of bills of exchange, or an ordinary banker-and-customer relationship, does not ordinarily create a…

A contractual discretion must be construed and exercised in the context of the agreement as a whole. Its exercise is judged objectively, by reference to the…

An appellate court need not simply permit an applicant to withdraw applications after the hearing has begun. Where withdrawal could suggest that the…

A trial judgment on the merits must give adequate reasons explaining the outcome. The reasons need not answer every argument in detail, but the losing party…

Where a marine insurance policy covers a vessel while laid up only as specified in its schedule, the specified berth and manner of lay-up define the scope of…

A claimant in slander must plead the words complained of with reasonable certainty. Pleading only their gist, effect or alleged defamatory meaning will not…

An employment contract must be construed from its language and relevant factual setting. Subjective intentions cannot alter the meaning of signed contractual…

An enforcement notice may require combined measures under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 173(4)(a) and (b); the word “or” is not necessarily…

For the purpose of calculating a local reference rent, a rent officer cannot treat an extensive and diverse administrative district as the relevant locality…

A trial judge’s finding about a historic voluntary transfer of land will not be disturbed on appeal where it was based on an assessment of oral evidence and a…

A party may amend its pleaded case after the evidence has concluded to advance an alternative factual inference emerging from the evidence. Permission should…

An appeal concerning possession proceedings is barred where Access to Justice Act 1999, section 54(4) removes the right of appeal to the Court of Appeal. That…

In civil committal proceedings, hearsay evidence is admissible under the Civil Evidence Act 1995, subject to the statutory safeguard concerning the competence…

An application for permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason justifies…

Article 6(1) does not confer a general right to publicly funded legal representation in civil disciplinary proceedings. Such assistance is required only in…

Under section 14 of the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, the court may postpone an immediate sale of trust property where the relevant…

In disputes over beneficial ownership of a home acquired by unmarried co-owners, the parties’ common intention remains paramount. A court should not treat…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

In adoption proceedings, the court must assess welfare on the child’s actual circumstances at the date of decision. It must weigh the rights and interests of…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal will rarely interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact, particularly findings based on…

An amendment does not plead a new cause of action merely because it removes an inaccurate legal label, supplies particulars, or adds facts supporting an…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, a transitional personal-injury case may raise an important point of practice where pre-existing expert…

The regulator may consider outstanding disciplinary referrals when reviewing whether a solicitor should practise without a condition. An interim condition may…

Alternative service under Civil Procedure Rules r 6.8 requires a good reason connected with service. A claimant cannot obtain such an order merely to…

For a transaction at an undervalue under section 423(1)(c) of the Insolvency Act 1986, the court identifies the relevant transaction and its consideration…

A contractual term should not be treated as meaningless merely because a phrase is undefined. The court should try to give meaning to all words used.…

On an application for permission to appeal, a challenge based chiefly on witness credibility requires a proper basis for appellate interference. Where the…

Where an employment tribunal dismisses claims as out of time, additional merits findings are ordinarily hypothetical and unnecessary to the result. A challenge…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the evidence arguably cannot establish, to the necessary standard, that an alleged collision was a deliberate…

The slip rule permits correction of an accidental omission where the additional order is in reality uncontentious. It does not permit the court to have second…

A trial judge deciding disputed facts must explain the reasons for the conclusion reached. The extent of the duty depends on the subject matter. A judgment…

Permission to appeal requires a ground with a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. An issue expressly conceded or compromised at trial will…

At the permission stage, a statutory construction argument need only have a realistic prospect of success. A provision may be arguable where its wording is…

The Human Rights Act 1998 does not give a litigant unlimited time to appeal. Section 7(5)(a) concerns proceedings for a violation of the Act, while section…

Under the European sheep-premium clawback regime, the averaging option applied to premium rates for the specified weeks. It did not permit adjustment of the…

In domestic violence cases, the reasonableness of continued occupation under section 177(1) of the Housing Act 1996 depends solely on whether occupation will…

When deciding whether to disapply the one-year limitation period for a defamation claim, the court must balance the prejudice to each party and consider all…

A tenant’s denial of the landlord’s title may give rise to forfeiture through an implied term of the lease. That right is nevertheless subject to Law of…

Service-charge provisions must be construed as a whole. A clause allowing recovery of costs and expenses incurred in securing specified landlord covenants…

Where a patient is a party to proceedings and a consent order would dispose of them, the court may approve the order in open court without representation if…

Permission to appeal against findings of fact and damages will be refused where proposed fresh evidence does not satisfy the relevant criteria. The applicant…

Where a party fails to attend a trial and judgment is entered in that party’s absence, the appropriate first remedy is ordinarily an application to the trial…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success or some other compelling reason. Where permission depends on fresh evidence, the court must consider…

An appellate court should be slow to interfere with findings of fact based on evidence and documents, particularly where the trial judge heard and assessed the…

The Parliamentary Ombudsman has no power to investigate alleged maladministration in his own office. The exclusion also covers complaints concerning the…

State protection is assessed by reference to the protection generally available from the state, not by whether every individual police officer acts properly.…

Where forcible treatment of a detained patient is challenged on substantial and disputed medical evidence, and may interfere with rights under articles 3 or 8…

An order made without giving a party an oral hearing which had been promised is a procedural error. The court may remedy that error under Civil Procedure Rules…

Permission to appeal an interim residence order may be refused where the appeal cannot be heard in time to produce an effective change and disruption would…

Permission to appeal may be granted where a genuinely arguable and technically difficult issue warrants consideration by the Court of Appeal, even if the…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal does not rehear the case or reconsider findings of fact. Its function is to decide whether…

Where a petitioner seeks to rely on essential evidence served shortly before a winding-up hearing, the court must ensure that the respondent has a fair…

At the permission stage, an appeal may proceed where it raises issues of principle concerning the interaction of statutory provisions, or where other reasons…

The statutory power to detain a person pending examination and a decision on leave to enter is not confined to cases where detention is necessary to prevent…

Whether an agreement creates a tenancy or licence depends on its substance, assessed from the agreement as a whole. A declaration that the arrangement is a…

Damages for loss of earnings must be confined to loss caused by the defendant’s tort. Where unrelated degenerative changes would independently have prevented…

A failure to give a party a fair opportunity to address the amount of costs at a summary assessment is a due-process error and is ordinarily justiciable and…

For the purposes of the service-charge provisions in Part I of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, “landlord” is an inclusive concept. A management company may…

Where a statutory certificate restricts an asylum applicant’s appeal rights, judicial review may raise an important question whether an erroneous decision…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no realistic prospect of success on the material available. An appeal is not an…

In contentious probate proceedings, a default judgment cannot be obtained. The probate court has an investigatory role, and an order admitting a will to…

Permission granted by a County Court for a further appeal is ineffective where Access to Justice Act 1999, section 55(1), requires permission from the Court of…

The court may, assuming it has jurisdiction, refuse permission to enlarge the grounds of an appeal where the application is substantially delayed, unexplained…

A chief constable may choose between the probationary dismissal procedure and the disciplinary procedure when deciding whether a police probationer should…

A person entitled to apply for a company director disqualification order must also be a proper person to make the application. That requires a legitimate…

In a wrongful-birth claim, recovery is not confined to disabilities present or apparent at birth. Additional costs of raising a disabled child may be…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed grounds disclose a seriously arguable challenge to the assessment of damages. This may arise from a…

An appellate court may refuse to entertain a new ground of appeal that was not included in the notice of appeal and is raised only at a late stage. That is…

A rent assessment committee remains seised of a reference after its decision is quashed; quashing the decision does not quash the reference or require a fresh…

Permission to pursue a planning judicial review should be refused where the alleged errors are not identified clearly enough for the public authority to answer…

A legitimate expectation arising from departmental correspondence cannot secure the continuation of a social-security benefit where Parliament is legally able…

Costs remain in the discretion of the court. In multi-party litigation, a losing party will not ordinarily be required to pay more than one set of costs unless…

Membership of a VAT group does not end automatically when a company ceases to satisfy the statutory control condition. VAT Act 1994, section 43 establishes a…

Consent to a therapeutic referral does not, without more, authorise a consultant to send a medico-legal report to third parties. Where the report was prepared…

A financial advantage arising incidentally from the operation of auction rules does not necessarily constitute State aid. The relevant question is whether the…

On a further appeal in family financial proceedings, section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 requires permission to be refused unless the applicant raises…

In discrimination proceedings, earlier events are not necessarily res judicata merely because they were included in an earlier unsuccessful claim. They may…

Where an appellate court has only a partial or incomplete transcript of relevant lower-court proceedings, it may adjourn the application until a complete…

A decision of the High Court refusing permission to appeal to that court is not itself appealable to the Court of Appeal. Section 54(4) of the Access to…

Where evidence indicates that proposed investment may make a company substantially solvent and enable it to pay its creditors, the court may stay the…

An appeal may be made subject to security for costs where the appellant is resident outside the jurisdiction and enforcement of a costs order may be difficult.…

A tax liability determined by the General Commissioners becomes final and conclusive when the statutory appeal process is not completed. Bankruptcy proceedings…

Restoration to the roll after striking off for serious dishonesty is governed principally by protection of the public and preservation of confidence in the…

An attempted eviction from a home engages Article 8(1), even where the tenancy is terminable under a statutory scheme. The question is then whether the…

The privilege against self-incrimination protects a person from being compelled, on pain of punishment, to provide incriminating evidence or information. It…

For service under section 695 of the Companies Act 1985, an overseas company must have established its own place of business in Great Britain. It is…

A costs order is discretionary. The Court of Appeal should intervene only for an error of principle, reliance on an irrelevant matter, failure to consider a…

The statutory right given to herring fishermen by the White Herring Fisheries Act 1771 does not authorise occupation of developed, enclosed wharf land merely…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for the appeal to be…

A claim brought under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules is treated as allocated to the multi-track for procedural purposes, but is not thereby formally…

A claim against a chargee and its receiver for alleged misconduct and breach of duty in dealing with charged property is not a claim for recovery of a…

Where an appellant fails to set down an appeal within the time required by the applicable rules, the Court of Appeal may strike out the notice of appeal. A…

Proceedings in an English court must be conducted in English, using an interpreter where necessary. A litigant in person will ordinarily give evidence through…

A procedural error in determining a review application does not automatically invalidate the decision. The court should examine whether it made a material…

In an application for permission to appeal from an Employment Appeal Tribunal decision, the Court of Appeal will not reopen factual findings or procedural…

A partner’s limited participation in a partnership, or lack of knowledge of its dealings, does not remove responsibility for a true account where partnership…

In construing an exclusive supply clause, the defined Products may remain the individual component supplied, even though competitiveness must be assessed in…

A contractual discretion to vary a mortgage interest rate is not wholly unfettered. A term will ordinarily be implied that the lender will not exercise it…

An employment tribunal’s reasons are sufficient where they show that the tribunal identified and answered the correct questions, even if individual matters are…

Permission for a further appeal should not be granted merely to correct an alleged error unless the error is sufficiently substantial to justify the expense…

Permission to appeal in family proceedings requires a sufficient prospect of success to warrant a further order. The court must assess that question by…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal may adjourn the application on notice where newly produced documentary evidence could…

Negligence in failing to protect employees from a known operational risk must be assessed by reference to the information and circumstances existing when the…

An appellate court should not interfere with an employment tribunal’s discretionary refusal to permit a late amendment adding a disability-discrimination claim…

A development plan may comply with national guidance for gypsy sites by setting clear criteria for suitable locations. It need not allocate particular…

On an application for a planning injunction, the court must accept the planning status of the land and may not conduct a fresh planning appeal. It must…

On a second appeal, arguability or a real prospect of success is insufficient. Permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another…

A trial court may control evidence and limit cross-examination about previous convictions. The discretion extends to excluding otherwise admissible material…

Where a specialist supplier provides equipment intended to operate with another contractor’s system, its responsibility may extend to ensuring that the systems…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal concerning a jury’s assessment of damages, the Court of Appeal held that appellate intervention was not…

A claimant seeking damages for an allegedly unfair sporting disciplinary process must prove causation. Apparent bias alone does not establish compensable loss…

A combination of design features may possess the necessary quality of confidence even though each feature, considered separately, is obvious, commonplace or…

Judicial review cannot challenge the appropriateness of a criminal sentence imposed at trial and upheld on appeal. A parole recall decision is reviewable only…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

When assessing whether the circumstances of a will require proof that the testator knew and approved its contents, the relevant comparison is between the…

In a factual boundary dispute, an appellate court should not substitute its view for a trial judge’s assessment where the judge inspected the site, heard…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of showing that the lower appellate tribunal erred in law. A party cannot challenge an Employment Appeal Tribunal…

An employer must take reasonable steps to protect employees against risks reasonably foreseeable as likely to occur in the course of their employment.…

On an application for permission to appeal an assessment of contractual damages, the appellate court will not interfere with a first-instance judge’s…

In road-traffic negligence, a vehicle parked partly on a carriageway is not, without more, a causative hazard. The court must assess objectively whether its…

In passing off, reputation, misrepresentation and damage remain distinct requirements, but actual confusion is not a precondition. A strong and distinctive…

A director who procures a transfer of company property to himself through breach of pre-existing fiduciary duties holds that property as a constructive trustee…

In a negligent-reference claim, loss of a chance requires evidence of a real and substantial chance, rather than speculation. Where causation depends on the…

An appellate challenge to a trial judge’s findings of fact requires a high degree of cogency and a realistic prospect of showing that the findings are wrong.…

On an asylum appeal from the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal addresses matters of law only. Credibility and risk findings may be upheld where…

A service-provider agreement under which a local authority pays for accommodation supplied to occupants is not thereby a tenancy granted to the authority. The…

On a detailed assessment of legally aided costs, wasted costs may include costs properly incurred before a solicitor’s later negligence rendered the underlying…

Costs orders in private-law proceedings concerning children are unusual, but remain within the trial judge’s discretion. A judge may assess a parent’s…

A second appeal should not proceed unless the statutory threshold is met: the case must raise an important point of law or practice, or there must be another…

Permission to appeal under section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 requires an important point of law or practice, or another compelling reason.…

Routine directions to obtain a Children and Family Reporter’s report and list a matter for further directions are ordinary case-management decisions. The Court…

In a contribution claim arising from foreign defamation settlements, the court must determine the natural and ordinary meaning of the publication itself. It…

The deemed date of service under rule 6.7(1) of the Civil Procedure Rules is fixed. Evidence that a document arrived earlier or later does not alter that date.…

An oral promise by a third party to pay a subcontractor if the contractor defaults is a guarantee within section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 where the…

Liability for the same damage under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 does not require identical measures or amounts of damages. The court must…

An indemnity against all actions, costs, claims and demands arising from breach is not confined to claims that are well founded or successful. The relevant…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed legal ground could not affect the outcome, even if correct.…

When an action has been struck out because of inexcusable procedural failures amounting to an abuse of process, a fresh action raising the same issues will…

Under Part 44 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the court has a wide discretion when deciding costs. It must consider all the circumstances and have regard to the…

A court may require an appellant who has failed to file a defence, despite having an opportunity to do so, to serve a full defence by an unless deadline and…

On a submission of no case to answer, the court must address the claimant’s case at its highest and determine whether the evidence could establish causation.…

A floor is suitable for the purposes of regulation 12 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 if, assessed objectively and before any…

Capital orders in ancillary relief proceedings are intended to be final. A later change in circumstances will not ordinarily justify reopening them. The Barder…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court may adjourn the application for an on-notice hearing where there is a substantial concern that the…

An application or appeal seeking to reopen matters already adjudicated in earlier proceedings is an abuse of the court’s process and should be refused. The…

Permission for judicial review should be granted where the challenge to an appeal panel’s decision is properly arguable. A panel may reach a different view…

For VAT purposes, periodic rent under a lease is treated as consideration for separate and successive supplies for the relevant periods. The corresponding…

For the official-error exception to recovery of housing-benefit overpayments, causation must be assessed in light of the legislative purpose of the exception.…

A confidentiality order should not generally be set aside late where confidential material was supplied in reliance on the order and the parties raised no…

The applicable amount in housing benefit legislation is a figure used to assess income and calculate entitlement. It is not a separate sum payable in addition…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no realistic prospect of success and no other compelling reason warrants permission. Fresh…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success or where there is another compelling reason for it to be heard.…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success on jurisdiction or discretion, particularly where relevant…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic prospect of success or another compelling reason. In a discrimination claim concerning planning decisions, the…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success on the construction and formation of a contract. Correspondence…

A general statutory power to review, rescind or vary an order cannot be used to evade an express statutory prohibition. Where an earlier application for an…

An application for permission to appeal made grossly out of time may be refused where the explanation for delay is implausible or unsatisfactory. The court may…

Past persecution does not prevent an asylum tribunal from finding that a present risk has ended. Where past persecution is accepted, a continuing well-founded…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success. A trial judge’s assessment of witness credibility is…

Permission to appeal against a refusal to stay execution should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no substantive issue and merely seek to reopen…

In assessing whether an employer provided a reasonably safe place and system of work, the court must address a foreseeable risk with a precaution proportionate…

A renewed application for permission to appeal is a discretionary, threshold application. The Court of Appeal may grant permission when narrowly persuaded that…

Under the Mobile Homes Act 1983, an occupier receives statutory security only if the agreement permits the mobile home to be stationed on land forming part of…

An individual is not liable for a company’s tort merely because he is a director, controlling shareholder or employee. Liability may arise where, independently…

Service-charge provisions are construed restrictively. A landlord may recover an item from tenants only where the lease clearly and plainly authorises…

In assessing damages for goods which were not of merchantable quality, the recoverable loss may include the reasonable cost of remedial measures required to…

The appeal was disposed of by consent. The Court of Appeal recorded that the agreed solution was sensible on the facts but gave no substantive judgment on the…

Permission to appeal may properly be granted where an abandonment issue should be considered by the full appellate court and may, if successful, give rise to a…

Procedural time limits apply equally to litigants in person and represented parties. An extension will be exceptional and requires a satisfactory explanation…

A second appeal requires both a real prospect of success and satisfaction of the restrictive permission threshold in CPR rule 52.13. The court need not decide…

In a claim based on persecution by non-State actors, the assessment must consider the alleged conduct and the protection available from the State as a whole.…

Patent claims must be construed purposively, between strict literalism and treating the claims as mere guidelines. The construction must provide fair…

Misfeasance in public office requires bad faith. The tort has two forms: targeted malice, where public power is exercised with an improper or ulterior motive…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court should refuse permission where the proposed appeal has only a fanciful prospect of success. The…

An appellate court should distinguish between the legal burden of proving wilful default or neglect and the evidential burden. Where the evidence prima facie…

Liability for negligent misstatement may arise where the circumstances show that an answer to an enquiry carries sufficient gravity and importance, the maker…

An absolute statutory time limit for appealing a forfeiture order is not incompatible with the Convention merely because it admits no extension. The relevant…

An order made by consent cannot be overturned on appeal merely because a party was not personally given an opportunity to address the judge, or was not fully…

In child-care litigation, marked delay in seeking permission to appeal may justify refusing an extension of time, particularly where the child’s circumstances…

Where an appeal has already been heard in the court of trial, section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 requires an important point of law or practice or…

On a second-tier appeal from the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal is principally concerned with whether the Employment Tribunal reached the…

An injunction requiring demolition of an unauthorised building cannot ordinarily be challenged years later by seeking its variation before another High Court…

Forfeiture for breach of covenant is not confined to breaches of positive obligations. Under section 146, a breach of a negative covenant may also be…

An application for permission to appeal may be dismissed for want of prosecution where the applicant, having been notified of the hearing, neither responds nor…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real chance of success. A person who owns or controls a company is not thereby the…

In an asylum appeal, material background evidence may be central to assessing whether anticipated ill-treatment amounts to persecution and whether adequate…

A dismissal following the withdrawal of an Employment Tribunal claim does not invariably create a cause of action estoppel. Its legal effect depends on the…

A person subject to a civil proceedings order must obtain the leave required by section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 before instituting further proceedings…

An application for permission to appeal may be hopeless where the order under challenge expressly gives the applicant liberty to apply in the trial court and…

For a Part 36 offer to justify indemnity costs, the court must consider whether the result is more advantageous than the offer and whether such an order is…

On an application for permission to appeal, fresh evidence must be materially relevant and capable of giving the appeal a real prospect of success. Evidence…

An appellate court must respect the responsibility of the trial judge who saw and heard the witnesses, particularly in finely balanced child-residence…

Where an expedited appeal listing is reconsidered, the court should balance prompt disposal against the practical prejudice and burdens an early or late…

Relief from a procedural sanction requires the court to consider all the circumstances identified in CPR 3.9 and to assess whether the sanction is…

After an appeal has already been heard in the court of trial, permission for a further appeal requires an important point of law or practice, or another…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success. Where fresh evidence is sought, the principles in Ladd v Marshall…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact and witness assessment merely by reviewing the judgment, particularly after a…

Where a party seeks permission to appeal against refusal to continue a freezing injunction, a delay of four weeks or more is ordinarily fatal unless…

A litigant in person in family proceedings should ordinarily be permitted the assistance of a McKenzie friend, particularly where that assistance will give the…

Permission to appeal against a child-contact order should be approached with particular caution where the order was made by an experienced judge after careful…

On a second-tier appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

The illegality defence may defeat a tort claim where the alleged representation is central to an illegal transaction on which the claimant relied. It is…

A registered proprietor with the legal estate is entitled to seek possession from persons with no established interest, subject to any overriding interests. A…

For certification under section 2(2)(c) of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, the focus is the practical outcome of removal. The question is whether the…

A case-management order directing that findings in test cases bind other litigants does not automatically extend to findings made on appeal. If the order is…

Although the court may exclude the press and public where the interests of justice require it, open justice remains the strong default. A proportionate…

Where a company has been ordered to be wound up but credible evidence shows that proposed funding may restore solvency and improve creditors’ position, the…

A court may use its inherent jurisdiction to restrain an unqualified person whose activities interfere with the proper administration of justice. Rights of…

In a small road traffic personal injury claim, a claimant with apparently satisfactory pre-existing before-the-event insurance should ordinarily be referred to…

An application to reinstate refused applications for permission to appeal does not ordinarily justify a stay of execution where no proper basis for…

An appellate court should not interfere with a discretionary refusal to adjourn merely because another judge might have exercised the discretion differently.…

A consent order is exceptionally difficult to challenge on appeal. Where a litigant attended the hearing, participated in negotiations and was represented by…

A trial judge has broad latitude when deciding costs. Although costs are conventionally reserved where an application is adjourned for a substantive hearing…

An ancillary relief order may be reopened where subsequent evidence suggests that it was affected by dishonest evidence or a breach of the duty of full and…

Where an applicant has already appealed in the court of trial, section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 prevents the Court of Appeal granting permission…

An appeal from a county court or High Court decision requires permission under section 55(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1999. Permission may be…

Under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the Secretary of State may accept a disqualification undertaking only where the statutory conditions are…

In care and adoption proceedings, the appellate court will not interfere with a first-instance decision merely because another judge might have reached a…

In care proceedings, assessment of a prospective carer requires an overall evaluation. Physical care, practical parenting and the relationship with the child…

A public authority’s discretion to make interim benefit payments does not justify a mandatory order where payment pending appeal is conditional on the…

An appellate court will not review a trial judge’s discretionary refusal of permission to appeal out of time where no good reason for delay or error is shown.…

Permission for a second appeal requires more than a realistic or non-hopeless prospect of success. Under section 55(1) of the Access to Justice Act 1999, the…

On an application for permission to appeal an ancillary-relief order, the appellate court will not interfere with the trial judge’s exercise of the broad…

In an application concerning discharge of a recently made care order, the court must apply the paramountcy principle and have regard to the statutory…

In private-law contact proceedings, an appellate court will not interfere with a first-instance discretionary decision falling within the proper discretionary…

At a directions hearing, a judge may depart from an agreed interim arrangement where the child’s interests require it, but must first give affected parties a…

Where a party fails to disclose an expert report within the time directed, the court must address the resulting sanction under CPR 35.13 and CPR 3.9. It must…

An order directing experts to meet is discretionary, not automatic. After expert reports have been exchanged, such meetings will usually be ordered because…

Permission to appeal in care proceedings should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success and would cause substantial delay and…

A purposive construction of social legislation may extend protection, but it cannot remove an express statutory condition. Section 7 of the Race Relations Act…

Permission to appeal in care proceedings should be refused where the proposed grounds have no realistic prospect of affecting the outcome. Findings concerning…

Permission to appeal should be granted where proposed grounds raise arguable issues of general importance or provide a proper opportunity to examine the…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, rule 48.6(4), a litigant in person who cannot prove financial loss may recover costs for the time reasonably spent on each…

An appellate court may determine only an appeal or application properly before it. It has no jurisdiction, within an application for permission to appeal, to…

Limitation turns on when a claimant knew enough of the material facts to bring proceedings, rather than when he later obtained a document. Alleged suppression…

Whether proceedings are a criminal cause or matter depends on the nature of the underlying decision, rather than the outward form of the proceedings or the…

An agreement embodied in a consent order does not, without clear express or implied words, exclude the court’s jurisdiction to extend time for compliance. The…

A solicitor without the necessary right of audience should not ordinarily address the court on behalf of a company. Exceptional permission may be granted only…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the applicant identifies no ground with a real prospect of success. The Court of Appeal will rarely interfere with…

A renewed application for judicial review may be an abuse of process where it substantially repeats an earlier refused application and no material change of…

Permission to appeal may be dismissed where the applicant fails to attend without explanation. Independently, permission should be refused where the proposed…

Costs in multi-party litigation remain a matter for the trial judge’s discretion. There are no hard and fast rules requiring costs to follow the event in every…

A charging order is a discretionary method of enforcing a judgment debt. In deciding whether to make it absolute, the court must consider all the…

In a professional-negligence claim arising from solicitors’ conduct of earlier litigation, a claimant seeking damages for loss of a chance must prove that the…

An interim injunction which would have irreversible practical consequences requires a court to assess the strength of the claim as well as the balance of…

Permission to appeal may properly be granted where an adjudicator’s reasons are so brief that they may lack the capacity to explain an adverse conclusion…

Section 54(4) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 removes the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to hear or review a High Court judge’s refusal of permission to…

Permission for judicial review may be refused where the claim cannot provide any practical benefit beyond redress already achieved through an independent…

Legal assistance to pursue a petition to the House of Lords may properly be refused where the proposed appeal has no reasonable prospect of success and raises…

R (Daly) v Home Secretary did not replace rationality with proportionality as the general test for administrative decisions. It established that a policy must…

For a second appeal, permission depends on the criteria in rule 52.13 and section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999. A challenge to a discretionary…

When considering an injunction under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court may rely on findings from prior planning enforcement…

The implied undertaking governing documents obtained through compulsory disclosure applies only to material disclosed under compulsion, including practical…

A patent cannot ordinarily be construed by reference to another patent or later patent application. The meaning of technical language must be determined from…

Where parental preference is for an appropriate independent school rather than an available appropriate maintained school, unreasonable public expenditure…

An interim order made by a county court after proceedings were transferred from a family proceedings court was not rendered without jurisdiction merely because…

On an application for permission to appeal a child-contact order, the Court of Appeal stressed that its function is limited to correcting errors at trial. It…

An asylum appeal involving a mentally ill applicant must be determined through a fair, fact-sensitive assessment of the evidence and procedural requirements.…

An asylum claimant’s entitlement to have a claim entertained does not alter the legal character of an otherwise unlawful presence. Removal or refoulement may…

In child-welfare proceedings, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration under the Children Act 1989. An appellate court should show strong…

Where permission to appeal is limited to points of law, an appeal notice must identify grounds falling within that permission. A notice containing no such…

A renewal option conditioned on minimum purchases is enforceable unless the tenant establishes a properly arguable basis that the condition was waived…

An asylum claimant must establish a well-founded fear of persecution to the applicable modest standard of proof of risk. An adjudicator may take account of a…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real chance of success. The Court of Appeal will not interfere with trial findings of…

An admission of breach of professional duty does not, by itself, establish liability. The claimant must prove that the breach caused the loss. A finding that…

An extension of time for appealing to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is exceptional. It requires a satisfactory explanation for the delay. A pending…

A second-tier appeal requires permission only where it raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another compelling reason for the Court…

When granting an interim injunction requiring a service provider to continue supplying services during a short transition period, the court may require…

The jurisdiction to order security for costs against an individual ordinarily resident abroad depends on the claimant’s juridical characteristics, not the…

For a second-tier appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. Law of Property (Miscellaneous…

A claim is not an abusive collateral attack merely because it raises issues considered in earlier litigation. The critical question is whether it seeks to…

Where medical evidence relevant to a parent’s ability to travel and resume care of a child remains unresolved, the court may adjourn an application concerning…

An English court may garnish a debt situated abroad where the garnishee is within the jurisdiction. The decisive question is whether, as a practical matter…

In an appeal against a discretionary child-contact order, the question is not whether the appellate judge would have selected the same timetable. It is whether…

On an application for permission to bring a second appeal, the Court of Appeal may adjourn rather than grant or refuse permission where the proposed appeal…

In family proceedings, an appellate court may intervene where an urgent application for legal representation was handled bureaucratically and the litigant was…

Under section 38(6) of the Children Act, the court may order an assessment where this is necessary to obtain information required for its own decision on a…

In care proceedings, an appellate court must correct a decision that is plainly wrong or reflects a manifest error. A court deciding whether to discharge a…

Section 356(6) of the Companies Act 1985 confers a discretion to order inspection of, or delivery of copies from, a company’s register of members. The…

A party relying on standard terms must take reasonable steps to bring the particular term to the other party’s notice. The adequacy of notice depends on the…

A successful litigant does not ordinarily have a reasonable prospect of obtaining a retrial merely because he considers the trial unfair or wishes to pursue…

An application to reinstate a refused application for permission to appeal, together with an extension of time, requires a meritorious and prompt explanation…

An appellate court will not interfere with findings of fact made by a trial judge in circumstances where the findings are open to the judge. Contractual…

Where a claim form has been served within the prescribed period, the court retains power to extend time for serving particulars of claim. The exceptional…

A rent review clause must be construed by identifying the parties’ intention from the language of the clause, read in the context of the lease and its…

Permission to appeal may be granted where an appellant has a real, though uncertain, prospect of establishing that a lower court failed to consider whether it…

Where an appeal has been presented on an erroneous or materially narrower factual basis, the appellate court may adjourn the permission application so that the…

An application to strike out a pleading at the commencement of trial, after preparation costs have been incurred, should be entertained only in a most…

An appellate court should be able to understand, from the judgment itself, why one expert’s evidence was preferred to another’s. Reasons may be succinct, but a…

Permission for a second-tier appeal is confined to cases raising a point of principle or practice, or presenting another compelling reason for consideration. A…

Section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 cannot revive a negligence claim that has already become statute-barred. In a deceit claim, permission to appeal may be…

A further appeal from a county court decision is permitted only in exceptional circumstances. Under section 55 of the Access to Justice Act 1999, the proposed…

Where a litigant unexpectedly loses legal representation at the start of a trial, the court must exercise its discretion on the basis of the circumstances…

Direct discrimination under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 requires less favourable treatment on the ground of sex. Where a lesbian employee suffers…

In determining child contact, a judge must keep the central issues in focus and engage properly with the professional welfare evidence. A decision is…

An applicant before an Employment Tribunal has no automatic legal entitlement to legal representation. The Human Rights Act and European human-rights…

The court’s power to permit payment of a costs order by instalments is discretionary. An appellate challenge to its exercise requires an identifiable error of…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no basis for disturbing clear trial findings of fact or consequential relief…

At the permission stage, an appeal is justified where the first-instance judgment raises a real doubt whether its findings provide a proper basis for fault and…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success. Permission need not be confined to selected grounds where…

Employment tribunals have jurisdiction over specified employment matters, including unfair dismissal and discrimination, but their powers do not extend to…

Costs incurred for attendance at the hand-down of a judgment are not automatically recoverable. Their recoverability depends on the circumstances of the case…

Whether a natural watercourse has become a statutory sewer is a question of fact and degree. Mere discharge of sewage, and a fortiori pure surface water, is…

A statutory enfranchisement notice must substantially comply with the mandatory requirements governing its form and particulars. Paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 3…

In an asylum claim based on violence by a non-state actor, the adjudicator must apply the law in force when the claim is determined. A concession made under a…

Where solicitors negligently cause an earlier claim to be struck out, the claimant must show that the lost claim had a real and substantial, rather than…

A court of appeal that is not a final court should ordinarily refer a critical question of Community-law interpretation to the European Court of Justice. It…

On an appeal against an enforcement notice under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, an inspector is not generally required to invent or investigate a…

A senior police officer’s fixed-term appointment ends when the agreed term expires unless it has been extended by agreement. A suspended officer does not need…

A timetable in a rent review clause is presumed not to make time of the essence. That presumption is displaced where the lease clearly stipulates the…

A judge determining the permissible meanings of an allegedly defamatory publication must ask what a jury could sensibly understand the words to mean. The range…

A person injured while committing a serious criminal offence cannot recover in tort where the facts founding the claim are inextricably linked with that…

A local authority may use section 222(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 to bring proceedings in its own name to restrain a public nuisance affecting its…

A general power of appointment capable of producing value is property for inheritance-tax purposes. The extended definition in section 272 of the Inheritance…

An after-the-event insurance premium may be recovered under section 29 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 where the policy insures against a costs liability…

A professional regulator may limit attempts at a qualifying examination where the applicant qualifies through a statutory route permitting prescribed…

Reduced earnings allowance is assessed by reference to each industrial accident that causes a change in the claimant’s regular occupation and a consequent loss…

Specific disclosure in discrimination proceedings is governed by relevance, necessity and proportionality before confidentiality or public interest immunity is…

Following the discharge of freezing orders on appeal, cross-undertakings in damages and undertakings to meet third-party costs remain enforceable for the…

Summary judgment in a malicious-prosecution claim may be entered under Part 24 where, after respecting the claimant’s entitlement to a jury determination and…

Where a residence order is in force, section 13(1)(b) of the Children Act 1989 means what it says: leave is required to remove a child from the United Kingdom…

On an application for permission to appeal a costs order, the court may impose conditions, including payment into court, to control the financial risk of a…

A contractual prohibition on inducing a customer by disclosure or use of confidential business information requires the employee to deploy that information as…

Directorial unfitness is assessed cumulatively, by reference to the director’s responsibility for the company’s insolvency and any improper transactions or…

Liability for a public nuisance on or emanating from land does not depend on the landowner having created the nuisance, or on the nuisance involving physical…

An acceleration clause in an unsecured instalment debt must be construed objectively in its commercial setting. The complete non-payment of a due instalment…

Permission to appeal against orders for security for costs is governed by different thresholds. A second appeal requires an important point of principle or…

A notice to complete may be served where the vendor has performed the primary obligations required before completion, even though it may remain liable in…

A solicitor advising on the meaning of a contractual restriction must warn a lay client of a material risk that a court may adopt a different construction.…

In an irrationality challenge involving removal to a safe third country, the court must examine the underlying factual material rigorously to determine whether…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success. The appellate court reviews the decision below and does not…

Conformity with a common or nearly universal professional practice is not an automatic defence to negligence. The practice must be reasonable and responsible.…

Whether an ordinary statutory word applies to established facts is generally a question of fact and degree for the fact-finding tribunal. An appellate court…

An interim receiver should be appointed only after separating the merits of the underlying claim from the practical measures needed to preserve the claimed…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact where the evidence was carefully considered and the judge gave clear, detailed…

Judicial review is not a general fallback where Parliament has provided a statutory appeal procedure. A person cannot ordinarily use judicial review to make a…

Permission to appeal in judicial review should address the particular case before the court. Difficult or important points need not be decided where they…

The court’s case-management powers may include requiring a claimant to pay money into court as a condition of an order. The power must be exercised…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in judicial review proceedings, the Court of Appeal must form its own view of whether there is an arguable…

Permission for a second appeal is exceptional, particularly in a minor boundary dispute where further litigation may generate disproportionate cost and…

Permission to appeal in an asylum case should be refused where the adjudicator has conducted a careful and comprehensive assessment of credibility and the…

Access to Justice Act 1999, section 54(4), prevents a further appeal to the Court of Appeal against a lower appellate court’s refusal of permission to appeal.…

Permission for a further appeal from the Immigration Appeal Tribunal will ordinarily be refused where a properly reasoned determination identifies the correct…

A consent order for specific performance does not, without express wording, replace the underlying contract. The contract remains operative subject to the…

A solicitor’s fiduciary obligations may continue after the relevant retainer has ended. Their source is the subsisting relationship of trust and confidence…

Use of land for lawful sports and pastimes is not use as of right where the owner has granted permission. Permission need not be express. It may be inferred…

An association may invoke the Convention only where the proceedings determine its own civil rights and obligations, unless it has been formally authorised to…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, a proposed ground should be permitted where it has a real prospect of success. The small amount in issue is…

A tribunal raises a procedural fairness issue where it relies on material concerning the sufficiency of state protection without giving the parties an…

The slip rule permits correction of an order that fails to reflect the court’s actual intention because of an accidental slip or omission. It does not permit…

For the purposes of racial discrimination in employment, a detriment is a disadvantage in the circumstances in which the employee has to work. A formal…

Where Parliament confers an express power on a port authority to licence moorings, the owner of the riverbed cannot exercise an overriding proprietary right to…

When security for costs is sought as a condition of pursuing an appeal, the court must balance protection against unrecoverable costs with the appellant’s…

A refusal by a lower appellate court to grant permission to appeal cannot ordinarily be appealed to the Court of Appeal. Section 54(4) of the Access to Justice…

The official receiver may use the compulsory information-gathering powers in sections 235 and 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to investigate a company’s failure…

Non-registration of a class C land charge makes it void against a purchaser, but does not extinguish the charge between mortgagor and mortgagee or remove…

The Fire Precautions Act 1971 protects persons in premises from fire risks. Its fire-certificate provisions do not permit a fire authority to require automatic…

Where a visitor provisionally decides in a student’s favour but then considers further evidence and may reverse that decision, fairness may require the visitor…

An appellate court considering permission to appeal must assess whether there is a realistic prospect that the decision below cannot stand. Findings of fact…

Trade union immunity from tort liability for industrial action depends on strict compliance with the statutory ballot and notice requirements. For section…

The meaning of a contractual restriction on renting property depends on the agreement’s language read in its commercial and factual setting. The word “rent”…

Malicious prosecution requires a prosecution, acquittal, absence of reasonable and probable cause, and malice. Reasonable and probable cause has both an…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success. A claimant’s liability to a client for loss caused by breach…

In a guarantor claim arising from a terminated charter arrangement, an arbitration clause in the underlying contract did not postpone proceedings against the…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission may be granted where the proposed ground has a sufficient prospect of success, even though…

Case management orders should not be reopened merely because a later judge would have exercised the discretion differently. They should be varied only where…

Disclosure of affidavits of means filed in matrimonial proceedings is not governed by an automatic rule of confidentiality. The court must balance the spouses’…

Reinstatement after a permanent exclusion means that the pupil is no longer excluded. It does not require exact restoration of the pre-exclusion arrangements…

A novation must be established on the civil standard of proof, but clear evidence of an intention to replace an existing contracting party will usually be…

Suspected involvement in politically motivated terrorism and persecution for an imputed political opinion are not mutually exclusive. The effective reason for…

Permission to appeal from a Social Security Commissioner is confined to a point of law. Permission should be refused unless the proposed appeal has a real…

In care proceedings, an appellate court may decline to remit a threshold or protective-order issue for retrial even where the evidence was thin and a fuller…

A bankrupt’s standing to pursue an appeal concerning property or a judgment enforceable only against the bankruptcy estate is ordinarily displaced by the…

When deciding whether to make a stopping-up order, the Secretary of State exercises a separate statutory discretion from the planning authority’s decision to…

An appellate court should interfere with a discretionary order only where the decision was plainly wrong. A person may have a limited legitimate interest in…

On a preliminary issue in libel, the court must decide whether the words, read once in their natural and ordinary sense by the ordinary reasonable reader, are…

A contractual document must be construed objectively in its commercial context. A purported framework arrangement is not an enforceable contract if it imposes…

In a civil trial involving an ill litigant in person, fairness does not require further postponement where there is no realistic prospect of representation or…

A park owner may permit dogs contrary to a park rule only where the rule’s exception for special circumstances applies. A policy allowing incoming residents to…

Where a treaty and concession require two governments to act jointly before imposing security measures on concessionaires, positive agreement is required. Mere…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has at least a realistic prospect of success. An apparent misunderstanding by a regulatory…

When a parent seeks judicial approval for changing a child’s surname against the opposition of another parent, the change must be justified as being in the…

Contractual language is construed objectively, in its documentary and factual context, to identify the meaning a reasonable person would attribute to it. That…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal may adjourn where the applicant identifies matters requiring investigation, even though the…

Permission to appeal does not create an automatic stay, and a real prospect of success does not by itself justify one. Under Part 52.7 of the Civil Procedure…

Before permission to appeal can be granted, the court must be satisfied that the proposed appeal has a real prospect of success. Where the procedural history…

An appellate court reviewing an employment tribunal’s interlocutory case-management decision may intervene only for an error of law. Regulation 4 of the…

The Court of Appeal will not ordinarily reopen an argument after judgment has been initiated by circulating draft judgments. Parties must present the…

The Court of Appeal may refuse permission where an applicant seeks to reopen litigation after exhausting the available avenues of challenge. The power under…

On an application for permission to appeal in a libel action, the Court of Appeal confirmed that justification required proof of the substantial truth of the…

Where an application for permission to appeal cannot be properly considered immediately, execution of an order may be stayed temporarily if its immediate…

A trial judge may read material which is inadmissible, or may later prove inadmissible, as part of pre-reading for a lengthy civil trial. That exercise does…

A creditor may increase a principal debtor’s liabilities only where the surety has consented or the surety contract clearly permits the variation. A clause…

Automatic directions remain applicable unless the court has clearly imposed a different procedural regime. They are ousted where new directions are repugnant…

A payment is part of the credit, rather than a charge for credit, where an objective purpose of the borrowing is to meet that payment. A contractual…

A translation of an unprivileged document which is in the litigant's control is, for legal professional privilege, to be treated as a copy. It reproduces the…

A prison service may adopt an age-based policy governing children’s residence in mother and baby units. It must, however, consider whether exceptional…

Where a statutory valuation provision supports materially different methods of calculating a deduction for tenant-funded improvements, the issue may properly…

Where the court’s administrative record does not show that an appeal was properly constituted, the issue may be determined from the available documents and…

Under Supreme Court Act 1981, s 42, an indefinite civil proceedings order is the usual form. A specified duration remains discretionary and is required only…

An appellate court reviewing a discretionary case-management decision may interfere only within the limited circumstances prescribed by the Civil Procedure…

The Court of Appeal has no jurisdiction to entertain a further appeal from a High Court judge’s refusal, following an oral hearing, of permission to appeal…

A transaction is a sham only where the relevant parties share a subjective intention that the apparent rights and obligations should differ from those they…

An appellate court should interfere with a costs order only where the lower court failed genuinely to exercise its discretion or took account of wholly…

Permission to appeal in a boundary dispute should be refused where the trial judge’s factual findings are supported by the evidence and disclose no arguable…

On a statutory planning challenge under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court will not substitute its view for an inspector’s findings of fact or…

A single Lord Justice exercising the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction under Supreme Court Act 1981 gives a decision of that court. A further appeal from that…

Permission to appeal was refused. Under Access to Justice Act 1999, section 55, an application should not proceed where it raises no important point of law or…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court must ask whether the proposed appeal has a realistic prospect of success. The assessment concerns…

A further appeal after an appeal has already been heard in the court of trial requires an important point of law or practice or another compelling reason under…

A leading reinsurer’s authority to bind following reinsurers under a clause providing for wording to be agreed ends when the relevant reinsurance has been…

Press publications are capable, in rare and exceptional circumstances, of constituting harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. The Act does…

A contract is formed only where the parties’ communications, assessed objectively at the time, show a clear and unequivocal acceptance of the proposed terms.…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no realistic prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason to grant…

On an application for permission to bring a second appeal, the applicant must satisfy both the ordinary test for setting aside a default judgment and the…

Issue estoppel arises only where the issue essential to the later claim is the same issue that was litigated and decided between the parties in the earlier…

On an application for permission to appeal a stay of family proceedings, the threshold may be met where the material raises a serious concern that the stay…

Where a monetary claim has been substantially satisfied, permission for a further appeal may properly be refused even though a theoretical issue of principle…

Copyright ordinarily protects an author’s form of expression rather than the underlying information. Freedom of expression will therefore rarely justify…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s finding of fact, particularly where it depends on the judge’s assessment of witnesses’…

In applications for permission to appeal out of time, substantial latitude should be allowed to circuit judges. Administrative errors may be relevant, but they…

An appellate court may exceptionally interfere with a trial judge’s exercise of discretion where, although the judge was not wrong on the material before him…

On a second-tier appeal, permission may be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

On an application for permission to appeal, a material mismatch between the case advanced at trial and the judge’s findings may justify permission where it…

Permission for a second appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal raises a substantial question of law or another condition in rule 52.13(2) is…

In assessing whether an asylum claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution, the tribunal must assess future risk holistically. Relevant matters include the…

An appeal from an Employment Appeal Tribunal lies only on a point of law. The Court of Appeal does not re-determine factual disputes or intervene merely…

The judgment illustrates appellate handling of procedural complaints in child proceedings at the permission stage. A refusal to adjourn lies within the judge’s…

A driver of a large vehicle must exercise a high degree of vigilance, particularly where the vehicle has a blind spot. The duty extends to pedestrians who are…

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. For a transsexual, the Corbett biological criteria remained the only reliable basis for assigning sex at birth…

Where deportation interferes with family life under Article 8, proportionality requires a decision-maker to strike a fair balance between the public interest…

After a possession order has been made at a fair hearing, the administrative issue of a warrant does not determine the former tenant’s civil rights and need…

A statutory right of appeal to the High Court against disciplinary orders concerning licensed conveyancers extends to the enforcement of directions relating to…

An after-the-event insurance premium reasonably incurred before substantive proceedings may be recovered in costs-only proceedings. Rule 44.12A permits…

On an application for permission to appeal, fresh evidence may be admitted where it satisfies the Ladd v Marshall principles: it is apparently credible, could…

In a family welfare case, the decision about a child’s future is primarily for the trial court, applying welfare as the paramount consideration. An appellate…

Where an application concerning permission to appeal from an arbitration award raises important and unresolved questions, particularly concerning Convention…

An application for committal is procedurally valid where it is served in accordance with the applicable notice requirements, even if the time available is…

Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 did not apply retrospectively to a prison security-classification decision made before the Act came into force. Articles…

When considering relief from sanctions, the court must address the relevant factors in Civil Procedure Rules, rule 3.9(1). Even where delay and default are…

In a personal-injury claim arising from negligent medical advice, causation is determined on the balance of probabilities. Damages are not awarded for a…

Under section 459 of the Companies Act 1985, prejudice is a broad concept. Financial loss is one form of prejudice but is not a necessary requirement. Whether…

A public services contract is classified by objectively comparing the services requested in the tender documents with the relevant service classifications. The…

Material disclosed during without prejudice negotiations cannot ordinarily be severed so that selected facts are used while the negotiations remain protected.…

An appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is confined to the grounds in the notice of appeal unless leave to amend is obtained. An out-of-time amendment is…

On an interlocutory injunction application, the court must assess the likely consequences of granting or withholding relief, including the adequacy of damages…

A private body that is not a public body is not amenable to judicial review of a contractual employment decision. Unfair dismissal and race discrimination…

At common law, a breach of the peace may be committed or threatened on private premises. A public disturbance, or involvement of persons outside the premises…

Summary judgment under Part 24 may be used where a claim has no real prospect of success or constitutes an abuse of process, provided the procedure is…

Permission for a second appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal raises a point of principle of general importance. In housing cases, that may include…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no prospect of persuading the full appellate court that the trial judge was so wrong…

Permission for a second-tier appeal is confined to cases raising an important point of principle or practice, or presenting another compelling reason. A…

Removal of a person from the United Kingdom will breach Article 3 only where the anticipated treatment reaches the required minimum level of severity. The…

On an application for permission to appeal in care proceedings, the appellate court should not interfere where the judge reached conclusions reasonably open on…

Contract formation is determined objectively from the parties’ words and conduct, rather than by a purely subjective inquiry into actual intention. An absence…

On an application for permission to pursue a second appeal, the Court of Appeal may proceed despite a party’s absence where the circumstances do not justify an…

A letter of intent does not necessarily conclude the parties’ final contract. The court must determine objectively whether the parties intended an immediate…

When resolving a material conflict between suitably qualified experts, a trial judge should identify the relevant issues, marshal the evidence and give…

A central-rating valuation scheme may use an annual, global valuation even though a hereditament moves during the year from a central list to a local list and…

The jurisdiction conferred on a leasehold valuation tribunal by section 19(2A) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 extends only to service charges which remain…

Patent claims must be construed contextually, through the eyes of the skilled person and in light of the specification. A word such as “fixed” may have a…

Second-tier appeals against case-management decisions should rarely be entertained. Parliament has restricted such appeals to cases raising an important point…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, the trial judge controls case management. Parties cannot safely alter the pleaded issues by agreement without the judge's…

An appellate court should not interfere with a case-management decision refusing an adjournment where the judge exercised discretion within the range open to…

A void ultra vires compromise cannot be enforced or recreated through an alternative contractual foundation. Its invalidity does not require a court to ignore…

A deposit for the sale of land may be paid in money’s worth where linked agreements and the parties’ conduct show that a transfer of value was accepted in…

Contractual user clauses are construed objectively, by reference to the language read as a whole and the factual matrix reasonably available to both parties.…

Equitable relief from forfeiture for non-payment of rent must restore the parties to the position they would have occupied without the forfeiture. A right of…

The Carriage by Air Acts (Application of Provisions) Order 1967 does not govern a tandem-paraglider training flight. Its provisions must be construed…

A contractual notice requiring repurchase of receivables must comply with the agreement’s express requirements. Where the agreement requires identification of…

A proposed appeal may be arguable where it accepts the trial judge’s primary findings but alleges a failure to draw liability-relevant inferences from them.…

Permission to appeal may be granted where proposed grounds raise an arguable question concerning the interpretation and application of comparatively new…

Permission to appeal from a refusal by the Employment Appeal Tribunal to review an earlier decision requires a real prospect of success. The applicant must…

On an application for permission to appeal from an employment tribunal, the appellate court addresses errors of law rather than disagreements with factual…

Permission to appeal should be granted where a proposed ground has a real prospect of success. This may arise where refusal of an adjournment arguably deprived…

An appellate court should interfere with a case-management decision only where the judge went wrong in principle or made an order which no reasonable judge…

On an application for permission to appeal in care and adoption proceedings, the Court of Appeal does not retry the case or reweigh the evidence. Its task is…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the authorities leave an important evidential question requiring clarification. In civil proceedings…

A statutory notice must be construed objectively, as a reasonable recipient would understand it within the relevant contextual setting. The recipient must be…

Under the transitional provisions of the Housing Act 1988, a tenancy that was a restricted contract under the Rent Act 1977 became a new contract for all…

An appellate court reviews the decision below and does not rehear the evidence. Fresh evidence may nevertheless be admitted where the established guidance is…

A solicitor advising on a possible appeal must take reasonable care to explain relevant legal-aid opportunities. The duty requires careful judgment. The…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. The threshold is high. A challenge to…

In a residence dispute, the child’s welfare is the primary consideration. The child’s wishes and feelings must be taken into account, but they do not displace…

In children residence disputes, the court’s overriding obligation is to promote welfare. The children’s wishes and feelings must be considered, but they do not…

Contractual capacity requires an understanding of the general nature of the contractual commitment. It does not require a person to foresee every consequence…

On an application for judicial review of a refusal to revoke a deportation order, the immigration decision-maker may rely on earlier decisions that have not…

Where an application for permission to appeal is made without notice and the papers disclose unresolved issues that may affect a default judgment, the proper…

A litigant cannot use judicial review as a second avenue of appeal to reopen issues already pursued through the ordinary appellate process. Where an appeal…

Questions concerning whether it was reasonably practicable to present an unfair-dismissal complaint in time are principally questions of fact for the…

Protection against discrimination in the employment field under the Race Relations Act 1976 depends on the statutory meaning of employment. That meaning…

A consent order must be construed so that each part has a sensible and effective meaning. Where the order declares one party owner of land comprising a stream…

Permission for a second appeal is subject to a mandatory and stringent threshold. The proposed appeal must raise an important point of principle or practice…

A further appeal will not be permitted where the applicant seeks to reopen issues that have already been considered and should have been raised earlier. A…

A claimant fails to better a Part 36 payment where the judgment does not exceed the gross sum specified in the payment notice. Unless that result would be…

Where a collective employment code distinguishes work outside normal hours within the standard week from overtime beyond that week, the provisions governing…

Permission to appeal may be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success. A party who has been served with proceedings is responsible for…

An appellate court should rarely interfere with a trial judge’s assessment of witness reliability and findings of fact based on hearing the evidence.…

Under Arbitration Act 1996, section 103(5), the court may adjourn enforcement proceedings on its own initiative. Where it does so, it may order the party…

Loss of earnings through a family company must be assessed by examining the claimant’s overall financial position, including relevant profits and benefits…

Under the CPR as then drafted, the two-month period for serving a claim form in proceedings under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 did not alter the…

Section 8 of the Administration of Justice Act 1973 does not extend to a charge securing an overdraft, or a similar liability, where payment cannot be deferred…

A voluntary agreement providing that an employment contract will terminate on a specified date may prevent the termination from constituting a dismissal. Where…

A consent order, once drawn up and sealed, ordinarily has the force of a contract between the parties. It cannot generally be reopened on an appeal merely…

An application for permission to appeal out of time may be dismissed because the applicant deliberately misled the court and thereby caused an adjournment. It…

In appellate listing matters, a fixture should not ordinarily be vacated merely because counsel has a professional commitment. Applications based only on…

Where an appeal is discontinued or does not proceed to a substantive hearing after permission has been granted, the usual fallback is no order as to costs…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no sensible prospect of success. An appellate court will rarely interfere with a…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s assessment of oral evidence or findings on a pure issue of fact where no arguable basis for…

An appellate court may determine an application in the applicant’s absence where there is no proper basis for an adjournment and the applicant could have…

On an appeal, permission may be given for parties to rely on new witness evidence where the material may assist the court. Where relevance is disputed, it may…

Transitional rent allowance provisions in the Police Regulations 1987 protect an officer’s pre-1990 rent-allowance entitlement during the relevant period. The…

In child contact proceedings, the welfare of the children must remain the central focus. A judgment which concentrates excessively on adult behaviour and…

Patent claims must be construed as part of the specification, taking account of both fair protection for the patentee and reasonable certainty for third…

Section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989 permits the court to order a residential assessment at a specialist institution where the purpose is to assess parenting…

Judicial review is not a routine means of challenging an adverse County Court decision, even where procedural error is alleged. The ordinary route is an appeal…

A single Lord Justice listed to determine an application is, subject to the statutory scheme and applicable directions, a duly constituted court of the Civil…

The terms of reference of a non-statutory ombudsman were not reviewable in judicial review as unfair. Article 6 was satisfied where the claimant could have his…

Personal liability under a contract depends on whether the individual made himself liable, not merely on whether he may have acted as agent for an undisclosed…

Judicial review is not a vehicle for resolving a claimant’s disagreement with the factual accuracy of information supplied by a regulatory agency. A challenge…

Permission to appeal from an Employment Appeal Tribunal decision requires a real prospect of success based on an error of law in the Employment Tribunal’s…

Contractual change-of-control provisions incorporating the City Code must be construed according to their wording and structure. Where one limb addresses…

Where the evidence permits a finding that, without the defendant’s negligence, the claimant would later have suffered substantially the same disability through…

A conditional order granting leave to defend must not operate as a disguised judgment for the claimant. If the required payment is one which the defendant…

Where solicitors’ negligence causes the loss of a replaceable property interest, damages are ordinarily assessed by the asset’s market value at the relevant…

On an application for permission to bring a second appeal, arguable issues about whether a religious agreement formed part of a commercial contract, and its…

In an application concerning a child’s proposed removal to another country, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration under Children Act 1989…

Article 5(4) requires an application challenging compulsory detention to be heard as soon as reasonably practicable in its individual circumstances. Speed…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason justifies allowing it to…

Failure to provide agreed security for costs does not ordinarily justify striking out an appeal where no court order has been breached. The proper procedural…

In child proceedings, the usual order is that each party bears their own costs. The court may depart from that practice where, for example, a party has acted…

An agreed wage rate is not converted into an unauthorised deduction merely because a worker later contends that the duties warranted a higher rate. Where the…

The lawfulness of an arrest without warrant depends on the information reasonably available to the constable at the time of arrest. The suspicion need not…

An employer may be liable for the whole of a cumulative injury despite substantial non-negligent exposure before its duty arose. Apportionment is unnecessary…

The cash principle requires a bank to honour a compliant demand under a performance bond, save for established fraud known to the bank. It protects the…

For Article 6, domestic classification as civil is only the starting point. The court must apply the autonomous Convention meaning of a criminal charge and…

Permission to appeal against orders managing future family relationships should ordinarily be refused where the judge has exercised a broad discretion and the…

A committal order may stand despite defects in the application or order where the contemnor received a fair trial, the order rests on valid grounds, and no…

Shares ordered to be purchased following an unfair prejudice petition should ordinarily be valued at the date of the purchase order. The overriding requirement…

A solicitor cannot simply rely on a client's recollection where the solicitor has been instructed to address personal guarantees, a possible guarantee has been…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the applicant identifies an important point of practice or principle, or another compelling reason.…

Once an appeal by way of case stated has been completed, any challenge to the accuracy or substance of the case stated must be treated as exhausted. Judicial…

On a second-tier appeal, permission requires an important point of practice or principle, or some other compelling reason. A complaint that the first-instance…

For continuity of NHS employment, the statutory test asks whether the person was employed by a health service employer in a specified grade and, during that…

Applications by an interested organisation to join or intervene in an appeal may be deferred where the substantive appeal may not reach the issue in which the…

On a second-tier appeal, permission should be granted only where the applicant identifies an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

On an application for permission to challenge a refusal of parole, the court examines whether the proposed grounds disclose any realistic prospect of success.…

On an application under section 8(2) of the Defamation Act 1996, the court must decide whether the claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of…

An insurance and risk-allocation clause does not exempt a builder from liability for loss caused by the builder’s own negligence unless that meaning is made…

For Annex II projects, a member state may use pre-set thresholds or criteria to identify development requiring environmental impact assessment. It need not…

After a mandatory possession order has terminated an assured tenancy, the former tenant’s continued exclusive occupation and payment of sums equivalent to rent…

Damages in tort should, so far as possible, restore the claimant’s pre-tort position, but should not fund an objectively unreasonable or highly speculative…

A local authority must assess and meet a person’s community-care needs, rather than provide the accommodation which the person or family prefers. It must take…

A mortgagee cannot, as a term of a mortgage transaction, obtain a proprietary share or purchase right which prevents the mortgagor recovering the property…

An adjournment is a matter for the judge’s broad discretion. Permission to appeal against its exercise will generally be refused unless there is an arguable…

Under regulation 4(c) of the Removal and Disposal of Vehicles Regulations 1986, the issue is whether the vehicle appeared to the constable to have been…

An appellate court will order a retrial only where the trial process caused prejudice sufficiently serious to make the judgment unjust. Dissatisfaction with…

For the four-year enforcement period under Town & Country Planning Act 1990, time begins when the operations constituting the breach of planning control are…

When a child is habitually resident in Scotland, future disputes about contact should ordinarily be determined by the Scottish court with practical…

An easement cannot confer rights so extensive that the servient owner is left without any reasonable use of the land, whether for parking or another purpose.…

In assessing an asylum claim, a tribunal may attach substantial weight to serious omissions and inconsistencies in an applicant’s contemporaneous account. Once…

Where an appeal is already proceeding, the Court of Appeal may adjourn a renewed application for permission to appeal on a new point so that it can be…

Where a civil order was made in a party’s absence, the party’s first application should ordinarily be made to the court that made the order, seeking…

By a majority, the Court of Appeal held that where a written hire-purchase agreement names a real individual as hirer, an impersonating rogue cannot be treated…

Where a hire-purchase agreement is wholly in writing, the parties are ordinarily identified from the written instrument. A rogue who uses another person's name…

Section 2(3) of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 does not prevent dependants bringing a fresh claim where an earlier writ was issued but never served and the fresh…

A solicitor advising a co-owner about a charge over the family home must explain the practical consequences of signing and not signing, including the effect on…

Proprietary estoppel may arise where an assurance induces substantial detriment, even though friendship or a sense of responsibility also influenced the…

A criminal act connected with a statutory claim does not automatically create an absolute ex turpi causa bar. The court must assess proportionately the nature…

An appellate court should interfere with an award of general damages only where it falls plainly outside the proper discretionary range. In business-loss…

Under art 17 of the Lugano Convention, an exclusive jurisdiction clause covers claims arising out of or connected with the mandate or powers of attorney…