Privy Council judgments, 2010

Whether redemption has occurred, and whether redemption proceeds may be withheld, depends on the proper construction of the articles and any documents…

A substantive legitimate expectation based on a promise arises where the claimant proves a clear, unambiguous and unqualified representation. Reliance and…

Whether a contractual price is inclusive or exclusive of VAT is determined by the contract. If the written contract is silent, the court must interpret it in…

Where an electricity tariff classifies premises by annual consumption but billing is monthly, a retrospective rolling assessment cannot be used during the…

An appeal expressed by a local constitution to lie as of right does not bypass procedural permission requirements for an appeal to the Privy Council. The…

Where a constitution gives a right of appeal from decisions made as a result of disciplinary proceedings, that right is not lost merely because a later…

A contractual right of first offer must be construed in the context of the agreement as a whole and the commercial venture it regulates. A right directed to a…

The constitutional provision preserving Privy Council special-leave jurisdiction does not itself grant or restrict that jurisdiction. The statutory powers…

An industrial tribunal exercising a statutory power to make a fair and just award has a wide discretion. It must consider the interests of the persons…

Removal of a judge for misbehaviour requires more than a failure to meet the high standards expected of the judiciary. Under Cayman Islands (Constitution)…

Under constitutional redress provisions conferring a discretion to make appropriate orders, monetary compensation is not automatic after a rights violation.…

In discretionary capital sentencing, life imprisonment is the starting point. Death may be imposed only where the offence is among the most extreme and…

An agreement procured by illegitimate pressure is voidable. Economic duress includes illegitimate economic or similar pressure which leaves the pressured party…

For joinder under the “same or a similar character” limb of Indictment Rules 1961, offences must have a sufficient nexus and features showing that they can…

Section 5(2)(c)(iii) of the Constitution requires a person to be brought promptly before an appropriate judicial authority upon initial arrest or detention. It…

Under the Criminal Code of Belize, the partial defence in section 119(b), based on terror of immediate death or grievous harm, requires an entirely subjective…

A statutory minimum sentence must be assessed against the circumstances as they stand when the appeal is decided. Available mitigation, inordinate delay, and a…

Section 17(1) of the Constitution of Mauritius provides a personal remedy for personal prejudice. It does not permit a general public-interest challenge to…

Under Part 20.1(3) of the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Proceedings Rules, adding pleaded heads of loss after the first case management conference is a “change” to…

A claimant may acquire title by adverse possession to a physically defined part of a building. The claimant must plead that part precisely, prove that it was…

A statutory minimum sentence may be disapplied where its application would be wholly or grossly disproportionate to the seriousness of the offence and would…

Bringing civil proceedings to obtain findings inconsistent with a final criminal conviction, after a full opportunity to contest that conviction, is an abuse…

In a tax appeal, a tribunal must determine every live issue properly raised by the parties. An issue is not abandoned merely because the tribunal fails to…

Under the Roads Act 1966, an urban road may become public either by dedication to public use or by acceptance as a regular maintenance responsibility of the…

A human-rights statute must be read generously and purposively, but interpretation cannot distort clear language. Male-only military conscription did not fall…

Apparent bias is assessed by a fair-minded and informed observer, using facts found by the court on the balance of probabilities. The court then asks whether…

A statutory referendum requirement is a legal fetter on constitutional legislation only where the referendum forms a necessary step in the legislative process.…

Under the Public Service Commission Regulations, an investigating officer’s mandate is confined to the substance of the notified allegation, but the Judicial…

An employment contract remains in force while the parties negotiate a proposed variation unless a consensual termination or effective variation is actually…

When an appellate court reviews a decision made before new procedural rules came into force, the later rules do not retrospectively make the earlier decision…

Proprietary estoppel is assessed in the round. Reliance and detriment are conceptually distinct but often intertwined. Detriment is substantial, rather than…

An agreement to enter a future development agreement is not binding merely because a public authority has approved a proposal in principle. The decisive…

A ministerial power to give general policy directions to a regulator does not permit a direction that prevents the regulator from performing statutory duties.…