Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2021

For disability discrimination claims by police constables, the acts and omissions of an independent police misconduct panel are treated, under the conforming…

Once the after-care duty under Mental Health Act 1983 section 117(2) has arisen, it continues until the relevant bodies decide that the person is no longer in…

For Regulation 261/2004, a journey involving several legs is treated as one flight for the territorial gateway where the legs were booked as a single unit. The…

Section 9 of the Defamation Act 2013 is a tailored modification of the ordinary forum conveniens inquiry, not a freestanding bar on subject-matter…

On a parent’s application under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, the court retains jurisdiction after the child turns 18 if the application was issued…

The benefit of a pre-1926 restrictive covenant is annexed only where the conveyance manifests an intention to benefit identified land with conceptual…

A measure sets a framework for future development consent under the strategic environmental assessment regime only where it establishes a coherent and…

Police may collect, retain and use information for policing purposes under their common-law powers. The common-law principle of legality does not require…

The public sector equality duty is a continuing, process-based duty. A decision-maker must consider it in substance, with rigour and an open mind. In ongoing…

Personal conduct by a shareholder or third party may be pleaded in an unfair prejudice petition only where it is causally connected to an act or omission of…

Abuse of process is determined by a broad, merits-based assessment of all the circumstances. The fact that an issue could have been raised in earlier…

In professional disciplinary proceedings, the complaint must identify clearly and fairly the facts and case to be met. In a conduct case, only facts alleged in…

In patent appeals, an appellate court should not disturb a specialist judge’s multi-factorial assessment of obviousness absent an error of law or principle.…

For long-residence applications under the Immigration Rules, a period of overstaying which falls within paragraph 39E is disregarded so that it does not break…

Planning permission is construed objectively, by asking what a reasonable reader with appropriate planning knowledge would understand from the grant as a…

A general enforcement application may be treated as properly constituted despite use of the wrong form where its substance is clear and any procedural error…

For the purposes of article 1(2) of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, an operator of a ship must have a real role in its…

Under CPR 39.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, a hearing must be public unless a specified ground applies and a private hearing is necessary to secure the…

A negligence claim does not concern a pure omission merely because it includes a failure to take a precaution. The court must examine the defendant’s activity…

When considering medical treatment for a competent person under 18, the court retains power under its inherent jurisdiction to override that person’s decision.…

In deciding whether to permit publication of a family judgment that may indirectly identify a child, the court must apply the Re S ultimate balancing test.…

A determination under section 27A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 decides what may properly be charged as a service charge. In that context, payable does…

The power to grant immigration bail under Paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016 depends on the existence of a legal power to detain. It…

In successive immigration appeals, the first tribunal decision is the starting point and normally settles an issue where the later case relies on materially…

The Immigration Rules are construed sensibly according to the natural and ordinary meaning of their words, read against the relevant background and the Rules…

The offence under section 72(1) of the Housing Act 2004 is controlling or managing an HMO which is required to be licensed but is not licensed. A reasonable…

Under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971, liability for damage caused by an animal outside a dangerous species requires all statutory conditions to be…

A looked-after child’s placement in an unregistered children’s home falls outside the statutory placement scheme in Children Act 1989, section 22C. It is not…

When replacing an existing electronic communications code agreement under Part 5 of the Code, the tribunal must consider the existing terms alongside the…

The Court of Appeal may use its case-management jurisdiction to make a strike-out unless order which effectively imposes a payment condition, despite the…

In family-reunion appeals, whether adult children enjoy family life with a parent for Article 8 purposes is ordinarily assessed by reference to the facts at…

Article 4 imposes systems, investigation and protection duties on public authorities in relation to trafficking. The protection duty arises where authorities…

The threshold under CPR rule 55.8(2) is the summary judgment test. A defendant must show a real prospect of successfully defending a possession claim. An…

Under s140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the court assesses whether the creditor-debtor relationship is unfair at the relevant date, having regard to all…

For the purposes of Chapter 5 of Part 7 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, a securities option is a right to acquire securities. The right is…

An effective system for preventing the carriage of clandestine entrants under the statutory defence is not an infallible system. The Prevention Code must be…

In an ordinary damages claim based on a properly arguable case, a competent claimant is entitled to choose whom to sue and which causes of action to pursue.…

Where a claimant has a reasonable expectation of privacy in a private letter, the court must balance that right against freedom of expression by examining the…

The Brussels I enforcement regime concerns the formal enforceability of a foreign judgment, not the circumstances in which it may be executed in the state of…

Clear insurance wording which confirms cover for a transaction premium following a client default is not confined to physical loss or damage merely because it…

A signed written instrument may assign copyright without using the words copyright, grant or assign, if its objective construction shows an intention that…

Whether charterparty terms are incorporated into a bill of lading is a question of objective construction. The usual staged analysis is iterative: provisional…

A force majeure clause is construed objectively in its contractual and commercial context. Where its substantive wording states that the seller must repay an…

A procedurally compliant and properly arguable civil contempt application which brings an allegedly serious contempt to the court’s attention is not abusive…

A contractual right for a medical practitioner to see correspondence relating to an investigation does not create a general disclosure obligation. In the…

When a visitor’s visa is cancelled because exclusion is conducive to the public good, the respondent bears the burden of proof. The civil standard applies, but…

An undisclosed Calderbank offer is not equivalent to a CPR Part 36 offer. Its mere existence does not require a court to defer costs following the liability…

For section 191(2) of the Housing Act 1996, a disappointed expectation about the future may amount to unawareness of a current relevant fact only where, when…

Under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, Article 7 prevents an otherwise payable cash benefit from being reduced or withdrawn solely because the beneficiary resides…

A judicial visit to P during unresolved Court of Protection proceedings must form part of a fair and transparent process. If a judge may have used a visit to…

Norwich Pharmacal disclosure is available only where an arguable wrong has occurred, the information is needed to pursue the ultimate wrongdoer, and the…

A neutrally framed income-support measure may constitute prima facie indirect discrimination under Article 14 where its use of historic earnings produces…

For an adult British citizen relying on a derivative right of residence under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016, regulation 16(5)(c)…

A supervised-contact order need not be a temporary stepping stone to unsupervised contact. Where the child’s welfare requires it, supervised direct contact may…

A lease may make a deadline for revising an interim service-charge contribution essential where its wording, payment structure and commercial purpose…

An employer’s duty to provide a safe system of work requires the standard of a reasonable, prudent and competent school. Where school policies require risk…

An appeal under regulation 34 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 is not confined to the current annual rate of pension. A dispute about a larger…

An unfair prejudice petition must address the affairs and membership interests of each company separately, although the wider commercial context may remain…

Unless a charterparty indicates otherwise, demurrage liquidates the whole of the damages arising from failure to complete loading or discharge within the…

Where a claimant relies on a contractual instrument to establish title as assignee, the whole instrument should normally be available to the court. Exceptional…

A failure to pay a trial fee by the prescribed date triggers the automatic strike-out under CPR rule 3.7A1 where a valid fee notice has been given. A notice…

Whether an impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect is ordinarily a fact-sensitive assessment for the Employment Tribunal. A continuing…

A claimant who obtains interim relief in judicial review proceedings is not thereby necessarily the successful party for costs purposes. Interim relief granted…

Contributory negligence is assessed by asking whether the claimant took the care for their own safety expected of a reasonable, prudent and competent person.…

A court has power to order a solicitor who faces a wasted costs application to attend for cross-examination where the solicitor has filed written evidence.…

Professional disciplinary regulations should not be construed to remove valuable appeal rights in pending proceedings unless very clear words require that…

An application to commit for breach of a mandatory order need not plead expressly that the respondent could comply. Intentional non-compliance in that sense is…

A state does not enjoy immunity under section 3(1)(a) of the State Immunity Act 1978 where proceedings concern its non-sovereign pursuit of monetary claims…

Where a parent opposing a child’s return under the Hague Convention asserts that they will not accompany the child, the court must determine what that parent…

A planning committee’s resolution must be construed objectively and realistically, using its words and relevant context. An officer’s report may inform the…

By a majority, the Court of Appeal held that mandatory non-domestic rates relief depends on whether a hereditament is wholly or mainly used for the charitable…

The meaning of a word in a commercial contract is ascertained from its immediate context, the contract as a whole and the circumstances known or reasonably…

Applications made by email may be accepted and decided without a formal application notice or hearing, but the court must preserve the same standard of…

Where a person signs a contract without qualifying the capacity in which they sign, the signature normally identifies them as a contracting party. A heading…

A foreign prisoner serving a life sentence after expiry of the minimum term may be subject to both extradition and deportation powers. An outstanding…

A company does not allot shares at a discount merely because it pays the proposed allottee money which is then used to pay part of the subscription price. The…

An injunction must be construed objectively from its language, read strictly because breach has penal consequences, but also in its relevant historical context…

In a step-parent adoption, proportionality must reflect the materially lower interference with family life than in a stranger adoption. The nothing else will…

A restriction of rights under the General Data Protection Regulation is valid only if effected by a legally binding legislative measure satisfying article 23.…

A person driving a vehicle containing duty-unpaid excise goods may be the person holding them where the driver has de facto control and knows both that the…

A cause of action in negligence accrues when real actionable damage is sustained. Further loss caused by the same breach does not create a fresh cause of…

A tenant who relies on the statutory restriction on unreasonable service charges must plead the factual basis of that defence. Landlord and Tenant Act 1985…

In deportation cases involving a foreign criminal sentenced to less than four years, where the statutory exceptions do not apply, the tribunal must conduct a…

When a court considers separating a newborn from a parent, the parent should ordinarily receive a fair opportunity to know the case and respond. This is…

An agreed appeal remains for the court to determine. Where respondents accept that a placement order should be set aside for a procedural breach, and the…

An unincorporated treaty is justiciable where the Government has embedded it in domestic decision-making and used it materially to alter domestic rights or…

A final money judgment of a competent foreign court is enforceable in England as a debt distinct from its underlying cause of action. The public-policy…

British citizenship obtained by material deception will ordinarily be withdrawn. Exceptionally, compelling countervailing circumstances may justify a different…

On a review appeal concerning an evaluative decision of a professional tribunal, the court may intervene for an error of principle or where the decision falls…

On an application to discharge a care order under Children Act 1989, section 39, the governing question is the child’s welfare. The welfare evaluation is at…

A determination on one of two independently sufficient grounds may not create an issue estoppel where the losing party could not effectively appeal that ground…

Delay in delivering judgment, however inordinate and inexcusable, does not by itself justify allowing an appeal. A lengthy delay nevertheless requires the…

Different outcomes in parallel family and criminal proceedings do not, by themselves, justify reopening findings of fact. The court must examine the underlying…

In a solicitor-negligence claim involving a flawed transaction, limitation begins when the claimant first suffers real, measurable damage. Where negligent…

Where specially agreed terms prevail over conflicting standard terms, inconsistency exists if the provisions cannot fairly and sensibly be read together. The…

The defence of publication on a matter of public interest may protect a publisher who honestly and reasonably gets the facts wrong. Its reasonableness element…

A declaration used to exclude security of tenure from a business tenancy is in, or substantially in, the prescribed form if, read as a whole, it fulfils the…

For the employment-jurisdiction provisions of the Lugano Convention, an individual contract of employment requires a relationship of subordination between the…

At the permission stage, the court asks whether the proposed appeal is reasonably arguable. It should not determine the substantive merits where the available…

Leave to apply for financial relief under Part III is a filter against plainly unmeritorious claims. The threshold is not high, but the applicant must show…

“Pre-emptive action” under section 72(8) of the Enterprise Act 2002 is not confined to conduct threatening a final divestiture remedy. It includes action which…

Whether a contractual right to a share of performance fees is conditional on performance depends on construction at the date of contracting. In a joint…

In a serious foreign criminal case, satisfying an exception in section 117C does not disapply the requirement to consider section 117B in all cases. The…

For a points-based immigration regime, money is under an applicant’s control where it is personally available and the applicant retains the power to direct its…

A public authority exercising a broad policy-making power may rationally change its view when both its former and current positions fall within the range of…

Serious delay in delivering judgment requires special care when reviewing factual findings. Delay alone does not justify setting judgment aside. Where material…

An accessory who must account for profits is liable only for profits which the accessory actually derived from the wrongful conduct, not profits made by the…

An employment tribunal’s decision must be read fairly and as a whole. An appellate court should avoid an overcritical analysis of isolated words or passages. A…

A competition authority is not required to conduct an as-efficient-competitor (AEC) test before finding that a dominant undertaking’s pricing practice is…

Dispensation from service-charge consultation depends on relevant prejudice to tenants, not simply on the seriousness of the landlord’s breach. The tribunal…

Damages for deceit ordinarily compensate the purchaser for the difference between the price paid and the objective market value of the property acquired. The…

A contractual notice requiring a claim-generating matter to be stated “in reasonable detail” must identify the underlying facts or circumstances on which the…

In compulsory-purchase compensation, appropriate alternative development is assessed by reference to a hypothetical planning application at the relevant…

Section 124(4) and (5) of the Equality Act 2010 does not make compensation unavailable for unlawful indirect discrimination applied without discriminatory…

A court should not permit service outside the jurisdiction where a valid arbitration agreement binds the relevant parties and covers the dispute. Broad…

A party who provides an affidavit for an interlocutory disclosure process does not thereby become liable to pre-trial cross-examination. Although the court may…

For liability under section 385(1)(b) of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, either actual receipt of a company distribution or entitlement to…

A medical practitioner's appeal against sanction under section 40 of the Medical Act 1983 is an unrestricted appeal by way of rehearing. The court must…

An existing special guardianship order is not automatically discharged when a care order is made. The Children Act 1989 permits the orders to coexist, although…

For disability status, it is not enough that an impairment has a substantial adverse effect. The effect must also be “long-term”: under Schedule 1 to the…

A parent seeking leave to oppose an adoption order must first establish a sufficient change in circumstances since the placement order. The court must then…

In a foreign-criminal deportation case, the unduly harsh exception under the Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, s 117C(5), requires a case-specific…

An anonymity order protecting children from disclosure of details likely to identify them may, depending on the facts, require the parents’ names also to be…

Under the Police Regulations 2003, an allowance which is separately provided for as a recruitment and retention allowance remains payable during maternity…

A planning permission must be read as a whole. The decision notice, conditions and any agreement expressly incorporated into it may jointly disclose adequate…

For an insurer to avoid an insurance contract for material non-disclosure, the non-disclosure must be an effective cause of the insurer writing the contract on…

For limb (b) worker status, the absence of an obligation to work at all times or for minimum hours is not decisive. The question is whether the relationship…

Under Part III of the Finance Act 1996, whether material is disposed of as waste turns on whether the disposer intended to discard it when the statutory…

Whether allegedly defamatory words convey fact or opinion depends on how they would strike the ordinary reasonable reader or viewer in context. A broadcast…

When determining the manner in which security for costs must be provided, the court must consider all relevant circumstances and seek a result which is just…

A term may be implied into a commercial contract only where it is necessary for business efficacy and/or is so obvious that it goes without saying. Necessity…

When assessing re-engagement after unfair dismissal, the tribunal must consider whether suitable employment is available at the remedies hearing. It generally…

Where statutory machinery requires HMRC to consider representations against a follower notice or accelerated payment notice and decide whether to confirm…

For a complaint to trigger DISP, the communication must convey dissatisfaction about the provision or failure to provide a financial service or redress…

For the purposes of article 11 of the Convention, an employment relationship may exist without a contract. Its existence is determined objectively and on a…

A Court of Protection decision to remove an existing party, withhold material, or dispense with service is a procedural decision. It is not determined solely…

Following a bankruptcy order, a creditor cannot obtain a final third party debt order over a debt owed to the bankrupt. A final order is a proprietary remedy…

The without prejudice exception governing the validity of a settlement permits communications from the negotiations to be admitted whenever they bear on…

A company suffers no recoverable loss merely because its bank pays genuine creditors from its account. Payment reduces assets and liabilities by equal amounts…

In a County Court claim for relief from forfeiture after peaceable re-entry for non-payment of rent, the six-month period in the County Courts Act 1984…

Systemic unfairness requires unfairness inherent in the system, demonstrated across its general operation and exceeding isolated individual errors. The absence…

Under section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980, reasonable diligence is assessed objectively by reference to the actual claimant and its circumstances at the…

An urgent decision to separate a child from a parent must be based on a practical assessment of the safe arrangements actually available when the decision is…

An unregulated intermediary may give regulated investment advice by promoting an unregulated asset as part of a single transaction requiring the sale of an…

A lie may support other evidence in family fact-finding proceedings only where the court is satisfied that it was deliberate, concerned a significant issue and…

Relief for bribery or a secret commission does not depend on proving a fiduciary relationship. The essential question is whether the recipient owed a duty to…

A case-management decision to list an important final hearing during a party’s last month of pregnancy must be governed by fairness and justice. Welfare and…

Under the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, a right of appeal against refusal of a human rights claim arises only where the decision leaves the…

An air carrier cannot avoid liability for cancellation compensation merely because a necessary member of staff became ill while off duty. Staff illness and the…

Fact-finding in private law children proceedings must serve the determination of child welfare issues. Allegations of domestic abuse require a separate hearing…

On an application for leave to discharge a special guardianship order under section 14D(5) of the Children Act 1989, the court applies a two-stage test. First…

An online platform communicates copyright works to the public where it knowingly and materially intervenes to give a large body of users convenient access to…

A claim for a declaration of FRAND licensing terms must be founded on an asserted legal right or other legal standard. The court’s inherent power to grant…

In deportation cases, a tribunal applying anxious scrutiny must address material medical evidence and explain why evidence is considered unsatisfactory. A…

When deciding whether a journalist should receive confidential material relating to concluded family proceedings, the court must balance the specific Article 8…

Under these right-to-buy leases, works are chargeable as ordinary repairs only if they are repairs, are undertaken to keep the structure and exterior in…

Permission to appeal in a fact-sensitive civil case requires a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. High-profile circumstances, serious…

In a passing-off claim, the court must determine the misrepresentation actually pleaded. A finding that a defendant falsely claimed a status does not establish…

To vary an unless order under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 CPR 3.1(7), the applicant must first establish a material change of circumstances. A claimed creditor…

Sums payable by residential tenants during a tribunal-appointed management period may remain service charges under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, even when…

Under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, a review requested under section 202 remains mandatory even if the authority notifies its decision after the regulatory…

When a court determines whether life-sustaining treatment should continue for a child, the child’s best interests are assessed objectively and in the widest…

Land is within the curtilage of a building when it is so intimately associated with the building that it forms part and parcel of it. The inquiry concerns the…

A Part 36 offer must be construed objectively in its pleaded and factual context. Its reference to liability may include causation where breach of duty is…

Nationality for registration purposes is a de jure question. It is determined by the foreign state’s law, established through expert evidence, rather than by…

In contempt proceedings arising from deliberate breaches of injunctions and planning controls, a later order extending time for compliance does not erase…

A court may decide an academic public-law claim where there is a good public-interest reason to do so. Relevant considerations include whether the claim raises…

For civil contempt by breach of an injunction, the applicant must prove the essential ingredients and compliance with applicable procedural requirements to the…

Vicarious liability has two stages. The relationship must be capable of giving rise to liability, and the tort must be sufficiently closely connected with it.…

Prosecutors must apply the evidential limb of the full Code test when deciding whether to prosecute. The merits-based approach is another way of expressing…

Where a resettlement scheme operates by granting entry clearance, a rule which is an absolute precondition to an individual obtaining entry clearance is…

An order for assessment of a litigant’s capacity is directed to determining how litigation should proceed and whether a litigation friend is required. It is…

Relevant evidence in civil proceedings is generally admissible irrespective of how it was obtained. The court retains a discretionary power to exclude it…

For limitation purposes, a breach of duty under section 32(2) of the Limitation Act 1980 includes any legal wrongdoing giving rise to a right of action. It is…

A claim in intimidation or economic duress requires proof that the alleged threat actually coerced the claimant into the impugned transaction. Robust…

Under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court must stay proceedings so far as they concern any matter which the parties agreed to arbitrate. A matter…

A negligence claim based on knowingly sending a vessel for demolition in notoriously unsafe conditions may arguably engage the creation-of-danger exception to…

The statutory functions of the Security Service carry, by necessary implication, the powers essential to their effective performance. Those powers include…

In an Article 13(b) return case involving alleged domestic abuse and a vulnerable primary carer, the court must assess whether return would probably cause such…

The policy against isolated homes in the countryside concerns physical isolation from a settlement. Whether a group of buildings constitutes a settlement, and…

In adversarial civil litigation, the judge must decide the case advanced by the parties. A judge may invite amendment or reformulation, but may not determine…

An appellate court should interfere with factual findings only where there is an identifiable error or the decision cannot reasonably be explained or…

A contractual arbitration clause is not ineffective merely because the agreement also identifies courts with jurisdiction. The contract should be read as a…

A litigation funding agreement is not a damages-based agreement merely because the funder’s return is calculated by reference to damages recovered. “Claims…

For anti-avoidance provisions limiting consortium relief, an arrangement may consist of a single provision in a company’s articles, including a voting…

Eligibility decisions under a managed access agreement may involve clinical expertise, but they are not thereby insulated from ordinary judicial review. Where…

For the tort gateway governing service outside the jurisdiction, the court asks in a common-sense way whether the alleged damage resulted from substantial and…

In a financial remedy case, an award cannot safely be based on capital resources that contain material double counting. A broad evaluation of fairness remains…

Article 11 does not give every independent trade union a universal right to compulsory recognition or representation in collective bargaining in every…

Disciplinary action because of a protected belief’s justifiably objectionable manifestation is distinct from action because the person holds or manifests the…

Victimisation under section 27 of the Equality Act 2010 turns on the respondent’s operative reason for the detriment. A protected act need only be a…

Charity trustees must exercise their powers to further the charity’s purposes, rather than for an extraneous or ulterior purpose. When trustees seek an…

When an entry clearance officer proposes to find that an applicant acted dishonestly, it is arguable that procedural fairness requires an opportunity to…

For the purposes of section 35 of the Limitation Act 1980, non-payment of a court fee does not of itself prevent a new claim from being made by amendment in…

At the final confirmation stage for a public path diversion order, section 119(6) of the Highways Act 1980 requires the decision-maker to consider the…

Where fresh evidence allegedly shows that a judgment was obtained by fraud, an appellate court should order a retrial only if the fraud is admitted or…

The restraint of trade doctrine has no single exhaustive threshold test. A court must first identify a practical restraint and then assess, by reference to…

A settlement agreement scheduled to a Tomlin order remains a contract, so the Consumer Credit Act 1974 can apply if the agreement provides credit. Credit…

A registered community amateur sports club cannot also qualify as a charity for VAT purposes under Part 1 of Schedule 6 to the Finance Act 2010. Section 6 of…

A Hague Convention return order may be set aside for new information only where the high threshold of a fundamental change of circumstances is met. The change…

On an application to adjourn because of illness, the controlling question is whether proceeding with the trial would be fair in all the circumstances. The…

Section 10(1) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 permits a fish pass to be constructed and maintained only where it causes no tangible, material…

A patent claim is construed purposively through the eyes of the skilled person. A variant outside its normal meaning may nevertheless infringe under the…

The doctrine of res judicata does not apply to disciplinary proceedings conducted by a trade union under its rulebook. Such proceedings are contractual and…

Where a strategic development-plan policy establishes the general extent of a proposed Green Belt but leaves detailed boundaries to a later local plan, the…

A statutory entitlement to registration as a British citizen may lawfully be made conditional on payment of a prescribed fee where that condition forms part of…

An appellate court with statutory jurisdiction may permit a new point of law to be raised, including on a second appeal. It should not do so where this would…

Where later losses are carried back and reduce or extinguish an assessed petroleum revenue tax liability, the amount of advance petroleum revenue tax…

Under the Immigration Rules, an application by an overstayer for leave as a Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) Migrant must be refused unless paragraph 39E applies. An…

In a complex fact-finding hearing, the judge must give sufficient reasons to show how material evidence, credibility, opportunity, motive and inherent…

A tenancy may be created where the landlords and tenants overlap only partially. Joint tenants of the leasehold estate may enjoy exclusive possession against a…

A family court may control the possession and distribution of judgments and other documents filed in proceedings. The power derives from the court’s duties to…

A general civil restraint order made under Practice Direction 3C catches any claim or application in the specified courts unless it expressly excludes it. It…

Under section 317 of the Companies Act 1985, the sufficiency of a director’s disclosure is assessed in context. The director must clearly disclose the nature…

Consent to removal under the 1980 Hague Convention must be clear, unequivocal and operative when the child leaves. Consent and its withdrawal must be made…

Permission to pursue committal proceedings in private litigation ordinarily requires a strong prima facie case. The court conducts an evaluative assessment of…

Whether works amount to demolition for the conservation-area regime is a question of fact and degree, assessed quantitatively by the extent of the building…

An unappealed tribunal decision recognising refugee status is final and binding. The Home Secretary must present the entire case against recognition, including…

In a settled judicial review, a claimant may achieve material partial success even though the challenged decision has not been quashed. The court must identify…

A claimant who obtains a substantial monetary award is ordinarily the successful party for costs purposes, even if it recovers only a small fraction of its…

The power to reopen a final permission decision is residual and exceptional. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 52.30, the applicant must show real…

The tilted balance in paragraph 11d)ii of the National Planning Policy Framework does not require relevant development plan policies to be disregarded. Those…

When documents within a party’s control may be mixed with private material held on an employee’s or former employee’s personal device, the court may direct the…

A financial remedy consent order is construed objectively, using its natural meaning, other provisions, purpose, the factual and commercial context known when…

The court may strike out proceedings as an abuse where their continuation would substantially relitigate an earlier dispute or collaterally attack findings…

Under section 22 of the Capital Allowances Act 2001, expenditure on a structure or other asset is governed by section 22(1)(a), while section 22(1)(b) concerns…

Sentencing for contempt protects the administration of justice and the rule of law. Financial loss to the claimant may aggravate contempt, but its absence is…

Under Part 4 of the Electronic Communications Code, a code right may be conferred only by the occupier of the land. An operator cannot ordinarily confer a…

A VAT zero-rate preserved by the standstill in article 110 must be construed strictly, but the always speaking principle remains relevant. The two principles…

Under Regulation 604/2013 (Dublin III), failure to answer a take-charge request within two months has the statutory consequence of deemed acceptance. A…

A bill of lading statement that cargo was shipped in apparent good order and condition concerns only its external condition as reasonably apparent to the…

A policy in the National Planning Policy Framework which requires great weight to be given to conserving and enhancing the landscape and scenic beauty of an…

In a financial remedy appeal, the court’s powers are exercised broadly and discretionarily. A pension sharing order need not achieve mathematical precision…

A placement order requires a proportionate welfare assessment. Adoption is a last resort and is justified only where no other realistic placement will meet the…

A fixed-term secure flexible tenancy is subject to termination by the landlord for section 82(1)(b) of the Housing Act 1985 if the landlord has any lawful…

A continuing nuisance requires a continuing state of affairs, event or hazard which the defendant permits to persist. It does not arise merely because harm…

On a second appeal, the Court of Appeal held that an appellate tribunal must not substitute its own assessment for a first-instance tribunal’s broad evaluative…

For the purposes of section 2(6) of the Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Act 2010, an employment tribunal is “the court”. It may therefore determine an…

A concession granting temporary leave and access to public funds for destitute victims of domestic violence may lawfully be confined to persons whose…

A landlord waives a right to forfeit when, with knowledge of the tenant’s breach, it demands or accepts rent that accrued due after the breach. It is…

Failures to comply with Achieving Best Evidence guidance do not automatically prevent a court from relying on a child’s hearsay statements. Their nature and…

The jurisdiction under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 52.30, to reopen a final appeal or refusal of permission is residual and exceptional. It requires…

A national policy statement must be interpreted objectively, in its context and according to its evident purpose. Energy policy does not require a quantitative…

UNHCR eligibility guidelines and general country reports are important evidence, but they are not presumptively binding merely because of their source. A…

Damages for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office are assessed globally and without a tariff. Compensation for wrongful detention follows a…

A national planning policy stating that permission “should be refused” indicates refusal but does not compel it. Where proposed retail development is likely to…

The common law requirements of procedural fairness apply to a points-based immigration system, but their content depends on the facts and context. A fair and…

Under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018, compliance depends on the substance and practical effect of the controller’s policy and safeguards. The Act does…

An equitable obligation of confidence may arise where a recipient obtains information without participating in the original breach, if a reasonable person in…

Removal under an interim care order is justified only where it is necessary and proportionate. The lower reasonable-grounds threshold for making an interim…

In a lost-years claim, the court must distinguish earnings from work from income generated by investments. Income produced by a claimant’s own labour, skill…

Liability for inducing breach of contract is accessory. The defendant must persuade, encourage or assist the contract-breaker, with conduct that causally…

Section 27A(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 invalidates only the part of a residential lease which assigns to the landlord or another third party the…

An adult visitor’s conscious exposure to an obvious risk does not automatically absolve an occupier from liability. Under section 2 of the Occupiers’ Liability…

A court may require a cross-undertaking in damages as the price of ordering security for costs. The power arises from the discretionary security jurisdiction…

For article 27 of the Lugano Convention to require a court second seised to decline jurisdiction, the proceedings must have the same parties, cause and object.…

The Employment Tribunal’s general case-management power extends to ordering disclosure by a party, including a party outside Great Britain. Rule 31 is directed…

In a negligent surveyor claim, damages are normally assessed by diminution in value, comparing the property as represented with its true condition, rather than…

Under section 123(1)(b) of the Equality Act 2010, an employment tribunal has a broad discretion to extend time when it considers this just and equitable. It…

A damages-based agreement may form only part of a wider solicitor-client retainer. By a majority, the court held that provisions concerning payment from…

In best-interests proceedings, the welfare principle applies whatever the patient’s diagnosis. Article 2 ECHR does not prevent the lawful withdrawal of…

An appellate court may interfere with a civil penalty imposed by a lower court or tribunal only where the decision is unreasonable or contains an identifiable…

The treatment of a costs cap depends on the true construction of the applicable rule, not on decisions construing bespoke costs orders or different costs…

The Court of Appeal held that judicial review does not require a tribunal to determine an exact date of birth where the evidence offers no sensible prospect of…

Under paragraph 11(d) of the National Planning Policy Framework, the absence-of-policy trigger for the tilted balance applies only where no development plan…

Where later proceedings involve different parties, relitigation of issues decided earlier is not, without more, an abuse of process. Abuse arises only where…

An expert’s overriding duty to a court or tribunal does not prevent contractual duties owed to the instructing client. The scope of any duty to avoid conflicts…

Article 1F(c) of the Refugee Convention requires a restrictive and cautious approach. Exclusion depends on a high threshold, assessed by the gravity and…

The unambiguous impropriety exception to without prejudice privilege requires proof of impropriety which is genuinely unambiguous. A good arguable case or…

On an application for maintenance pending suit, the sole substantive criterion under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 22, is whether the order is…

A professional negligence claim arising from civil litigation is not presumptively abusive because it requires scrutiny of an earlier judgment. Where the…

A planning permission and a section 106 planning obligation are construed as matters of law. Because a permission runs with the land and affects third parties…