High Court: Administrative Court judgments, 2021

At the permission stage, a judicial review claim is arguable where public authorities may have applied overlapping relocation and humanitarian-leave policies…

On a renewed application for bail in an extradition case, the court must reconsider the material circumstances, including any claimed change in circumstances…

In an extradition appeal, a court may proceed in the appellant’s absence where the appellant has waived attendance, proceeding is necessary and appropriate in…

Statutory duties to prepare climate policies and lay adaptation programmes do not impose a duty to achieve every asserted policy outcome. Disagreement with the…

Under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988, the controlling question is whether a further investigation is necessary or desirable in the interests of justice.…

An appeal under section 40 of the Medical Act 1983 is a rehearing without rehearing the evidence. The court affords appropriate deference to a specialist…

On a renewed application for bail in extradition proceedings, the court must decide whether there has been a material change in circumstances and must reassess…

Where a person is sought pursuant to a conviction warrant, there is no presumption in favour of bail. The court must assess the risk of non-surrender in the…

On an appeal concerning bail in extradition proceedings, the court must rehear the merits afresh, while taking account of the lower court’s approach and…

In judicial review of a planning decision, the court reviews legality rather than planning merits. A planning authority may rely on a technical assessment…

An appeal will be reopened only where the demanding threshold in rule 50.27 of the Criminal Procedure Rules is satisfied. Finality is particularly important in…

The natural meaning of the five-year presence requirement in Schedule 1 to the British Nationality Act 1981 is hard-edged. However, its inflexible application…

A consultation is lawful where the decision-maker has a strong preference for a proposal but remains willing to reconsider it in light of consultation…

In determining a planning application, a decision-maker must interpret development-plan policies objectively and assess whether the proposal accords with the…

The Financial Ombudsman determines complaints by reference to what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. On judicial review, the court applies an…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in an extradition case, the court should assess reasonable arguability by reference to the circumstances…

Permission to appeal in extradition proceedings requires a ground to be reasonably arguable and supported by material capable of affecting the outcome. For…

An extradition appeal requires a viable and well-founded ground under the applicable legal standards. The appellate court has no power to permit the requested…

Under the Care Act 2014, eligible care and support needs are not confined to personal care services. The statutory concept of meeting needs is broad and may…

Judicial review of a prosecutorial decision is subject to a single, restrained approach whether or not Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights is…

A local authority considering whether to reassess age must identify what troubled the original assessment and ask whether the new material could lead to a…

A diplomatic assurance first offered on an extradition appeal is an issue, rather than evidence, for the purposes of section 106 of the Extradition Act 2003. A…

In extradition appeals, permission should be granted where the proposed appeal is reasonably arguable after the court takes a step back and considers whether…

At the permission stage of judicial review, a High Court judge may follow an earlier refusal of permission on a materially identical and unarguable claim…

For Extradition Act 2003 section 20(5), entitlement to a retrial need not be unqualified. It may be subject to procedural requirements under the law of the…

For the purposes of an extradition prima facie case assessment, the court must apply the law of England and Wales at a putative summary trial. A statement may…

In a renewed extradition appeal, the court held that statutory proportionality under section 21A of the Extradition Act 2003 is assessed by reference to the…

Where an appellant accepts that no viable ground of appeal remains, permission to appeal should be refused rather than the hearing being vacated or adjourned…

Permission to appeal in an extradition case should be granted where an argument is reasonably arguable that the European Arrest Warrant does not clearly…

In an extradition case involving an Article 8 ECHR challenge, proportionality must be assessed by weighing all relevant features together. A lengthy period of…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in an extradition case, the court treated an Article 8 challenge as arguable where the overall evaluative…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in an extradition case, a ground is reasonably arguable only where there is a realistic legal prospect that…

A challenge to experimental traffic orders must be determined within the statutory grounds governing such orders, applying ordinary public law, equality and…

Enforcement of a statutory notice requiring a person to attend a public inquiry is remedial and principally directed to securing compliance and obtaining…

In an extradition appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed Article 8 challenge has no realistic prospect of establishing that extradition would…

Under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, a licensed operator accepting a private hire booking must undertake, as principal, a contractual obligation…

A planning committee’s resolution that it is minded to approve an application and defers it for consideration of conditions is ordinarily a preliminary view…

Whether an issue is justiciable depends on its subject matter and the legal principles defining the proper limits of judicial determination. Although decisions…

Individual patient funding decisions must apply the relevant policy according to its language and purpose. Where a policy requires comparison with patients…

A section 40 appeal against a Medical Practitioners Tribunal sanction is a rehearing. The court may substitute its own decision, while giving appropriate…

Permission to appeal in an extradition case should be refused where the proposed grounds depend on a premise that is not reasonably arguable. The court may…

In deciding bail in a conviction European Arrest Warrant case, the court must consider afresh whether substantial grounds exist for believing that the…

In extradition proceedings, an Article 8 proportionality challenge requires the personal and family impact of extradition to be balanced against the strong…

When an indeterminate foreign national prisoner liable to deportation seeks open conditions, the Parole Board must apply the very low risk of abscond test and…

The court held that regulations preventing unvaccinated workers from entering care homes were not arguably ultra vires. They did not compel medical treatment…

On a review of a life prisoner’s minimum term, the High Court may recommend a reduction where the offender has made exceptional and unforeseen progress during…

Under section 13 of the Coroners Act 1988, a fresh inquest may be ordered where new evidence may reasonably show that the substantial truth about how a person…

In a habeas corpus application concerning continued detention, the court may order immediate release where every realistically available factual and legal…

In a conviction European Arrest Warrant case, there is no presumption in favour of bail. The court must assess afresh whether substantial grounds exist for…

In a conviction extradition case, the High Court’s bail jurisdiction does not depend on proof of a change in circumstances. The court may reconsider bail on…

In conviction-based extradition proceedings, there is no presumption in favour of bail. The court must assess afresh whether there are substantial grounds for…

The open justice principle concerns the public’s ability to understand and scrutinise court proceedings. A journalist’s purpose does not create an additional…

In an extradition case, a general picture of discrimination, racism or inadequate protection does not by itself establish an Article 3 risk requiring a…

A property freezing order may be made at the investigative stage where the statutory conditions are satisfied, including a good arguable case that the property…

In an extradition appeal based solely on ECHR Article 8, proportionality requires all relevant features to be weighed cumulatively against the public interest…

A public authority may create a procedural legitimate expectation by making a clear, unambiguous and unqualified promise to consult. It must honour that…

In a conviction-extradition warrant case, there is no presumption in favour of bail. The court must consider the bail question afresh and decide whether…

For an offence under section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, the prosecution need not prove that an actual lawful user of the highway was obstructed. Whether…

For an offence under section 241(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the prosecution must prove that the relevant work was…

Capacity to conduct proceedings is decision-specific. A person must be presumed to have capacity, and the court must take all practicable steps to assist…

In reviewing a Conclusive Grounds decision under the National Referral Mechanism, the decision-maker must assess credibility and all relevant evidence…

On an appeal under section 289 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the court reviews legality, not the planning merits or the Inspector’s exercise of…

In extradition proceedings, bail may be refused where the proposed conditions do not adequately address the risk that the applicant will fail to surrender. The…

The interpretation of a planning permission is a question of law for the court. The court must begin with the permission itself and any documents incorporated…

In an inquest, the questions of how, when and where a deceased came by their death are directed to the immediate circumstances of death. Earlier medical…

An extradition warrant must particularise the circumstances of each alleged offence, including the conduct, time and place, and the relevant foreign-law…

Forfeiture proceedings under section 298 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 may be advanced on both statutory bases: recoverable property and cash intended for…

A conviction warrant carries no right to bail. Bail may nevertheless be refused where the seriousness of the offence, the sentence imposed, the absence of a…

On a statutory review of a planning appeal, the decision-maker must assess a proposed variation against the development authorised by the existing permission…

An unopposed application to adjourn an appeal may be granted where counsel is unexpectedly unavailable. The court may use the adjournment to obtain updated…

A consultation on school reorganisation is lawful if conducted fairly and while the decision-maker retains an open mind. Fairness does not ordinarily require…

On an application under section 83 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the applicant bears the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that his…

For extradition to proceed, a European Arrest Warrant must identify the conviction and the requested person’s alleged participation with sufficient clarity and…

A magistrates’ court may hear an application for an account freezing order in private where the application is made without notice under section 303Z1(4) of…

A school may use its general management powers to prevent a pupil attending school premises for safeguarding reasons, provided the power is exercised…

Positive operational duties under Articles 2 and 8 may arise where regulated industrial activity creates a real and immediate risk to life, including a risk of…

In a conviction-warrant extradition case, bail is not subject to a presumption in favour of release. The court must assess afresh whether there are substantial…

In an extradition appeal based on prison conditions, a court may rely on a specific assurance from a non-judicial authority where, on an overall assessment of…

In extradition proceedings arising from a conviction European Arrest Warrant, there is no presumption in favour of bail. The court must consider bail afresh…

In an extradition accusation case, bail begins with a presumption in favour of release. That presumption is displaced where, assessing all the circumstances…

On an application for bail in a conviction extradition case, the High Court considers bail afresh after refusal in the magistrates’ court. There is no…

HMRC’s collection and management discretion is wide, but it remains bounded by the duty to collect tax imposed by Parliament. HMRC may make concessions, enter…

In an extradition appeal, a requested person’s particular history of gang violence or intravenous drug use does not, without more, constitute a special risk…

When varying bail conditions, the court should begin with the original order, intentions and reasons rather than reconsider bail from the beginning. A…

The reasonable-adjustments duty under the Equality Act 2010 is anticipatory, continuing and objective. It requires service-providers to secure the closest…

At the permission stage of a judicial review, the court may adopt an expedited rolled-up hearing where that is a fairer and more efficient way to determine…

An appellate court may interfere with a discretionary declaration where the lower court has adopted an erroneous approach to the form of relief. A declaration…

In an extradition appeal under Article 8, the court may stand back and assess whether the overall outcome reached by the district judge was wrong. The…

In an extradition appeal under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court must conduct the familiar proportionality balance between the…

Permission for judicial review may be refused where an established complaints mechanism is an appropriate and effective route for resolving the claimant’s…

In extradition proceedings, Article 8 private and family life considerations must be balanced against the strong public interest in extradition and in…

On an application for bail in extradition proceedings, the court must determine the merits independently, objectively and afresh on the materials before it.…

On an application for bail in extradition proceedings following refusal by the magistrates’ court, the High Court must determine the question afresh. Where the…

A renewed application for permission to bring judicial review must be considered afresh, rather than as an appeal from the paper decision. A challenge to the…

In a Category A review, the decision whether to hold an oral hearing is governed by the applicable policy criteria and common-law procedural fairness. The…

When deciding whether to continue an interim suspension order, the court must not determine the underlying substantive merits. It must consider the nature of…

When deciding whether to extend a professional regulator’s interim order, the court must assess necessity for public protection, the public interest and the…

Interim relief in judicial review requires a serious issue to be tried and a balance of convenience and justice favouring relief. In accommodation cases under…

On judicial review of an ombudsman determination, the characterisation of a complaint and the assessment of whether it is out of time are generally evaluative…

An interim suspension order may be continued where necessary and proportionate to protect the public and maintain public and professional confidence. The court…

On an appeal under section 40A of the Medical Act 1983, the court may quash a tribunal decision affected by an error of law. Allegations must be interpreted…

Once a breach of planning control has continued throughout the applicable immunity period, the resulting lawful planning right is not lost merely because it…

Accommodation provided to destitute asylum seekers under section 96 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 must satisfy the objective minimum standards of the…

Under the Community Infrastructure Levy regime, liability to pay CIL arises on commencement of the chargeable development. The date and amount payable are…

On an appeal by way of case stated, the High Court may intervene only for excess of jurisdiction or error of law. It may not re-evaluate evidence or substitute…

Under Part 50 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, the listed exceptions to the general requirement for a public hearing govern applications concerning extradition…

In a judicial review of a planning decision, the distinction between what land could be used for and what it would be used for if permission were refused is…

Under the Habitats Regulations, a competent authority must make a case-specific appropriate assessment using the best available scientific knowledge and…

Retrospective legislation which affects pending litigation engages the rule-of-law protection in ECHR Article 6. It may be justified only by compelling…

A local-government continuity provision preserves the legal effect of acts done by a predecessor authority after reorganisation. It does not retrospectively…

An extradition assurance must be read in its full context. Where the requesting state is a party to the proceedings, an authoritative submission explaining the…

Immigration detention is lawful only while removal remains a realistic prospect within a reasonable period. The assessment is fact-specific and must account…

A difference in social-security support may constitute discrimination under article 14 even where it results from an inadvertent administrative error and gives…

In applying heritage-protection duties and planning policies, a decision-maker may assess heritage harm before taking heritage benefits into account, or may…

Appeals under regulation 17 of the Teachers’ Disciplinary (England) Regulations 2012 are ordinarily reviews under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 52.21, where…

A housing allocation scheme may use general qualification criteria which exclude some applicants within a statutory reasonable-preference category. The scheme…

A managing authority may grant ERDF support even where, before the grant decision, it discovers that the applicant has awarded a project contract in a way that…

A local planning authority may owe a common-law duty to give reasons when granting permission for development in a highly sensitive protected landscape…

Permission to appeal on an Article 8 ECHR ground requires a realistic prospect that the first-instance evaluative outcome was wrong. In extradition cases, the…

In an extradition case engaging Article 8 ECHR, the appellate court must consider whether the lower court’s overall proportionality evaluation was wrong…

In an extradition case involving Article 8 ECHR, a court need not order a social-services assessment or adjourn proceedings merely to investigate unsupported…

In an extradition appeal, particulars in a European Arrest Warrant may be read together with Further Information supplied by the requesting judicial authority.…

Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 imposes an absolute and non-delegable duty to secure the special educational provision specified in an…

In an application for mandatory interim relief in a public-law claim, the court may take account of the mandatory character of the order sought and the…

An executing court should read a European arrest warrant as a whole. It should ordinarily accept the issuing state's categorisation of conduct unless there is…

In extradition cases, oppression under section 25 of the Extradition Act 2003 requires a holistic assessment of all relevant circumstances. Stress, hardship…

On a renewed application for judicial review, permission depends on an arguable ground with a realistic prospect of success. A medical appeal under the Police…

In planning judicial review, the court must respect the decision-maker’s planning judgment, but it will intervene where an officer’s report materially misleads…

An appeal against a financial penalty under section 58(3) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 permits challenge to the reasons for…

Where the Professional Standards Authority appeals a tribunal decision and the General Medical Council adopts a neutral stance, the GMC is ordinarily treated…

In an extradition appeal, assurances cannot answer a substantial risk of treatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR merely by describing what prison authorities will…

A prisoner’s Article 8 rights survive imprisonment in attenuated form. Restrictions on family contact must be justified by firm evidence of a relevant risk and…

For the purposes of Extradition Act 2003, an EAW must provide the conduct alleged, the time and place of its occurrence, and the relevant legal provisions for…

A judicial review challenge to an out-of-country appeal certification is ordinarily premature where the First-tier Tribunal can give directions enabling the…

Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 does not impose a general, directly enforceable duty to provide accommodation. Accommodation may fall within…

Honesty and integrity are distinct professional standards. Integrity is broader than honesty, so conduct may lack integrity without being dishonest. However…

In an extradition appeal, deliberate absence from trial requires proof that the requested person deliberately failed to attend the trial events leading to…

A planning permission must be construed as a whole. Its description identifies the permitted use, but does not impose a numerical or substantive limitation…

In a conviction-warrant case, time already served does not materially reduce the public interest in extradition where a substantial sentence remains…

On an appeal by case stated, the High Court is confined to the facts and conclusions identified in the case stated. It must not second-guess factual findings…

An authorisation criterion is not unlawful merely because it may affect competition or have economic effects. Under the Provision of Services Regulations 2009…

For the purposes of Article 5 ECHR, detention following recall from licence remains authorised by the original sentencing court. The prisoner’s lack of…

Paragraphs 143 and 144 of the National Planning Policy Framework do not require a mathematical or artificially sequenced exercise in which substantial weight…

Where a family-reunion procedure affecting Article 8 rights is conditional on an unaffordable fee without an affordability assessment, it is not effectively…

The Parole Board’s statutory reconsideration power is limited to the grounds specified in its Rules. “Irrationality” and illegality are separate public-law…

A judicial review challenge to a policy may be refused as premature where the policy has not yet taken effect and its practical impact remains uncertain. This…

Whether a meeting is “open to the public” or “held in public” depends on the statutory context and on the meaning of the meeting being described. Where the…

A criminal appeal may proceed in the defendant’s absence where the court has given a fair and sufficient opportunity to attend and the defendant has…

A police misconduct hearing chair has a continuing obligation to keep under review whether a witness should be called. The governing test remains whether the…

The interpretation of planning policy is a question of law, but policy wording need not have one rigid or exclusively literal meaning. The phrase “immediately…

An acquittal does not, without more, require deletion of associated police records. It establishes only that guilt was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.…

A fresh claim must be assessed in two stages: whether the further material is significantly different, and whether, with the earlier material, it creates a…

Under the Extradition Act 2003, an executing court considering an Article 3 prison-conditions objection must follow the Aranyosi process. Generic evidence of…

A published policy guiding a broad statutory discretion is not unlawful merely because it affects statutory benefit entitlement where primary legislation…

In an extradition case based on a conviction warrant, a person alleging that the historic trial was flagrantly unfair must establish that the unfairness…

Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972 requires relevant local authority meetings to take place at a single specified geographical location. In that…

A magistrates’ court lacks jurisdiction to try a summary-only offence where no information was laid within six months of the alleged offence. The position is…

In an extradition appeal raising Article 8 ECHR, family life and the welfare of children must be assessed in the light of all current evidence. Hardship caused…

In an extradition case engaging Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, serious private and family life consequences do not necessarily outweigh…

In an extradition appeal, qualifying remand may be assessed by projecting forward where the appellant has durable, freestanding grounds for remaining in the…

In a renewed extradition appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed Article 8 ground is not reasonably arguable and there is no realistic prospect…

A planning condition requiring development to be carried out in accordance with approved plans may require compliance with an accurate, scaled depiction of the…

A privately constituted professional disciplinary body is amenable to judicial review only where its functions have a sufficient public character, such as…

For a derogation licence affecting a protected species, the licensing body must be satisfied that the authorised action will not be detrimental to maintaining…

For the purposes of Extradition Act 2003, a person is convicted in their presence where the court finally determines guilt and imposes the sentence at a…

A planning permission intended to restrict development to specified uses must express that restriction by an effective planning condition. Describing the…

Section 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 does not permit a relevant authority to refuse to process an inspection request because compliance…

The main housing duty under section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 is immediate, unqualified and non-deferrable. It requires the authority to secure suitable…

The statutory good-character requirement for naturalisation cannot be disapplied through interpretation where that would contradict the structure and purpose…

A statutory consultee must answer the consultation within the statutory subject matter and in the capacity in which it is consulted. A local highway authority…

In an extradition permission application, the court may proceed on the current evidence where a later medical development remains uncertain, particularly where…

In an extradition case, an Article 3 challenge based on prison conditions must address the protection available to the requested person in the prison system as…

In a renewed extradition appeal, general objections to prison-condition assurances should not ordinarily be relitigated afresh where the same issue has already…

In an extradition case, a specific assurance from the competent national authority that a minimum prison living space would be provided was not undermined by a…

Permission to appeal in an extradition case requires a ground with a realistic prospect of success. A person’s absence from proceedings activating a suspended…

An interim order suspending a dental professional’s registration may be extended where the extension remains necessary for public protection or otherwise in…

An interim order restricting a nurse’s registration may be extended where the statutory conditions remain satisfied and further time is reasonably required…

For interim relief in a public-law claim, the court applies the American Cyanamid test as adapted to public law. It first asks whether there is a good arguable…

Permission to appeal in an extradition case requires a reasonably arguable ground. An appellate court will not ordinarily reassess foreign courts’ substantive…

In an extradition case, Article 8 ECHR requires a nuanced assessment of all relevant facts and circumstances, including the requested person’s conduct, family…

For the purposes of Extradition Act 2003, culpable or inexcusably dilatory delay may contribute to injustice or oppression, but delay alone will not ordinarily…

A prisoner transferred to England and Wales is a transferred life prisoner only where, at the point of transfer, he is subject to an operative indeterminate…

The service provisions in section 160 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 are permissive, not exhaustive or mandatory. A notice under section 82(6) may…

In an appeal against a professional disciplinary sanction, the appellate court must respect the specialist tribunal’s evaluative judgment and intervene only…

A claim for judicial review is generally premature where the legal or factual events giving rise to the challenge have not occurred. The courts ordinarily…

For the purposes of Extradition Act 2003, a person represented by a lawyer mandated to conduct the trial may be treated as present, even without physical…

For mandatory referral of a police complaint, the appropriate authority must assess the conduct alleged, assuming it to be substantiated, against the statutory…

Section 242 of the National Health Service Act 2006 requires meaningful arrangements for service-user involvement in planning, developing and considering…

Rateable occupation requires actual, exclusive and non-transient possession, together with possession of some value or benefit to the occupier. Minimal use may…

A Community Infrastructure Levy liability notice must be issued and served in the prescribed sequence and within the time required by regulation 65 of the…

A statutory prohibition on using intercept material as evidence in criminal proceedings was not incompatible with Articles 2 or 6 of the ECHR. Article 2…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in an extradition case, an Article 8 challenge must show a realistic prospect that the appellate court would…

Permission to appeal in an extradition case requires a ground with a realistic prospect of success. For double jeopardy, the court may place primary reliance…

Under section 14 of the Extradition Act 2003, the question whether extradition is unjust because of delay requires an overall evaluative judgment on all the…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in an extradition case, the court held that a requested person may be arguably mischaracterised as a…

In an extradition appeal, qualifying remand served in the United Kingdom and the diminishing custodial sentence remaining abroad may be relevant to the Article…

In an extradition case, Article 8 requires a structured balancing exercise between the strong public interest in extradition and the person’s private and…

The Secretary of State retains responsibility under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 for setting and varying licence conditions for prisoners sentenced under…

An entry clearance officer must engage with all material evidence of a claimed parent-child relationship. DNA evidence may be requested, but cannot be treated…

On an appeal under Schedule 17 to the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Act 2017, the appellate decision-maker must determine the approval request on the…

A passport application for a child must ordinarily be made by a person with parental responsibility, determined under the applicable conflict-of-laws rules. In…

In a coronial investigation, causation must be established on the balance of probabilities. It is insufficient that a disease is statistically associated with…

A statutory duty to consult a youth offending team arises before an application for a supervision or detention order following breach of a youth injunction. It…

An expert witness has an actual conflict of interest where personal interests actually influence, or are capable of influencing, the expert’s opinions. A…

An application for a fresh inquest under Coroners Act 1988, section 13, ordinarily depends on whether the new evidence could realistically lead to a different…

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the Dangerous Dogs Exemption Schemes (England and Wales) Order 2015, police discretion over a seized prohibited dog must…

For regulatory purposes, a security is not a transferable security merely because it is described as a bond. The instrument must be negotiable on the capital…

The duty under section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 is an immediate duty to secure suitable accommodation. It is not qualified by a reasonable-endeavours or…

Anonymity under CPR 39.2(4) requires a case-specific balancing exercise between the applicant’s privacy rights and the rights protected by open justice…

On an appeal under the Extradition Act 2003, the High Court may allow an appeal based on fresh evidence only where the evidence was unavailable at the…

Procedural fairness in national security vetting is context-sensitive. An applicant for security clearance ordinarily starts at a relatively low point on the…

In a statutory challenge to an enforcement appeal decision, the court held that an inspector must distinguish legal interpretation from planning judgment and…

In regulatory fitness-to-practise proceedings, a tribunal may admit material that would be inadmissible in ordinary civil litigation, provided it acts fairly…

A negative screening opinion under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations SI No 2017/571 is not conclusive when planning…

In a judicial review concerning asylum support during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was arguable that a public authority which had identified homelessness as a…

For a child’s placement to amount to a deprivation of liberty under Article 5, the objective question is assessed by comparing the child’s actual freedom with…

An Aarhus costs cap expressed as £35,000 plus VAT may be varied where the order was agreed on the basis of the then-understood meaning of Civil Procedure Rules…

An Independent Adjudicator is not required to investigate or review the reasons why a Prison Governor referred disciplinary charges under rule 53A of the…

When determining an application or appeal for advertisement consent, the decision-maker must address both amenity and public safety. This includes the safety…

For the purposes of Mental Health Act 1983 section 117, responsibility for after-care following a period of detention is determined by the person’s ordinary…

A care and support needs assessment is a multi-factorial expert judgment. The assessor must consider the principal issues, ask the correct statutory questions…

At the permission stage of an age-assessment challenge, the court must ask whether the evidence, taken at its highest, could properly succeed at a contested…

Residual diplomatic immunity under article 39(2) of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations extends to criminal acts performed by a former diplomatic…

A planning permission may be challenged notwithstanding a later certificate of lawfulness under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 192, because the…

In an age-dispute judicial review, permission should be refused only where the material shows that a court or tribunal could not properly find that the…

A confiscation order made against each of several offenders who jointly obtained criminal property remains a personal order against each offender. Payments…

A public authority may adopt a policy governing a statutory discretion, but it must remain willing to consider exceptional individual cases and depart from the…

The Hamid jurisdiction enables the Administrative Court to regulate its procedures and enforce the professional duties owed to it by legal representatives.…

Under section 91 of the Extradition Act 2003, the court must make an overall evaluative assessment of whether extradition would be unjust or oppressive. In…

The Parole Board must ask whether fairness requires an oral hearing in light of the facts and the importance of what is at stake. The inquiry is distinct from…

A police misconduct panel must apply the civil burden of proof to the allegation that force was excessive. An officer’s duty to account for force under the…

Coronavirus gathering restrictions must be read and applied compatibly with Articles 10 and 11. The expression “without reasonable excuse” in Regulation 10(1)…

On an appeal against a professional disciplinary sanction, the court must respect the tribunal’s evaluative expertise but may attach less weight to it where…

Public interest immunity requires a fact-specific balance between the harm disclosure would cause to the public interest and the harm non-disclosure would…

A local authority’s power to provide temporary accommodation to rough sleepers with no recourse to public funds is not confined to Part VII of the Housing Act…

A planning decision under section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is reviewed on ordinary judicial review principles. The court must not…

An appellate court should interfere with a case-management decision only where there has been a misdirection or the decision falls outside the generous ambit…

When a doctor deliberately breaches specific restrictions imposed on registration, the breach must be assessed as a regulatory breach in its own right. The…

Restrictions protecting a site of exceptional cultural importance may lawfully interfere with religious freedom, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly…

An appellate court reviewing a Medical Practitioners Tribunal must allow for the tribunal’s specialist expertise and its advantage in seeing and hearing…

The five-year restriction in rule 4(5) of the General Medical Council (Fitness to Practise) Rules 2004 is not an immunity or ordinary limitation period. The…

In a conviction-based European arrest warrant case, the statutory proportionality bar in section 21A of the Extradition Act 2003 applies to accusation or…

Withdrawal of renewable-energy accreditation may be proportionate where accreditation was obtained through materially inaccurate information, including…

Interim relief in judicial review requires a real issue to be tried and a balance of convenience favouring relief, including relevant public interests.…

Benefits adjudication is inquisitorial, but that does not eliminate every reference to a claimant’s burden of providing information. In a good-cause decision…

An appeal under section 40 of the Medical Act 1983 is a rehearing without rehearing the evidence. The appellate court may correct material errors of fact or…

On an appeal from a professional disciplinary tribunal, the appellate court must respect the tribunal’s advantage in seeing and hearing witnesses, but retains…

Local-authority placement decisions involving a child’s religious manifestation must give proper consideration to religious persuasion, family life, education…

An appeal from a professional disciplinary decision is ordinarily limited to a review. The appellate court must give appropriate weight to a specialist…

In extradition appeals involving prison conditions, past breaches of assurances do not create a general bar on return to Bulgaria. The court must assess the…

On an appeal under section 40 of the Medical Act 1983, the court asks whether the tribunal’s decision was wrong or unjust because of serious procedural or…

For Article 14 purposes, immigration detainees held in prisons constitute a relevant class with an “other status” independent of the treatment complained of.…

British citizenship and entitlement to a British passport are distinct questions. A decision not to deprive a person of citizenship under section 40(3) of the…

A court considering whether to stay concurrent regulatory and civil proceedings exercises an original jurisdiction. A stay is exceptional and requires a real…

On an appeal from a Medical Practitioners Tribunal, the High Court must allow the appeal only if the tribunal’s decision was wrong or unjust because of a…

An employment tribunal appeal concerning a stay pending possible criminal proceedings remains a case-management decision. The applicant must show a real risk…

The completion of a course of treatment does not necessarily end the professional relationship between a healthcare practitioner and patient. Its duration is…

An application to reopen an extradition appeal or continue a stay requires a sufficiently firm basis for doing so. Reported changes in prison conditions and an…

Refusing to give a name and address to a police officer is not wilful obstruction unless the person is under a legal obligation to provide the information.…

A lease is not a sham merely because it is artificial or intended to avoid business rates. The question is whether the parties intended the document to create…

Standing in judicial review is context-sensitive. A non-economic operator may have standing where it has a genuine interest and expertise, no realistic…

Under the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2009, a decision-maker must have sufficient environmental information to…

A scheme which calculates support by reference to historic trading profits does not, without more, indirectly discriminate against women whose past profits…

When assessing after-care for a vulnerable child under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the court must scrutinise the assessment and care plan with…

For patients detained under section 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the criteria governing discharge by a tribunal mirror the criteria for admission. A…

A statutory review under Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is concerned with legality, not the merits of the planning judgment. The court must distinguish…

For the purposes of the National Assistance Act 1948, the deeming provision concerning ordinary residence may apply where residential accommodation should have…

Under the Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2019, the operator recommends the minimum geographical extent of a Detailed…

A bright-line policy retaining all recordable convictions on the Police National Computer until the person reaches 100 is sufficiently clear and foreseeable to…

On an appeal from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, a foreign criminal conviction may be treated as proof of the underlying misconduct under the applicable…

Permission for judicial review may be refused where a challenge is unarguable or where the outcome would have been substantially the same despite the alleged…

At the permission stage of a judicial review challenging an age assessment, the court asks whether the evidence, taken at its highest, raises a factual case…

Registration under the relevant Hong Kong nationality provisions requires the applicant to satisfy the statutory conditions, including that the applicant would…

Domestic arrangements requiring non-national EU citizens to make a time-limited declaration before voting in European Parliamentary elections were compatible…

On a statutory review of terrorism prevention and investigation measures, the court must review whether the statutory conditions continue to be satisfied…

Interim relief in judicial review requires a real prospect of success at the substantive hearing and, if that threshold is met, consideration of the balance of…

The power to cancel non-lapsing leave under Article 13(7) of the Immigration (Leave to Enter & Remain) Order 2000 did not extend to indefinite leave to remain.…

Regulation 26 of the Criminal Legal Aid (Contribution Orders) Regulations 2013 permits the Crown Court to specify the proportion of the defendant’s costs of…

In deciding an extradition bail application, the court must assess the risk of failure to surrender in the circumstances of the individual case. Relevant…

A mandatory injunction binds a Minister of the Crown even when made on paper without a penal notice. It must be obeyed by the stipulated time unless set aside…

At the permission stage, section 31(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 requires the court to be satisfied that the claimant has a sufficient interest in the…

On an extradition appeal concerning a conviction in absentia, the requesting authority must prove each element of the statutory scheme to the criminal…

An European Arrest Warrant is not necessarily invalid because every required detail is absent from its face. Supplementary information may cure an omission…

Temporary accommodation may constitute normal residence of choice for local-connection purposes. Physical occupation for six months does not, however…

Interim relief should not compel the Secretary of State to determine complex statelessness, immigration-submission or travel-document applications within an…

A magistrates’ court has an inherent power to set aside a liability order. The power is exceptional and should be exercised cautiously. It may be exercised…

A statutory appeal from the Valuation Tribunal for England lies only on a question of law arising from the tribunal’s decision. Disagreement about the…

Under the Coronavirus postponement scheme, the reference in regulation 12(3) of the 2020 Regulations to a referendum mentioned in regulation 12(2) identifies a…

Section 142(2) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 is a limited power to correct mistakes or errors in a magistrates’ court’s own proceedings. It is not a…

The IOPC’s statutory decision after a death or serious injury investigation is confined principally to whether the report indicates a possible criminal offence…

Where the Parole Board withholds material under rule 17 of the Parole Board Rules 2019, fairness requires the panel to consider case-specific measures to…

An appellate court may refuse to admit evidence concerning matters known and available before a tribunal hearing where the evidence could have been provided…

An appeal from a disciplinary tribunal is a review of whether the tribunal’s decision was wrong, not a rehearing. Appropriate regard must be given to the…

A planning inspector must take relevant public rights of way into account when assessing a development. However, the obstruction of a right of way may be…

Immigration detention remains lawful only while removal is pursued actively, detention lasts no longer than a reasonable period, and there remains a sufficient…

The statutory term “information” in a planning contravention notice may include relevant documents. Whether documents can be required depends on the statutory…

A notice of liability to deportation is a preliminary notification inviting representations. It is not itself a deportation decision or an EU-law measure…

Under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, a regulator must apply the legally correct registration criteria and its own applicable guidance. Under the 2011…

There is no principled objection to the Administrative Court considering interim relief seeking release from immigration detention, rather than requiring an…

Indirect discrimination may arise where a welfare rule has disproportionately prejudicial effects on women, including where the rule concerns access to a…

The statutory requirements that an applicant has personally seen a patient and that a medical practitioner has personally examined a patient before compulsory…

Abuse of process in extradition is a residual jurisdiction distinct from the statutory bars, including human-rights bars. It protects both the integrity of the…

On an extradition appeal, the appellate court asks whether the district judge ought to have decided a question differently and, if so, would have been required…

In judicial review proceedings, public authorities must not use evidence filed after the decision to repair defects, add new reasons, or provide ex post facto…

Public authorities formulating wide-ranging transport policies must consider the effects on every materially affected class of road user. Taxis, as public…

For conduct to satisfy dual criminality where the foreign offence lacks a mental element required by English law, the warrant and admissible further…

Where detention or conditional bail is authorised by a court order, a challenge based on public law error should ordinarily be brought by judicial review, not…

A planning officer’s report must be read fairly and as a whole. The court asks whether it materially misled the committee on a matter bearing on its decision…

A local authority must take reasonable steps to assess the needs of a child in need who is physically within its area. It cannot refuse assessment because…

General licences authorising the killing or taking of wild birds need not specify every possible temporal or geographical circumstance of use. It is sufficient…

A permission under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 may vary conditions, but cannot change or substantially contradict the operative…

A statutory disciplinary appeal under National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 is an appeal by way of review, not a rehearing. The…

For a council tax discount based on severe mental impairment, the person must satisfy both the statutory mental-impairment condition and the condition of being…

Immigration detention must remain justified throughout the period of detention. Under the Hardial Singh principles, detention is lawful only for a reasonable…

A disciplinary tribunal may strike out proceedings after certifying a case to answer where a later application demonstrates that the allegations are plainly…

Where conversion of goods has occurred and the limitation period has expired, section 3(2) of the Limitation Act 1980 extinguishes the owner’s title. That…

Under Human Rights Act 1998, section 3(1), the court has no discretion to decline a Convention-compatible interpretation where such an interpretation is…

The general rule that an unsuccessful party pays the successful party’s costs is subject to the court’s discretion. A statutory regulator which takes a…

Planning policies prescribing open-space standards must be read as a whole and applied with appropriate planning judgment. A quantitative standard may be an…

Appellate courts should show deference to specialist disciplinary tribunals when reviewing sanctions. The appeal is by way of review, not rehearing, and…

A warrant under section 5 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 must identify the property sufficiently clearly for its scope to be objectively ascertainable…

The statutory duty imposed on NHS bodies is to secure public involvement in decision-making, not necessarily to conduct a formal public consultation.…

A Registrar’s decision that an objection is not groundless is ordinarily a low-threshold gateway decision, with the underlying dispute reserved for the…

A housing allocation policy may constitute indirect discrimination where its practical operation places disabled households at a particular disadvantage…

In an extradition case engaging Article 8, the public interest will usually outweigh private and family life interests unless the consequences of extradition…