House of Lords judgments, 2003

There is no presumption that domestic legislation implementing Community obligations excludes future changes in Community legislation. The court must ascertain…

When calculating surrenderable charges on income under section 403(8) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, allowable capital losses brought forward…

In a joint criminal trial, evidence that one accused has a propensity for relevant misconduct may support a co-accused’s defence that the former committed the…

A breach of the reasonable-time guarantee in article 6(1) occurs when a criminal charge is not determined within a reasonable time. It does not, by itself…

For VAT purposes, the subjective value of non-monetary consideration is ordinarily the monetary value which the parties have themselves recognised and…

A statutory sewerage undertaker is not liable in nuisance merely because it fails to enlarge an adequately maintained sewerage system which has become…

A member of an occupational pension scheme may retire from a pensionable occupation while continuing in a distinct, non-pensionable office. A definition…

A claimant whose car is damaged by negligence may recover the reasonable cost of obtaining a suitable replacement during repairs. Ordinarily, recovery is…

The date-of-knowledge regime and judicial discretion introduced for personal injury claims by the Limitation Acts 1963 and 1975 did not revive a pre-1954 claim…

Where a formal written contract unequivocally identifies an existing person as a party, the identity of the contracting parties is determined by construing…

The rule in Rylands v Fletcher remains a narrow species of private nuisance and has not been absorbed into negligence. Liability without proof of fault arises…

Use of land for lawful sports and pastimes is “as of right” where it is open, peaceable and without the landowner’s revocable permission. The users need…

A mental health review tribunal may defer a restricted patient’s conditional discharge while necessary community arrangements are made. Its status as a court…

An approved social worker who knows that a mental health review tribunal has ordered a patient's discharge may apply for the patient's readmission only upon…

Where the outcome of an appeal concerning a transfer of an undertaking depends upon the meaning of “the date of a transfer” in article 3(1) of Council…

The general duty under section 17(1) of the Children Act 1989 is owed to children in need within a local authority’s area collectively. It does not become an…

Where the same conduct constitutes offences under an Act and subordinate legislation, the prosecutor may ordinarily proceed under either regime unless a…

A dividend paid on ordinary shares is not, merely because it is paid in respect of those shares, a transaction relating to securities for the purposes of…

English common law does not recognise a general tort of invasion of privacy. Courts may develop existing causes of action incrementally, but privacy remains an…

Following negligent sterilisation, the ordinary and additional costs of bringing up a healthy child are irrecoverable, whether or not the parent is disabled.…

Article 2 imposes a procedural duty to investigate a death in state custody where the state may have failed to protect life. The same minimum standards apply…

For criminal damage under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971, recklessness is subjective. The defendant must be aware of a risk that the relevant…

An Inner House judgment is appealable to the House of Lords without leave where it finally determines the whole merits of the particular cause in which it was…

An office-holder may invoke section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 solely or principally to obtain evidence for director disqualification proceedings. The…

An aggregation clause in a commercial insurance policy must be construed in a balanced manner by giving effect to the particular unifying factor chosen by the…

An occupier is not ordinarily required to protect a competent adult from an obvious risk inherent in an activity which the adult freely chooses to undertake.…

An appellate court may interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact only where it reaches a clear conclusion that the judge was plainly wrong. This…

The cooking condition for the lowest care component of disability living allowance is a notional measure of disability, rather than a test of actual dietary…

Whether premises are a person's home under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is a factual question. Domestic title is not decisive…

A determinate custodial sentence fixed by a competent court falls within article 5(1)(a) of the European Convention on Human Rights, even where its length…

A final judicial determination binds the parties and those claiming through them, even if it is wrong. It must be challenged by appeal rather than by…

The interpretative duty in section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 does not ordinarily alter substantive rights arising from a completed private transaction…

A detainee who suffers no substantial detriment or distress from a breach of the statutory safeguards governing access to legal advice has no private law claim…

A civil court may declare whether proposed conduct would be criminal, but such relief is normally refused. It is reserved for truly exceptional cases. Relevant…

A core public authority under section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 is governmental in nature. A non-governmental religious body does not acquire that status…

An administrative decision which adversely affects an individual's rights ordinarily has no legal effect against that individual until it has been notified.…

The common law and Article 6 apply the same objective test for apparent bias. The court must identify the relevant circumstances and ask whether a fair-minded…

Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is not, without more, discrimination on the ground of sex. Sex means…

Termination of a contract of employment does not create an automatic boundary beyond which employment discrimination legislation ceases to apply. Protection…

For a diminution of the enfranchisement price under section 9(1A)(d) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, a tenant must identify an improvement made by the tenant…

A third-party debt order is enforcement against the debt itself, rather than an personal claim against the third party. Under article 16(5) of the Lugano…

A third party debt order is a proprietary process of execution against a debt belonging to the judgment debtor. The interim order attaches or freezes that…

Under regulation 109 of the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995, an input-tax adjustment requires the goods or services originally intended for exempt supplies to…

An offence under section 92 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 requires use of the offending sign as an indication of trade origin. The prosecution must prove that…

An employer must initially select the applicable contractual disciplinary procedure, but its classification is not final merely because the contract says that…

A court considering an injunction under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 exercises an original judicial discretion. It is not confined to…

Article 10 does not confer a right to free television time. Where broadcasting facilities are made available to political parties, access must not be withheld…

A mentally disordered offender who is fit to be tried and criminally responsible may lawfully receive a punitive sentence. Mental illness may mitigate…

Under article 18(4) of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, a requirement to provide blood or urine must be made at a police station or hospital.…

For the four-year enforcement limit applicable to unauthorised building operations, substantial completion is assessed holistically. The relevant operation is…

For the purposes of section 11(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, the words “male” and “female” bear their ordinary biological meaning. They do not include…

The presumption against double taxation or double recovery is an application of the broader principle that Parliament intends to act reasonably. Its strength…

In extradition proceedings, the Secretary of State’s order to proceed must identify whether surrender is sought on the basis that the fugitive is accused or…

Where proved harm was inflicted by one or more carers but the perpetrator cannot be identified, the welfare stage must proceed on the basis that each person…

A special promise to answer for another person’s debt is unenforceable under section 4 of the Statute of Frauds 1677 unless evidenced by a signed writing.…

Under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971, the keeper of an animal belonging to a non-dangerous species may be strictly liable for damage caused by a…

A draft evader is not a refugee merely because sincere political or conscientious objections lead him to refuse compulsory military service and the state…

Suspected involvement in politically motivated terrorism neither necessarily excludes nor necessarily establishes persecution for a Convention reason. The…

A statute should be read as a whole, in its historical setting, to give effect to Parliament’s purpose within the permissible bounds of interpretation. New…

An unequivocal identification of the carrier in the signature box on the face of a transferable bill of lading prevails over inconsistent boilerplate…

By a majority, the House held that reinstatement following permanent exclusion restores the legal relationship between a school and its pupil. It does not…

A dispute about what work employees must perform, including the application of an existing contractual rule to a particular case, may concern their terms and…

Direct sex discrimination poses a single question: did the alleged discriminator, on the ground of sex, treat the claimant less favourably than that person…

Under section 2(1) of the Homicide Act 1957, a defendant who had voluntarily consumed alcohol need not prove that, if sober, he would still have killed. A…

A domestic condition governing a mandatory VAT exemption must be construed, so far as possible, consistently with the applicable European directive and the…

A contractual waiver of an insured’s disclosure obligations does not ordinarily waive the placing agent’s separate duty of disclosure. Exclusion clauses are…

An internal housing reviewer employed by the authority whose statutory duty is in dispute is not an independent tribunal for article 6(1) purposes.…

Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights protects access to a court for the determination of civil rights recognised, on arguable grounds, by…

Where regulations prescribe only part of the rules governing police promotion, the Chief Constable may use the statutory power of direction and control to fill…

A Crown Court judge may order separate preparatory hearings for defendants charged on the same indictment, including defendants charged jointly on the same…

The procedure under section 4A of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 does not determine a criminal charge against a person found unfit to plead. It…