Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2026

The change of position defence requires good faith, a sufficient connection with the payment and detriment making restitution inequitable. Mere negligence does…

A fiduciary’s core duties of loyalty, no conflict and no profit do not create a separate fiduciary cause of action for non-disclosure. Disclosure is instead…

Dishonesty requires two stages. The court must first ascertain the defendant’s actual knowledge and beliefs. It must then assess the conduct, given that state…

Whether a foreign judgment precludes re-litigation by issue estoppel is governed by the lex fori. It concerns the receiving court’s treatment of an earlier…

The Child Focused Court model changes procedure and culture, but not the substantive law governing private-law children cases. The child’s welfare remains…

Under Extradition Act 2003, section 179 requires the Secretary of State to choose priority between competing extradition claims by reference to matters…

A non-party is directly affected for the purposes of CPR r 40.9 where an order is prima facie capable of materially and adversely affecting a legally…

A delay or other procedural irregularity does not, without more, justify setting aside a judgment. The appellate court must consider whether delay has made the…

A free-standing application for a freezing injunction is not a claim under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37(1), for the purpose of the enactment gateway in…

In a solicitor-and-own-client assessment, the statutory jurisdiction concerns the amount properly chargeable under the solicitor’s bill and the resulting…

Section 30(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 disapplies the indemnity principle only insofar as legal-aid funding makes the…

A costs practice protecting a court or tribunal which has acted judicially or quasi-judicially and remained neutral does not apply to a successful Human Rights…

A First-tier Tribunal decision that an immigration appeal is deemed abandoned under section 104(4A) is a preliminary decision for article 3(m) of the Appeals…

An indemnity for liability arising from an agent’s act or omission while performing duties under an agreement is ordinarily confined to conduct occurring when…

Where there is reason to doubt an adult’s capacity to make a decision relevant to a needs assessment, a local authority must obtain a capacity assessment under…

When care proceedings may conclude with a special guardianship order placing a child permanently with a local authority foster carer, the court must do more…

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, reg 4(2)(a), does not transfer a transferor’s vicarious liability to a third party for…

For Article III rule 6 of the Hague-Visby Rules, a “suit” is substantive proceedings capable of determining the carrier’s liability for cargo loss or damage.…

Procedural fairness in sponsor-licence revocation is context-sensitive. Where the Secretary of State suspects dishonesty or reprehensible conduct, the…

An appellate court will rarely permit a party to advance an unpleaded and materially different case after trial. The court must consider the nature of the new…

A protection or human-rights claim may be certified as clearly unfounded under Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 only where it is bound to fail. The…

A highway authority which positively creates or materially contributes to a highway danger owes road users a duty to take reasonable care. The duty may extend…

Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention requires an assessment focused on the child. In a mental-health case, the court must assess the…

Where a defendant continues a jurisdiction challenge by seeking appellate review, the court should preserve the defendant’s ability to decide whether to submit…

An application for permission to appeal concerning judicial review of court administration succeeds only if a pleaded ground is arguable with a real prospect…

Planning policy is interpreted as a practical whole, in its policy and factual context. It is not construed as a statute or contract. The court distinguishes…

In deciding fairness under section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employment tribunal must assess the dismissal process as a whole, including any…

Sections 2D(3) and 2D(4) of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission Act 1997 confer a judicial-review jurisdiction concerning the setting aside of certified…

A tort claim alleging that a creditor was fraudulently induced to forbear enforcement states an actual loss, rather than a merely reversible exposure to risk…

For family life to exist under Article 8 between adult relatives, there must be additional elements of dependence beyond normal emotional ties. Real, committed…

Estoppel by conduct may prevent a litigant from advancing a position which is clearly inconsistent with one successfully advanced in earlier proceedings. The…

In a small-claims case, the costs-neutral regime is the essential context for applying Civil Procedure Rules rule 27.14(2)(g). The party seeking costs bears…

In proceedings concerning inflicted injury, the court must first seek to identify the perpetrator on the balance of probabilities. A pool finding is a residual…

An out-of-court appointment of administrators by a security holder may be ineffective if the appointor's sole subjective purpose is improper. The…

A director does not, without more, owe a fiduciary duty to prevent a company from trading at a loss or while insolvent. The wrongful-trading regime in section…

A judgment obtained by fraud may be set aside against a party who was not personally dishonest where the fraud is properly attributable to that party.…

A deliberate decision not to progress litigation may amount to Grovit abuse only where its reasons, assessed objectively against the length of the delay, are…

In an international relocation case, the welfare balancing exercise requires the court to evaluate the internal advantages and disadvantages of each realistic…

When directing a retrial in financial-remedy proceedings, the court must give effect to the overriding objective. The first case-management hearing should be…

A return order under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention may be reconsidered only where a fundamental change of circumstances undermines the basis of the…

A section 7 welfare report must address the statutory welfare checklist and comply with the court’s focused directions. A recommendation for a major change in…

A decision-maker who substantively considers and rejects a properly made human rights claim has refused that claim, even if the decision letter asserts that…

An extended family member within Article 3(2) of Directive 2004/38/EC has no EU-law right to enter or reside in the United Kingdom. Residence depends on…

Section 22(3) of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 permits an authority-to-carry scheme to specify a class of persons whenever that is necessary in…

Paragraph 14(f) of the Authority to Carry Scheme 2023 covers a foreign criminal while the Secretary of State is considering matters, including relevant…

An appellate court should be slow to interfere with a specialist tribunal’s case-management decision to permit an amendment where the legal issue is novel…

Under section 3(4) of the Defamation Act 2013, the question whether an opinion could be held by an honest person is an objective one for the court. It is…

A placement order requires a holistic, evidence-based welfare and proportionality assessment. The court must assess the likelihood and consequences of future…

An application under section 24 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 has two stages. The applicant must first show a change in circumstances which, although…

An incorporation term which brings a recognised union’s collective agreements, including later revisions, into individual employment contracts permits…

An appeal against an improvement notice under Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 2004 is a re-hearing of whether the local housing authority’s decision was wrong…

For non-domestic rating purposes, the temporary placement of items in otherwise empty premises is not occupation where its sole aim is to create a reset period…

Where permission to appeal is refused on paper, Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r 52.4(2) gives the applicant a right to request oral reconsideration unless the…

A partnership business connexion for section 29 of the Partnership Act 1890 is a business relationship properly regarded as an asset of the partnership. The…

On an account of profits for patent infringement, factual causation does not establish that all profits were derived from the infringement. The court must…

Where a party relies only on litigation misconduct through non-disclosure, it need not plead a conduct case under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section…

A personal welfare deputyship requires a fact-specific assessment of P’s best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Section 16(4) does not create an…

A statutory regulator does not ordinarily owe a private-law duty of care to a person under investigation merely because its compulsory regulatory steps may…

In a financial-remedy award, the court must account for the differing quality, liquidity and risk of matrimonial assets when applying the sharing principle.…

A tenancy clause providing that any legal notice or other communication arising from the agreement is validly served at the premises can give an address for…

For a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years’ imprisonment, Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, section 117C(6), requires deportation…

Whether a communication acknowledges a claim under section 29(5) of the Limitation Act 1980 is determined objectively. The document must be read as a whole and…

For the purposes of CPR rule 32.10, whether a hearing is a trial depends on its function and the procedural preparation required, rather than on the…

Article 1 of the Convention is primarily territorial. An overseas claimant must show an exceptional jurisdictional link, ordinarily through a state’s effective…

A bank or payment service provider must ordinarily execute a customer’s apparently valid payment instruction. Its duty to exercise reasonable care requires…

A litigant who deliberately deceives an opponent’s solicitor in order to obtain confidential and privileged litigation information, and then seeks to use the…

A mortgagee exclusion in a section 106 agreement is construed objectively, by reference to its language, structure, purpose and commercial consequences. Where…

In an article 8 human-rights appeal, Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 Part 5 defines the tribunal’s jurisdiction. The mandatory public-interest…

An appellate court will not disturb factual findings after an oral trial unless they are plainly wrong: that is, outside the range within which reasonable…

For the purpose of section 193(6)(d) of the Housing Act 1996, accommodation is “made available” only where the authority has discharged its housing function…

The court’s inherent jurisdiction permits committal for contempt to be suspended on appropriate positive conditions. The procedural regime for judgment debtor…

A serious procedural irregularity justifies allowing an appeal against an otherwise correct placement-order decision only where the irregularity caused…

Social and cultural integration requires a holistic assessment of a foreign criminal’s relationships, affiliations and identity at the date of the hearing.…

Fairness in processing personal data is an autonomous, context-sensitive requirement. It involves balancing the interests of the data subject, the controller…

Judicial review of a County Court refusal of permission to appeal is available only exceptionally, where the judicial process itself has been frustrated or…

Trust liabilities properly incurred give trustees a proprietary indemnity which reduces the inheritance tax value of the settled property. Deeming an…

In an Article 3 claim concerning harm by non-state actors, the assessment includes whether there is a real risk that the individual will be unable to access…

Employment provisions requiring repayment of salary in specified circumstances engage the restraint of trade doctrine. Financial disincentives are assessed by…

A public authority has no general common law duty to consult before adopting a measure. Fairness may nevertheless require consultation where identifiable…

In follow-on cartel damages proceedings, binding Commission findings against the defendant may encompass collusive exchanges with a leniency applicant whose…

In a professionally drafted confidentiality agreement, the expression public domain ordinarily bears its established legal meaning unless the contractual…

In care proceedings involving alleged inflicted injuries, medical opinions must be evaluated alongside all other evidence. Inconclusive medical evidence does…

A claimant who obtains the relief sought in compromised judicial review proceedings is ordinarily entitled to costs, but the circumstances may justify a…

For a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years’ imprisonment, deportation requires assessment under the statutory test of very compelling…

An appellate court reviewing an evaluative factual decision must identify a flaw undermining the conclusion rather than reassess the evidence afresh. An…

The Competition Appeal Tribunal has jurisdiction to decide any issue necessary to resolve a competition infringement claim, including logically anterior…

Findings on foreign law attract appellate restraint where an unfamiliar legal system and disputed foreign-language texts require reliance on competing expert…

Under the mortgagees’ interest wording considered, the insured loss was impairment of the mortgagees’ security interest, subject to the contractual limits.…

The general rule that costs follow success remains the starting point even where the successful party has acted dishonestly. Serious misconduct can justify a…

Fiscal neutrality requires similarity to be assessed from the typical consumer’s perspective when applying the supplier condition for the VAT education…

Dishonesty requires the court first to ascertain the defendant’s actual knowledge or belief about the facts and then to assess the conduct by the objective…

Private nuisance requires substantial interference with the ordinary utility and amenity of land, assessed objectively. A location suitable for a sensitive…

The exceptions to the former two-child limit on universal credit were objectively justified. Disregarding adopted children and children in non-parental caring…

Appellate interference with a discretionary case management decision requires legal misdirection, failure to consider relevant matters, consideration of…

Findings about a publication’s meaning and whether it states fact or opinion are factual evaluations. An appellate court must exercise disciplined restraint…

Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, whether requested environmental information is held is determined when the public authority receives the…

A borrower does not stop interest on a secured loan merely by offering to repay or refinance. A valid tender requires the whole sum properly due to be…

An application to extend time after the deadline engages the three-stage Denton v TH White [2014] 1 WLR 795 test, including in contempt proceedings. A serious…

For non-scheduled works authorised by High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act 2017 s.2, deemed planning permission under s.20(1) is unavailable only if all…

Under rule 7.3 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the question is whether multiple claims can be conveniently disposed of in the same proceedings. The assessment…

A discontinuance notice under regulation 8 of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007 is valid where the authority…

On an application under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, the Competition Appeal Tribunal must first decide for itself whether the challenged decision is a subsidy…

Fairness in an alleged abuse involving the distribution of unidentified royalties must be assessed comparatively. The claimant must identify a realistic…

In an appeal concerning revocation of refugee status, statutory presumptions that a person convicted of a particularly serious crime is a danger to the…

At stage 1 of the vicarious liability analysis, the court must preserve the distinction between employment or relationships akin to employment and a true…

A committal appeal cannot ordinarily be used to reopen unappealed injunctions or findings of breach. Where an appellant challenges only the sanction, the…

Ratification of the New York Convention does not, without more, waive a state's adjudicative immunity. Article III must be interpreted as a whole. Its…

In judicial review of a Legal Ombudsman determination, the court must respect the scheme’s inquisitorial and informal nature and the ombudsman’s wide…

Under the Graduate Route, successful completion of the relevant course and sponsor notification to the Home Office by the application date are separate…

Under Competition Act 1998, a price above Cost Plus is not automatically excessive, unlawful or presumed abusive. Cost Plus is a benchmark for identifying an…

Where co-defendants are alleged to be jointly liable for the same breach, the court should not finally determine the breach against one defendant while leaving…

A public authority that licenses or supervises activity by third parties does not ordinarily owe a common-law duty to protect road users from harm caused by a…

An interim care order does not, by itself, justify removing a child from a parent. Interim separation requires a careful and rigorous analysis showing that it…

The discretionary power to proscribe an organisation under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is not confined by a policy which lists non-exhaustive factors.…

An exit charge restricting freedom of establishment is compatible with EU law if payment can be deferred. Where legislation imposes the charge but omits that…

An appellate court should interfere with a trial judge’s costs decision only where it is wrong in principle, takes account of an irrelevant matter, omits a…

The Tour Operators’ Margin Scheme is an exception to the ordinary VAT rules. A business that is not a travel agent or tour operator can use it only where its…

A first-instance judgment in care proceedings need not follow a prescribed style. It is sufficient if, read as a whole, it identifies the issues and legal…

In a sur place asylum claim, a tribunal need not make a separate finding whether a claimant was photographed at a demonstration if that fact cannot be…

On an Article 8 appeal against refusal of family entry clearance, a tribunal must give reasons that are logically consistent with its factual findings. Where…

A director’s duty to account for profits is not defeated because the company could not have exploited the opportunity, was insolvent, or would have permitted…

For premises to qualify as a self-contained part of a building under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, there must be an actual physical vertical…

In an unfair-prejudice petition under the Companies Act 2006, a contractual right to nominate someone to a company board may, in context, confer a right to…

An agreement between solicitor and client is a contentious business agreement only if it is sufficiently certain as to the solicitor’s remuneration. The 1990…

The Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a preliminary Court of Appeal decision where permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal was not…

A general or “target” statutory duty is not automatically a mandatory relevant consideration for every public-law decision. It becomes one only where the…

Applications for leave to oppose adoption involve two stages. First, the court asks whether there has been a relevant change of circumstances sufficient to…

Likelihood of confusion in trade mark infringement is a global assessment, not an algorithm. A common element with low distinctiveness, particularly a…

Exact compliance with tenancy-deposit prescribed information is not invariably required. Information may satisfy the Housing Act 2004 if, read in context by a…

Reporting restrictions under section 4(2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 are exceptional derogations from open justice. They require clear justification…

Where a party’s pleaded case is that repayment automatically extinguished the claimant’s loss, it cannot introduce at closing a different case based on the…

In a second appeal, permission requires a real prospect of success and an important point of principle or practice not already established, unless there is…

For a directive provision to support a damages claim, it must be intended to confer rights on individuals, its content must be identifiable because it is…

The transitional arrangements in a discretionary-leave policy must be read as a whole and in light of their protective purpose. A person granted discretionary…

A voyage charterparty clause allowing owners to refuse an order that would expose them to sanctions may be triggered by a reasonable judgment that compliance…

Appellate review of a contempt sentence is narrow. The Court of Appeal should intervene only for an error of principle, a material omission or immaterial…

Where a regulator brings disciplinary proceedings before the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal, its regulatory role may justify a costs approach different from…

An application to extend time for appealing is governed by the three-stage relief-from-sanctions approach. The court assesses the seriousness and significance…

For a medical Article 3 claim resisting deportation, serious illness and a real risk of serious, rapid and irreversible deterioration are insufficient alone.…

Court of Protection proceedings remain private by default even where a hearing is directed to take place in public under the Court of Protection Rules 2017. A…

Where applications for care and placement orders are before the court, the welfare analysis is governed by section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The…

Steps concerning the assessment, allocation or offer of social housing under Part 6 of the Housing Act 1996 are taken under Part 6, not Part 7. They cannot…

A court deciding whether to grant a case management stay may impose a condition removing a term which it has summarily found inconsistent with RAND…

In a financial-remedy appeal, the death of the appellant does not permit the court to proceed as if the estate were represented. An estate has no legal…

Jurisdiction to hear a defamation claim concerning foreign publication is distinct from entitlement to recover damages for foreign harm. A claim for foreign…

For protection under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 to be excluded by section 28, the landlord and tenant must have a binding and mutually…

For anti-suit relief on vexatious or oppressive grounds, an English court’s sufficient interest is not a free-standing factor to be balanced against comity. It…

Under s.25(3)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, an application to register the prescribed particulars of a licence is a precondition to the protections in ss.30…

The court retains an inherent power to make a further order requiring examination where an order under CPR Part 71 was validly served within the jurisdiction…

In a stage 2 equal-value hearing under the Equality Act 2010, “work” is the work required by the wage/work bargain. The analysis is not confined to a worker’s…

A preliminary-issues trial may proceed on a hybrid basis, with some facts assumed and others determined, but only if the approach remains fair, workable and…

Where alleged contempt is committed in the face of a Crown Court, the court may use its summary common-law power when immediate action is necessary. Otherwise…

On a welfare appeal, an appellate court will intervene only where the first-instance evaluation was wrong in the sense that the decision was not reasonably…

For an implementer’s contractual RAND claim concerning standard-essential patents, the claim may relate wholly to property within the jurisdiction even where…

Prospective adopters owe the court a continuing duty of full and frank disclosure about their circumstances until the adoption order is made. The duty is…

Under the Immigration Rules (HC 395 as amended), an application to switch from Student to Skilled Worker may be rejected as invalid without consideration of…

In sentencing for contempt of court, the court must assess culpability and whether the custody threshold is crossed, impose the least term reflecting…

A restriction by object under section 2 of the Competition Act 1998 must reveal a sufficient degree of harm to competition. The inquiry is strict and requires…

For consumer jurisdiction under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, a contractual variation creates a newly concluded contract only where it is…

Under section 12(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998, the ordinary threshold for an interim order restraining publication is that the applicant is more likely than…

Under section 31(1) of the Highways Act 1981, public use of a way as of right must be assessed objectively over the relevant 20-year period. The question is…

Where a planning policy expressly requires alternative sites to be considered, their availability is a legally mandatory material consideration. The authority…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal should not re-try findings of fact, expert evaluation or foreign law. Absent a compelling…

In child-abduction proceedings, a child’s objections to return must be taken into account but are not determinative. The court must balance their nature and…

Reopening a refusal of permission to appeal is an exceptional jurisdiction. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 52.30, the applicant must show that the…

Section 21A of the Housing Act 1988 prevents service of a section 21 notice while the landlord is in breach of a prescribed gas-safety requirement. Regulation…

In construing a parent-company guarantee, the court must read the instrument objectively as a whole and against its commercial background. A liquidator’s…

A domicile of choice is lost only when a person both ceases to reside in the country and ceases to intend to reside there permanently or indefinitely. The…

The residential occupier exception applies where a party occupies, or genuinely intends to occupy, a dwelling as a residence. Intention is assessed at contract…

In contractual causation, a voluntary intervention by a third-party fraudster will normally break the chain where it makes the breach merely an opportunity for…

In parallel immigration and family-court proceedings, an immigration tribunal must decide whether Article 8 requires an individual to remain in the United…

In disciplinary proceedings under the SRA’s regulatory scheme, a breach of a legal or regulatory obligation does not automatically breach Principle 7 or…

Abuse of process requires a broad, merits-based assessment of all the circumstances. The fact that a claim could have been brought in earlier proceedings does…

For Article 3, beyond reasonable doubt applies to the facts, not to the legal assessment whether treatment reaches the minimum level of severity. Removal from…

An amendment must present a coherent, self-contained and sufficiently particularised case with a real prospect of success. In a breach of confidence claim, the…

In an individual cessation case, the Secretary of State bears the burden of showing that the circumstances supporting the original grant of refugee status have…

A certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development may be revoked only where a materially false statement or document was used, or material information…

Coronial causation requires proof on the balance of probabilities that the relevant event or conduct made an actual and material contribution to death, more…

Consent under the General Data Protection Regulation and Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 is assessed objectively. The…

Article 12(5) of a double taxation treaty is an anti-abuse provision. The words “to take advantage of” do not mean merely obtaining the benefit of Article…

Whether treatment amounts to persecution is an intensely fact-sensitive question. The tribunal must assess accepted events as a whole, applying the seriousness…

Section 70C of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 may apply where a planning application is prospective, or where an enforcement notice has already been…

Where primary legislation defines a term and subordinate legislation uses it, the defined meaning applies unless a contrary intention appears. Civil contempt…

Where related agreements contain competing arbitration and jurisdiction clauses, the court should adopt a broad, purposive and commercially minded…

In contempt proceedings, a court may proceed in the defendant’s absence, or sentence in absence, where the defendant knows of the right to legal…

For PAYE purposes, a payment is earnings only if the payment itself is remuneration or a reward for employment. A company contribution to an employee benefit…

In an asylum appeal, failure to put a proposition expressly in cross-examination does not amount to a concession where the appellant already had clear notice…

A judgment debt is not discharged by a third party’s payment unless the third party pays as agent for, or on account of, the debtor. Where an enforcement agent…

In a Category A prison review, the decision-maker must assess the risk to the public if the prisoner escapes and is unlawfully at large. Downgrading requires…

Battery does not require hostile intent. The relevant questions are whether intentional force was applied without consent, outside ordinary acceptable contact…

In a follow-on cartel damages claim, uncertainty does not justify a claimant-favouring or defendant-favouring bias. The court must use sound imagination and a…

On an appeal against findings of fact, the Court of Appeal intervenes only where the decision is plainly wrong, rationally insupportable, or affected by an…

In determining defamatory meaning, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical reasonable reader, reading the…

At the summary-judgment stage, judgment should be refused where the material discloses triable legal and factual issues and it cannot be said that a fair trial…

An external statutory appeal initiated by an appellant’s notice is brought when the originating process is delivered to the court office within the statutory…

In immigration appeals, the parties must identify the principal controversial issues for the First-tier Tribunal. The tribunal must decide the identified…

In the context of reserved legal activities, conduct of litigation identifies the litigation tasks, while carry on refers to directing, controlling and taking…

In proceedings concerning children, the general practice is to make no order as to costs. The discretion under the Family Proceedings Rules 2010 is broad, but…

In civil committal proceedings, a defendant who wants legal representation must receive an accurate explanation of that right and a reasonable opportunity to…

A payment is consideration for VAT purposes where, under the relevant legal arrangements, it is provided in return for identifiable services. The payer need…

A court order must be obeyed unless and until it is set aside, stayed or discharged, even if the respondent contends that it was made without jurisdiction. The…

Section 57(4) requires a counter-factual inquiry. The development enforced against must be treated as not having occurred, and the decision-maker must identify…

Valid service of an improvement notice does not create deemed knowledge of it. Actual non-receipt may support a reasonable-excuse defence under section 30(4)…

The amended rule 37(5) of the Employment Appeal Tribunal Rules 1993 applies to pending appeals, including appeals instituted before the amendment took effect.…

When children are to be placed for adoption and future direct contact with a parent is accepted to benefit their welfare, the court must make a child-specific…

In a share sale agreement with a fixed completion date and place, delivery and payment are presumed to be concurrent conditions. The parties may agree…

A judge is not confined to the claimant’s pleaded case. The judge must decide the issues raised by the parties and will generally be unable to rely on a basis…

Under section 72 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, assessing whether a person convicted of a particularly serious crime constitutes a danger…

Rights to recover money or property under sections 26(2)(a) and 27(2)(a) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 are directed to the contractual…

For the purposes of the Children Act 1989, a child’s father is the genetic or biological father, unless legislation expressly provides otherwise. Registration…

Under section 191(1) of the Housing Act 1996, availability and reasonableness are generally assessed when the applicant ceased to occupy the accommodation. The…

Where no secure accommodation placement is actually available, the statutory secure-accommodation regime does not provide an alternative remedy for the…

Judicial review of a public body’s financial decision concerns lawfulness, not whether the decision was best. Irrationality may arise because the outcome lies…

In financial remedy proceedings, deliberate non-disclosure of a known prospective gift is material where proper disclosure could have produced a substantially…

Seeking anti-suit or anti-anti-suit relief in a foreign court will only exceptionally amount to criminal contempt in England and Wales. Criminal contempt…

An implied administrative power under the Immigration Act 1971 permits the Secretary of State to withdraw a favourable grant of leave communicated by an…

Planning permissions and their conditions are construed objectively, by asking what a reasonable reader would understand from the words read in context and…

For Part I of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987, “building” does not extend to a “building scheme” merely because separate structures form one development.…

In children proceedings, a costs order remains unusual. It is justified only where a party has behaved reprehensibly or adopted a stance beyond the range of…

Under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court must make its own assessment of whether an injunction is appropriate to restrain a…

Section 68(4) of the Arbitration Act 1996 makes the first-instance court the sole gatekeeper for permission to appeal from a decision under section 68. Whether…

For direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, the tribunal must identify the factual reason why for less favourable treatment. A protected belief may…

A local authority may make some traffic regulation orders while other proposed orders are being modified, provided that course is not legally or irrationally…

An alleged defect in an expert’s qualifications does not automatically invalidate a care decision. The appellate question is whether there was a serious…

Rule 14(b) of the Collision Regulations does not impose fixed 3° or 6° geometric limits derived from the technical lighting provisions. The expressions “nearly…

For corporation tax, a statutory direction to calculate an LLP’s profits as if its trade were carried on by a UK-resident company requires the hypothetical…

For an appeal from the High Court to the Court of Appeal under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.289(6), the permission test is the ordinary first-appeal…

In proceedings for breach of an anti-car-cruising injunction, passenger status does not prevent a finding of participation. The passenger’s presence in another…

In a deportation appeal by a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years, the very compelling circumstances assessment under the Nationality, Immigration…

In care proceedings, the Court of Appeal will not rehear evidence or interfere with a first-instance perpetrator finding unless there is a very clear…

For negligence claims involving latent damage, actual knowledge requires awareness of the material damage and its attribution to the defendant’s alleged act or…

Water Industry Act 1991 section 18(8) excludes a remedy where the contravention of an appointment condition is an essential ingredient of the claim. The…

In deciding whether disclosure should be confined to an external-eyes-only confidentiality ring, the court must balance the receiving party’s fullest possible…

Applications to extend time for judicial review or an appeal must be assessed rigorously by considering the seriousness and significance of the default, its…

Where a Part 36 offer in an ex-Protocol claim is accepted after the relevant period, rule 36.20 governs the costs consequences if the claim remained within…

An appellate court should not determine an appeal where intervening events have removed any substantive dispute and no order would confer practical benefit. An…

For limitation purposes, an action is brought when the claim form is first delivered to the court office with a request for issue. That remains so where the…

Habeas corpus protects against detention without lawful authority, but it is not available for every restriction on liberty. A claimant must show actual…

For an adult lacking capacity, decisions about care and treatment, including withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment on clinical grounds, must be…

For Exception 1 under section 117C(4)(a) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, residence under leave obtained through a criminal deception is…

In challenges under article 14 to a neutral tax measure, the court must objectively and reasonably justify the absence of an exemption for persons in…

In collective proceedings, the CAT has broad supervisory discretion over class-representative suitability and litigation funding. It may defer detailed…

By a majority, regulation 8 of the Water (Meters) Regulations 1988 establishes a comprehensive code for proving the volume of water supplied by reference to a…

A solicitor’s signature on a bill of costs implicitly certifies compliance with the indemnity principle. The separate express certificate required by paragraph…

In a protection appeal, a global credibility assessment must not obscure the factual findings required on the core elements said to establish risk on return.…

In a patent appeal, obviousness is a multi-factorial assessment and appellate intervention is confined to an error of law or principle. The appellate court…

A party challenging an expert determination for manifest error must show more than a wrong or arguable contractual interpretation. Unless the contract provides…

Risk-on-return appeals under Articles 2 and 3 require an individual assessment of whether the person faces a real risk of unlawful killing or inhuman or…

A tribunal guidance note on children, vulnerable adults and sensitive witnesses does not create free-standing legal obligations. Failure to follow a…

An arbitration agreement must contemplate an award that will become final and binding. Party autonomy permits agreed appellate or review mechanisms, but it…

A regulator’s policy guidance is unlawful for error of law only where the guidance directs, permits or encourages conduct contrary to a legal duty, or, when…

The court has an inherent common law power to grant an injunction against a litigant to protect the integrity of its own process and proceedings in the…

Patent claims are construed purposively in context, but purpose cannot override the language chosen. A requirement that weld portions extend away from a…

In contempt proceedings arising from deliberately false statements and fabricated evidence, the Court of Appeal may intervene on sentence where it was wrong in…

At common law, presence in England and Wales at the time of service is a substantive jurisdictional requirement grounded in territoriality. Compliance with the…

For limitation purposes, time begins when the claimant discovers fraud, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it, under Limitation Act 1980…

Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 imposes a process duty. A claimant must identify the decision or exercise of functions said to…

Unless orders must be construed restrictively because their sanctions operate automatically and may deprive a party of its defence. The order must clearly…

In an appeal against family findings of fact, the Court of Appeal should intervene only where the conclusion is plainly wrong, unsupported by evidence, based…

A term in a collectively negotiated employment policy is contractual only if, viewed objectively and in context, it is apt for incorporation. Relevant indicia…

In judicial review costs disputes resolved by consent, the court should first identify whether the claimant obtained the substance of the remedy sought. A…

For purposes of the Housing Act 1988, rent has the established meaning given under the Rent Acts. Goods or services count only where the parties have…

An uncompleted, specifically enforceable contract for the sale of land can confer a beneficial interest on the purchaser as between the contracting parties…

A signed reconciliation document may constitute a binding agreement on liability and quantum even where further discussions concern payment arrangements.…

A regulator’s appeal against a professional tribunal’s sanction is a review, not a rehearing. Even in cases involving sexual misconduct or racist behaviour…

After expiry of limitation, substitution under the second gateway is available only where the existing and proposed claims are the same in substance and the…

A placement order should be made only where dispensing with parental consent is required by the child’s welfare, importing an imperative standard of necessity…

Under section 96(3) of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, whether a dispute is subject to mandatory arbitration depends on how the Part III provision…

Where parties execute successive reinsurance documents containing different dispute-resolution provisions, a clause giving the earlier document precedence in…

An unless order must identify the required step with sufficient precision, particularly where non-compliance automatically triggers striking out. A litigant in…

For the purposes of Part 5 of the electronic communications code, an operator may be a “party to a code agreement” even where an assignment has transferred…

A transferee of standard-form mortgage contracts may continue to use the inherited standard variable mortgage rate and vary it under the contractual power. An…

When an application to appeal is late, the court must weigh the merits and wider public interest against the seriousness and consequences of the delay.…

Relief from sanctions after breach of an unless order requires the three-stage inquiry established in Denton: seriousness and significance, the reason for…

In judicial review, a company must establish a sufficient interest through a direct effect, a genuine representative role, or an appropriate public-interest…

For conduct committed after the end of the transition period, the Withdrawal Agreement permits residence restrictions under national legislation. Chapter VI of…

The appropriate venue for a media and communications claim depends principally on its value, factual and legal complexity, the need for specialist judges, and…

For an appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the time limit and documentary requirements operate together. The distinction between a wholly late appeal and…

Where HMRC refuses an input-tax deduction because requested VAT invoices have not been produced, an appeal against the exercise of the discretion under…

The police vetting test is distinct from misconduct proceedings. A finding of “no case to answer” or that misconduct was not proved on the balance of…

There is no presumption that an application for a third-party costs order must be determined before, or in tandem with, detailed assessment. The sequence is a…

For Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014, whether a child is in a local authority’s area is generally determined by ordinary residence, not physical…

Where a London borough has implemented proposals in an approved local implementation plan, section 151(1)(a) of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 imposes…

Regulation 153 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 permits continued contributory ESA during a temporary absence abroad only where the…

For TUPE, economic activity has the same meaning as in EU competition law because both regimes regulate aspects of the single market. It means offering goods…

For income-related employment and support allowance, “work” and “income” are not confined to lawful activity or lawfully acquired receipts. An activity capable…

For statutory service-charge controls, a “dwelling” under section 38 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 may comprise premises let for mixed residential and…

A Court of Appeal may set aside a Hague return order by consent under CPR PD52A 6.4 where it is satisfied that there are good and sufficient reasons, without…

Where legislation requires an appeal within a specified period but permits the tribunal to grant permission out of time, the Upper Tribunal may give the…

A claimant’s 90:10 Part 36 offer limited to liability may be a genuine compromise and may engage Civil Procedure Rules rule 36.17. The absence of a monetary…

Article 6(1) applies only where proceedings determine a genuine and serious dispute about the existence or scope of a civil right, or an arguable domestic-law…

Section 121 of the Equality Act 2010 imposes a prior-service-complaint condition on Employment Tribunal jurisdiction. Its text is not itself incompatible with…

Advertising rights are separate rating hereditaments where the right to use land for exhibiting advertisements has been let out or reserved to someone other…

For worker status under the Employment Rights Act 1996, the question is whether the individual works under a contract personally to perform services for…

For a co-operative society to obtain the HMO licensing exemption under paragraph 2B(2)(b) of Schedule 14 to the Housing Act 2004, its rules must secure that…

Section 41(5) of the Arbitration Act 1996 permits a tribunal to make a peremptory order following non-compliance with any order or direction within its powers.…

Civil Procedure Rules 1998 case-management powers concern the individual case before the court. They do not ordinarily authorise a judge in one case to make…

In a professional-negligence claim, damages are limited to losses falling within the risks addressed by the defendant’s duty. Where solicitors were retained to…