Privy Council judgments, 2022

The requirement that a judicial review claim be brought promptly is distinct from any long-stop period of three months. A claim brought within three months may…

Beneficiaries under a will may jointly vary its dispositions concerning the net estate after debts and expenses, including in favour of a third party. They…

On a second appeal, a final appellate court ordinarily does not review concurrent findings of fact by two lower courts. Departure requires special…

On a second or further appeal, the Privy Council ordinarily will not revisit concurrent findings of fact by the courts below. An appellant must identify a…

The constitutional right to protection of the law may require positive State action to provide safe and legally appropriate arrangements for a vulnerable child…

In an appeal on factual findings in malicious prosecution, an appellate court should intervene only where a material error undermines the trial judge’s…

An appellate court must not interfere with a trial judge’s findings of primary fact, including factual evaluations and inferences, unless they are plainly…

Constitutional redress proceedings should be accessible and flexible. Article 28 of the The Bahamas Constitution does not require a separate action where…

Under the Civil Proceedings Rules 1998, the unsuccessful party generally pays the successful party, but the court retains discretion over both liability and…

The constitutional right to the protection of the law is broad and fact-sensitive. It may be breached where State action or omission involves an irrational…

A bank which makes unauthorised debits must reconstitute the customer’s account by disregarding those debits and crediting the contractual interest which would…

A fiduciary power must be exercised only for a purpose, or range of purposes, for which it was conferred. The scope of the power is determined by construction.…

Registration under a Torrens system ordinarily vests title in the registered proprietor, but the title remains subject to statutory rectification. Under…

Where an European arrest warrant concerns a resident facing prosecution, article 5(3) of the Framework Decision permits the executing state to make a return…

A search and seizure warrant under the Jamaican Proceeds of Crime Act 2007 may authorise seizure of information or material created before the Act came into…

The legality of an extradition order under section 4(1) is assessed against the statute in force when the order was made. “Conformity” under section 4(2)…

A transfer of land by deed may be set aside in equity where the transferor acted under a sufficiently serious mistake, making it unconscionable and unjust to…

On a second or further appeal, the Privy Council will ordinarily decline altogether to review concurrent findings of fact by the two courts below. This…

The decisive question is whether a post-commencement amendment objectively creates new obligations, not whether the parties call it a variation or rescission.…

A contractual variation clause requiring agreement on the value of extras, alterations, additions or omissions creates an ongoing obligation in respect of each…

A non-delegable duty of care may be admitted by the way pleadings are framed. An admitted duty to ensure that bleeding, transfusions and fluid overload are…

The threshold for leave to apply for judicial review is low. The applicant needs an arguable ground with a realistic prospect of success, subject to…

A trustee’s right of indemnity under Jersey law creates an equitable proprietary interest in the trust assets. It is not merely a possessory lien and survives…

When a challenge is made to a director’s exercise of a fiduciary power, the court must identify the power and its limits, determine the substantial purpose of…

An appellate court will rarely interfere with concurrent findings of primary fact. The exception for mixed questions involving objective evaluation does not…

Compensation for compulsory acquisition is assessed in separate components. Under the Land Acquisition Act, acquired land is ordinarily valued under the…

An administrator’s title generally arises only on the grant of administration, although it relates back to the deceased’s death for defined purposes. The…

A statutory blanket prohibition on bail for anyone charged with murder is not protected as an existing law where the pre-constitutional common law and…

The third-party costs jurisdiction is not an appropriate vehicle for obtaining constitutional redress from the State for a denial of access to justice. It…

The statutory power to detain a person pending deportation applies only where a deportation order has been made against that person. A parent’s deportation…

The test for apparent bias is whether a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the relevant facts, would conclude that there was a real…

A cross-undertaking in damages given for a freezing injunction is assessed on ordinary causation principles and by analogy with contractual damages. The party…

Fundamental rights under the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago are qualified rights. A measure interferes unlawfully only where the interference is…

Antigua and Barbuda Constitution (1981) section 9(1) protects existing property rights from compulsory acquisition. Eligibility to apply for a grant of…

A statutory limit on a co-operative society’s liabilities may be a prohibition on receiving further loans or deposits, rather than a limit on the society’s…

On an appeal limited to points of law, a tribunal’s finding of fact may be challenged as an error of law only where there was no evidence on which it could be…

Representative proceedings are a flexible procedural tool. The requirement that persons have the same or a similar interest is construed purposively, having…

The grounds for refusing recognition or enforcement of a foreign arbitral award under article V of the New York Convention must be construed narrowly. A final…

Where prolonged delay makes implementation of a lawful mandatory death sentence unlawful, the constitutional court’s remedial jurisdiction is not confined to…

A constitutional savings clause can preserve an existing law even where it would otherwise breach protected rights. The Constitution must be read as a whole. A…

A bank’s Quincecare duty is owed only to its customer. It arises from the bank’s implied contractual duty, and its co-extensive tortious duty, to exercise…

Under Mauritian contract law, a contractual right to extend a time-limited commitment must be exercised within the initial period unless the agreement…

An agreement granting rights over land for a gas pipeline may create an equitable easement, rather than a merely personal contractual licence, where the four…

In a clinical-negligence appeal, treatment is assessed against the Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee standard, including the requirements of the…

In an unfair-prejudice claim under the British Virgin Islands Business Companies Act 2004, equitable constraints on majority powers do not arise merely because…

In transfers of non-domestic property to adult children, the presumption of advancement remains relevant and must be assessed with the resulting-trust…

Particle evidence showing only one-component or two-component particles, without three-component particles, does not establish that the particles originated…

On a criminal appeal, credible fresh evidence should generally be admitted where it could not reasonably have been obtained for trial and may affect the safety…

Undue influence is a single doctrine. Actual and presumed undue influence are different methods of proof. A presumption requires a relationship of influence…

Under the Employment Act and Labour Relations Act, statutory unfair-dismissal rights may be enforceable only through the procedures prescribed by the…

A Quistclose trust requires more than payment of money for a specified purpose. The arrangements must show that the provider retained a beneficial interest in…

In a company liquidation, competing hypothecs rank according to the order of registration. A first registered charge therefore takes priority over later…

A written constitution must be read as a coherent whole. Where it contains a specific provision governing a subject, that lex specialis controls the…

The Constitution of Bermuda contains no free-standing prohibition on legislation enacted for a religious purpose. Constitutional validity depends on the text…

An environmental impact assessment duty does not arise merely because a fisheries decision may affect fish stocks. UNCLOS article 206 concerns pollution or…

A saving provision for transactions made before legislative change must be read with the provision governing transactions made afterwards. Preserving an…

River and stream water is public property under the Rivers and Canals Act 1863. A borderer has a regulated right of use, not private ownership. Such a right…

A statutory discretionary power affecting an individual carries a presumption that it will be exercised fairly, but fairness is contextual. A suspension power…