High Court: Administrative Court judgments, 2008

In a planning decision affecting Convention rights, Article 8 must inform the assessment of material considerations as an integral part of the planning merits.…

The identification of a planning unit is a question of fact and degree for the primary decision-maker. A site may remain one planning unit where land…

An application by a vexatious litigant under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 and an application for judicial review permission may be dealt with…

A tribunal application made under section 70 of the Mental Health Act 1983 does not remain effective when the patient ceases to be a restricted patient. The…

On an interlocutory application to vary a restraint order, the court applies the good arguable case test. The relevant question is whether there is a good…

A manifesto promise does not create a legally enforceable legitimate expectation merely because a newly elected administration records that the manifesto was…

In judicial review of a planning permission, a planning authority must take material considerations into account, but the court will not infer that it failed…

On an application for a certificate of inadequacy, the defendant must prove on the balance of probabilities that his realisable property as a whole is…

A detention policy for foreign national prisoners must comply with the individualised requirements of paragraph 2 of Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971.…

In control-order proceedings, findings made in earlier proceedings between the same parties are not binding where the issues and statutory provisions differ.…

Persons detained in facilities controlled by British forces may fall within the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction under article 1 of the Convention even where…

For the supported-housing exemption, whether care, support or supervision is provided “on behalf of” an accommodation provider is fact-sensitive. Relevant…

The statutory bar on investigating personnel matters prevents the Health Service Commissioner from investigating a procedure concerned with professional…

In disclosure proceedings, the court may resolve outstanding issues incrementally where the relevance and confidentiality of material require further…

The disability equality duty requires public authorities to give informed and timely consideration to the statutory needs. It requires consideration rather…

A discretionary immigration policy must be applied according to its stated eligibility criteria. A residual discretion to depart from the policy is reserved…

On an appeal against a professional disciplinary sanction, the court should accord particular respect to the specialist tribunal’s assessment, especially where…

Article 8 will rarely justify refusing extradition that is otherwise lawful. The relevant threshold is whether the individual circumstances, considered both…

A non-statutory policy governing work permits must be applied with reasonable flexibility, but significant non-compliance may justify revocation. A policy…

Article 12 of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons 1983 permits the administering state to consider a pardon in accordance with its own…

In a planning judicial review, a case officer need not report every internal difference of professional opinion. The report must identify the material planning…

EU Treaty rights do not give a third-country national an immigration right merely because he or she is connected with a company incorporated in a Member State.…

A judicial review claim may be dismissed where subsequent events make the relief sought academic and the claimant can no longer benefit from the challenged…

An extension of an interim suspension order under paragraph 31 of the Health Professions Order 2001 is determined by the criteria applicable to the original…

The court may extend an interim order imposed under section 41A of the Medical Act 1983 where the statutory requirements are met and continuation is necessary…

Green Belt boundaries are intended to be permanent. Under PPG2, an established boundary may be changed only where exceptional circumstances make the change…

A renewed application for permission to seek judicial review must be filed promptly. Where no good reason explains delay, permission may be refused without…

Statutory procedures for making a traffic regulation order require adequate publicity to persons likely to be affected, including an affected landowner. An…

A compulsory purchase order may be confirmed where there is a compelling case in the public interest, the acquisition is reasonably necessary, and the…

A challenge under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 288 is concerned with legal error in the challenged planning decision. It is not an opportunity…

A planning decision may be quashed where the decision-maker fails to have regard to a material consideration or adopts a legally flawed approach to a…

A prolonged refusal to permit employment may interfere with an asylum seeker’s right to respect for private life under Article 8 ECHR, particularly where the…

Fresh representations amount to a fresh asylum claim where they disclose a material change of circumstances and a realistic prospect that an immigration judge…

For an offence under section 1 of the Trade Descriptions Act 1968, the court must examine the description actually alleged and proved. An unspecific…

On judicial review of a permanent exclusion, an appeal panel’s decision is unlawful only if it adopts an irrational approach, takes irrelevant matters into…

Under Immigration Rule 353, the decision-maker must first ask whether the further submissions are significantly different from the material previously…

When assessing whether very special circumstances justify inappropriate development in the Green Belt, the decision-maker must undertake a qualitative…

At the permission stage, a regulator may treat a novel scientific process as falling within an existing statutory scheme where that construction best gives…

A challenge to an inquest verdict brought more than seven years after the event requires truly exceptional circumstances. A wholly new and highly significant…

In an appeal under section 289 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, an inspector’s conclusions on whether an unusual building is a dwellinghouse, and…

In reviewing the continued detention of a discretionary life prisoner, the relevant question is whether detention remains necessary to protect the public from…

When considering temporary planning permission for a gypsy or traveller site, an inspector must assess whether there is a reasonable expectation that suitable…

Judicial review of a planning appeal is confined to legal error or irrationality in the planning judgment. It is not an opportunity to challenge the planning…

A decision consenting to further proceedings against a person already surrendered under the Extradition Act 2003 is not appealable under section 26. The Act’s…

In possession proceedings concerning local-authority caravan sites, the public-law defence is not confined to cases where it is seriously arguable that the…

Article 5(4) requires a speedy and properly informed review of the continuing detention of an IPP prisoner at or shortly after tariff expiry. The Secretary of…

An SSSI may lawfully include land and geological exposures whose maintenance depends on continuing natural processes. Conservation is a dynamic concept. It may…

Judicial review of a criminal costs assessment is exceptional. Permission should not be granted merely because a party disagrees with the amount allowed. The…

Judicial review of a Crown Court decision refusing or withdrawing bail is available only within a narrow scope and should be exercised sparingly. The court…

Damages for unlawful detention are assessed by reference to comparable awards and the need for proportionality with damages in personal injury cases.…

On an appeal under section 40 of the Medical Act 1983, the High Court conducts a review within its appellate jurisdiction and may correct material errors of…

An inquest need not provide every factual question proposed by a family, provided the verdict and questions enable the jury to express conclusions on how, when…

The prosecution must prove every essential element of an offence to the criminal standard by admissible evidence. A defendant’s silence cannot establish an…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the decision-maker must determine whether further submissions are significantly different and, if so, whether…

A planning decision may be challenged where the officer’s report significantly misleads the committee about a material matter and the error remains uncorrected…

In a planning decision engaging Convention rights, Article 8 need not be considered through a separate, rigid proportionality exercise. The decision-maker must…

The licensing objective of preventing crime is not confined to conduct causing disorder. The words “crime and disorder” may operate disjunctively. An offence…

Under section 14 of the Extradition Act 2003, passage of time bars extradition only where returning the person would be unjust or oppressive by reason of that…

Section 402 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 empowered the Financial Services Authority to institute proceedings for insider-dealing offences…

Use which is insufficient to establish deemed dedication under section 31 of the Highways Act 1980 may nevertheless contribute to establishing dedication at…

On an appeal under regulation 32 of the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993, the High Court determines questions of law only.…

Where administrative removal is pursued for breach of a condition of limited leave, the resulting immigration decision falls under Nationality, Immigration and…

For a certificate that an asylum or human-rights claim is clearly unfounded to stand, the reviewing court must ask whether the claim could succeed on any…

The statutory scheme permits council tax to be demanded prospectively, despite liability being determined on a daily basis. Regulations made under the enabling…

In a challenge to a planning inspector’s decision, matters of planning judgment, including the weight given to material considerations, are for the inspector.…

The statutory procedure for an alternative local-government proposal imposed a duty on the Boundary Committee to consult. Consultation required an early and…

A local authority assessing a young person’s age must make its own decision on adequate information and give sound and cogent reasons if it declines to follow…

On an appeal by way of rehearing from a professional disciplinary tribunal, the High Court must decide whether the tribunal was wrong while giving appropriate…

An EAW must contain evidence of the enforceable domestic judgment, arrest warrant or equivalent decision on which it is based. It need not identify earlier…

A later consideration of paragraph 395C of the Immigration Rules does not, without more, create a fresh immigration decision or a new right of appeal.…

Where legislation preserves subordinate legislation after repeal, it may also preserve the procedural mechanism necessary to prove that legislation, if that…

An abatement notice may, after the full hearing of an appeal, be varied so as to substitute or add the person responsible for the nuisance, provided procedural…

Under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003, the appropriate judge and the High Court have no jurisdiction, after surrender, to supervise how an extradited person…

Under section 82 of the Extradition Act 2003, delay caused by a requested person’s flight, concealment or evasion will ordinarily not make extradition unjust…

The Local Government Ombudsman has a statutory power, rather than a duty, to investigate maladministration complaints. Where the complainant has a right of…

In a challenge under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court held that guidance for deciding hazardous substances consent applications could not be read…

A Pensions Appeal Tribunal is a statutory tribunal with no inherent jurisdiction. An appeal must be brought within the primary statutory period, subject only…

A conflict of interest in inquest representation may arise where witnesses give materially conflicting accounts on an important issue and a lawyer cannot act…

Judicial review is not ordinarily an appropriate means of determining disputed facts about excessive seizure during the execution of a search warrant. Such…

Article 6.1 applies throughout enforcement proceedings for a confiscation order, including enforcement by civil means, because those proceedings form part of…

For a breach of supervision requirements under a detention and training order, the statutory maximum for a return to detention is the remainder of the order…

A European arrest warrant must contain particulars of the circumstances of the alleged offence. Those particulars must identify the alleged conduct, the time…

For the purpose of establishing immunity from planning enforcement, the relevant use must continue for the statutory period without interruption by a material…

On a section 40 appeal, the High Court conducts a rehearing but gives appropriate respect to a professional tribunal’s findings, particularly where credibility…

A Sexual Offences Prevention Order authorises only the prohibitions expressly contained in it. Restrictions on a person’s liberty cannot be imposed by…

Apparent bias is assessed by asking whether a fair-minded and informed observer, having regard to all the circumstances, would conclude that there was a real…

When a development plan protects land for a potential future use, refusal of planning permission need not depend on proof that the use is more probable than…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions constitute a fresh claim only if their content has not already been considered and, taken…

A local authority deciding whether support is barred by Schedule 3 to the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 must decide whether its proposed course…

An appellate court should interfere with a magistrates’ decision to adjourn a criminal trial only on very clear grounds. The decision is a discretionary one.…

Judicial review of prosecutorial decisions within an ongoing criminal prosecution is exceptional. The court should intervene only where there is a compelling…

Under section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the Secretary of State must be satisfied, on reports from at least two registered medical practitioners, that…

In deciding whether information may be included in an enhanced criminal record certificate, the chief officer must ask whether it might be true and might be…

When assessing a further submission as a fresh claim under Immigration Rules rule 353, the decision-maker must consider whether the material is significantly…

In a challenge to a listed-building appeal decision, an inspector is entitled to use specialist planning expertise and make informed value judgments. The court…

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator has substantial discretion in deciding how to investigate and determine a student complaint. Its task is defined by…

On a restricted road, the statutory 30 miles per hour limit arises from the combination of Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, sections 81 and 82, where the…

On an appeal from a professional disciplinary tribunal, fresh evidence is admissible only where the established criteria for receiving evidence on appeal are…

Procedural fairness under Article 6(1) ECHR does not require a minimum standard of disclosure where closed material cannot safely be disclosed. The relevant…

There is no automatic obligation to retain CCTV evidence in every case where it might record a statutory warning. The duty to retain and disclose depends on…

Directive 91/414/EEC requires pesticide authorisation systems to protect all persons exposed to pesticides, including residents and bystanders. The prohibition…

For prisoners serving imprisonment for public protection, the statutory release test is the same as that applying to life prisoners. The Parole Board must be…

A court deciding whether to grant publicly funded legal representation must address the statutory interests-of-justice criteria on the facts. Where an…

Compensation for miscarriage of justice should be assessed by analogy with clear and applicable principles governing civil damages, particularly false…

Search-warrant powers under section 20C of the Taxes Management Act 1970 are highly intrusive. “Reasonable ground to suspect” is an objective…

On an application for judicial review of a refusal to treat further representations as a fresh claim, the court’s function is supervisory rather than…

A planning authority must properly consider material effects of a proposed development on adjoining development and must give its committee sufficient…

In a challenge under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 288, the court may admit fresh evidence in exceptional circumstances where a material planning…

On an appeal from a fitness to practise decision, the court must respect the specialist judgment of the panel but must intervene where the panel’s decision is…

Where an immigration decision carries a statutory appeal, judicial review will ordinarily be refused, even where the claimant identifies exceptional personal…

Where an immigration appeal concerns a specific application for indefinite leave to remain and is allowed without limiting directions, the decision will…

An appeal from a Valuation Tribunal to the High Court under the Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals Regulations 1989 lies on a point of law only. A…

A road may be a highway without having any particular width. Evidence of longstanding public use without hindrance, coupled with treatment as a highway by…

An anti-social behaviour order condition must be clear, necessary and proportionate. A prohibition on wearing a hooded garment may satisfy those requirements…

On a review of a premises licence involving criminal activity connected with licensed premises, the licensing authority must consider the guidance directed…

An EAW must provide particulars of the alleged conduct, time and place sufficient to inform the requested person why surrender is sought. The required detail…

Category A security reviews must be conducted rationally and in accordance with the governing prison policy. The decision-maker must consider material evidence…

The Law Society may use its investigative production powers where it has substantial and proper grounds for investigating suspected professional misconduct or…

A professional disciplinary complaint based on a conviction is distinct from a complaint alleging the underlying conduct where the applicable rules make the…

The setting of full-cost court fees for public law family proceedings is not irrational merely because it may influence case preparation or resource…

An appeal from a Valuation Tribunal lies to the High Court only on a question of law. The High Court must not rehear the facts or substitute its own assessment…

A temporary planning permission may be justified where unmet need exists and there is a reasonable expectation that suitable alternative sites will become…

Failure to comply with a statutory requirement expressed in mandatory terms does not automatically invalidate the resulting act. The court must examine the…

A licensing authority exercising its discretion to license hackney carriages must consider whether the vehicle will ply for hire in its area and whether it…

The requirement to serve a business-rates demand notice as soon as practicable is not automatically absolute. The Magistrates' Court must assess substantial…

An adjustment to existing home-to-school transport does not become an auxiliary aid or service merely because it requires separate arrangements for one…

On an appeal from a Care Standards Tribunal decision concerning a prohibition direction, the Tribunal must exercise its own judgment on whether the direction…

An appellate court will not interfere where a tribunal has carefully assessed the evidence, considered material improvements and reached reasoned conclusions…

For the purposes of paragraph 2A of Schedule 7 to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987, the earliest date on which a transferred prisoner could have…

A licence issued on the release of a prisoner under statutory authority may be admissible in criminal breach proceedings as evidence of its contents. The…

Refusal of naturalisation does not engage a right to British citizenship or, ordinarily, a right to a fair trial under article 6. It may nevertheless engage…

Conduct that begins as a legitimate inquiry may become harassment through the manner and persistence of its pursuit. Repeated unwanted telephone calls…

For a fresh claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the Secretary of State must consider the new material with the material previously considered.…

Section 4 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 does not confer a right of appeal to the Crown Court against a magistrates’ court decision varying or discharging…

Where an extradition order has been challenged by the statutory appeal route, Extradition Act 2003, section 34 excludes a collateral challenge by habeas…

An application made after the expiry of existing student leave cannot succeed under the Immigration Rules. The Secretary of State is not generally required to…

For an extradition warrant to comply with section 2(4)(c) of the Extradition Act 2003, it must identify the alleged conduct, time, place and relevant…

A lower court must follow a binding domestic precedent on the scope of a Convention right, even where later Strasbourg reasoning appears wider, unless the case…

A local authority may provide accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 by arranging for a child to remain with an existing temporary carer. A…

A later judicial decision changing the understood legal position does not, by itself, justify extending time to challenge an earlier decision made on the basis…

A schools adjudicator exercises an original jurisdiction when determining an objection to admission arrangements and must decide the objection on its merits.…

Under Rule 4(5), a complaint outside the five-year period may proceed only where the circumstances are genuinely exceptional and proceeding is in the public…

Eligibility criteria for continuing NHS healthcare must be read as a whole and in the context of applicable supplementary guidance. Criteria are lawful where…

Under rule 353 of HC 395, further submissions constitute a fresh claim only where they contain material not previously considered and, taken with the earlier…

The statutory duty was to take such steps as the Secretary of State considered necessary to implement the whole strategy, including efforts to meet its…

Where a public educational decision has been made using criteria which may not have been properly communicated or applied, the Administrative Court may quash…

Where foreign proceedings are capable of resolving issues concerning disclosure of potentially exculpatory material, the English court may stay related…

For an application under section 77 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the applicant must show that the property is realisable property. A previous judicial…

For a racially aggravated offence, the prosecution may rely on either or both limbs of section 28(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Section 28(1)(a)…

An anti-social behaviour order should not be made where mental incapacity means that the defendant cannot understand its meaning or comply with its terms. In…

A public authority may adopt a policy to allocate scarce parking permits, but it must retain a genuine discretion to consider exceptional cases. The policy…

On a section 40 appeal, the High Court may quash a Fitness to Practise Panel’s decision where there is a material error of law or fact. The court must give…

A certificate that an asylum claim is clearly unfounded is lawful only where the claim cannot succeed on any legitimate view. The assessment is objective and…

A European arrest warrant must contain the mandatory statements and information required by section 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. The court may examine the…

A person unlawfully present in the United Kingdom may receive accommodation under National Assistance Act 1948, section 21 only where three conditions are met…

Under section 55(3) of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1976, a licensing condition must regulate the licence holder’s conduct by imposing a…

Applicants affected by an earlier unlawful asylum policy have no automatic right to immediate consideration or grant of indefinite leave to remain. The earlier…

A human rights claim is a claim made to the Secretary of State. A previous human rights case raised only in an appeal to the Tribunal does not prevent a later…

Anonymity in control-order proceedings is not automatic, but it may properly be ordered at the permission stage without prior notice to the media or the…

Periodic review of a life prisoner’s detention must occur at reasonable intervals for the purposes of Article 5(4) of the Convention. Where the interval…

When examining a development plan document for soundness, an inspector must have regard to relevant and recent development-plan policies. A planning decision…

On a statutory appeal from a valuation tribunal, the High Court asks whether the tribunal misdirected itself in law or reached a conclusion unavailable to a…

A compensation appeals panel exercising a discretion under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2001 must make findings on facts relevant to that…

In a plan-led planning system, conflict with development-plan policies may amount to a clear planning objection. Where an applicant relies on need to overcome…

Entrapment is not a substantive defence to a criminal charge. It may nevertheless justify a stay or other response for abuse of process where state agents…

Where a party fails to attend a licensing hearing, the licensing authority may proceed in its absence under regulation 20 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings)…

A finding of misconduct does not automatically establish current impairment of fitness to practise. The regulatory panel must separately determine whether…

For council tax student-disregard purposes, a full-time course of education requires both attendance for the prescribed periods and study, tuition or work…

A claim may be certified as clearly unfounded only where it cannot, on any legitimate view, succeed. The assessment is objective and requires the…

A criminal conviction cannot stand where the magistrates expressly state that guilt was determined on the balance of probabilities. The court may decline to…

An unlawful planning use which has ceased before becoming immune from enforcement cannot later acquire immunity. Whether a use has ceased, rather than merely…

When deciding whether to reopen a conviction under section 142 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, the court must consider the overall interests of justice. A…

A judicial review challenge to an immigration decision fails where the claimant’s previous limited leave had lapsed on departure under the immigration rules…

For an offence under section 4(1) of the Public Order Act 1986, “immediate” unlawful violence does not mean instantaneous violence. It concerns proximity in…

A judicial review claim against immigration tribunal decisions requires an arguable procedural or other public law error. Where the claimant identifies no…

In an Article 8 removal case, the existence of family life between a natural father and child may be established where the father maintains continuing contact…

A national measure permitting a non-immediate method of killing animals for disease control need not guarantee that unconsciousness and death will occur…

Where property is shown on the evidence to be the proceeds of fraud, it is recoverable property for the purposes of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Under…

The statutory concept of a failure in a health service does not necessarily import negligence or culpability. The Ombudsman may apply a standard different from…

An application under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is concerned with the legality of the planning decision, not a rehearing of its…

Judicial review of a compulsory purchase decision examines whether the decision-maker acted unlawfully, took irrelevant matters into account, failed to…

A public authority will generally be free to change a policy without consultation where there has been no promise or established practice of consultation. A…

The procedural obligation under Article 2 is engaged where there is at least an arguable case that the state may have breached its substantive obligation to…

Section 4 accommodation for a failed asylum-seeker requires destitution and satisfaction of at least one condition in regulation 3(2) of the Immigration and…

A published immigration discretion must state its scope clearly enough to guide officials, applicants and appellate bodies. It is unlawful where its stated…

A local authority’s discretionary power to pay a residence order allowance must be exercised to further the statutory purpose of promoting children’s welfare.…

For permanent disablement under the Police Pensions Regulations 1987, “the force” means the particular police force for the area in which the officer is…

Judicial review proceedings challenging the vires of secondary legislation must be brought promptly. The grounds of a vires challenge arise when the…

Where an exemption policy requires an applicant to show that there are no reasonably practicable alternatives, the inquiry concerns alternatives reasonably…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the decision-maker must ask whether the further material creates a realistic prospect that an immigration judge…

A human rights claim may be certified as clearly unfounded only where no reasonable decision-maker could accept it. The assessment is objective and must…

Article 2 investigative obligations are engaged where fundamental systemic failures cause death or fail to prevent the danger that causes it. They are not…

A development carried out in breach of a planning condition cannot ordinarily satisfy a condition imposing a deadline for implementation. The limited…

The exclusion criteria for humanitarian protection in rule 339D of the Immigration Rules are disjunctive. They must be interpreted consistently with the…

Where a judicial review claim seeks release from immigration detention under a policy, permission should be refused if subsequent events mean that the claimant…

Where the Court of Appeal has upheld the compatibility of the safe-third-country certification regime with Convention obligations, a first-instance court…

Judicial review cannot be used to bypass a statutory procedure for challenging deportation decisions. Where the claimant’s grounds disclose no realistically…

An Article 6 challenge to publicly funded legal representation must be assessed by reference to the individual defendant’s circumstances and the proceedings in…

Where an immigration appeal has determined the claimant’s entitlement to protection, the Secretary of State cannot later rely on a conviction which could and…

A mental health review tribunal must give reasons of sufficient quality to explain its decision, particularly where it rejects substantial psychiatric or other…

Where a judicial review claim concerning legitimate expectation depends on disputed primary facts, the normal and appropriate course is for the statutory…

Permission to apply for judicial review should be refused where the disciplinary body's decisions disclose no arguable public law error. A tribunal's refusal…

In a judicial review challenge alleging failure to exercise a statutory power, the court asks whether the public authority’s decision was irrational. An…

Under Learning and Skills Act 2000, section 140 requires an assessment of a person’s educational and training needs and of the provision required to meet them…

Fairness is an overarching requirement in professional disciplinary proceedings. An adjournment to obtain legal representation may be required where a…

Procedural requirements governing a statutory appeal should be assessed by substantial compliance, prejudice and the consequences of non-compliance, rather…

Rule 353 of the Immigration Rules may apply where a person’s earlier asylum claim was refused, the person left the United Kingdom, returned and made a further…

Article 8 may be engaged by the relationship between adult siblings where the facts disclose real, committed or effective personal support. Mental-health…

A public healthcare authority may set local funding priorities and apply an exceptionality policy, but the policy must leave a genuine and workable possibility…

A non-statutory ex gratia assistance scheme may lawfully adopt clear eligibility criteria, even though those criteria create hard cases. Where the scheme…

Procedural fairness is context-sensitive and does not impose a general test of exceptionality for an oral hearing. The court must weigh the importance and…

Withdrawal of an immigration appeal under rule 17(2) of the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2005 is not confined to cases where the Secretary…

Interim relief under section 113(5) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 depends principally on the balance of convenience and the prejudice likely…

An immigration decision may comply with the rules yet be unlawful if the statutory discretion is exercised inflexibly and without regard to common sense…

A local authority may decide in principle to close a care home before completing individual assessments, provided lawful assessments occur before any resident…

A judicial review claim concerning suspension of council tax benefit becomes unnecessary where the public authority confirms that the suspension did not…

A previous planning decision may be a material consideration under section 70(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Its materiality depends on whether…

In claims under sections 287 or 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, Part 8 does not require a formal defence, but the court may require a defendant…

A claim concerning the proposed transfer of detainees to foreign criminal authorities is arguable where the transfer may expose them to Convention breaches…

Policy guidance must be applied with practical judgment. It is not construed as though it were legislation, and a decision-maker need not address every…

A prisoner's security category should be reviewed consistently with the Secretary of State's policy. Recategorisation normally requires a change in…

Detention under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is compatible with Article 5 where continued detention is subject to prompt and regular judicial control.…

A civil service management code permitting flexible early retirement or severance may authorise a general invitation to staff, including where substantial job…

The Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction is flexible but exceptional. It may require a third party to provide information where the claimant has an arguable case of…

For the Whitley principle to prevent a planning permission being treated as lawfully commenced, the breached condition must make commencement of the…

Whether a statement of special educational needs is necessary must be determined by applying the statutory test and the guidance in the special educational…

A refusal of leave to remain and a decision that a person is to be removed are distinct immigration decisions. A refusal cannot be treated as a removal…

On a modification appeal under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, the court must examine whether each obligation remains necessary to prevent or restrict…

Where removal depends on a precedent fact, the Secretary of State bears the burden of proving it on the balance of probabilities. Allegations of fraud or other…

Decisions by private licensees to exclude a person from their own premises remain private decisions, even where licensees exchange information or act…

A seven-year residence policy for children creates a presumption against removal, but it does not operate automatically. Exceptional circumstances, including a…

A Mental Health Review Tribunal has a wide discretion to regulate its hearing. It may admit a member of the patient’s clinical team during the patient’s…

Where Ofcom is the sole representative of territories before an international communications body, its statutory representative function may include resolving…

Judicial review of a control order requires the court to determine whether the statutory conditions are flawed at the time of determination. The court must…

A published discretionary grant scheme may generate a substantive legitimate expectation that the authority will apply it according to its stated terms. That…

Permission to apply for judicial review should be refused where the fresh-claim decision discloses no arguable error of law. At the second stage of the WM…

In control-order proceedings, further disclosure of protected material is required where, considering the process as a whole, the controlled person has not…

A local authority’s decision whether its duty to accommodate a child under Children Act 1989, section 20, is engaged is subject to ordinary public law review.…

On an appeal concerning inclusion on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list, Joyce v Secretary of State for Health held that the tribunal’s jurisdiction…

Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town & Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987, the purposes grouped within use class C2 are not…

A public authority must apply its policy according to its ordinary meaning. The court may determine that meaning and need not accept an interpretation which…

For a major planning application, a local planning authority must publicise the application in accordance with the statutory scheme and must provide affected…

A controlled person may appeal under section 10(3) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 against any decision on an application to modify an obligation…

Reasons given by a specialist tribunal need not be elaborate, but they must explain the basis of the decision sufficiently for the participants to understand…

Judicial review of a child-protection registration decision is available in principle, but it is an exceptional and rare remedy. The court reviews the…

Under s.115(7) of the Police Act 1997, the chief constable must decide whether information might be relevant to the applicant’s suitability for the specified…

For the purposes of Supreme Court Act 1981, an application for permission to apply for judicial review is a distinct preliminary proceeding. It is a civil…

A local authority must not use Children Act 1989 section 17 to avoid a specific accommodation duty under section 20 where, on the facts, the section 20 duty…

Social Fund Directions must be interpreted sensibly and in accordance with their evident purpose, while respecting the ordinary meaning of their language. A…

On a challenge under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court reviews legality, not the planning merits. A previous appeal decision…

A public authority must assess the likely racial impact of a proposed policy at a formative stage, before adopting its criteria. An assessment cannot be…

Indirect discrimination may arise from refusing an exemption from a uniform policy, rather than from the policy in the abstract. The comparator group comprises…

Disciplinary proceedings with potentially serious consequences remain subject to a single civil standard of proof: the balance of probabilities. Serious…

Escaped sewage from a statutory sewerage system is “controlled waste” for the purposes of section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Domestic…

In a planning challenge involving noise-sensitive residential development, the decision-maker must address material noise considerations and impose conditions…

Continued detention under an indeterminate sentence for public protection remains lawful where the Parole Board can reasonably determine that the prisoner…

For the purposes of section 85(5) of the Extradition Act 2003, a person convicted in absence must have a legal entitlement to a retrial or review amounting to…

A judicial review challenging a liability order requires a clearly formulated and evidenced case demonstrating that the amount ordered was incorrectly…

A public authority may owe a duty to inquire proactively where this follows from the statutory framework, its policy, or procedural fairness. The scope of any…

A statutory regulator may prosecute offences where prosecution is calculated to facilitate, or is incidental or conducive to, the performance of its statutory…

On an appeal against a professional disciplinary sanction, the court should be slow to interfere with a specialist panel’s assessment of seriousness and…

A published policy governing grants of indefinite leave to remain must be applied rationally. Under the policy considered, “significant delay” meant delay…

On an appeal concerning costs following an unsuccessful challenge to an abatement notice, the successful local authority was prima facie entitled to recover…

Judicial review claims must be brought promptly and, in any event, within three months after the grounds first arise. An extension requires very good grounds…

Where procedural complaints arise from a magistrates’ court trial, the ordinary and appropriate remedy is an appeal to the Crown Court. Judicial review should…

Courts hearing appeals should give reasons for their conclusions, even briefly, and advocates should remind the court of that duty where necessary. A failure…

A planning authority rejecting an inspector’s recommendation must give clear, separate and intelligible reasons for each objection and must explain why the…

A judicial review claim cannot be used to bypass a statutory appeal route which provides an adequate means of challenging a tribunal’s decision on a question…

Planning guidance must be applied with practical judgment and common sense. A local planning authority may rely on earlier site-selection work when applying…

Under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981, the court must first decide whether a person has habitually and persistently, without reasonable grounds…

A public authority directed by the Parole Board to investigate a release option must take reasonable steps to explore it. The duty is not absolute and does not…

When reviewing obligations imposed by a control order, the court must make its own findings and subject each obligation to intense scrutiny. A degree of…

At the interim detention stage under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the question is whether there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that cash…

Where criminal confiscation proceedings and ancillary relief compete for the same assets, neither statutory regime automatically has priority. The court must…

For an offence under rule 51(24) of the Prison Rules, the prosecution must establish that the prisoner received an article during a visit, knew that the…

For registration of a town or village green, recreational use must be as of right. A notice ends such use only if, read in context and as a matter of common…

A local authority’s duties under the Children Act 1989 are primarily connected with the child’s physical presence within its area. More than one authority may…

Judicial review of a refusal of permission to appeal in child support proceedings is exceptional where Parliament has imposed a statutory leave requirement.…

Under section 25 of the Extradition Act 2003, the question is whether, by reason of the requested person’s physical or mental condition, extradition would be…

In an appeal from a fitness-to-practise decision, the court will not interfere with an expert tribunal’s evaluative conclusion unless there is a clear basis…

A breach of the consultation requirements for environmental information does not automatically invalidate planning permission. The court must consider whether…

A typographical error in a European arrest warrant does not invalidate the warrant where the error is immaterial and the relevant statutory framework does not…

When an appeal has been determined in an appellant’s absence, the decision whether to order a rehearing must address the interests of justice as a whole. A…

Where a judicial review has become practically academic, the court may still decide costs by examining the apparent merits, while keeping proportionality and…

On an application for permission to challenge an enforcement notice appeal decision, a mistake of fact gives rise to an error of law only where: there was a…

A private prosecution may be an abuse of process where its continuation would offend the court’s sense of justice and propriety. Mixed motives alone do not…

Where a criminal conviction depends on the application of domestic legislation to cross-border broadcasting, and the outcome turns on unresolved European Union…

Permission to appeal should be granted where proposed grounds raise respectable and serious arguments giving a real prospect of success, or where another…

Broadcasting a defendant’s serious previous conviction on the day of a forthcoming criminal trial may constitute contempt under the strict liability rule where…

Under Rule 353 of HC 395, fresh submissions amount to a fresh claim where they are significantly different from material previously considered and create a…

A statutory appeal lies to the Pensions Appeal Tribunal only where the decision falls within the appeal rights created by the governing legislation and…

Under regulation 48 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats etc) Regulations 1994, the threshold question whether a proposal is likely to have a significant…

A decision to refuse indefinite leave to remain is not irrational merely because the applicant would probably have qualified for earlier leave under a policy…

Under the principle of equality, materially different treatment must be objectively justified and proportionate. A compensation scheme based on average…

For Customs and Excise summary offences, the six-month period linked to the prosecutor’s acquisition of sufficient evidence under section 146A of the Customs &…

An ombudsman’s investigative procedure is inquisitorial, not adversarial litigation. Procedural fairness generally requires disclosure of material on which the…

A generating station for the purposes of section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 is the place where electricity is generated. In an offshore wind-farm project…

An interim suspension order may be extended where the court is satisfied that continued suspension remains justified for the protection of the public and that…

An interim suspension order imposed under article 31(8) of the Nursing and Midwifery Order 2001 may be extended where disciplinary proceedings have been…

Article 14 is engaged where an early-release decision falls within the ambit of Article 5. The court must then identify differential treatment on a protected…

Under section 118B of the Highways Act 1980, a highway authority has a broad discretion whether to make a special extinguishment order. The statutory process…

Permission to bring a claim based on human rights will not be granted where the claimant cannot satisfy the applicable immigration rules and removal would not…

In a challenge to a planning refusal, the decision-maker must assess housing need accurately and must not treat a finely balanced evidential issue as resolved…

A national court may grant interim relief to protect claimed Community-law rights even where only the European Community courts can determine the validity of…

An ex gratia maladministration scheme must be interpreted according to its purpose and scope. Its stated principles should be applied consistently, but it must…

An appeal to the Crown Court under Firearms Act 1968, section 44, concerns the substantive grant or refusal of a certificate. It does not determine whether an…

Whether a motorist is insured for the purposes of section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 depends on the construction of the insurance policy and the risk it…

Immigration detention pending deportation is lawful only for the purpose of deportation and for a period reasonably necessary for that purpose. The court must…

In assessing further submissions as a fresh asylum claim, the decision-maker must consider the new material with the previously considered evidence under…

The Financial Ombudsman scheme is an informal, sui generis complaints procedure under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Ombudsman must decide…

On an appeal from a professional disciplinary decision, the court will intervene only where an error occurred in the proceedings or in the decision. It accords…

An appellate court should intervene cautiously in case-management decisions concerning adjournments. However, refusal of an adjournment is unlawful where the…

Immigration detention must remain directed to removal or a decision whether removal should occur. It may continue only for a period that is reasonable in all…

A professional disciplinary tribunal may proceed in a registrant’s absence where proper notice was given and the absence was deliberate and voluntary. The…

An NHS body deciding whether exceptionally to fund expensive treatment may take account of financial constraints and the patient’s circumstances. The court…

Criminal and professional disciplinary proceedings serve different purposes and may properly involve different prosecutorial considerations. The abandonment of…

The existence of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal does not, without sufficiently clear statutory language, oust the Administrative Court’s jurisdiction. The…

Section 824 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 did not entitle a non-UK resident sovereign entity, entitled to tax credits under section 232(3), to…

Whether land comprises a garden under the Forestry Act 1967 depends on all the circumstances. Appearance and physical characteristics matter, but the…

An ombudsman determining a complaint under the compulsory financial ombudsman scheme must decide what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances, taking…

A statutory power to remove an unauthorised advertisement may be draconian, but it is not confined to cases where the offender is unknown. It must be exercised…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the Secretary of State must first decide whether further submissions are significantly different from material…

A plain-clothes constable conducting a statutory search must take reasonable steps, before starting it, to bring documentary evidence of his status to the…

Faith-based admission criteria may lawfully distinguish between members of a religion by reference to religious status rather than religious observance. A…

Whether an object is “waste” depends on whether its holder has discarded, or intends or is required to discard, it. A consumer’s decision to exchange an…

A defendant’s costs order should normally be made unless positive and narrowly defined reasons justify refusal. Conduct is relevant only where it caused…

An immigration detention policy referring to imminent removal does not make imminence dependent on removal directions having been set. Cancellation of…

The lawfulness of a transitional pension scheme depends on whether the chosen cut-off date has a rational connection with the problem addressed. A scheme may…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions amount to a fresh claim only where they are significantly different from material previously…

Judicial review of a planning inspector’s decision is concerned with public law error, not a rehearing of the planning merits. An inspector has considerable…

Section 11(4) of the Mental Health Act 1983 imposes two distinct safeguards before an approved social worker makes an application for admission for treatment.…

An immigration decision will be lawful where the material before the decision-maker provides a reasonable evidential basis for concluding that a student is not…

Planning policy guidance is not legislation and does not automatically bind the decision-maker. An inspector must exercise independent planning judgment while…

When an offender commits a further offence during the operational period of a suspended sentence, the court must activate the sentence unless activation would…

A public authority’s standard acknowledgement letter may create an expectation of prompt consideration, but wording that applications are aimed to be dealt…

Whether a display is threatening, abusive or insulting under Public Order Act 1986 section 5 involves a value judgment based on the message conveyed by the…

Whether compliance with grant conditions is a precedent fact is determined by the statutory scheme and its context. Where a public funding body administers a…

Under Children Act 1989, the continuing duties owed to a former relevant child after age 21 depend on the statutory conditions for extension being satisfied.…

The term application for asylum in Article 11 of the Reception Directive does not include further submissions or a proposed fresh claim made after the…

A governmental promise generates an enforceable legitimate expectation only if it is sufficiently clear, unambiguous and unqualified. A proposed implication…

A later improvement to a trader’s compliance system does not, by itself, establish that the trader previously failed to take all reasonable precautions or…

For a certificate of inadequacy under section 17 of the Drug Trafficking Act 1994, the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities, what happened to…

A decision reached through an appeal and review process should not ordinarily be reopened years later merely because a later judgment reveals that a legal…

An arguable breach of Article 3 engages the State’s procedural obligation to secure an effective official investigation. The investigation required is…

A registered social landlord may be a hybrid public authority under section 6(3)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998 when managing and allocating social rented…

Under paragraph 353, further submissions amount to a fresh claim only where they are significantly different from material previously considered and, taken…

Administrative detention does not become unlawful merely because it has continued for a lengthy period. There is no fixed time at which detention becomes…

On an interim appeal against refusal to modify a control order, the court must scrutinise the necessity of each obligation intensely. Where an obligation is…

A planning authority may determine a first-phase application without a masterplan for wider future development where no wider proposals have been formulated…

A full planning permission for building works is incomplete without the approved plans and drawings describing the permitted development. Unless the decision…

Judicial review cannot ordinarily be used to reopen an immigration decision determined through the statutory appeal structure. Where the earlier decision…

Article 6 of the Convention is not engaged merely because a local authority must assess whether an asylum seeker is under 18 for the purposes of accommodation…

Delay bars extradition only where it would make the foreign proceedings unjust or make extradition oppressive in light of changed circumstances. Generalised…

For a Part 1 European Arrest Warrant, Extradition Act 2003, section 2 requires the matters specified by the Act, including the sentence imposed where the…

A court considering a production order for confidential journalistic material in a terrorist investigation must itself be satisfied that there are reasonable…

An application to extend time for appealing an immigration decision must be supported by a proper explanation and appropriate evidence. A tribunal is entitled…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, fresh representations constitute a fresh claim where there is a realistic prospect that an immigration judge…

Article 3 of the First Protocol does not require every member of a legislature to be elected. A state has a wide margin of appreciation, subject to the rights…

In a section 288 planning challenge, a claim should be struck out only where it is plainly hopeless or bound to fail. The court must distinguish between the…

A magistrates’ court ruling has binding effect under section 8B of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. The same court should revisit or discharge it only where…

Under sections 11 and 14 of the Extradition Act 2003, delay will bar extradition only where it would be unjust or oppressive to return the requested person. A…

On an appeal from a Fitness to Practise Panel, the court must respect the professional judgment of the regulatory tribunal, particularly on sanction. The…

A person who requests legal advice in police custody must be permitted to consult a solicitor as soon as practicable, and the police must act without delay to…

For representations to constitute a fresh claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, the new material, taken with the existing material, must create a…

An appeal under section 217 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is effected when the complaint or notice of appeal is received at the magistrates’ court.…

Information held by the Secretary of State in administering one social-security scheme is not automatically imputed to him when acting in relation to another…

Under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2001, conduct may justify withholding compensation altogether where it is culpable and calculated to provoke or…

Under section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, a decision contrary to the development plan may be justified by the cumulative weight of…

A safe third-country certificate is “issued” for transitional purposes when it is served, where that meaning is established by a closely related transitional…

At the permission stage of judicial review, a challenge to a professional regulator’s referral decision is arguable where there is a credible question whether…

A family-ties policy directed to reuniting an existing family unit does not apply where the relationship was formed after the claimant’s arrival in the United…

For a European arrest warrant issued to enforce a sentence, the mandatory information concerns the sentence imposed, not necessarily the precise period…

Judicial review does not permit the court to substitute its view for that of a public authority on a difficult welfare decision. Where the authority has…

A pending or intended petition for permission to appeal does not, by itself, justify staying judicial review proceedings where the applicable law has been…

On an appeal from a professional disciplinary tribunal, the High Court conducts a rehearing but gives appropriate weight to the tribunal’s advantage in…

On a statutory appeal against professional disciplinary sanction, the court’s function is supervisory. It must respect the specialist expertise of the Fitness…

Judicial review requires an identifiable decision capable of providing the focus and basis of the proceedings. It cannot be used to obtain a general inquiry…

An extradition appeal may be adjourned to allow the requesting state a further opportunity to provide evidence on whether the statutory and Convention…

Applications to extend premises closure orders must be determined by applying the statutory test in section 5(4) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. The…

The statutory duty to take a Police Negotiating Board recommendation into consideration does not require the Secretary of State to give it special or decisive…

Under sections 77 and 82 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the court retains a discretion to permit restrained funds to meet third-party claims or legal costs…

An Interim Orders Panel deciding whether to continue an interim suspension does not determine the truth of the underlying fitness-to-practise allegations. Its…

In judicial review of a planning permission, an officer’s report must properly identify and explain the material planning considerations relevant to the…

On an application to extend an interim suspension of a medical practitioner, the court is the primary decision-maker. It may refuse an extension, grant the…

A judicial review claimant owes the court a duty of full and frank disclosure of all material facts, documents and procedural obstacles. A failure of candour…

A police authority’s decision under regulation A19 of the Police Pension Regulations 1987 to require an officer’s compulsory retirement is susceptible to…

Failure to retain and produce physical evidence in prison disciplinary proceedings does not automatically prevent reliance on that evidence. The adjudicator…

A Secretary of State may lawfully reject a Parole Board recommendation where cogent reasons justify a different assessment of whether a prisoner is suitable…

A local education authority may decide to discontinue a maintained school with a view to replacing it with an academy before a funding agreement has been…

Judicial review of a disciplinary appeal decision is confined to public-law grounds where no statutory appeal lies. A decision-maker may reject a disciplinary…

Enforcement of a confiscation order by civil means may be stayed as an abuse of process. The relevant question is whether delay attributable to the enforcement…

A local authority must determine for itself whether the statutory conditions for accommodating a child are met. The court reviews the lawfulness and…

Government policy expressed at a high level does not require a particular outcome where it commits the Government only to addressing a problem purposefully. In…

Air-quality effects are material planning considerations, but operational pollution control may properly be left to a specialist regulator where effective…

For a fresh claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, further representations must create a realistic prospect of success before an immigration…

A search warrant under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is not a formality. The application must identify the statutory condition relied upon, and the…

An historic asylum or human rights claim does not, by itself, create an in-country appeal against a later immigration decision. Section 92(4)(a) requires a…

Bail may properly be refused where there are substantial grounds for believing that the applicant would reoffend or abscond. The court must assess those risks…

On a statutory appeal from a Fitness to Practise Panel, the High Court exercises a strictly secondary judgment, while retaining power to correct errors of law…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, a fresh-claim decision involves two questions. First, whether the further material is significantly different…

Immigration detention remains lawful only while there is a sufficient prospect of removal or departure within a reasonable time, assessed in all the…

Under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980, a highway authority must respond within a reasonable time to a request for works forming a lawful vehicle crossing.…

When deciding whether further submissions amount to a fresh claim, the Secretary of State must ask whether, taken with the material previously considered, they…

For the purposes of an arguability challenge under European Community anti-discrimination law, a pension sharing order does not convert the former spouse’s…

The mere photographing of a person in a public place will not generally engage Article 8. The court must consider the whole context, including the purpose of…

The Legal Services Ombudsman may recommend that a professional body reconsider a complaint, but cannot limit that reconsideration to a particular aspect of the…

For extradition under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003, the question whether a person is “accused” and wanted for prosecution must be assessed substantively…

A development plan policy setting an affordable-housing target must be founded on a lawful and sufficiently informed assessment of economic viability. A target…

Article 8 does not confer a general right to smoke or require those responsible for detained persons to provide smoking facilities. Whether smoking engages…

A pathway plan for a former relevant child must do more than record aspirations. It must provide an objective, sufficiently detailed and realistic assessment…

Section 142 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 permits a magistrates' court to reopen a case only where the defendant has been found guilty. It does not apply…

A European Arrest Warrant must satisfy the mandatory requirements in section 2 of the Extradition Act 2003. The court must first determine from the warrant…

Immigration detention must be justified on a correct factual understanding and used only where necessary. It must not become routine or be adopted for…

Decision-makers assessing release or recategorisation must consider all material relevant to risk. Completion of an offending-behaviour programme is highly…

Where a person dies or suffers serious injury during or following contact with the police, and police responsibility may be involved, the investigation must be…

A respondent’s limited means, incapacity, or lack of personal blameworthiness does not by itself justify relieving her of liability for costs. A good reason…

The Teckal exemption is narrowly construed. A public authority must establish both that it exercises control similar to that over its own departments and that…

Section 19 publication schemes under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 do not restrict the separate right of access under section 1. Public authorities…

In assessing removal claims based on religion, a decision-maker must consider whether the claimant would live openly in the receiving state and, if so, what…

In assessing planning permission affecting residents’ homes, the decision-maker must consider the proportionality of the proposed aim and the means of…

Where an officer elects to continue a breath-testing procedure after an initial refusal and agrees to allow the suspect to provide specimens, the suspect must…

Under section 24(3) of the National Assistance Act 1948, a person with no settled residence is a person “in the area” of a local authority if physically…

For a fresh asylum or human-rights claim under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions must be significantly different from the material…

On an appeal concerning a statement of special educational needs, the Tribunal’s jurisdiction is confined to the child’s special educational needs and the…

Under the National Assistance Act 1948 (Choice of Accommodation) Directions 1992 and associated guidance, a person’s expressed accommodation preference…

On an appeal from the Care Standards Tribunal, the Tribunal must make findings on material conflicts of fact relevant to misconduct and suitability. Failure to…

For a human-rights claim to constitute a fresh claim, the material must be new and create a realistic prospect of success before an immigration judge. The…

A challenge to a local authority’s failure to decide a request for accommodation pending review becomes untenable once the authority makes the decision. The…

A police officer who restrains a person without intending or purporting to arrest him commits an assault, even where an arrest would otherwise have been…

Where European Union legislation gives a member state a choice of implementation methods, judicial review applies proportionality-based scrutiny, but the court…

Habeas corpus is an exceptional remedy where the applicant’s detention has subsequently become attributable to a court order rather than the alleged unlawful…

An application under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 involves two stages. The court must first decide whether the respondent has habitually and…

Immigration detention pending deportation is lawful only for the purpose of effecting removal and for a period reasonably necessary for that purpose. The…

Rule 353 of the Immigration Rules applies where a person makes further asylum or human-rights submissions in the United Kingdom after returning from abroad.…

On an appeal by way of case stated, the court asks whether the evidence was capable of supporting the conviction. It does not retry the facts or substitute its…

Physical contact by a police officer is lawful where, in its circumstances, it remains within generally acceptable standards of conduct. The assessment is…

A planning inspector’s reasons need address the principal important controversial issues, but need not refer to every material consideration or state every…

An appeal against a professional disciplinary sanction may succeed on later evidence showing that the appellant was unfit to conduct the original hearing. The…

A local planning authority may use direct enforcement under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 178, even where removal will interfere with Convention…

The power to permit monthly VAT returns may be exercised for a specified period or until further notice, and may include reverting a trader to quarterly…

Domestic legislation must be interpreted, so far as possible, to achieve the result required by a European Community directive, even where the legislation…

On an appeal against a direction barring a person from work with children, fairness ordinarily requires disclosure of the evidence relied upon, but not…

Handcuffing a prisoner receiving hospital treatment does not ordinarily engage Article 3 where it is connected with lawful detention and does not involve force…

In an appeal by case stated, the High Court upheld convictions for selling goods bearing a false trade description. A technical standard must be interpreted as…

On an application to amend a case stated, the court asks whether the proposed questions disclose an arguable error of law. A challenge to factual findings…

An appeal from a professional disciplinary tribunal is technically a rehearing, but the court ordinarily reviews the evidence and material before the tribunal.…

Under section 26(4) of the Extradition Act 2003, “giving” notice of an appeal means filing the appeal notice in the High Court. The statutory seven-day limit…

Parole for a determinate-sentence prisoner is governed by the statutory discretion applicable to that sentence. The decision-maker may take into account the…

In closed-material control-order proceedings, procedural fairness requires disclosure of the essential features of the Secretary of State’s grounds so that the…

An Inspector determining a planning appeal must not rely on a material factual assumption without evidence, particularly where the assumption is central to the…

An appeal concerning a sentence which has already been served should not ordinarily be used to determine wider questions of sentencing practice. Where the…

A hospital order made under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 does not cease to exist merely because the patient is not admitted to the specified…

On a statutory appeal from a specialist tribunal, the High Court will not interfere with factual findings or evaluative judgments unless the tribunal applied…

An apparent-bias claim requires an objectively arguable risk that the decision-maker may be biased. A speculative professional connection, without evidence…

Where a licensing decision is based on an interlocking set of conditions, defects in the drafting of individual conditions do not necessarily require the…

A review of a police-complaints appeal decision is irrational where it proceeds on a material misunderstanding of the investigators’ factual findings, fails to…

In judicial review, the court reviews the lawfulness of the particular decision under challenge. Where the decision-maker has reconsidered the matter and…

A claim challenging a decision not to hold a referendum may be justiciable where it concerns departure from a promise about the procedure preceding the…

When deciding whether a project is likely to have a significant effect on a protected European site, a competent authority must assess the project as a whole.…

A prisoner has no automatic right to transfer under the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The sentencing State retains an…

A detained cash investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 continues after forfeiture proceedings have begun, at least until those proceedings…

When reviewing a Parole Board decision, the court examines whether the Board rationally assessed the risk of reoffending and balanced that risk against the…

An Article 2-compliant inquest into a death in prison must investigate relevant medical and healthcare systems, while avoiding findings of criminal or civil…

For the purposes of Road Traffic Act 1988, breath potentially affected by burping, reflux or regurgitation remains breath within the statutory scheme. Such an…

Under the Extradition Act 2003, a Part I warrant is not invalid merely because it does not expressly state whether it seeks prosecution or execution of a…

A planning challenge must identify an error of law. Disagreement with an inspector’s factual assessment or planning judgment does not satisfy that requirement.…

An Order in Council made under the United Nations Act 1946 may implement only what is necessary and expedient to give effect to the relevant Security Council…

When deciding whether to extend an interim order under section 41A of the Medical Act 1983, the court exercises an original jurisdiction and acts as the…

For Article 6(1) of the EC-Turkey Association Agreement, employment may be legal employment where the worker has a stable and secure basis for residing and…

A solicitor may hold strong or unpopular views without ordinarily facing disciplinary action merely for expressing them. Disciplinary action may be justified…

A judicial review claim cannot be used to challenge the merits of legislation or policy choices merely because their consequences appear unfair or economically…

The policy of neither confirming nor denying whether security-service meetings occurred is not inflexible, but compelling public-interest reasons may justify…

Protective costs orders are governed by the principles in R (Corner House Research) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry [2005] 1 WLR 2600.…

An authority may withdraw approval for a regulated product where an express reservation permits withdrawal if undesirable features emerge. In exercising that…

A local authority’s power to obtain insurance does not ordinarily authorise it to establish or join an insurer whose liabilities and capital requirements…

A hearing under Article 5(4) of the European Convention must be provided speedily, but the assessment is fact-sensitive. The court must allow reasonable time…

A court should not rely on consent to a bind-over order unless it has itself established that the person concerned understands the proposed order, its…

Permission for inappropriate development in the Green Belt requires a two-stage approach. The decision-maker must first ask whether the harm caused by…

An appellate court cannot reopen final findings or orders made in earlier proceedings. In an appeal against an interim suspension imposed while a substantive…

A criminal conviction may be quashed where the magistrates’ remarks in open court create the impression that they applied a standard of proof lower than the…

For an offence involving unauthorised alteration of a listed building, the court must identify the works of alteration before deciding whether they affect the…

In determining a premises-licence application, a licensing authority or appellate court may consider crime and disorder occurring beyond the premises and…

Judicial review of a Crown Court refusal of bail is available only in exceptional circumstances, ordinarily where the decision is irrational or procedurally…

In proceedings concerning gating orders, the court dismissed the consolidated actions where the claimant obtained none of the relief sought. The defendant…

In judicial review of a school exclusion appeal, the Administrative Court may intervene where the claimant retains a sufficient interest in correcting an…

A local authority’s special guardianship financial-support scheme must comply substantially with the statutory regulations and relevant guidance. Where the…

Where a competent authority reasonably considers that cattle are infected with bovine tuberculosis on the basis of valid gamma-interferon blood tests, the…

An inspector may accept development within a settlement policy boundary in principle yet refuse permission because the proposed scale, layout, density or…

In a series of judicial review applications concerning removal of asylum seekers to Greece under the Dublin II Regulation, permission should not be determined…

A professional disciplinary tribunal may continue proceedings despite unjustifiable delay where, after assessing all the evidence, it is satisfied that a fair…

Under Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, an unrepresented defendant who is not a practising lawyer cannot recover, as costs, the value of time spent preparing a…

In extradition cases, exceptionality is not the test under article 8 of the ECHR. The decision-maker must assess proportionality by balancing the seriousness…

Where a late adjournment causes an otherwise innocent party to incur costs, the court may order the party responsible for the unsuccessful adjournment to pay…

Temporary admission under immigration legislation does not, by itself, prevent a person from being lawfully present for all purposes. The legal effect of a…

Under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions amount to a fresh claim only where they are significantly different from material previously…

Parliamentary privilege prevents a court or tribunal from determining allegations about the impropriety, inadequacy, accuracy or veracity of parliamentary…

Article 2 of the ECHR may protect members of the armed forces serving abroad where they remain within the United Kingdom’s jurisdiction. Its procedural…

Under Part VI of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, property transferred by a defendant may remain available to satisfy a confiscation order. A transfer may…

On an application to strike out a planning challenge under section 288, the court should ask whether the claim has no realistic prospect of success. An…

Before making a Recovery of Defence Costs Order under regulation 13 of the Criminal Defence Service (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2001, the…

A public authority exercising statutory powers must make its own independent judgment and must not surrender that judgment to a threat intended to influence…

A coroner’s decision whether it is expedient to call further evidence is a contextual judgment for the coroner. The coroner may consider the evidence already…

Guidance on concurrent criminal jurisdiction applies to existing cases where relevant, but it is engaged only where there are concurrent investigations and the…

A coroner’s decision under section 15 of the Coroners Act 1988 not to refer a death to the Secretary of State may be challenged only on ordinary public-law…

A Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal appeal is a rehearing, although the appellate court does not hear the evidence afresh. Findings will stand where the…

Under section 14 of the Extradition Act 2003, delay must be assessed by applying the statutory question whether extradition would be unjust or oppressive.…

An educational institution satisfies its procedural duty by giving notice of disciplinary proceedings in the manner agreed with the student and by affording a…

Where legislation distinguishes between using a vehicle and causing or permitting its use, an owner is treated as the user only if the driver works for the…

Article 6 requires disclosure of the substance of the case on which a control order is based, so that the respondent can advance an effective challenge. There…

The Administrative Court’s jurisdiction to review a Crown Court decision refusing bail after conviction is limited. It may interfere where the decision is…

A prisoner's security-category review is amenable to judicial review on irrationality grounds, but the court will not substitute its assessment of risk for…

A public authority may alter an immigration scheme for future applicants, but a change may be unlawful where the scheme, properly understood in context…

Discretionary housing payments require both entitlement to housing benefit or council tax benefit and an apparent need for further assistance with housing…

Under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, disclosure is the general rule and exceptions must be interpreted restrictively. A public authority may…

A disciplinary tribunal may exercise jurisdiction over a non-solicitor under Solicitors Act 1974, section 43 only where the statutory employment or…

Judicial review is a remedy of last resort. Permission should ordinarily be refused where an adequate alternative remedy was available, even if the claimant…

An award of costs in planning proceedings may be made where a party has behaved unreasonably and caused unnecessary expense. In assessing the Mayor’s conduct…

Detention pending removal is not automatically unlawful because outstanding representations may constitute a fresh asylum claim. The power remains subject to…

An enforcement notice served in accordance with planning legislation is not rendered unenforceable merely because the recipient was unaware of it during the…

Preliminary indications made during an evolving statutory decision-making process are not necessarily amenable to judicial review as if they were final…

On judicial review of a fresh-claim decision, the court must ask whether the Secretary of State applied the correct realistic-prospect test with anxious…

A Fitness to Practise Panel may reject a practitioner’s undertaking where it considers that the undertaking would not sufficiently protect patients or the…

Section 179(3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 provides a limited defence to prosecution for breach of an enforcement notice. The question is whether…

An enhanced criminal record certificate may disclose information which might be materially relevant to assessing suitability for work with children. The…

For the purposes of Medical Act 1983, a criminal conviction does not automatically establish impaired fitness to practise. The nature of the offence and its…

A representation by a public authority may generate a legitimate expectation capable of giving rise to a public law remedy. The expectation remains conditional…

In control-order proceedings, Article 6 compliance is assessed by examining the process as a whole, including closed proceedings and the work of the special…

For the purposes of Road Traffic Act 1988, a breath specimen is valid only where it is provided in a way that enables the analysis and its objective to be…

Inappropriate development in the Green Belt may be permitted only where other considerations clearly outweigh the harm, thereby amounting to very special…

The Secretary of State’s power under paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 8 to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 involved a broad planning discretion. The…

A breach of a disclosure or evidence-retention duty does not automatically make a prosecution an abuse of process. The question is whether the loss of evidence…

In a challenge under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, an inspector’s decision will not be quashed for inadequate reasons unless the…

A finding of professional misconduct does not automatically establish impaired fitness to practise. At the impairment stage, a disciplinary panel must assess…

Extradition is incompatible with articles 2 or 3 where substantial grounds establish a real risk to life or of ill-treatment in the receiving state and, where…

Under section 81(b) of the Extradition Act 2003, general evidence of discrimination or poor human-rights conditions is insufficient. The requested person must…

A local housing authority must allocate accommodation in accordance with its published allocation scheme. Where a new banding scheme substantially reproduces…

Striking off is not an automatic consequence of a solicitor’s conviction for dishonesty. The appellate court must consider whether the sanction is excessive or…

For the statutory exception permitting employment agencies to charge fees for publication-based services, the information about the work-seeker need not…

A criminal court may permit the prosecution to reopen its case, but the discretion must be exercised judicially. The court must balance the interests of the…

In a challenge to council tax banding, the tribunal must determine whether the dwelling was placed in the wrong band from the outset. It must value the…

In a planning challenge, reasons are adequate if they enable the reader to understand how the principal important controversial issues were resolved. A…

Under regulation 12 of the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, an internal-communications exemption is a class exemption. The public authority need not…

An appeal under the Building Act 1984 against a notice requiring removal of demolition debris is a full merits appeal, not a review of the local authority’s…

In a planning inquiry, procedural fairness depends on whether the parties could reasonably anticipate the issue that determined the outcome and had a proper…

A planning decision is unlawful where the decision-maker fails accurately to identify and apply the development plan in force, including the statutory…

A conservation area must be designated to protect or enhance the character or appearance of an area of special architectural or historic interest. The power…

On an appeal on the merits against a Fitness to Practise Panel’s sanction, the court must give weight to the Panel’s expertise in clinical standards, public…

Where pension regulations confer power to determine the method of uprating pensionable earnings, a determination is not complete until the methodology is…

For the purposes of the Prison Rules 1999, “convicted prisoner” refers to a prisoner who has been found guilty or has pleaded guilty, even if sentence has not…

Article 8 may provide a defence to extradition, but the court must conduct a genuine proportionality assessment rather than apply exceptionality as an…

On an appeal against professional disciplinary sanction, the court must respect the expertise of the specialist tribunal but may reassess the penalty in the…

In Green Belt planning cases, an operation is inappropriate development where it fails to maintain the Green Belt’s openness. A planning inspector may assess…

Article 6 fairness in control-order proceedings is fact-sensitive. The court must assess the process as a whole and determine whether the controlled person…

A compensation order may cover loss fairly attributable to the offence of conviction. The court is not confined to the amount expressly identified in a charge…

A planning permission to win and work a vein mineral carries an implied permission to remove so much host rock as is reasonably necessary to obtain it. The…

Expert evidence is admissible where the witness has sufficient knowledge, acquired through study or experience, to provide assistance on the specific issue…

Where a European arrest warrant records a single sentence imposed for multiple offences, it satisfies section 2(6)(e) of the Extradition Act 2003 by stating…

Once self-defence is raised, the prosecution must disprove it beyond reasonable doubt. The absence of evidence from the complainant does not prevent that…

A failure to consider the statutory venue provisions before accepting a guilty plea is a procedural irregularity. It does not necessarily invalidate the…

When a confiscation order is reduced under section 83 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the Crown Court may also fix or extend the time for payment. Section…

Byelaws restricting protest on defence land must satisfy common-law certainty and rationality requirements and, where Convention rights are engaged, the…

For extradition purposes, whether a person is an accused is a question of fact assessed by substance rather than procedural form. The court must adopt a…

A general civil restraint order may be made where a litigant persists in issuing claims or applications that are totally without merit, and an extended order…

A Mental Health Review Tribunal deciding whether to discharge a restricted patient must give proper reasons addressing the statutory criteria for detention…

Compulsory acquisition of confidential documents and information, followed by disclosure to an overseas authority, engages Article 8 rights even where the…

Under the Children Act 1989 leaving-care scheme, a local authority must appoint a personal adviser promptly, complete the required assessment within the…

Where a tribunal orders disclosure, the recipient must comply with the order unless it is successfully varied. The Data Protection Act 1998 does not justify…

Permission to apply for judicial review should be refused where the challenged tribunal decision discloses no arguable error of law, procedural unfairness…

In a conviction case under Part I of the Extradition Act 2003, where several offences have resulted in an aggregated sentence, the executing court need not…

For the purposes of a football banning order, an offence committed on a journey to or from a football match may be related to football matches without being…

Under section 14A of the Football Spectators Act 1989, conviction of a relevant football-related offence will ordinarily be sufficient to justify a football…

On an appeal on a point of law, the reviewing court must respect a specialist tribunal’s procedural rules and discretionary judgments. It should not subject…

Section 288 review is concerned with legality, not with a rehearing of planning merits. The court may intervene where an inspector acts outside statutory…

An information may be amended after the six-month limitation period where the proposed offence alleges the same misdoing as the original offence and the…

A missing or compromised evidential item does not necessarily make a criminal trial an abuse of process. The court must ask whether the trial process can…

A criminal prosecution may be stayed for abuse of process where a fair trial is impossible or where it would be unfair to try the defendant. The second…

For disability discrimination claims arising from exclusion, a reason relates to a disability where there is an appropriate relationship between the reason for…

Under the Dublin Regulations II, responsibility for an asylum claim is allocated by applying the prescribed criteria when the claim is first lodged. A later…

Nationality Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 permits a notice under section 120 to require additional grounds within a reasonable period, although the statute…

Where a directive requires Member States both to transpose its provisions into domestic law and to achieve specified effects by later dates, those obligations…

In control-order proceedings, a fair hearing requires disclosure sufficient to enable the controlled person to understand and answer the essential grounds for…

A disciplinary charge must be sufficiently specific to enable the officer to understand the alleged failures and answer them fairly. A tribunal may conclude…

A statutory time limit for appealing an extradition order cannot be extended where the governing legislation fixes the permitted period. Failure to serve the…

For the double-criminality condition in section 64 of the Extradition Act 2003, the court assesses the conduct alleged in the European arrest warrant and any…

The Administrative Court may strike out an application where it has been pursued with inexcusable delay and the applicant has failed to provide evidence or…

A specialist professional adjudicator is entitled to make evaluative findings about the quality of a solicitor’s advice, and the Administrative Court should be…

Words may be capable of being threatening, abusive or insulting, and capable of causing harassment, alarm or distress, even though whether the statutory tests…

An appeal under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is confined to the established legal principles governing challenges to planning…

In determining a planning application affecting biodiversity, the authority must have regard to relevant development plans, material considerations, statutory…

A planning permission must ordinarily be construed from its own terms, but an application may be incorporated where the permission uses sufficiently clear…

The statutory control-of-entry test for NHS pharmaceutical lists requires a structured assessment. The decision-maker must identify the relevant neighbourhood…

A planning permission will not ordinarily be quashed for an innocent misdescription of the applicant where the true applicants are identifiable, no one is…

Where an agricultural need for an additional worker is accepted, the decision-maker must address separately whether that worker needs to be accommodated on or…

Under Criminal Justice Act 1988, a receiver must pay realised proceeds towards a confiscation order as soon as they are received, subject only to payments…

A local authority’s authorising resolution need not identify the precise statutory power under which proposed action is taken. Failure to do so does not, by…

A planning authority’s interpretation of a development plan is normally reviewable only on public-law grounds. Where the interpretation falls within the range…

Under the National Health Service general ophthalmic services scheme, inclusion on an ophthalmic list gives practical effect to an eligible person’s right to…

On an appeal from a professional regulatory sanction, the High Court must give substantial weight to the specialist tribunal’s expertise and exercise a…

Permission for judicial review may be granted where the claimant raises a serious and arguable issue about the legality of a public authority’s decision, even…

When assessing an Article 8 challenge to removal, the decision-maker must apply the ordinary proportionality test. There is no separate legal requirement that…

Police and prosecuting authorities retain a substantial evaluative discretion when deciding whether a young offender should receive a reprimand or final…

Special reasons for avoiding or reducing mandatory disqualification for driving with excess alcohol are exceptional. Shortness of distance is not…

Article 9 is not interfered with merely because an extradition journey carries a modest risk of delayed arrival during the Sabbath. The court must assess…

A legitimate expectation ordinarily requires a clear and unequivocal representation by the public authority. Government targets for processing asylum claims…

Whether a mechanically propelled vehicle is intended or adapted for use on roads is assessed objectively. The question is whether a reasonable person looking…

In planning judicial review, a development plan includes both its policies and their reasoned justification. A guideline in the justification may therefore be…

An application under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 must be issued within six weeks, calculated as six successive periods of seven days…

Orders restricting publication of criminal proceedings cannot be made routinely under section 39(5) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The ordinary…

For an offence under section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986, publication of threatening, abusive or insulting material on a publicly accessible website may…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions constitute a fresh claim only where they create a realistic prospect of success before an…

For an offence under Road Traffic Act 1988, section 7(6), the statutory question is whether the defendant had a reasonable excuse for failing to provide a…

On a review after suspension for professional misconduct, a Fitness to Practise Panel must first decide whether fitness to practise remains impaired and only…

Delay in professional disciplinary proceedings may mitigate the sanction, including where it contributes to a breach of the reasonable-time obligation under…

A statutory power to make delegated legislation does not generally carry an implied duty to consult where Parliament has provided no express duty and has…

Racially offensive words may provide evidence that an offence was motivated, wholly or partly, by hostility towards a racial group. They do not establish a…

When a citizen seeks the issue of a criminal summons, magistrates must determine whether the alleged offence is known to law and whether its essential…

Judicial review of a Parole Board decision is concerned with lawfulness, not the substitution of the court’s assessment of risk. The Board may weigh the risk…

When deciding whether to extend an interim suspension order imposed on a professional registration, the court applies the same criteria as for making the…

Under sections 82 and 91 of the Extradition Act 2003, the court must apply the statutory words and reach its own overall judgment. No single feature is…

Under the statutory development-plan procedure, a local planning authority may depart from an inspector’s recommendation if it has considered the…

Breaches of the Detention Centre Rules 2001 do not automatically invalidate detention or subsequent asylum proceedings. The claimant must establish causation…

A magistrate considering an application for a summons must exercise a judicial discretion and consider the relevant circumstances, including whether the…

Proceedings under Dogs Act 1871, section 2, are civil proceedings initiated by a complaint, not criminal proceedings initiated by an information. The court…

Statutory deeming provisions concerning safe third countries do not prevent the court from considering whether an asylum claimant has an arguable risk of…

Under paragraph 353 of the Immigration Rules, a fresh asylum claim requires consideration of whether the new material creates a realistic prospect of success…

Where a public authority consents to the quashing of the decision challenged by judicial review and undertakes to take a fresh decision, the court may grant…

Under CPR 5.4C, a non-party is entitled, subject to the court’s power to restrict access, to obtain the claim form, acknowledgment of service and detailed…

A response under section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is effective where it identifies the driver, even if accompanied by an attempted restriction on the…

For the purposes of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, harassment is assessed objectively. A course of conduct must comprise at least two incidents…

The Central Arbitration Committee has a broad discretion when deciding whether a proposed collective-bargaining unit is appropriate under Schedule A1 to the…

Under section 14 of the Extradition Act 2003, return is assessed by reference to all the circumstances. Flight from an earlier sentence is relevant but not…

The statutory bar based on delay in Extradition Act 2003, section 14, is determined by whether extradition would be unjust or oppressive because of the passage…

When fixing a minimum term under the transitional provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must compare the period indicated by the pre-existing…

When reviewing a minimum term under Schedule 22 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must calculate the period likely to have been notified under the…

On a review of a life prisoner’s minimum term under Schedule 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must calculate both the term likely to have been…

On a review of a minimum term under Schedule 22 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must not impose a term exceeding the statutory limits, including…

When fixing a minimum term under paragraph 3 of Schedule 22 to the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the court must calculate the period likely to have been notified…

A local authority, social worker or hospital cannot remove a child from a parent without parental agreement or prior lawful authority, ordinarily an order of a…

A procedural time indication qualified by “normally” allows reasonable flexibility, particularly where a disciplinary regulator must obtain information before…

In control-order proceedings, the use of closed material and a special advocate is compatible with article 6 only where the restrictions on the controlled…

Article 8 does not generally require immigration leave to be granted, even for a limited period, so that a person without an existing right to remain may…

Under section 82 of the Extradition Act 2003, delay bars extradition only where return would be unjust or oppressive because of the passage of time. “Unjust”…

Under section 7(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, the question whether failure to provide a breath specimen was without reasonable excuse is for the magistrates…

Under section 54A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, a decision-maker must determine an application in accordance with the development plan unless…

Where consecutive sentences fall partly under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and partly under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the statutory schemes cannot be…

National planning guidance requiring a decision-maker to give consideration to temporary planning permission does not require such permission to be granted.…

For the purposes of Road Traffic Act 1988 section 11(3), a specimen of breath is not provided merely because a device obtains readings from exhaled breath. The…

For the purposes of an offence based on a false statement or representation, the question is whether the defendant’s words or conduct, considered as a whole…

For an injury pension, the question is whether the injury was caused wholly or substantially by the performance of duty, rather than merely by the claimant’s…

An unchallenged anti-social behaviour order must generally be treated as lawfully made when the court considers an application to vary or discharge it. Its…

Article 5(4) requires a detention-review system to provide a speedy and meaningful determination in the circumstances of each case. The system must be…

Under Rule 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions constitute a fresh claim only where they are significantly different from the material previously…

Immigration detention must remain justified under the Hardial Singh principles and must also comply with legally required review safeguards. Regular, properly…

A planning decision is not unlawful merely because an Inspector fails to mention a particular policy, provided the decision, read as a whole, shows that its…

Confirmation of a compulsory purchase order requires a compelling case in the public interest. In assessing that question, the decision-maker must consider…

Registration of a manager under Part II of the Care Standards Act 2000 must relate to a specific establishment or agency. The loss of that establishment does…

When a statutory decision-maker assesses possible future harm, the statutory phrase harm that may be caused concerns a real, rather than fanciful, risk. Actual…

Where postal service of an immigration notice is deemed effective unless the contrary is proved, the claimant bears the burden of establishing that actual…

In deciding whether an applicant is a fit and proper person to hold a hackney carriage or private hire vehicle driver’s licence, all previous convictions may…

Judicial review of a compulsory purchase confirmation is concerned with legality, rationality, relevant considerations and Convention rights, not the merits or…

Where legislation confers a discretion to award costs according to what is just and reasonable, the statutory words govern the decision. Guidance in City of…

Immigration detention pending deportation is lawful only for the period reasonably necessary to achieve removal. The Secretary of State must act with…

An application to adjourn a criminal trial must receive rigorous scrutiny. The court must examine the reasons for the application, the consequences for…

Habeas corpus is available in extradition cases only in the rare situation where a fundamental change has made continued detention unlawful. It cannot be used…

In interlocutory judicial review proceedings, proposed grounds must be pleaded with sufficient clarity to prevent tactical changes and unfairness to the…

A local planning authority must exercise its own planning judgment and decide what weight to give material considerations. A challenge based on failure to…

A stay for abuse of process is an exceptional remedy. It is justified only where continuing the proceedings would cause injustice, or where the circumstances…

For extradition based on a European arrest warrant, the warrant must identify the sentence imposed for each offence, and each offence must satisfy the…

A judicial review claim seeking an appeal against a benefit decision becomes academic where the decision is reviewed and a favourable replacement decision…

For Road Traffic Act 1988, section 7(3)(b) requires a subjective assessment. The constable must actually believe that no reliable breath-testing device is…

When deciding whether to adjourn a criminal trial, magistrates must balance the interests of the defendant, the prosecution and the public interest in the…

Deliberately impersonating another person in court proceedings, including for the purpose of swearing an affidavit and obtaining interim relief, constitutes…

A magistrates’ court has a limited common-law power to reopen a liability order made in its civil jurisdiction. The power is exceptional and should be…

For an offence under section 8(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the offence may be committed in respect of both the bird and the cage where the…

For a corporate manslaughter verdict at common law, the jury must be directed to identify at least one individual who had the status of a directing mind of the…

For the purposes of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, a course of conduct may comprise several distinct episodes occurring on the same day, even where…

The fact that a detained person develops mental illness while in lawful detention does not, without more, establish a presumption that the State caused the…

A licensing authority must consider and determine a compliant application for a premises licence under the Gambling Act 2005. The statutory eligibility…

A planning permission granted contrary to the committee’s resolution may be quashed on judicial review where the officer acted without proper authority. A…

A community order takes effect when imposed and remains enforceable unless quashed, revoked or amended. The lodging of an appeal against the conviction or…

Judicial review cannot be used as a second appeal on disputed facts. Where a Crown Court has heard evidence and made findings, the Administrative Court may…