Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2006

A landlord’s power to regulate traffic under a lease permits reasonable directions about circulation, parking and unloading. It does not authorise the landlord…

In a costs appeal, the court must assess substantive success, rather than merely the formal result. A claimant whose application fails only because the…

In a credibility appeal, the adequacy of an immigration judge’s reasons must be assessed by reading the determination as a whole. The judge need not address…

An order requiring experts to meet and prepare a joint statement under Civil Procedure Rules rule 35.12 must be construed objectively according to its terms.…

When a care court determines a child’s permanent future, the child’s welfare requires an exhaustive investigation of the available placement options. A judge…

The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from the Employment Appeal Tribunal and upheld the EAT’s decision and order. The supplied judgment text records the…

A statutory power enabling a minister to give directions to an independent tribunal must be construed consistently with the tribunal’s judicial role. Under…

Under section 123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, compensation for unfair dismissal must reflect economic loss attributable to the dismissal. The words just…

Where private information has been obtained through a known breach of confidence, the proportionality exercise between privacy and freedom of expression must…

On an enforcement appeal under section 174(2)(f), an inspector must consider whether the breach can be remedied by measures short of complete removal which are…

In possession proceedings brought by a public authority, Article 8 does not ordinarily give an occupier a freestanding right to remain based only on personal…

At the interim stage of care proceedings, children should not be removed from parental care unless their safety requires immediate protection. The threshold…

A court making a possession order against a trespasser has no power to postpone possession unless the claimant agrees. Section 89 of the Housing Act 1980…

An application to set aside an irregular judgment entered without service is not governed by CPR 39.3(5) or the strict ex debito justitiae principle in White v…

Care proceedings are concerned primarily with the welfare of children who have suffered, or are likely to suffer, significant harm. They are not intended to…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, a discrete issue of contractual construction may be considered separately where the written agreement can be…

For the purpose of Article 7 of the EU Directive 89/104/EEC, consent to the exhaustion of a trade mark proprietor’s rights must ordinarily be express or…

A patent claim must be as clear as its subject matter reasonably permits. It is construed in the context of the specification and the inventive concept. An…

Aggravated damages are compensatory. They may compensate humiliation, injury to dignity, and anger or resentment caused by insulting, malicious or arrogant…

For recognition under Article 34(2) of the Judgments Regulation, service requires service of the document instituting proceedings, or an equivalent document…

For the purposes of article 5.1(b) of the Judgments Regulation, the place where goods were delivered must be identified under the contract and its applicable…

Findings of fact made in earlier proceedings between different parties are generally inadmissible as evidence of those facts. Preventing a party from…

A person who requires the court’s permission to apply for a special guardianship order cannot give the statutory notice of intention to apply until permission…

Reconsideration by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal requires a material error of law and is not a rehearing. Its jurisdiction extends to the original…

Under section 46 of the Child Support Act 1991, “undue distress” is not assessed on a purely subjective basis. The decision-maker must objectively assess…

A court may permit information obtained under a freezing order to be used in contempt proceedings where that use is just and convenient in all the…

An appellate court may refuse permission to appeal despite an arguable point of European law where the dispute has lost its practical purpose and further…

The favourable costs presumption for an objector to the modification or discharge of a restrictive covenant applies where the objector has established the…

An adjudicator’s decision under a construction contract is temporarily binding. A party may not refer the same or substantially the same dispute for a second…

Where a tenancy includes premises occupied for business purposes, s 23(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 applies if the business use is a significant…

In a relocation dispute arising within competing residence applications, the court must decide welfare on the realities of the family’s circumstances. The…

In care proceedings involving vulnerable young witnesses, whether they should attend for cross-examination depends on whether attendance would be oppressive.…

When deciding whether to adjourn an appeal or permission application, the court must balance fairness to the applicant and other parties against the proper…

An appellate court should not finally determine a point which is hypothetical and not appropriate for final decision. A first-instance determination of such a…

A contract specifying passenger capacity for fleet-size determination and tram design does not, without clearer wording, impose an ongoing obligation to…

Conditions on a solicitor’s practising certificate are regulatory safeguards, not necessarily punishment. The Law Society may restrict practice where this is…

In statutory race discrimination claims, treatment is not confined to face-to-face dealings. Deliberately ignoring or marginalising a person’s legitimate…

Commercial share-sale agreements are construed objectively by reference to the background reasonably available to the parties and the agreement as a whole. In…

In a presumed undue influence case involving a gift, the donor’s statement that the donee applied no actual pressure does not, by itself, rebut the…

Prescription of a right of way rests on acquiescence by the freehold owner, requiring actual or imputed knowledge, power to prevent the user, and prolonged…

In a foreign mental-health or suicide case, removal infringes article 3 only where the circumstances cross its particularly high threshold. An increased…

An employee may prepare to compete with an employer after leaving, provided the employee complies with the duties arising from the particular employment…

A patent provides a sufficient enabling disclosure only where the skilled addressee can perform the invention without undue effort. Routine work may become…

Where a trial judge’s finding of fact rests on a misunderstanding of vital evidence, the appellate court may set it aside and substitute the finding which the…

An appellate court should decide real issues on established or properly assumed facts, rather than hypothetical or academic questions. Where the facts, the…

Under the pre-amendment Insolvency Act 1986, an administrator’s functions are confined by the statutory purposes of the administration and the powers in…

Under section 24(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the court must identify the alleged treatment, its reason, whether that reason relates to the…

When deciding whether to confirm a public path extinguishment order, the decision-maker must assess need and expediency within the statutory scheme. A path…

Misuse of private information is determined in two stages. The court first asks whether the claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy. If so, it…

An applicant resisting removal must first establish that removal would interfere with family or private life protected by article 8(1). Delay is relevant to…

Where co-owners hold land under an express declaration of trust, the declaration determines their beneficial shares. Equitable accounting is a separate…

In adoption proceedings, the judge must evaluate children’s wishes and feelings carefully, especially where an older child is involved and the evidence is…

A claim for specific performance of a simple contract is not subject by analogy to the six-year limitation period governing contractual damages. The factual…

A contractual indemnity covering pension mis-selling liabilities is construed from its language, structure and commercial context. Where regulatory guidance…

A landlord suing for rent that accrued while a lease remains in force brings a claim in debt, not damages. The ordinary duty to mitigate loss therefore does…

When deciding whether later representations amount to a fresh claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the decision-maker must ask: whether the…

A statutory obligation necessarily carries the power required to perform it. However, works performed under statutory authority extinguish inconsistent…

Misfeasance in public office requires proof of special or material damage. Interference with a constitutional right does not dispense with that requirement.…

Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not impose a justiciable duty on a state to ensure, before deploying armed forces, that military…

At the permission stage, an arguable error of law may arise where an adverse credibility finding depends on an apparent inconsistency that was not raised with…

Under CPR rule 52.9, the Court of Appeal may strike out an appeal notice, set aside permission, or impose conditions only where there is a compelling reason.…

An order requiring disclosure of an expert report should ordinarily be read consistently with litigation privilege. Where the report is to be used at the…

A housing authority reviewing homelessness priority need must engage with a material conflict in medical evidence bearing on vulnerability. It cannot lawfully…

On a second appeal under rule 52.13 of the Civil Procedure Rules, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

In an asylum reconsideration, failure to provide or incorporate the first-stage tribunal’s written reasons is not automatically fatal. It becomes a material…

When a liquidator seeks court sanction for compromising company claims, the court must assess the transaction against the company’s best commercial interests…

On an appeal concerning the implementation of an ancillary-relief order, the Court of Appeal remains an appellate court even when considering fresh evidence.…

An application for habeas corpus seeking the release and return of a child involved in ongoing care proceedings may be wholly misconceived. The refusal of…

Whether to adjourn a damages issue pending a related appeal is a case management decision. The Court of Appeal is especially reluctant to interfere…

Failure to commence detailed assessment proceedings within the prescribed period satisfies the jurisdictional requirement for disallowing costs under rule…

Commencing a fresh action after discontinuing an earlier action, to cure a failure to give the Motor Insurers’ Bureau timely notice, is not ordinarily an abuse…

An insurance extension covering an umbrella organisation for claims arising from claims against member firms requires the underlying member-firm claim to fall…

In exercising its discretion as to costs, a court may take dishonest conduct into account both when making the costs order and on assessment. A percentage…

A family judge has wide case-management powers, but cannot determine substantive residence or contact issues without a properly constituted hearing and a fair…

Permission to appeal should be granted where an alternative public-authority issue is legally arguable, materially affects the claimants’ human-rights…

An asylum tribunal must address each potentially material foundational event in a claimant’s account and give reasons for accepting or rejecting it. A generic…

Comparative use of a competitor’s trade mark raises questions of EU law where the mark identifies the competitor but does not suggest a trade connection. The…

A court may grant a negative declaration where the parties are within its jurisdiction and the claimant has a real commercial reason for seeking relief. Such…

In asylum appeals, a fact-finding tribunal may attach substantial weight to a detailed account given promptly on arrival where a materially different account…

For prisoners whose offences were committed before 30 September 1998 and who were recalled after 4 April 2005, section 37(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991…

For prisoners serving sentences for offences committed before 4 April 2005, the savings in Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No.8 and Transitional and…

Whether a quotation is an offer or an invitation to treat is a question of fact. Where standard conditions state that no contract arises until an…

A notice under rule 4.228 of the Insolvency Rules 1986 operates prospectively. It can protect a person from the prohibition in section 216 of the Insolvency…

Contractual terms in a Tomlin-order schedule must be construed objectively against the relevant factual matrix. That matrix may include the litigation context…

For fresh evidence on appeal, satisfying the threefold test in Ladd v Marshall [1954] 1 WLR 1489 CA —reasonable diligence, likely important influence on the…

A sewerage undertaker may calculate charges by reference to the volume of water supplied to premises, even where some water is lost before entering the public…

A court may make a section 91(14) order despite an absence of a formal application where the affected litigant had informal notice and, in the overall exercise…

Where a child’s knowledge of a parent’s gender reassignment and the restoration of direct contact are both in issue, they are distinct welfare questions. The…

Permission to appeal may be granted without formally restricting the grounds where the court identifies one issue as the most arguable while indicating that…

An Article 14 discrimination claim should usually be approached simply and non-technically. The questions of the appropriate comparator, analogous situation…

In a claim for financial provision for a child under the first Schedule to the Children Act 1989, a pre-existing parental agreement is the starting point and…

Deceit requires a clearly identified false representation and proof of dishonesty. Knowledge of information inconsistent with a statement does not itself…

When assessing compensation for future loss after unfair dismissal, an employment tribunal must predict what would probably have happened, even though the…

Apparent bias is assessed by asking whether a fair-minded and informed observer, considering all circumstances disclosed by the court’s investigation, would…

In a pure immigration appeal, the relevant date is ordinarily the date of the entry clearance officer’s decision, not the hearing date. Later evidence may be…

A scientific adviser in a patent appeal may assist the court to understand expert evidence, identify possible misunderstandings by the trial judge and evaluate…

Rating exemption for religious premises depends on the statutory categories and the actual use of each building or physically distinct part. Under paragraph 11…

A civil evasion penalty for dishonest VAT evasion under section 60 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 may be assessed by reference to VAT actually evaded or…

Estoppel concerning occupational pension benefits requires a clear representation or promise, reasonable reliance and relevant detriment. The claimant must…

Informal agreements are interpreted objectively by asking what they would convey to a reasonable person in the relevant factual matrix. The court considers the…

A housing authority exercising its discretion whether to provide interim accommodation pending a statutory appeal must take into account relevant grounds of…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in a homelessness case, an applicant may raise an arguable challenge to the lawfulness of the authority’s…

On an application to withdraw a statutory intervention in a solicitor’s practice, the central question is whether the intervention should continue in the light…

An employer of staff in a high-security psychiatric hospital owes the ordinary employer’s duty to take reasonable care for their safety. The dangerous nature…

When deciding staying contact or shared residence, the court must identify the arrangements that best serve the child’s welfare without considering their…

Permission to appeal may be granted where an administrative error may have deprived an applicant of a generally applicable immigration-policy benefit and there…

A contractual reference to services being provided under the terms of an identified contract ordinarily incorporates the terms governing provision of those…

An order for security for costs should give a claimant a proper choice between providing security and discontinuing the claim. It should not become a means of…

Dublin I pursues two linked aims: assigning responsibility among Member States and ensuring that asylum applications are dealt with without undue delay. A…

A lawful warrant to search premises and persons for firearms carries a necessarily implied power to take reasonable and necessary steps to make the search safe…

A tribunal need not refer expressly to every document where its reasoning shows that the evidence was considered and the document was rejected by necessary…

In a claim of racial discrimination or victimisation under the Race Relations Act 1976, an alleged discriminator’s motivation may be subconscious; it is not…

In apportioning costs between issues, a trial judge familiar with the evidence may make a broad percentage assessment. An appellate court should not replace…

A conveyance is the starting point for determining a land boundary. Extrinsic evidence may assist only where the conveyance or plan is unclear or ambiguous…

In a foreign human-rights case, removal is resisted under Articles 8 and 14 only where treatment in the receiving state would completely deny or nullify the…

An adoption authority may owe a duty of care to preserve adopters’ identities where it gives a specific confidentiality undertaking. An open adoption, or the…

When deciding whether to continue interim accommodation pending a statutory homelessness appeal, a local authority should assess the underlying decision’s…

An employer exercising a contractual discretion over bonuses must act rationally and in good faith. The court cannot substitute its own assessment of the…

In committal proceedings for breach of a child-contact order, the court may proceed in the respondent’s absence where that course is appropriate in the…

Whistleblowing legislation protects the disclosure of information which the worker reasonably believes tends to show specified wrongdoing. It does not…

In care proceedings, the judge must make clear findings on disputed matters and state plainly whether the statutory threshold for a care order is met…

Judicial review is not a means of appealing a parking adjudicator’s factual assessment. Where an adjudicator has considered the evidence and decided that a…

On an application for permission to appeal against a direction concerning competing offers for matrimonial property, permission should be granted where the…

An allegation is an act extending over a period where linked incidents evidence an ongoing discriminatory situation or continuing state of affairs. A policy…

Under Limitation Act 1980 section 33, the claimant bears the burden of showing that disapplication of primary limitation is equitable. The discretion remains…

Under the Limitation Act 1980, the same substantially objective standard of reasonableness applies to significant injury under section 14(2) and constructive…

Under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999, a third party may enforce a contractual term only if the statutory requirements are met. Section 1(3)…

Under the Limitation Act 1980, constructive knowledge is assessed objectively. A person aware of a personal injury sufficiently serious to justify seeing a…

Where a state has agreed in writing to arbitration, section 9 of the State Immunity Act 1978 removes immunity from proceedings to enforce the resulting award…

An appellate court should not overturn a first-instance causation finding unless it was plainly wrong. Where a judge finds that a formal instruction would…

A main contractor or building occupier may exceptionally owe a common-law duty of care to an employee of a subcontractor. The question is fact-sensitive, and…

A decision whether further asylum submissions amount to a fresh claim is reviewable on grounds of irrationality, informed by anxious scrutiny. The court must…

An infant Union citizen’s right to reside under article 18 of the EC Treaty depends on compliance with the conditions in Directive 90/364. A non-EU primary…

Dishonest assistance is assessed predominantly objectively, but by reference to the facts actually known to the defendant. The defendant need not reflect upon…

VAT mixed supplies are assessed by examining all relevant circumstances and the transaction’s economic reality. Each supply is normally distinct, but a single…

A contractual clause stating that an agreement may be terminated on specified grounds ordinarily confers an option, not automatic termination. The party…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the lower court appears to have based its conclusions on a fundamental factual error concerning a significant date.…

A liability policy exclusion for injury or damage resulting from a deliberate act or omission of the insured must be construed according to its natural…

Without-prejudice privilege is not confined to the proceeding in which a communication is sought to be used. It extends to related litigation where use would…

A contractual prohibition against trading as an original group may, in context, include an implied reciprocal obligation to use reasonable endeavours to…

An extended civil restraint order requires persistent claims or applications which are totally without merit. Its higher threshold reflects its wider effect…

Permission to appeal may be granted where a developing area of law raises a possible doubt that would usefully be resolved by the appellate court, even where…

On a second appeal, permission requires a realistic prospect of success together with an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

On a statutory homelessness review, a local housing authority must consider section 191(2) of the Housing Act 1996 where it sensibly arises on the facts, even…

After limitation has expired, a new claimant may be added only within the limits of the Civil Procedure Rules. The court must focus on the claim as originally…

A restraint order under section 42 should be made where a litigant’s history shows repeated vexatious proceedings and no realistic alternative protects the…

On a second appeal, permission requires a real prospect of success and either an important point of principle or practice or another compelling reason.…

A driver’s breach of a road-safety standard is actionable only where it amounts to negligence in the circumstances and causes the claimant’s injury. Excess…

Indirect contact may be ordered even where direct contact is refused, provided that the arrangements protect the child’s welfare and, where necessary, the…

When sentencing for breaches of a non-molestation order, the court must hear mitigation before imposing sentence. Immediate imprisonment may be justified by…

Domestic violence allegations and child contact are often closely connected, but the governing guidance does not require a wholesale historical investigation…

New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 section 82 establishes a strict-liability code between undertakers for damage caused by street works. It excludes parallel…

In an appellate costs ruling, the court may apportion costs by hearing and issue, taking account of each party’s conduct and relative success. A party that…

On an oral renewal of an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal may grant permission on an additional point where there are sufficient…

For the first limb of section 18(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, damages for breach of a repairing covenant are capped by the diminution in the value…

Patentability exclusions require a four-step inquiry: construe the claim, identify the actual contribution, ask whether it consists solely of excluded subject…

An appellate court may reverse a finding of fact where the trial judge made a demonstrable mistake about crucial documentary or photographic evidence and the…

A sanction imposed for failure to comply with a court order remains effective unless the court exercises its general case-management powers or grants relief on…

For limitation purposes, a written and signed document can acknowledge a proprietor’s title even if it purports to grant an invalid lease. Under sections 29…

A claimant whose legal right is invaded by a continuing nuisance is prima facie entitled to an injunction. The court retains a discretion to award damages…

An expert witness’s common law immunity from civil suit for evidence does not extend to fitness-to-practise proceedings. Any immunity must be certain, absolute…

A certificate of lawful proposed use or development under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 192 is a statutory certification, not a grant of…

A court must decide a dispute on the case pleaded and argued. The discipline of pleadings remains an important procedural safeguard, even under flexible civil…

On an oral renewal of permission to appeal, permission should be confined to grounds showing reasonable prospects of success. A challenge to a trial judge’s…

A tenant remains a “tenant of a dwelling” for the service-charge provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 even though the same lease also includes other…

Summary judgment under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 requires both no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason for a trial. The court must…

For limitation purposes, an action is brought when the claimant delivers to the correct court office a claim form, request for issue and court fee during…

For the purposes of section 48(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, whether alleged detriments form a series of similar acts or failures is ordinarily a…

Lateness alone does not justify refusing an amendment. An arguable amendment needed to resolve a real issue should be allowed where it causes no significant…

On an application for permission to appeal, a real prospect of success may arise where there is a serious question whether the lower court applied the correct…

An appeal court may prevent a late procedural expansion of a costs dispute where the pleaded points, prior directions and party’s conduct confined the issue…

English courts will not determine a foreign state's claim where, viewed in substance, it asserts sovereign authority or seeks relief arising from the exercise…

When managing group litigation, the court has a broad discretionary power under rule 19.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 to join a person whose interests…

When sentencing for contempt by breach of a non-molestation order, the custodial term must be fixed without regard to whether it will be suspended. A history…

In a court-supervised mass claims scheme, the supervising court may require compensatory financial consequences for delay where this is necessary to give…

Parties may use Rule 2.11 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 to extend the period for serving a claim form under Rule 7.5. Every extension must be made by a…

A telecommunications network may constitute a single rateable hereditament even though it comprises minute fibres, extends over a long distance and includes…

A concerted practice may arise where competing retailers knowingly coordinate future prices through a common supplier. It is sufficient that one retailer…

On an appeal from a discretionary costs order, the Court of Appeal intervenes only for an error of law or principle, an irrelevant consideration, failure to…

Permission to appeal may properly be granted where the application raises an arguable and significant question about whether a fact-finder’s assessment of a…

Where adoption proceedings under the Adoption and Children Act 2002 concern children freed for adoption under the Adoption Act 1976, the transitional…

A maintenance or periodical-payments order may include an allowance for legal costs. The applicant must first show that legal advice and representation cannot…

A successful appellant ordinarily receives the costs of the appeal. The court retains a discretion, but a departure from that approach requires justification.…

Permission to appeal may properly be granted where there is a real question whether the alleged error of law was made out. Where a second issue depends on the…

An order for security for costs is not oppressive merely because a company’s assets are illiquid. The company must provide evidence that the order is likely to…

For travel services to be a package, the services must be sold or offered as components of a pre-arranged combination at an inclusive price. An inclusive price…

Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, a producer may rely on section 4(1)(d) by proving that the defect did not exist when the product was supplied. The…

Article 2’s investigative duty following a death in custody extends beyond establishing the facts. Where an investigation reveals failures capable of…

Whether correspondence creates a binding settlement depends on the objective construction of the documents, read together and in the light of admissible…

Strict res judicata and issue estoppel do not govern successive immigration appeals where different applicants rely on materially overlapping evidence. An…

Under Dublin II, responsibility for an asylum application is determined through a single-stage process, by reference to the situation established by the first…

Where the High Court determines an application under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, its grant or refusal of relief remains a decision under that…

A statutory restriction on an appeal from a decision under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 prevents review of the merits unless the first-instance court…

Where a person acts as an agent but does not identify the principal, or fails to make clear which of several corporate vehicles is involved, the circumstances…

A trial judge may refuse a litigant a second cross-examination where counsel has already cross-examined the opposing party on that litigant’s case…

Where a contract requires a buyer to do something before completion and to warrant that it has done so, the buyer must be able truthfully to give that warranty…

Under section 6(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the duty to take reasonable steps arises only after the claimant establishes that identified…

Courts may review executive decisions concerning foreign relations, but the executive has an especially broad discretion in that field. Judicial review ensures…

Injury to feelings in discrimination proceedings includes emotional responses such as anger and frustration. A tribunal must make the best sensible assessment…

A court should not restrain demolition merely because it forms part of a proposed development for which planning permission remains outstanding. The decisive…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where a claim depends on allegations of perjury or other criminal conduct and the evidence requires an explanation from the…

Where parties use solicitors to prepare formal written agreements for execution, the normal inference is that they intend to become bound only when every…

A doctor treating an employee does not ordinarily owe the employer a contractual duty to advise on the employee’s treatment or a tortious duty to avoid causing…

Permission to appeal should be granted where an asylum determination arguably fails to provide adequate reasons for rejecting material evidence. A tribunal…

Medical evidence which corroborates an asylum seeker's account of torture or mistreatment must be considered with all the other evidence bearing on…

Direct and indirect race discrimination are distinct statutory wrongs. A neutral place-of-birth criterion is not direct discrimination on grounds of national…

A debtor who clearly appropriates a payment to a particular debt before payment controls its application. The creditor cannot defeat that appropriation by…

A complaint or allegation of bias against a judge or tribunal chair does not automatically require recusal. The question is whether the fair-minded and…

In an asylum appeal, a tribunal need not reject a claimant’s account merely because it lacks corroboration. It may assess vagueness, speculation, lack of…

The cultural-services VAT exemption requires a context-sensitive assessment of the body’s management and administration. Relevant managers include…

A foreign child-arrangements order is not binding on an English court, although comity requires the court to respect it, examine its basis and consider whether…

For the referral provisions of the Housing Act 1996, violence means physical violence. Threats of violence likely to be carried out are separately addressed by…

In low-velocity road-traffic personal-injury claims, ordinary whiplash cases generally require no expert medical evidence on causation. The issue arises where…

A provision in a staff handbook expressly incorporated into an employment contract is contractual where its subject matter and language are apt to create legal…

For designation under the Military Remains Act 1986, whether a vessel was in military service must be assessed at the time of sinking and in context. The…

An appellate court may interfere with a costs order only where the judge erred in principle, omitted or included an improper consideration, or reached a…

A power of arrest attached to a protective injunction requires a finding, under section 47(ii) of the Family Law Act 1976, that the respondent has used or…

A refusal to vary leave may be an immigration decision in consequence of which removal would breach Convention rights, even though removal directions require a…

In an asylum appeal, medical evidence consistent with an injury does not compel acceptance of the claimant’s account of when, how or by whom it was inflicted.…

On an Article 8 claim based solely on private life, an adjudicator must apply the exceptional-case test. The decision-maker must ask whether the facts are so…

A contractual option is effectively exercised where the tenant gives unequivocal written notice pursuant to the option clause within the stipulated period. A…

For indefinite leave to remain under Rule 269 of the Immigration Rules HC395, income is disposable in the United Kingdom if the applicant can bring the…

In a contractual dispute involving an independent school, fairness is flexible and fact-sensitive. A contractual duty to consult before requiring removal of a…

In litigation combining a boundary dispute with unresolved rights of way, the Court of Appeal may adjourn and stay a challenge to a preliminary boundary ruling…

Permission to appeal from a specialist tribunal is governed by the ordinary test where the statutory second-appeal regime does not apply. The applicant must…

A judgment obtained after a trial against a defendant who was neither served, nor deemed served, with the claim form and had no notice of the proceedings is…

Where an asylum claimant relies on evidence that is arguably important to the claim, the decision-maker’s reasons should explain what was made of that…

In care proceedings, an appellate court does not rehear disputed facts or reassess witness credibility. Its intervention is confined to narrow grounds…

At the permission stage, the Court of Appeal may adjourn an application where new evidence raises a potentially material procedural defect and the evidence…

For limitation purposes, an appeal should remain open where the construction of the significant-injury requirement under section 14(2) of the Limitation Act…

A judge may correct the transcript of an oral judgment to add or vary reasons, including at the permission-to-appeal stage. On costs, the court may consider…

In children proceedings, a trial judge is entitled to determine the truth of a retracted admission and is not compelled to accept it merely because another…

In a challenge to a development plan, the appellate court looks for an error of law, not a rehearing of planning merits or a resolution of disputed figures. A…

On an application for permission to appeal, an appeal should proceed where the proposed ground raises an arguable question requiring consideration. A delay in…

The Parole Board Rules 2004 confer flexible procedural powers. Under rules 19 (2) and 19 (3), a panel may temporarily exclude a prisoner while a frightened…

In a franchise agreement, website-generated tyre sales within the franchisee’s exclusive territory formed part of the franchised business. The franchisee sold…

In fact-finding proceedings, expert evidence that a fractured limb caused by a kick would usually be accompanied by bruising does not make the absence, or…

For the threshold in section 31(2) of the Children Act 1989, each limb must be established by proved and challengeable facts existing when proceedings began. A…

In family proceedings, the child’s welfare remains paramount. Contact with a non-resident parent is generally in the child’s best interests, and compelling…

Where a public body has breached a statutory duty to involve and consult service users, judicial review relief should ordinarily follow unless the authority…

In committal proceedings for breach of a protective injunction, procedural fairness depends principally on whether the alleged contemnor had clear notice of…

A court making an order under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 may specify its duration and the applications covered. It cannot impose conditions…

Where a Children Act 1989 section 91(14) order restricts further applications, permission should be granted only where an arguable case justifies revisiting…

In a residence dispute, the child’s welfare remains paramount. Under the welfare checklist in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989, wishes and feelings must…

An appellate court may revisit a discretionary decision where the judge failed to take a material factor into account, gave inadequate reasons, or otherwise…

A breach of planning control which consists in changing the use of a building to use as a single dwelling-house is subject to the four-year enforcement limit…

A generalised claim that every national of a country faces Article 3 ill-treatment is legally possible, but it requires strong and clear evidence. An appellate…

For the redevelopment exception to a long leaseholder’s right to a new lease, any premises in which the flat is contained is a broad composite expression. It…

An inquiry as to damages should proceed where a claim is speculative but has a realistic prospect of producing a positive result. The court must identify the…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic prospect of success. It is insufficient that the appellate court might prefer a different view of the evidence from…

Wrongful interference with goods under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 requires goods recognised by common law. Section 14(1) excludes things in…

The Secretary of State cannot use executive policy to enlarge the statutory category of persons who may be kept on temporary admission. A person whose…

A statutory presumption that a product was made by a patented process remains only a presumption and may be rebutted before trial by compelling evidence. For…

Whether a measure deprives a person of liberty for Article 5 purposes is assessed by reference to the person’s concrete situation and the cumulative type…

A statutory scheme for judicial supervision of non-derogating control orders must be construed, so far as possible, to provide an effective and current review…

The Court of Appeal adopted a general practice of anonymising asylum cases because publication of appellants’ names may create avoidable risks in their…

Proprietary estoppel may arise from an assurance that a defendant will enter a future contract. The assurance need not itself be contractually enforceable or…

A defendant may withdraw a pre-action admission without the court’s permission because Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 14 applies only to admissions made…

An employer may begin disciplinary action for suspected serious or gross misconduct, but the suspicion must rest on reasonable grounds. A disciplinary code…

In an appeal on quantum, a trial judge may resolve disputed medical evidence by applying the burden of proof where, after conscientiously evaluating the…

An after-the-event insurance premium is proportionate where it was necessarily and reasonably incurred, even if it is large compared with the damages…

An immigration appellate tribunal may determine whether refusal of re-entry at the border of an appellant’s home country or former habitual residence would…

An entitlement claim to sole proprietorship is legally distinct from a claim to joint proprietorship. Section 37(5) of the Patents Act 1977, construed…

A contractual warranty time-bar which requires only written notification of a claim does not require particulars unless its wording says so. A separate…

Design right is not excluded merely because a design performs a function or its components have functional purposes. Under Copyright, Designs and Patents Act…

Permission to appeal from a specialist Child Support Commissioner should be granted with special caution where a statutory two-tier appeal structure can…

In an asylum claim based on conversion to Christianity, country guidance distinguishing ordinary converts from more active converts is applied by assessing…

On an application under paragraph 33 of Schedule 18 to the Finance Act 1998, the Special Commissioners may decide incidental questions of law where that is…

A claim to remove and replace the personal representative of an unadministered intestate estate falls outside section 22(a) of the Limitation Act 1980. Where…

On an appeal concerning security for costs, the court may not set security at a sum which it knows an individual claimant cannot afford, since that would…

A housing authority determines an applicant’s priority need by reference to the applicant’s circumstances when its decision is made. A decision concerning a…

Under section 2(2) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, reasonable care is assessed against the danger and all the circumstances. The relevant foreseeability…

A conditional fee agreement exists only where the conditional payment term concerns fees or expenses for advocacy or litigation services. A conditional waiver…

An employer’s strict duty to maintain work equipment may extend to a lift in the common parts of the building containing its workplace, even though the…

The dispersal regime in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 can apply to protests where group conduct causes, or is likely to cause, intimidation, harassment…

In a professional-negligence claim for loss of a negotiating chance, hypothetical evidence must be assessed against the commercial circumstances in which the…

Section 2(8) of the Damages Act 1996 makes indexation by the retail prices index the default for a periodical payments order. Section 2(9) nevertheless gives…

Damages for breach of a landlord’s repairing covenant must compensate the tenant for the loss caused by the breach. For an occupying tenant, loss of comfort…

Where an application combines security for costs with a proposed condition on permission to appeal, the court should treat those as separate elements. If the…

In an application for permission to seek a contact order, procedural fairness is assessed in the round. A judge may determine an application on the papers…

A contractual renewal option may be enforceable even though future performance requirements are to be proposed at renewal. Where the clause gives one party…

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, satisfactory quality is assessed by the standards of a reasonable person, having regard to the goods’ description and all…

A highway authority’s duty under section 41(1) of the Highways Act 1980 extends beyond the traffic surface to the structure and fabric of the highway. It…

For the purposes of Consumer Credit Act 1974 section 106(d), repayment on renewal of a pawnbroking agreement requires an amount to have been received by the…

Under rule 25 of Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004, withdrawal of a whole claim brings those proceedings to an end…

In a civil claim for battery, once intentional force is proved, self-defence is a defence which the defendant must establish on the balance of probabilities.…

An assignment of an accrued contractual cause of action transfers the remedies attached to it. The assignee may recover substantial loss occurring after the…

A renewed application for permission to appeal must address both the procedural default and any proposed point of substance. A challenge lodged five or six…

The assessment of the upper limit of a housing fund for a child is a broad-brush discretionary judgment. The court may evaluate the available properties and…

An asylum claim based on sexual orientation cannot be rejected merely because the applicant could avoid serious harm by concealing or materially suppressing…

A contractual guarantee is construed objectively by asking what it conveyed to a reasonable person with the background knowledge reasonably available to the…

An asylum decision-maker must approach inherent implausibility with caution. Credibility must be assessed in the context of reliable information about the…

In adoption and freeing proceedings, an order authorising termination of parental contact is fact-sensitive. The court must assess the child’s welfare, the…

In a partnership winding-up action, costs remain subject to a broad judicial discretion guided by CPR 44.3 and the overriding objective. The court may assess…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed criticisms of the lower court’s reasoning are arguable and disclose a real prospect of success. The…

On reconsideration under the unified immigration appeal regime, an Immigration Judge to whom proceedings are transferred should ordinarily receive the original…

Under CPR 52.3(6), permission to appeal may be granted either because the appeal has a real prospect of success or because there is a compelling reason for it…

Appellate intervention in a costs discretion is justified where the decision rests on an irrelevant consideration, overlooks a relevant consideration, or is…

In a child-relocation appeal, the appellate court must respect the trial judge’s discretionary welfare evaluation. It must not substitute its own view merely…

A coroner must hold an inquest where there is reasonable cause to suspect an unnatural death under section 8(1) of the Coroner’s Act 1988. The threshold is low…

A family court may consider allegations relevant to child welfare even where the same allegations resulted in a criminal acquittal. Contact must be determined…

An insolvency practitioner must act independently of both debtor and creditors. Admitting a person to vote in an individual voluntary arrangement on the basis…

A tribunal assessing credibility need not give detailed reasons for every discrepancy. It must, however, explain a conclusion that a discrepancy is…

An application under section 17 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994 addresses inadequacy caused by events occurring after a confiscation order. It cannot be used…

A bankruptcy trustee’s charge under section 313 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a proprietary charge within section 20(1) of the Limitation Act 1980. The amount…

In a professional-negligence claim against counsel, the question is whether the advice fell outside the range expected of a reasonably competent practitioner…

An injunction restricting publication or identification in children proceedings may be discharged when the proceedings have ended and the order no longer…

Removal of a seriously ill dependant relative will meet the high Article 3 threshold only where the person has reached a critical stage and compelling…

Under Art. 234(2) of the EC Treaty, a non-final appellate court has discretion whether to make a preliminary reference. A question may be treated as necessary…

Under the Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 80(3), a taxpayer’s right to repayment of VAT paid when not due is subject to an exception which HMRC must prove.…

Service of a claim form in accordance with the general service rules is valid even if the defendant is outside the jurisdiction when service occurs, provided…

At the permission stage, an appeal ground should proceed only where it has a real prospect of success. Permission may be granted where the proposed challenge…

An asylum tribunal assessing risk on return must make a genuinely prospective assessment. It must consider the risk if the claimant returns and continues…

A solicitor’s duty is defined by the scope of the retainer. There is no general retainer requiring a solicitor to examine every aspect of a client’s affairs…

Security and intelligence considerations do not, without more, make an employment claim an abuse of process. Where evidence relevant to a race-discrimination…

At the permission stage, the court held that a statutory construction appeal had a real prospect of success where the lower court’s interpretation was not the…

An appellate court should not determine broad Community-law or Convention questions about disclosure restrictions before the substantive evidence is available…

In an unusual ancillary-relief case involving an inherited family estate, a judge may provide a spouse with capital and secure income without requiring…

In Hague Convention return proceedings, a child should be joined as a party and separately represented only in exceptional circumstances requiring compelling…

Whether an undertaking exists and retains its identity for TUPE purposes is a practical, multifactorial question of fact. An economic entity may be stable even…

An asylum tribunal may reject an applicant’s account as implausible only through reasonable inferences grounded in the evidence. Inherent probability can be an…

Disclosure by a public authority of unproved allegations about a professional to prospective employers is lawful only where there is a pressing need for…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the exemption from permission to appeal applies only where a committal order has actually been made. A refusal to make…

Interference with a first-instance judge’s discretion on costs is a strong step, particularly where a successful party has been deprived of all its costs.…

On an application for permission to appeal, substantial material served on a litigant in person at the hearing may disclose a real prospect that the…

After dismissing an appeal and an appeal brought by respondent’s notice, the court may reserve consequential orders and determine them on written submissions.…

On an application for summary judgment concerning an alleged fraud exception to a performance bond, CPR 24.2 applies in the ordinary way. The claimant must…

Where an asylum appeal is likely to be conceded, the respondent’s advisers should consider the merits promptly after permission to appeal is granted and notify…

Where an interim commercial agreement expressly permits termination on notice, the court should give that provision effect according to its terms. It should…

Where performance of a bank’s mandate would itself be a criminal offence under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the mandate is temporarily suspended. The customer…

The court’s discretion under section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 to award costs against a non-party is not confined by rigid prerequisites. Actual funding…

A conflict of interest does not automatically disqualify an expert witness. The decisive question is whether the expert’s opinion is independent. A material or…

The Court of Appeal’s power under CPR 52.17 to reopen a final determination is exceptional and subject to cumulative requirements: reopening must be necessary…

Permission to bring a second appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling…

In an urgent child case, substantial delay in filing an appeal requires a really good explanation before time will be extended, particularly where delay…

In a contract requiring later television episodes to be similar in content to episodes from an earlier season, “content” bears its ordinary broad meaning. It…

A dispute arising fundamentally from a contract with a public authority ordinarily attracts private law remedies. Judicial review requires a relevant and…

A conditional fee agreement is unenforceable where there is a material failure to satisfy the statutory conditions. Materiality concerns the protection…

In construing an ambiguous agreement governing a secured loan and proposed property sale, the court must consider the arrangement’s intended purpose and the…

Gender-specific statutory provisions for widow’s benefits could not be construed in gender-neutral terms to extend equivalent entitlement to men. The resulting…

Where the business damaged by a contractual breach is operated by a different company from the lessee, common ownership does not allow the lessee or its…

The scope of a professional’s duty is fixed by the express or implied retainer for the particular task. Where a veterinary surgeon attends as the owner’s vet…

A civil proceedings order under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 may be imposed where a litigant has habitually and persistently instituted vexatious…

A general civil restraint order could not be made under the then applicable CPR regime unless an extended civil restraint order already existed. The court…

In an asylum appeal, the absence of a finding that the claimant suffered Convention-related persecution before leaving does not determine future risk. It…

Where medical evidence treats a substantial cessation of symptoms followed by recurrence as breaking causation, the trial judge’s factual findings must remain…

Under section 63A of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, a claimant must first prove primary facts from which a tribunal could infer discriminatory treatment.…

An incorporeal hereditament may constitute premises capable of business occupation under section 23 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Whether particular…

Under section 9(1) of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, a deceased joint tenant’s severable share remains identifiable property…

A limitation provision introduced without the transitional period required by Community law could not bar accrued claims for under-deducted input tax. The…

Statutory sex-offender notification requirements interfere with private life, but they are compatible with article 8 where they are prescribed by law and…

Forcible treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 is not confined to the diagnostic classification on which detention was ordered. The court asks whether…

In a clinical negligence claim, causation must be determined on the balance of probabilities by examining the particular facts and the medical evidence. A…

On a second appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or a compelling reason. A serious procedural irregularity at the first…

An appellate court has jurisdiction to strike out an appeal for non-compliance with an interim order for payment on account of costs where the procedural rules…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed appeal has real, rather than fanciful, prospects of success. The importance of the issue to the…

At the permission stage, the Court of Appeal does not determine whether a disputed witness statement is admissible. A professional witness’s account of what…

For the purposes of section 175(1) of the Housing Act 1996, an authority must identify the precise legal basis on which accommodation is said to be available…

A statutory consultation must be conducted fairly. A decision-maker generally need not disclose its internal advice or thought processes. Fairness may…

In an Article 8 removal case, the lawful operation of immigration control carries considerable weight. Removal will usually be proportionate unless the…

The rule excluding subsequent conduct as an aid to construing a written contract does not apply where the court must determine terms that were agreed orally…

Whether a dwelling remains a tenant’s principal home, so that a secure tenancy continues, is a question of fact. The court must consider the tenant’s…

A statutory recall scheme for a discretionary life prisoner released on licence is compatible with article 5 where a sufficient causal connection remains…

The costs restriction in section 181(3) of the Housing Act 1985 depends on whether proceedings could have been brought in the County Court, not whether they…

The court must distinguish continuing loss of earnings from the contingent risk addressed by a Smith v Manchester award. A Blamire award is available only…

Where a voyage charterparty makes a notice of readiness the trigger for laytime, a charterer which directs in writing that the vessel give an early notice…

A homeless 16- or 17-year-old is not automatically a child in need under section 17(10) of the Children Act 1989. Under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996, a…

An appellate court reviewing a trial judge’s reasons must assess the judgment as a whole. It may examine reasons based on documents, inferences and inherent…

A fact-finder must assess credibility in the light of all the evidence, including relevant medical evidence. The law prescribes no fixed order in which that…

Permission to appeal against orders refusing to rescind or set aside divorce decrees and related orders was refused. Consent to decrees nisi cannot ordinarily…

An appellate court may refuse an adjournment where the appeal has no reasonable prospect of success. The assessment includes whether proposed fresh evidence…

A director may authorise unlawful loans to a co-director by knowingly allowing a continuing company practice under which such lending is treated as acceptable.…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 24, summary judgment may be entered where the defence has no real prospect of success and there is no compelling reason…

The Court of Appeal does not give procedural directions for proceedings in the Patent Office; such matters are left to the Comptroller. A minor excess in the…

A wasted costs application requires a disciplined two-stage inquiry. At the first stage, the court must have material which, if unanswered, would be likely to…

Imprecise wording about whether an asylum account is reasonably likely or reasonably possible does not, by itself, invert the burden of proof where the…

Enforcement of an adjudicator’s decision should not ordinarily be stayed merely because related arbitration proceedings are pending. A stay which permits…

When a defendant is remanded in custody pending a hearing on an alleged breach of an injunction, the court must carefully assess whether detention is…

An unnamed principal may enforce a contract made by an authorised agent who intended to act on its behalf. That right is excluded where the contract and…

A civil restraint order requires persistent issue of claims or applications that are totally without merit. The threshold concerns past conduct, while the…

For the exemption for leasing or letting of immovable property under Article 13B(b), the supplier must confer an essential right of occupation. The tenant must…

For section 1(1A)–(1B) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992, benefit is claimed in respect of a person where the benefit, or a component of it, is…

A new point of statutory construction should be admitted on appeal only in exceptional circumstances, particularly where it would require fresh factual…

On a first appeal in financial-relief proceedings, the appellate judge must uphold the trial judge’s findings unless fresh evidence is admitted or the findings…

In assessing credibility, a fact-finder must decide whether an account is true, rather than whether the events described were probable or plausible. Unusual or…

When damages are assessed for breach of contract, a benefit obtained by the claimant as a consequence of the breach must be brought into account. The court…

A claimant alleging an accidental fall must prove the accident on the balance of probabilities. The court need not reconstruct its precise mechanics where an…

Guideline brackets for damages in police misconduct cases assist consistency but must not be applied mechanistically. In malicious prosecution, compensation…

The supplied judgment text concerns the proper implementation of a tribunal’s findings when deciding whether a person qualifies for humanitarian protection. A…

After a wrongful retention of a child in England, the child’s state of habitual residence remains the primary forum for welfare issues following a Hague return…

Previous determinations concerning an appellant, or an intimately connected relative, should generally be available to and considered by the decision-maker.…

Contributory negligence by an overtaking driver is fact-sensitive. The relevant question is when the driver was, or should have been, alerted to danger, not…

Children Act 1989, section 97(2), prevents identification of a child during Children Act proceedings. It is a penal provision and ceases to operate when those…

Under the JCT Agreement for Minor Building Works (1993 revision), an employer’s obligation to maintain joint-names insurance under clause 6.3B ends on…

Where matrimonial assets are proceeds of drug trafficking and are subject to confiscation, they should ordinarily not be distributed through ancillary relief.…

Where a proposed parental move would substantially affect children’s residence and their relationship with the other parent, the court must decide the welfare…

The exemption from limitation for recovery of trust property applies only where the defendant had a pre-existing trust or trustee-like responsibility for the…

Liability under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971 depends on satisfying linked statutory requirements. Where the alleged likelihood of severe damage arises…

An order committing a person for contempt may be upheld where the underlying order was clear, the person had been given a further opportunity to comply, and…

In Green Belt planning, personal circumstances, including the need for settled accommodation and the effect on children’s education, are material…

Section 37 of the Patents Act 1977 gives the Comptroller jurisdiction, on a reference by a person with a proprietary interest, to order a licence under a…

A statutory prohibition on hunting wild mammals with dogs was compatible with Convention property rights and did not engage the rights to private life or…

In deciding whether to authorise a statutory will, the court must consider the particular patient and do what the patient would fairly do for herself, if…

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals brought by the Human Rights appellants and the European Community appellants. Permission to appeal to the House of…

The statutory protection of whistleblowers against detriment extends to retaliatory acts committed by a former employer after the employment contract has…

The statutory limit of one succession to a secure tenancy applies only to a succession occurring under a secure tenancy. A spouse who became sole contractual…

Where family life engages Article 8(1), a tribunal must conduct a methodical and fact-specific proportionality assessment under Article 8(2). It cannot assume…

Under section 5(3)(d) of the Housing Act 1988, the periods of a statutory periodic tenancy are those for which rent was last payable under the fixed-term…

A tribunal deciding credibility must assess the evidence as a whole and give adequate reasons for its conclusion. Where material discrepancies affect the core…

Permission to appeal may be justified where it is arguable that an asylum tribunal failed to assess internal relocation risks in sufficient detail, including…

In child-protection fact-finding, the standard remains the civil balance of probabilities. The seriousness and inherent improbability of an allegation affect…

In child relocation cases, the court must evaluate the relocating parent’s proposals, the likely effect on the child’s relationship with the left-behind…

Where an appeal raises an important point of principle in an unqualified and general form, the court may require fuller argument before determining it. This is…

Where an insurance policy makes delivery of relevant proof and information a condition precedent, it must be delivered within a reasonable time. Reasonableness…

In urgent judicial review proceedings, a claimant who invokes the court’s process must remain in contact with the court and ascertain when the application will…

An appellate immigration tribunal may scrutinise factual evidence to decide whether an admitted error of law was material, including the possible weight of…

A freezing order may be varied to permit the administrative relocation of funds while preserving the existing restraint. Joint control by the opposing…

A litigant in person should receive substantial procedural latitude, but remains responsible for clearly identifying a proposed amendment. Where a trial judge…

Under the IPPC Directive, compliance with ambient air-quality standards does not exhaust the regulator’s duties. Environmental quality standards are minimum…

In a construction contract, a provisional sum is not ordinarily payable as a fixed additional entitlement. Its meaning and effect depend on the contract, but…

Binding tariff information may be revoked under article 9(1) of the Community Customs Code after a reappraisal shows that its classification was legally wrong…

Where the Competition Appeal Tribunal sets aside a regulator’s decision and remits the whole matter, it ordinarily determines the appeal. The CAT then has no…

A final employment tribunal judgment on a wrongful-dismissal claim merges and extinguishes that single cause of action. The claimant cannot bring a High Court…

A local authority acting as an adoption agency cannot be satisfied under section 22 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 that a child ought to be placed for…

A party cannot ordinarily advance a materially new case on appeal where it was not put at trial and the opposing party had no opportunity to adduce evidence in…

In a child-relocation case, the residence decision must be kept distinct from the permission-to-remove decision. A pragmatic conclusion on relocation is…

A compromise embodied in a Tomlin order may settle the essential factual basis of a party’s legal status, rather than merely state a legal conclusion. A party…

A contractual chain does not automatically prevent a tortious duty of care between a specialist adviser and the ultimate recipient of its advice. The question…

Section 69(4) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 gives the court an open discretion to direct that different questions of fact in any action be tried by different…

In difficult child-contact proceedings, a judge asked to involve an organisation as the child’s guardian should not determine the application finally on…

Under the Highways Act 1980, section 66 is permissive and does not itself impose liability for injury caused by an insecure bollard. An insecure bollard is…

Section 426 of the Insolvency Act 1986 gives the English court jurisdiction to consider a request from a foreign insolvency court to remit assets collected in…

Whether a food supply is made “in the course of catering” is an objective question of fact and degree. The examples in Note (3) to Group 1 of Schedule 8 to…

In an asylum appeal, a challenge to interlocutory tribunal decisions may fall outside the ordinary rule against using judicial review to reopen matters dealt…

Under section 190(2)(a) of the Housing Act 1996, a local housing authority must provide accommodation for a period that gives an intentionally homeless…

A final appeal may be reopened only where this is necessary to avoid real injustice, the circumstances are exceptional, and no effective alternative remedy…

An adjudicator commits an error of law where a vital issue is not identified and the reasons for its resolution are not explained. Once such an error is found…

A consent order is construed as a contract. Its meaning is what a reasonable person, with the background knowledge reasonably available to the parties, would…

Where an accident accelerates disability arising from a pre-existing degenerative condition, loss-of-earnings damages must reflect the difference between the…

Return proceedings under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 and Brussels II carry a strong presumption that a child will be returned to the country from…

Permission for a second appeal may be granted where the proposed appeal raises an arguable point of principle or general importance, or where a significant…

At the permission stage, the court may take account of a materially comparable appeal which has already been granted permission, particularly where its outcome…

Permission to appeal should be granted where an alleged error of law is sufficiently arguable to warrant consideration by the appellate court. That threshold…

Under Employment Rights Act 1996, the fairness of a dismissal must be assessed by considering the disciplinary process as a whole. There is no rule that an…

On a renewed out-of-time application for permission to appeal based on fresh evidence, permission may be granted where the evidence has sufficient plausibility…

In an appeal confined to error of law, the grounds on which permission is sought and granted define the appellate jurisdiction. A tribunal conducting…

Judicial review is not a means of challenging the academic merits of university decisions on marking, submission deadlines or educational support. At the…

Section 2 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 applies where premises are let wholly or partly as a dwelling. A lease for mixed residential and business…

A former client is not automatically entitled to restrain a law firm from acting against it. The firm bears a heavy, but not impossible, burden of showing by…

Summary judgment is appropriate only where the opposing case has no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason requires a trial. A real prospect…

Where an insurance policy covers only accidental loss and the insured bears the burden of proving that a deliberate fire was not caused by him or with his…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, a requested court must determine expeditiously whether removal was wrongful and whether the child’s return is…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission may properly be granted where the proposed appeal has a prospect of success that cannot be…

Failures to follow the Achieving Best Evidence guidelines when interviewing a child do not make the resulting evidence inadmissible in family proceedings. The…

A prison governor’s authority to detain a prisoner derives from the court order, read with the applicable statutory release provisions. An order made by a…

The power to strike out employment tribunal proceedings for unreasonable conduct is draconian. It arises where there has been deliberate and persistent…

In refugee protection cases, the question is whether the relevant state or de facto authority is capable of providing adequate and effective protection. The…

A pension in payment is an inalienable whole-life income stream and should ordinarily be treated as an other financial resource under section 25(2)(a) of the…

A refusal to accept new contractual covenants can fall within the class of reason capable in law of justifying dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996…

Direct race discrimination may arise where an employee is treated adversely for refusing to implement the employer’s racially discriminatory policy, even…

Eligibility for local-authority accommodation under section 21(1)(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948 is not confined to accommodation-related social care.…

The expression “undomesticated animals” bears its ordinary meaning. An animal need not live in a house or be kept as a pet. It is domesticated if it is of a…

In care proceedings, the initial assembly of expert evidence may ordinarily be confined to one jointly instructed expert in each discipline. A further opinion…

A social security claim is made when it is received in an appropriate office, not when it is posted. A regulation fixing receipt as the date of claim was…

For the purposes of section 717(2)(a) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, whether securities carry a fixed rate throughout the period from issue to…

On a second appeal concerning an after-the-event insurance premium, the Court of Appeal directed that the matter proceed as a test case because of the wider…

A cross-undertaking supporting an interim injunction benefits only the persons identified in it. It is an undertaking to the court, rather than a contract…

A court making a possession order against a secure tenant is not required to specify an absolute date for possession. Under sections 82(2) and 85 of the…

Committal proceedings for breach of an injunction concern obedience to the court order, not a renewed challenge to the underlying planning enforcement…

On an appeal from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Court of Appeal addresses true points of law and procedural fairness. It must not conduct a further…

In an asylum appeal, an adverse credibility finding is not converted into an error of law merely because another view of the evidence is possible. Appellate…

Security for costs on an appeal by a company requires the court to be satisfied both that security is just and that there is reason to believe the company will…

For the purposes of Article 21 of the Lugano Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1988, an English court…

A purposive construction of domestic legislation implementing an EU directive may include intermediate waste-treatment processes within an environmental permit…

A modern apprentice may also be an employee. Where a person is taken on as an employee and later enters modern-apprenticeship training arrangements, the…

A claimant in passing off need show protectable goodwill, a damaging misrepresentation and actual or likely damage. It need not prove that consumers were…

Leave for a child to intervene in an appellate family appeal is exceptional and requires a proportionate assessment. The court must balance the child’s…

Summary judgment is available in proceedings for a recovery order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. It should be granted only where the respondent has no…

In an application under the Hague Convention, establishing a child’s Article 13 objection does not give the objection automatic priority. Return remains the…

For the purposes of the Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council, Article 6(1) requires Turkish-worker status, due registration in the Member State’s labour…

In child-welfare appeals, the Court of Appeal should not interfere with a contact decision merely because another outcome is arguable or disappointing. The…

For jurisdiction under CMR article 31.1, a claimant must show a good arguable case that the parties’ contract is carriage governed by CMR. The court must…

Accommodation made available under the interim homelessness duty in section 188(1) of the Housing Act 1996, or the temporary duty in section 190(2)(a), is…

The court may alter an earlier child-property settlement where an unforeseen mistake made the approved structure substantially disadvantageous, provided the…

When deciding whether a highly dangerous prisoner should remain in category A, the decision-maker must consider whether exceptional circumstances mean that the…

A person may be a partner although entitled only to fixed remuneration that is independent of the business’s profits. Under Partnership Act 1890, section 1(1)…

In a proposed second appeal, the Court of Appeal may entertain the appeal only if it raises an important point of principle or practice or there is another…

On an appeal confined to error of law, the appellate court must determine whether the underlying adjudicator’s determination was legally flawed. It cannot…

An oral agreement to dispose of an interest in land may fail the writing requirement in section 2(1) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act…

In assessing compensation following an accepted offer to make amends, the court applies the principles governing damages in defamation proceedings. Evidence of…

Where a long-term contract gives a seller an exceptional right to terminate and requires notice to give reasons, validity depends on construing the contract as…

On an appeal against a discretionary financial order, the appellate court should intervene only where an error is shown in the discretionary analysis. Where…

For statutory parenthood following artificial insemination, the applicable legislation is determined by the date of insemination, rather than whether the child…

Strict compliance with tax obligations is the price of obtaining a construction industry scheme certificate under the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988.…

On an application for permission to appeal, adjournment, trial duration, the weight given to medical evidence and factual assessments of alternative…

Insolvency Act 1986 section 423 turns on the purpose for which a transaction at an undervalue was entered into. The transaction need not itself cause the…

An order restricting further applications under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 is exceptional and the child’s welfare remains paramount. It may be…

An applicant may appeal without permission against a committal order under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, as may the contemnor. A suspended prison sentence is…

In children proceedings, the court is not automatically required to await the conclusion of criminal proceedings. An adjournment is permissible where a…

Under Article 13B(d)(3) of the Sixth Directive, a service may qualify for the exemption for payments or transfers where, viewed broadly, it forms a distinct…

For the statutory exclusion of unfair-dismissal protection at normal retiring age, the relevant age is determined objectively at the effective date of…

In care proceedings, failure to follow local-authority good-practice guidance on fairness, transparency and participation does not by itself breach Articles 6…

Liability under section 277(1) of the Companies Act 1985 requires knowledge of the facts making a distribution unlawful. It does not require knowledge that…

A manager who knowingly fosters and encourages a sustained, targeted campaign of discriminatory bullying positively subjects the employee to a detriment. The…

The statutory power to remove a child under 16 from a designated dispersal area at night authorises reasonable force where necessary. Its exercise is…

Damages for future loss must reflect assessed chances, rather than treating a result that is more probable than not as certain. A fair career model may be used…

In public law care proceedings, a fact-finding judgment must provide a clear, reasoned explanation of each finding, showing why the evidence is accepted and…

At the permission stage, the Court of Appeal identified an arguable question under the Employment Rights Act 1996: whether disciplinary action connected with a…

In an asylum appeal, medical evidence relevant to credibility must be assessed as an integral part of the credibility evaluation. A decision-maker should not…

A decision by a court officer in the Civil Appeals Office about whether to issue an application in Court of Appeal proceedings is a judicial decision under CPR…

Where an appellate tribunal identifies a material error of law and undertakes reconsideration itself, it is arguable that procedural fairness requires the…

An appellate court will rarely entertain a challenge to a specialist immigration tribunal’s factual assessment of risk where the findings were open on the…

A tenant’s inability to control a household member who causes serious nuisance does not remove the court’s jurisdiction to make an outright or suspended…

A transfer of engagements between registered industrial and provident societies under section 51(1) of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965…

Statutory holiday pay must be calculated by reference to the worker’s normal remuneration for each week of statutory leave. The Working Time Regulations 1998…

General enabling words in a statutory instrument’s preamble do not automatically invoke every power that could have been used. They may include an unexpressed…

Compensation for discrimination is assessed by the no-discrimination hypothesis: the claimant must be placed in the position she would have occupied had the…

For intentional homelessness under the Housing Act 1996, occupation is a question of fact, intention and degree. A mere legal right to possession does not…

Sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 apply to demonstrations in the designated area whether they began before or after those…

In an asylum appeal, the tribunal must ask whether the evidence establishes a real risk of persecution on return, including a risk arising from activities…

For the purposes of determining whether a tenancy is at a low rent under section 4A of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, “the property” is identified by reference…

Permission to appeal in a Dublin II Regulation case should be granted where proposed constructions are arguable and have a real prospect of success. The term…

Where professional negligence consists of failing to carry out an express instruction, damages are assessed by comparing the claimant’s actual position with…

Where a planning injunction restrains residential use of land in breach of planning control, a later change in planning policy and evidence of unmet…

Whether a transaction documented as a sale with a right to repurchase is a mortgage is determined by construing the operative terms as a whole. The court must…

On an appeal under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996, the county court exercises a jurisdiction akin to judicial review. Questions of fact entrusted to a…

Under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, referral guidelines are not statutory rules and must not be applied rigidly. Authorities should ordinarily apply them…

An applicant who seeks to set aside a judgment given following non-attendance must satisfy each condition in rule 39.3(5) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998.…

General taxation imposed neutrally does not, on the Strasbourg authorities considered, engage Article 9 merely because public revenue may support military…

In construing a will, the court must identify the testator’s intention from the words used in their factual and family context. A rigid application of earlier…

Article 3 protection against removal on suicide-risk grounds is confined to truly exceptional cases. The court asks whether removal itself would sufficiently…

When deciding whether to extend the statutory time limit for an employment claim, the tribunal must assess all the evidence and decide for itself whether the…

For the purposes of section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980, the seriousness inquiry is directed solely to the quantum of the damage known to the claimant. It…

Under the statutory cost-protection scheme, an appellate court may make a costs order against publicly funded litigants where, assuming no cost protection, it…

On an application to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must show that England is the forum in which the case can most suitably be tried…

Liability under section 25(1) of the Police Act 1996 requires a request for special police services which the chief officer accepts. The parties must agree, at…

European Union citizenship does not, by itself, confer an unfettered right of residence in another Member State. The right is subject to Treaty limitations and…

Judicial review may lie during a local election, but the court should intervene only in a wholly exceptional case. Parliament ordinarily intends alleged…

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

An immigration judge may adopt reasoning from the Secretary of State’s refusal letter where the resulting decision is sustainable. However, the judge must…

A dismissal for failure to comply with an unless order should not stand where the court has failed to consider whether the step relied upon would have complied…

A statutory requirement to adjourn collection proceedings pending an appeal does not immunise a party from procedural orders or sanctions. An unless order may…

Testamentary capacity remains governed by the test in Banks v Goodfellow (1870) L.R. 5 QB 549. A testator may make an irrational or unfair will, but only if…

Whether a commercial agent’s activities are secondary under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993 depends principally on the purpose and…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court must identify a demonstrated error of law or a finding of fact that is plainly wrong. Sympathy for…

When a local planning authority seeks an injunction under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 187 B, the court exercises an original discretion. It…

When entitlement to invalidity benefit depends on whether earnings exceed a statutory limit, the method of computation is determined by the regulation-making…

At the permission stage, a challenge to removal is arguable where nationality or statelessness has not been properly determined, or where the decision-maker…

In an intractable contact case, the court must keep under review whether the child’s welfare may be assisted by separate representation. A refusal to explore…

A restriction under section 91(14) should be imposed only after the parties have had a fair opportunity to address the issue and the court has considered the…

An appeal cannot succeed merely by concentrating on adverse conditions in one locality where existing country guidance remains accepted. The claimant must show…

Meeting the threshold for an interim care order under the Children Act 1989, sections 38(2) and 31(2), opens the court’s jurisdiction but does not require an…

A person who can return voluntarily in safety to the country of nationality falls outside the Refugee Convention definition, even if enforced removal would…

Registration as a British citizen and deprivation of citizenship are separate statutory powers. Under section 40(3)(a) of the British Nationality Act 1981, as…

A second appeal requires more than an arguable factual challenge or a real prospect of success. Permission is available only where the appeal raises an…

Claims arising from intentional sexual assault are subject to the non-extendable six-year limitation period under Limitation Act 1980 section 2, rather than…

For a local housing authority to end its homelessness duty by a final offer under section 193(7F) of the Housing Act 1996, it must separately be satisfied both…

Under section 3(1) of the Consumer Protection Act 1987, a product is defective only where its safety is less than persons generally are entitled to expect.…

A public healthcare body may lawfully reserve treatment for undefined exceptional cases only if it genuinely recognises that relevant exceptional circumstances…

An appellate court should not determine important issues which the lower court was neither asked nor required to decide. A party cannot convert a narrowly…

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has a strict but discretionary power to extend the time for lodging a Notice of Appeal. A party who leaves filing until the last…

Permission to enforce a worldwide freezing order abroad is a flexible discretionary remedy. It should be granted where this is just and convenient to make the…

Unless the parties agree otherwise, both the servient owner and the dominant owner may repair a right of way. A reservation of a right of way carries the…

An extension of time exceeding two months for filing a notice of appeal is exceptional. The applicant must strictly prove the facts relied on and show that a…

A closely connected breach of competition law may arguably prevent a trade mark proprietor from relying on legitimate reasons for opposing further dealings in…

A human rights claim is clearly unfounded only if it cannot succeed on any legitimate view. Removal involving a suicide risk may engage article 3, but an…

An appellate immigration tribunal may interfere with an immigration judge’s factual findings only where they are demonstrably erroneous or baseless, rather…

A jurisdiction or choice-of-law clause is incorporated into a related contract only where the language and contractual context demonstrate that intention.…

A total failure of consideration does not arise merely because a promised lease assignment is not completed. Where the purchaser has occupied and traded from…

A tenancy granted by a local authority will not be secure only if every applicable exception in Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1985 is satisfied. For the…

Under Marine Insurance Act 1906, whether an undisclosed circumstance is material is ordinarily a question of fact. A recent, serious allegation of dishonesty…

An equitable right to set aside a transaction for misrepresentation may be defeated by acquiescence, but only where the circumstances make it inequitable to…

A beneficial interest in jointly registered property depends on the parties’ true intention and the financial and surrounding circumstances, not merely on the…

Costs must be assessed by reference to the litigation in which the order is sought. Potential success in separate proceedings, even involving serious alleged…

An earlier informal misrepresentation does not induce a contract where the contracting party receives the definitive contractual terms, knows that they define…

The rule against penalties is a narrow exception to the enforcement of contractual bargains. A condition precedent to entitlement to a refund, which imposes no…

Builders-risk insurance policies are construed as a whole. Where guarantee-risk cover is stated to be for vessels as per the building-risks policy, that…

A person is subject to immigration control where that person cannot lawfully remain in the United Kingdom without leave. The statutory expression “requires…

Where a person and a proposed litigation friend consent to the appointment, adequate evidence supports the application, and the application is bona fide, the…

In a residence dispute between a biological mother and a non-biological parent in a same-sex family, the biological link is significant but creates no general…

The prescribed-disease category for an occupation involving a hand-held percussive metal-working tool covers a tool that works metal, ordinarily by shaping it.…

The threshold for finding reason to believe that a party will be unable to pay an adverse costs order is lower than the balance of probabilities. A failure to…

A judge should not ordinarily decide medical issues without expert assistance where relevant expert evidence is sought. The judge may, however, use experience…

An appeal against an award under section 10(17) of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 is a statutory appeal governed by CPR Part 52. Since an award is ordinarily…

In an asylum appeal, an immigration judge need not recite or separately list every relevant risk factor, provided the determination shows that the factors were…

In care proceedings, the statutory threshold must be established by circumstances existing when protective intervention began. Later-acquired material may…

In an equal-pay claim based on work of equal value, employees must identify a comparator pool and produce statistics capable of showing an appreciable pay…

On an appeal from an asylum tribunal, the Court of Appeal considers whether there is a material error of law, not whether another view of the facts was…

A Member State may require a jobseeker claiming a benefit intended to facilitate access to employment to show a genuine link with its geographic employment…

An insurer’s settlement offer must be construed from the documents read together and in their commercial context. A covering letter can impose contractual…

An appellate court may adjourn a substantive appeal where a new strike-out application raises a collateral issue requiring findings of fact that the appellate…

Rectification is available where a written lease fails by mistake to record the parties’ continuing common intention. An outward expression of accord is…

An appeal on a point of law cannot become a reconsideration of an Immigration Appeal Tribunal’s determination merely because the appellant’s condition worsens…

Membership of a particular social group is a mixed question of law and fact. Women, or a subset of women, may constitute such a group where gender is an…

Where substantive issues have been settled or otherwise resolved without judgment, the guidance governing costs after a compromise applies even if their…

A compromise order must be construed objectively from its language and context. A release of claims in settled forfeiture proceedings, even where expressed as…

A statutory right to buy is withdrawn under section 122(3) only by written notice, but Part V of the Housing Act 1985 does not exclude common-law and equitable…

Where an employer’s negligence causes personal injury and consequential psychiatric illness, liability for a later suicide does not require a separate duty to…

When land is transferred by reference to a plan, a conflict between a figured dimension and a width obtained by scaling the plan is resolved through…

A tenant materially complies with lease obligations governing a break clause when, assessed objectively, any remaining breaches do not materially impair the…

A winding-up petition should be restrained where the alleged debt is bona fide disputed on substantial grounds. The court need not determine the ultimate…

In an insurance exclusion for liabilities arising from wilful, malicious or criminal acts, “wilful” does not mean every deliberate act. Its meaning depends on…

In assessing internal relocation, a tribunal must consider both safety and reasonableness, which are distinct questions. Expert country evidence is relevant…

Ground 5 in Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985 applies only where the current tenant is the person to whom the tenancy was granted. It does not extend to an…

A hearing on an application for the summary return of children is not converted into a full welfare determination merely because welfare evidence is received.…

Where parties settle an appeal and later administrative action removes its practical controversy, the Court of Appeal should ordinarily decline to decide the…

A notice under section 21(4) of the Housing Act 1988 must specify the last day of a period of the tenancy and state that possession is required after that…

A binding Security Council resolution made under Chapter VII may, through article 103 of the UN Charter, prevail over conflicting obligations under…

Damages for wrongful misuse of confidential information must reflect the claimant’s loss, not an account of the defendant’s profits, where damages rather than…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission is appropriate where the proposed ground cannot be said to have no real prospect of success and…

When a local authority’s possession claim and a secure tenant’s right-to-buy claim concern the same home, the right to buy does not automatically prevail…

The established restrictions governing liability for pure psychiatric injury apply equally to employees. A claim is not a stress-at-work claim merely because…

On an appeal from a refusal to revoke a deportation order, the reviewing jurisdiction is directed to the Secretary of State’s decision and the evidence…

In assessing dependency damages for a tortious death, the court must identify the benefits that would probably have accrued had the tort not occurred. A…

An employment tribunal assessing compensation for unfair dismissal may reconstruct what would probably have happened if the employer had acted fairly. A…

Under rule 17.4(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, a proposed new cause of action arises from the same or substantially the same facts where the essential…

Where an appellate tribunal overturns an adjudicator’s risk assessment, it must identify an objective basis showing that a different view is required, rather…

In a pitch-fee review under Mobile Homes Act 1983, the arbitrator or County Court has a wide discretion to consider relevant factors, including statutory…

A transitional provision governing recall from prison licence must be construed in its statutory context and according to its purpose. A reading which…

Costs orders in family proceedings are generally exceptional. They may be made where a party has behaved quite unreasonably. At the permission stage, the…

In defamation proceedings, qualified privilege may depend on whether the publisher’s duty and the recipient’s corresponding interest were still subsisting when…

In care proceedings following non-accidental injury, a parent’s failure to recognise responsibility is an important factor in assessing safety, but it is not…

In an immigration appeal under Article 8, an adjudicator considering a case outside the Immigration Rules must respect the balance between public interest and…

A road user’s duty is one of reasonable care, not perfection. A driver with a clear lane and a green signal is not negligent merely because the vehicle is…

For the purposes of paragraph 3A(7) of Schedule 10 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994, occupation requires more than a right to use land. It requires some degree…

Claims for damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 arising from family proceedings should ordinarily be assessed in the context of the proceedings as a whole.…

For an inquest to be mandatory under section 8(1) of the Coroner's Act 1988, there must be reasonable cause to suspect that the death was violent or unnatural.…

Under section 87(b) of the Housing Act 1985, a succession claim requires residence throughout the 12 months preceding the tenant’s death. A temporary physical…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason, under the Access to Justice Act 1999. The…

A condition limiting means-tested funeral payments to funerals held in the United Kingdom does not discriminate against recent migrants contrary to article 14.…

A court determining whether possession of a secure tenancy is reasonable must proceed on properly established facts. It cannot assume an unquantified…

An exemption clause in a trust deed defines the trustee’s liability without requiring beneficiary assent or knowledge. A trustee’s ordinary responsibilities do…

Equitable set-off against rent is personal to the tenant’s claim against the original landlord. On an arm’s-length transfer of the reversion, it does not bind…

Connected lender liability under section 75(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 applies to credit-card purchases made through either three-party or four-party…

In a professional negligence claim for the loss of an admitted-liability personal injury action, the court ordinarily assesses on the balance of probabilities…

For leasehold enfranchisement, the statutory question is whether the premises, or at least a substantial part, were designed or adapted for living in at the…

A party waives an objection based on apparent judicial bias only by a clear, informed and unequivocal choice made freely and without pressure. The party must…

A lease covenant prohibiting alteration of a property’s plan, layout, height or elevation may regulate internal arrangement as well as the building’s external…

An appellate court may uphold a damages assessment despite an inaccurate summary of one expert report where the judgment, read as a whole, shows that the…

On renewal of an application for permission to appeal, permission may be granted where the proposed appeal raises a genuine challenge to the first-instance…

Before an interim anti-social behaviour order can be considered under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, there must be a properly made application for a final…

A solicitor is not automatically barred from acting against a former client. An injunction requires proof that the solicitor is or may be in possession of…

A judicial review claim must be filed promptly and, in any event, within three months after the grounds first arose. Filing within three months does not itself…

Exclusive jurisdiction over immovable property under Regulation 44 of 2001 is confined to actions based on rights in rem. A claim between spouses to establish…

On remission of an immigration appeal after an error of law, the appellate tribunal must conduct an adequate and genuinely fresh fact-finding exercise where…

In an asylum appeal concerning return to Somalia, an immigration judge must address whether a lone woman can safely reach and live in her home area, having…

Judicial review applications must be made promptly and, in any event, within three months of the decision challenged, subject to the court’s limited power to…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed challenge is properly arguable and fit for full consideration. In an immigration appeal, it is…

In a claim for financial provision for a child, an award made in an earlier case must not be used as a benchmark from which to scale the housing fund according…

Damages awarded instead of an injunction may be assessed on a compensatory, negotiating or account-of-profits basis. Negotiating damages are ordinarily valued…

Control mechanisms developed for secondary-victim psychiatric injury claims do not govern every claim for psychiatric harm. Where the defendant owes a primary…

A negligence claim arising from failure to identify and support dyslexia should not be struck out under CPR 24.2 merely because proof of loss is difficult or…

Success for costs purposes is assessed by the practical result. A claimant who obtains a money judgment which the defendant had refused to pay is the…

A contractual provision is a penalty where, construed at the time of contracting, its predominant function is to deter breach rather than compensate for loss.…

In a syndicated loan agreement permitting transfer to a “bank or other financial institution”, the latter expression is not confined to banks, bank-like bodies…

A company fiduciary must give single-minded loyalty. A fiduciary may neither exploit the principal’s opportunity nor enter a transaction in which duty and…

A local authority which receives a police request under section 38(6) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 owes the corresponding duty under section…

An assignment of proceeds is construed in its commercial context. Where an agreement gives priority to a claimant over sums remaining after payment of…

A court has jurisdiction under Part 40.20 of the procedural rules to make a binding declaration even where no other remedy is claimed. Such relief requires…

In an asylum appeal, an appellate tribunal must address a potentially significant ground of appeal clearly raised before it, unless there is clear evidence…

A family court may maintain restrictions on a party’s possession of documents where the decision is fact- and case-dependent and based on an identified risk. A…

In children proceedings, a preliminary fact-finding judge may make a limited finding on the balance of probabilities even where wider allegations are unproved.…

Permission to appeal against strike-out, a civil restraint order and summary costs assessment may be refused where the proposed claim has no real prospect of…

The power to reopen a final order refusing permission to appeal is exceptional. It is exercised only where necessary to avoid real injustice. Fresh evidence…

A contract of employment requires reciprocal obligations to provide and perform work for remuneration, together with sufficient control. The remuneration may…

A section 91(14) order under the Children Act 1989 is a discretionary safeguard, not an absolute bar on future applications. It may be appropriate where there…

When deciding whether to permit a child’s overseas holiday, the court must conduct a balanced assessment of all relevant considerations. It must take account…

Post-judgment material will not justify reconsideration where it does not affect the factual or legal premise on which the appellate decision was reached. A…

An English court should exercise great caution before restraining an arbitrator from determining his own jurisdiction where the parties agreed to a foreign…

Employers’ duties under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 extend beyond the physical arrangement of equipment. A suitable and…

At the interlocutory stage, the court need not finally determine the construction of a commercial agreement. It must ask whether the claimant has a seriously…

Unregistered design right may subsist in any discernible or recognisable aspect of the shape or configuration of an article or part. The statutory exclusions…

The allocation of a repairing obligation under a residential lease depends on the lease read as a whole and in its factual context. A court should not imply a…

A stay of civil proceedings pending related criminal proceedings is exceptional. It requires a real risk that their continuation will cause serious and unjust…

A court hearing an international family dispute may, of its own motion, adjourn an issue for investigation by a foreign court, even where neither party…

A local housing authority may perform the main housing duty by securing suitable temporary accommodation. Under Housing Act 1996 section 193(5), refusal of a…

On an appeal under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996, the county court conducts a public law review. It may quash or vary an erroneous homelessness decision…

A special resolution is valid where the resolution put to the meeting is the resolution contained in the notice. A court-approved alteration to a scheme of…

Deduction of input tax on a motor car is exceptional. Under Article 7 of the Value Added Tax (Input Tax) Order 1992, the taxpayer must intend exclusive…

Where an immigration appeal is remitted under transitional arrangements for the new asylum tribunal, the ordinary position is that the appeal is reheard as a…

On enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, the first limb of the rule in Wheeldon v Burrows does not itself imply easements. In the absence of an…

Claims for loss of an investment portfolio and loss of profits from opportunities that the portfolio would have funded are not necessarily inconsistent or…

Whether a contractual tax-saving measure is “available” must first be determined on the ordinary civil standard of proof. If available, its reasonableness…

In a patent-entitlement dispute, the court must identify the information constituting the heart of the invention and determine who supplied it. The inquiry…

For a contract disposing of an interest in land, section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 requires all expressly agreed terms to be…

An appellate court will interfere with a trial judge’s apportionment of responsibility for contributory negligence only in rare circumstances. Intervention…

Committal proceedings for civil contempt, including proceedings under CPR rule 32.14 brought within civil litigation, are civil proceedings for the purposes of…

A constructive trust may arise on the acquisition of property where the parties’ objectively manifested common intention is that each should have a beneficial…

Where co-owners agree that property is to be held in equal shares, that agreement can establish a constructive trust and fixed beneficial interests, even…

A possession order which specifies a date for possession but merely suspends enforcement thereafter terminates a secure tenancy on the specified date.…

Public funding decisions for civil litigation may take account of both prospects of success and cost-benefit considerations. Judicial review remains…

The investigative obligation under European Convention on Human Rights Article 2 may arise where a person in state custody survives self-harm with…

An express declaration in a conveyance that purchasers hold land as joint tenants in equity determines their beneficial ownership unless fraud or mistake is…

An appellate court must itself decide whether an admitted error of law by the primary immigration fact-finder was material. The error is immaterial only if it…

A domicile of origin persists until clear, cogent and compelling evidence establishes both residence in another territory and a freely formed intention to…

A succession of separate work assignments may constitute successive contracts of employment even though neither party must offer or accept another assignment…

Classification of a civil VAT evasion penalty as criminal for Convention purposes gives the taxpayer the safeguards required by article 6. It does not convert…

Under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957, a person using premises under a contract receives the statutory common duty of care. Unless the contract provides…

For priority-need homelessness decisions, vulnerability for an “other special reason” is a freestanding statutory category. The question is whether, when…

Disclosure in a breach of confidence claim must be confined to documents relevant to the factual issues identified by the pleadings and to evidence admissible…

Where a claimant establishes facts from which an employment tribunal could infer discrimination, the employer must prove that the treatment was in no sense…

A responsible medical officer’s power under the Mental Health Act 1983 to grant leave of absence, including leave for a trial move to another hospital, does…

A defendant who negligently supplies information about a particular risk is liable only for loss caused by the information being wrong. The fact that the…

A judge trying a civil action without a jury should rarely, if ever, entertain a defendant’s submission of no case to answer at the close of the claimant’s…

The Walkley exception to the discretionary power in section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 is confined to a claimant who previously began, within the primary…

Claims for psychiatric injury caused by work stress are governed by ordinary employer’s liability principles. The threshold question is whether injury to the…

Where a parking easement is held in common, a power to make parking regulations may be used to secure orderly and fair enjoyment by all those entitled. The…

Permission to appeal was refused. The proposed appeal had no realistic prospect of success, and this particular case was not a compelling vehicle for resolving…

In an appeal from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, the Court of Appeal has no power to invite an immigration judge to supplement reasons where the…

Damages for breach of a restrictive covenant may be assessed by reference to a hypothetical negotiation for a notional licence. The calculation can use…

Enforcement of a New York Convention award may be refused where a party was unable to present his case because he received no notice of the material basis on…

The Court of Appeal will not normally restore a patent revoked by the court below merely because the parties consent following settlement. The patentees must…

At an interlocutory application for strike out or summary judgment, a claim should proceed to trial where its success depends on genuinely arguable issues of…

Once substantial interference with family life is established, the state must justify it under European Convention on Human Rights article 8(2). The state must…

Where a remuneration clause first provides for an annual salary to be agreed and then specifies a salary in default of agreement, the two mechanisms operate…

A court may discharge or modify an undertaking given in place of a final injunction only where a significant change of circumstances justifies doing so. The…

A domestic time limit newly imposed on a directly enforceable Community-law right to recover input VAT is lawful only if it preserves effective exercise of…

An extension of a suspended possession order does not necessarily postpone the statutory date for possession or revive a secure tenancy already ended by…

The Human Rights Act 1998 is forward-looking. A person cannot obtain a domestic remedy under section 7 for detention before 2 October 2000 merely because later…

An advance award of income support may be made where the claimant does not yet satisfy the habitual-residence requirement, but the decision-maker reasonably…

Whether premises remain occupied as a statutory tenant’s residence or home is a question of fact and degree. It must be determined by ordinary common sense and…

On an application to set aside a regularly obtained default judgment under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 13(3), the question is whether the evidence shows a…

Pre-action disclosure is inappropriate where the proposed claim is not sufficiently formulated to identify the alleged damage and the issues between the…

Under the Housing Benefit General Regulations 1987, the intention to return home required by regulation 5(7B)(b) is assessed when the claimant enters…

In assessing loss in a professional-negligence claim arising from a lost cause of action, the court must consider both whether the underlying action would have…

A contractual adjudication clause permitting an adjudicator to direct payment of legal costs may confer a costs jurisdiction even where the referring party…

In an immigration appeal involving Articles 3 and 8, a claimant relying on a diagnosed psychiatric condition must establish a very high threshold before…

Under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, compensation on termination addresses damage actually suffered. Ordinarily, this is the value…

The Court of Appeal has an inherent jurisdiction to prevent its proceedings from being rendered ineffective. It may order the Secretary of State not to remove…

Country guidance must be followed by an immigration tribunal where it applies, unless fresh evidence materially affecting its factual basis justifies…

An appellate court may determine an appeal at a resumed hearing where the appellant has already had a full opportunity to argue the relevant issues…

An appellate tribunal may raise of its own motion a point of Refugee Convention law which is readily discernible, obvious and strongly arguable, even if the…

In the Lloyd’s insurance market, insurance contracts may contain an implied term requiring placing and claims documents previously shown to underwriters, and…

A tripartite modern apprenticeship may constitute a contract of apprenticeship even where specialist training is provided by a third party. The court must…

A court may retrospectively approve a compromise of a claim made by a person who is, or is later proved to have been, a patient, even where the current…

In care proceedings, serious injury sustained while a child is in parental care does not itself satisfy the threshold in the Children Act 1989, section 31(2).…

A family court may conclude proceedings at a directions hearing where it decides that the case has reached its end, even if a further hearing had been…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact where the evidence was fairly evaluated, adequate reasons were given and the…

On a renewed application for permission to seek judicial review of a Social Security Commissioner’s refusal to grant leave to appeal, the decisive question is…

Under public liability insurance covering bodily injury occurring during the policy period, asbestos exposure and the body’s initial defensive reactions do not…

In an asylum appeal, a decision-maker must assess the claimant’s evidence against the relevant country material and apply the reasonable-likelihood standard.…

For the purposes of section 1(1)(a) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984, an occupier’s duty to a trespasser arises only where injury results from a danger due…

A compromise reached in solicitor-to-solicitor negotiations is binding where the communications, objectively understood in context, show offer and acceptance…

Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 operates alongside ordinary contract law. An unaccepted Part 36 offer may be withdrawn, and an explicit withdrawal…

Where internal relocation is relied upon in an Article 3 protection claim, the decision-maker must address each issue properly raised. It must assess both…

Where a professional disciplinary committee has materially relied on erroneous material, reconsideration may properly extend to all related complaints if that…

In contact proceedings, the court must pursue all reasonable avenues towards resuming direct contact between a child and a parent, even where prospects are…

A non-discrimination article in a double taxation convention was infringed where a United Kingdom subsidiary of a foreign parent could not make a group income…

On an appeal under section 103 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the court may intervene only for a material error of law. A credibility…

A tribunal that accepts serious past persecution must give legally sufficient reasons if it declines to treat that history as probative of future risk. Where…

Domestic VAT legislation must, so far as possible, be interpreted consistently with the wording and purposes of the Sixth Directive, including avoidance of…

In an asylum appeal, a credibility finding may be challenged as an error of law where it is perverse or rests on a misunderstanding of the case. An appellate…

In child contact proceedings, family judges have a wide discretion to tailor the procedure, including deciding whether oral evidence is necessary. Child…

A court should not determine a preliminary construction issue where the facts needed to identify the contractual trigger and its legal consequences have not…

The supplied judgment records only the formal disposition. The appeal concerning the 452 mark was dismissed, while the cross-appeal concerning the device marks…

On an appeal from factual findings in a trade-secret copying claim, the Court of Appeal must review rather than retry the evidence. The legal burden remains on…

Compulsory treatment under section 58 of the Mental Health Act 1983 does not require an additional threshold that treatment be necessary to protect the public…

The Court of Appeal held that symptom-free pleural plaques caused by negligent asbestos exposure are not, without more, actionable damage where they produce no…

A foreign-incorporated company is resident where its central management and control actually abides. Management remains with the company’s constitutional…

Under section 3(2)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, the court must identify the essential characteristics of a shape mark by considering the impression made on…

A special off-hire clause in a time charter must be construed by identifying the contractual allocation of responsibility between owners and charterers. The…

In clinical-negligence litigation, expert evidence identifies accepted professional practice under the Bolam test. A court must not choose between respectable…

The power to dispense with service of a claim form after the service period has expired is exceptional. It is unlikely to be exercised unless the claimant…

When a defendant or insurer gives a solicitor’s address for service, a claim form may be served there by a permitted non-personal method. Written notification…

Country guidance on the risk posed by the LTTE in Colombo must be applied to the evidence before the tribunal. A list of vulnerable groups in such guidance…

Reportage may protect neutral reporting of attributed allegations where the public has a right to know, but it does not automatically protect a newspaper that…

In an ordinary personal injury claim arising from a single incident, the claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities that the defendant’s negligence…

Article 13(b) may be engaged by specific, targeted risks to children on return, as well as by grave psychological harm mediated through a parent’s fear and…

Representatives must comply with Court of Appeal practice directions governing renewed applications for permission to appeal. Necessary papers should be filed…

A planning officer exercising delegated powers performs the same decision-making task as the planning committee. The existence of a real issue about the…

An employee supplied to another organisation may become its temporary deemed employee for vicarious liability. The general employer bears a heavy burden of…

Under Law of Property Act 1925, section 84, the proposed reasonable user must be assessed as a whole, together with the practical benefits secured by the…

In asylum and Article 3 appeals, the tribunal must decide whether, applying the appropriate standard of proof, there is a real risk of persecution or Article 3…

Damages for negligent failure to secure a bankruptcy annulment are confined to loss actually caused by the breach. Where an IVA was the only available route…

A judge is automatically disqualified where a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered all relevant circumstances, would conclude that there is a…

An asylum claim based on anticipated restraint of conduct requires a fact-sensitive inquiry. The tribunal must determine how the applicant would in fact behave…

Permission to appeal may be granted where a judge correctly states the governing law but it is properly arguable that the law was misapplied to a close factual…

Relief from sanctions for a late application for permission to appeal requires careful consideration of promptness, the explanation for delay, responsibility…

In a contingent-fee agreement, a condition that payment is due when a settlement is achieved as a result of the claimant’s services is satisfied if those…

Where an interlocutory application is settled by consent, the court deciding costs cannot ordinarily assess its full merits. It must adopt a broader, practical…

Under a development order requiring a telecommunications developer to seek prior approval, planning permission crystallises when the developer receives the…

Under the Companies Act 1985, s 359, an invalid share transfer and the resulting registration do not defeat the original registered holder’s prima facie right…

In a quasi-partnership company, exclusion of a minority shareholder from management will ordinarily be unfair unless accompanied by a reasonable offer to…

When making a confirmed compulsory purchase order operative, the Secretary of State’s task may be confined to determining whether effective legal arrangements…

A public licensing body may adopt a general policy to guide individual decisions, but it must not fetter its discretion. It must decide whether applying the…

For permanent injury benefits, a decision-maker cannot infer that an employment injury was not wholly or mainly causative merely because similar symptoms…

The court has an inherent, discretionary jurisdiction to stay proceedings where their continuation would abuse its process because an earlier costs order…

A contractual subordination arrangement made while companies are solvent remains enforceable when insolvency occurs. A liquidator cannot disclaim it merely…

The scope of a rehearing following remittal depends on the true basis of the remittal, determined from the relevant orders and the surrounding facts and…

Apportionment of blame after a road collision is fact-sensitive. Although a following driver who hits a visible stationary obstruction will normally bear…

A shared residence order is not confined to cases where parents agree, the child understands the arrangement, or the parents are deadlocked. Exceptional…

A temporary case-management stay pending related foreign proceedings requires rare and compelling circumstances. A stay should ordinarily be refused where it…

On a second appeal, permission is available only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or where another compelling…

For the purposes of section 10(3) of the Limitation Act 1980, a person is held liable by a judgment or arbitral award only when the quantum, as well as the…

Under the Race Relations Act 1976, protection against discrimination can extend to conduct during an internal appeal after dismissal. That principle assists…

A local authority investigating suspected child abuse does not owe a parent a common-law duty of care in tort merely because an interim care order has been…

A claimant who recovers substantial damages and beats a Part 36 payment may remain the successful party for costs, even where the claim was substantially…