Earlier reported cases judgments, 1997

An arbitration agreement carries, as a matter of law, an implied obligation not to disclose or use outside the arbitration documents, submissions, evidence…

Where parties agree to arbitrate any dispute, a claim becomes disputed when liability is denied or payment is refused. The claim remains a dispute even if the…

Where a costs order against a legally aided party is not to be enforced without leave, obtaining leave is itself a step in enforcing the order. Under section…

A redundancy scheme calculated by reference to pay at termination may indirectly disadvantage employees whose current hours are below their average hours…

The court cannot use its inherent jurisdiction to create interim capital or property rights which statute does not confer. Procedural rules regulate existing…

Absolute privilege for statements connected with judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings must be extended cautiously. Material outside proceedings falls within…

Section 53(2) of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 gives a marine insurance broker a lien against the policy for specified debts. Where the broker is authorised to…

A former employee’s fiduciary duty of loyalty ends with the employment relationship. A distinct duty to preserve confidential information may survive, but only…

A criminal process authorised and conducted in accordance with a statutory scheme does not become an abuse merely because another lawful mode of trial might…

A person is knowingly concerned in an unauthorised investment-business contravention when aware of the facts constituting it. The person is judged on the facts…

An application to dismiss proceedings for delay should normally be determined by reference to the pleaded cause of action. The availability of a different…

A special hours certificate under the Licensing Act 1964 does not merely add late-night drinking hours to general licensing hours. On each day to which it…

Where confidential information is created solely to facilitate a loose commercial project, its protection depends upon the relationship in which it arose. A…

A claimant cannot recover damages, whether in contract or tort, where the claim depends on the claimant’s own knowing criminal act and requires reliance on…

The statutory compensation scheme turns on the civil liability claimed, not simply on when the underlying loss first occurred. A transaction entered into after…

An interlocutory injunction will not normally restrain an allegedly defamatory publication where the defendant advances a defence of justification, unless the…

A compensatory award for unfair dismissal must be calculated under the statutory scheme. The tribunal first determines the loss attributable to the dismissal…

A constable exercising a power to enter premises to arrest may use reasonable force only where it is necessary. Where an occupier is available, necessity will…

Detention is an objective question. A person is detained where those controlling the premises intend not to let him leave and can prevent departure, even if he…

A liquidator may validly assign a company’s cause of action, including in return for a share of the proceeds, to an individual who intends to seek legal aid.…

Damages for personal injury compensate the claimant’s net loss. An incapacity pension received before normal retirement age is nevertheless disregarded when…

Under section 1(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976, less favourable treatment is determined by comparing how the alleged discriminator treated, or would have…

A national of a European Union Member State is “required by the Secretary of State to leave the United Kingdom”, within regulation 21(3)(h) of the Income…

A negligence cause of action for purely financial loss accrues when the claimant first sustains measurable loss within the scope of the defendant’s duty. For a…

An arbitration clause requiring an award before court proceedings does not prevent the English court from granting an injunction to enforce the clause itself.…

Under Order 3 rule 5, the court has a broad discretion to extend time and must assess overall justice by considering all relevant circumstances. The rule…

An on-demand performance bond gives the beneficiary immediate security against a contracting party's breach. Payment by the bank does not ordinarily determine…

A charterparty term making owners responsible for loss due to failure to comply with voyage instructions does not, without sufficiently clear language or…

Article 22 of the Brussels Convention requires a broad, autonomous and common-sense inquiry. “Irreconcilable judgments” includes any real risk of conflicting…

An accused’s acceptance of an allegation in a prosecution statement under section 3(1) of the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 does not exclude the statutory…

Professional opinion does not conclusively determine whether clinical conduct was negligent. The supporting body of opinion must be responsible, reasonable and…

The hedge-and-ditch presumption is a rebuttable presumption of fact. It applies only where the boundary cannot otherwise be ascertained from the conveyances…

Where a custodian owes a detainee a duty to take reasonable care to prevent a foreseeable suicide, the suicide is not a novus actus interveniens. The custodian…

A products liability policy covering compensation in respect of an occurrence of physical property damage does not cover contractual losses merely because they…

A child’s negligence is assessed objectively by reference to the care reasonably expected from an ordinary child of the same age. The court takes account of…

Where a wrongfully dismissed employee has obtained, or could have obtained, lower-paid alternative employment, compensation must first reflect the net…

Under Schedule 4 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the defendant’s domicile is the basic ground of jurisdiction. The special jurisdictions in…

A secondary party to a joint criminal enterprise is guilty of murder where he participates while foreseeing that the principal might intentionally kill or…

For the purposes of section 2 of the Limitation Act 1980, a negligence claim accrues when the claimant first suffers real, rather than negligible, damage.…

A secured creditor may claim directly against the principal debtor without first enforcing security supplied by a third party. Insolvency set-off operates…

On an interlocutory challenge to jurisdiction under article 6.1 of the Lugano Convention, a claimant must establish the relevant domicile by a good arguable…

In matters relating to insurance, Article 11 of the Brussels Convention applies to an insurer irrespective of the insurer’s own domicile. Proceedings by the…

This judgment applies section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 as a rule requiring necessity before a court may compel disclosure of a journalist's source.…

For section 34 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, a non-lien Admiralty action in rem is in substance an action against the shipowners, rather…

Under section 74(2)(f) of the Insolvency Act 1986, only rights founded on the statutory contract between a company and its members are subordinated as sums due…

Where striking employees are unfairly dismissed through selective re-engagement, mere participation in the common industrial action cannot by itself justify…

Applications to dismiss proceedings for want of prosecution generally require inordinate and inexcusable delay together with substantial prejudice or a…

A person arrested under terrorism legislation in Northern Ireland had no established common law right to have a solicitor present during police interviews. The…

Section 18A of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1972 gives the development plan statutory priority, but not absolute authority. A determination…

An insured owes a continuing duty of good faith when making a claim. A materially fraudulent part of a claim taints the whole claim and avoids the policy, even…

The courts will not exercise judicial review to control an investigation forming part of the House of Commons’ internal machinery for regulating members’…

For the purposes of the Estate Agents Act 1979, a conviction may qualify even if it predates the Act or was entered by a foreign court. The relevant question…

A dispute about a child’s surname is a profound welfare issue, not a mere formality. Where no residence order is in force, the court may determine the dispute…

On a standard-basis taxation, the court must decide first whether the costs were reasonably incurred, including whether it was reasonable to instruct the…

A residential sub-tenant may obtain the protection of section 137(3) of the Rent Act 1977 when a superior tenancy of mixed business and residential premises…

The court has an inherent discretionary power to strike out contempt proceedings and proceedings invoking supervisory jurisdiction over its officers as an…

On an application to stay proceedings for forum non conveniens, the defendant must first establish an available foreign forum which is clearly or distinctly…

A young child does not immediately lose an existing habitual residence merely because a person without parental rights clandestinely removes the child to…

Maintaining the same penal tariff after abandoning material aggravating assumptions may amount in substance to an increase in punishment. The general statutory…

The prosecution must disclose a material witness statement that may assist the defence even where prosecuting counsel reasonably regards its maker as…

A person who intentionally commits an unlawful and objectively dangerous act may be guilty of manslaughter when that act causes the later death of a child born…

At a joint criminal trial, one defendant may adduce a co-defendant’s out-of-court confession where it is relevant to the first defendant’s defence. The…

The forfeiture rule applies where a survivor has unlawfully aided or abetted another’s suicide, including suicide pursuant to a pact. The degree of culpability…

Where an accident makes previously received social security benefits subject to recoupment, the claimant may recover as special damages the benefits which, but…

The House held that computer-generated printouts of transaction records created by the interaction of a user and an automated banking system are not hearsay in…

Section 7 of the Race Relations Act 1976 applies where employees supplied by their employer perform work which, in ordinary language, is work for a principal.…

Under the unamended Hague Rules, the limitation in article IV rule 5 is calculated by reference to the packages actually proved to have been loaded in a…

In a sale-or-return contract, the buyer may reject the seller’s standing offer by clear notice before property passes, unless the contract requires physical…

Extradition proceedings are a criminal cause or matter for the purposes of section 18(1)(a) of the Supreme Court Act 1981. The same character attaches to…

A claimant who fears Convention persecution in one part of the country of nationality is not entitled to refugee status if effective protection is available…

An ecclesiastical appointment does not ordinarily create an employment contract. Offer, acceptance and consideration must be accompanied by an objectively…

Liability under the transfer-of-assets-abroad provisions arises only where the person assessed, or that person’s spouse, made the relevant transfer while…

A production order under section 93H of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 may be sought only to investigate whether a person has benefited from criminal conduct…

Under Supreme Court Act 1981, section 51, a non-party costs order requires exceptional circumstances which make the order reasonable and just. A liability…

Under Order 17 Rule 11 of the County Court Rules, automatic directions are displaced only where the specified procedural conditions are met. A part admission…

For redundancy purposes, the place where an employee is employed is determined primarily from the factual circumstances before dismissal. Contractual terms may…

In a normal FOB sale, the buyer must provide a conforming irrevocable letter of credit before shipment. The seller is not required to procure freight-prepaid…

Partnership capital and partnership assets are distinct. Capital comprises the partners’ fixed contributions intended to be risked in the business. Partnership…

Detention during Her Majesty’s pleasure includes punishment, so a provisional tariff may be set. The policy must, however, remain flexible enough to take…

An employer is subject to an implied contractual obligation not, without reasonable and proper cause, to conduct itself in a manner likely to destroy or…

A statutory duty gives rise to a private action for damages only where the legislation shows that Parliament intended that remedy. Duties forming part of a…

Tax legislation is construed purposively and in context. Where a pre-ordained composite transaction contains steps inserted without any commercial purpose…

Documents disclosed to an accused as part of the prosecution case, and read or referred to in open court, are not subject to an implied undertaking restricting…

For household insurance, a representation expressly made to the best of the insured's knowledge and belief is true if made honestly. It need not rest on…

A restraint of trade is not enforceable only within fixed categories such as sale-of-business and employment cases. The covenantee must have a legitimate…

The availability in criminal proceedings of a collateral public-law challenge to an administrative act on which the prosecution depends is a question of…

Specific performance is a discretionary and exceptional remedy. A court will ordinarily refuse to compel a defendant to carry on a business, even if damages…

A contractual notice exercising a break clause is construed objectively in its documentary and commercial context. The question is what a reasonable recipient…

An extradition decision involving alleged risks to life, liberty or a fair trial remains subject to supervisory judicial review. The Secretary of State must…

For attendance allowance and the care component of disability living allowance, bodily functions include the operation of the senses, including hearing.…

On a transfer of an undertaking, article 3(3)[A] of the Acquired Rights Directive broadly excludes occupational pension rights from the automatic transfer rule…

An apparent resignation or voluntary retirement must be assessed in substance. A tribunal may find dismissal by enforced resignation where employer pressure…

An employer is generally not liable for negligence by an independent contractor reasonably believed to be competent. Liability arises only where the employer…

The doctrine of mutual wills requires a contract at law, proved by clear evidence, that both wills will remain unaltered and that the survivor will be bound to…

A court may revoke a freeing order where adoption is no longer likely within a short period, although the former parent is unfit to exercise sole and…

Whether an object placed on land becomes part of the land depends principally on the degree and objective purpose of its annexation. The parties’ subjective…

The court may use the discretion in Order 45, rule 7(7) of the Rules of the Supreme Court to dispense retrospectively with service of a mandatory or…

Before certifying under section 2 of the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996 that an asylum seeker may be sent to a safe third country, the Secretary of State must…

A court may order production of documents to help determine whether it has jurisdiction, even though its substantive jurisdiction is disputed. The inherent…

Dismissal for want of prosecution requires both inordinate and inexcusable delay and a substantial risk that a fair trial is impossible or serious prejudice…

Private nuisance protects interests in land. A claimant ordinarily requires a proprietary or possessory interest, including de facto exclusive possession. Mere…

A court may strike out or stay proceedings under its inherent jurisdiction to prevent abuse of process. That jurisdiction operates independently of the rules…

A planning officer advising councillors must keep in mind the statutory requirement to determine a planning application in accordance with the development plan…

An assignee or subrogated insurer who seeks to enforce contractual rights must do so subject to the contractual arbitration agreement governing those rights.…

A solicitor who represents that he is authorised to act for a vendor may warrant that authority to a building society whose solicitors rely on the…

For Article 13 of the Hague Convention, acquiescence depends on the wronged parent’s actual, subjective state of mind. It is a question of fact, determined…

A change of contractor does not itself amount to a transfer of an undertaking under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981.…

A public authority issuing a statutory safety certificate does not owe future purchasers a duty to protect them from pure economic loss merely because their…

Under an Inchmaree clause, an assured must establish actual physical damage to the insured vessel during the policy period, caused by a latent defect in its…

An order directing that a party receive costs “to be taxed” includes the costs of the taxation proceedings, unless the taxing officer makes another costs…

Under Order 11, rule 1(1)(c), leave to serve a defendant out of the jurisdiction requires that another defendant has already been duly served, whether within…

Under section 2(1) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, a local authority may take its financial resources into account when assessing a…

A trustee exemption clause excluding liability except for loss caused by the trustee’s own actual fraud protects the trustee against negligence, however gross…

A fire authority owes no common-law duty merely to answer an emergency call, attend a fire, take control of operations, or attempt to extinguish the fire.…

A directive cannot of itself alter legal relations between private individuals or impose obligations on an individual. Accordingly, European Communities Act…

One joint tenant may terminate a contractual periodic tenancy by serving an appropriate notice to quit without the concurrence of the other joint tenant. Such…

A contract containing an invalid restraint of trade remains enforceable unless the restraint constitutes the whole or substantially the whole consideration for…

Where no permitted choice of law for an insurance contract is expressed or demonstrated with reasonable certainty, the applicable law is that of the country…

A statutory guarantee of an insolvent employer’s debts covers only sums which the employee was entitled to receive from the employer under domestic law. A…

Security for costs may exceptionally be ordered against a legally aided or potentially legally aided appellant where impecuniosity is established, outside…

A claim under a marine policy’s sue and labour clause must indemnify a real loss. Where the alleged expense is a waiver of contractual claims, its value…

On an interlocutory application concerning the meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the judge must exercise an independent judgment and delimit the meanings…

The domestic air-carriage rules apply to all carriage of persons by aircraft for reward. Their application does not require the person carried to be a party to…

Under section 9(3) of the Restrictive Trade Practices Act 1976, the substance rather than the linguistic form of an agreement determines whether a term relates…

Leave to appeal, once granted by a single Lord Justice, should be set aside only where the proposed appeal is bound to fail or there was no good reason to…

On a murder charge, provocation may be left to the jury only where evidence from any source supports a reasonable possibility that specific words or conduct…

Section 69 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 governs whether a computer properly processed, stored and reproduced the information used to generate a…

Under s.110(5) of the Land Registration Act 1925, a purchaser may require a non-registered vendor to procure registration or a disposition from the registered…

In civil claims against the police, juries should receive structured but non-binding guidance on basic, aggravated and exemplary damages. Basic and aggravated…

A person who cannot return to the country of nationality may qualify as a refugee although the original fear of persecution is no longer current. The past…

Preserved sperm may be stored and used for treatment only under a licence and with the donor’s effective written consent. The exception for a man and woman…

Under article 14 of the International Convention on Salvage 1989, special compensation is a safety net subordinate to the traditional salvage reward. A fair…

For listed-building control, a “listed building” is the building or part of a building entered in the statutory list, considered as a single listed entity.…

Public interest immunity protecting a police informer's identity is founded on the public interest, not on a personal privilege which an informer may waive.…

A chief constable’s duty to keep the peace and enforce the law does not confer an absolute right to police protection for a lawful activity, regardless of…

Equitable set-off requires a close connection between the claim and counterclaim, and a relationship making it manifestly unjust to enforce one without regard…

Where a legally assisted party’s means substantially improve after a costs order has been suspended, the court has a broad discretion under regulation 130 to…

A claimant enjoying a Mareva injunction must prosecute the underlying proceedings diligently. A substantial and unexplained period of inactivity may justify…

An action remains pending, after judgment or a consent order, for the purposes of working out and enforcing the judgment. The court therefore retains…

A patent claim must correspond to the invention’s technical contribution. An enabling disclosure must permit the skilled person to perform the invention across…