Supreme Court judgments, 2020

A third-country national whose residence is derived from a dependent Union citizen under article 20 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union may…

For a national policy statement, “Government policy” means established and readily identifiable policy. It will ordinarily appear in a formal written…

Certification of competition collective proceedings is not ordinarily a merits inquiry. Suitability is assessed comparatively, by asking whether collective…

The Supreme Court will ordinarily be slow to intervene in guidance given by the Court of Appeal on costs and other matters of practice. The Court of Appeal has…

For gaming duty, the value of stakes staked is their actual, real-world value to the banker. The calculation concerns the economic contribution made by gaming…

An arbitrator must act impartially and must disclose facts or circumstances which would or might reasonably cause the fair-minded and informed observer to…

An action to recover money paid under a mistake of law falls within section 32(1)(c) of the Limitation Act 1980 where the mistake is an essential element of…

The balance of probabilities is the standard of proof for every conclusion at a coroner’s inquest. It applies equally to short-form and narrative conclusions…

Under section 84(1)(aa) and (1A)(b) of the Law of Property Act 1925, the jurisdictional question is whether continuation of a restrictive covenant impedes a…

The EU principle of absolute res judicata applies only to a definitive judgment, after appeal rights have been exhausted or expired. An EU judgment annulling…

The illegality doctrine bars a person convicted of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility from recovering damages caused by the conviction…

The illegality defence bars a civil claim only where allowing it would create an incoherent contradiction that damages the integrity of the legal system. The…

Common law procedural fairness may require a decision-maker promptly to disclose an event which has doomed a pending application, even where representations…

Positive action under Equality Act 2010, sections 158 and 193(2)(a), is assessed by conventional four-stage proportionality analysis. Its permissible aims may…

Where domestic criminal regulations enforce standards imposed by a directly effective EU regulation, the content of those standards is determined through EU…

Under English common-law conflict rules, the law governing an arbitration agreement is the law chosen by the parties or, absent choice, the law with which the…

An English court enforcing a valid and infringed UK standard-essential patent may determine the FRAND terms of a global portfolio licence and make avoidance of…

A covenant restraining the use of land falls outside the restraint of trade doctrine where it is of a type accepted as normal commercial, contractual or…

A disposition falls within section 10(1) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 when its maker did not intend, by its overall effect, to improve another person’s…

When weighing hearsay evidence in civil proceedings, a court must consider every circumstance from which a reasonable inference may be drawn about reliability.…

A member of a charitable company may owe fiduciary duties to its charitable purposes when exercising a constitutional power affecting the application of…

Article 8 does not protect an adult’s sexually motivated communications with a person whom the adult believes to be a child where the communications are…

A shareholder cannot recover a diminution in share value or distributions which merely results from actionable loss suffered by the company. Such loss is not…

A maintenance creditor may bring a claim in any jurisdiction made available by article 3 of the Maintenance Regulation, as adapted for intra-UK cases by…

A Crown Court making a confiscation order may determine the value of the defendant’s interest in jointly held property without making a conclusive…

For VAT purposes, the taxable element of a composite price must ordinarily be calculated by the single method that correctly reflects the relevant supply and…

A product patent is sufficient only if its disclosure, combined with common general knowledge at the priority date, enables the skilled person to make…

Article 8 requires a sibling with an established private or family life with a child to be involved in children’s-hearing decision-making to a degree…

A company in liquidation retains its statutory and contractual right to refer a dispute arising under a construction contract to adjudication. Insolvency…

A collectively fixed positive multilateral interchange fee restricts competition by effect where it creates a non-negotiable floor under the merchant service…

A judge conducting an adversarial civil trial must remain neutral during the evidence. Judicial interventions render a trial unfair where, viewed objectively…

A double taxation treaty allocates taxing rights by reference to real-world legal relationships. A clause giving undefined treaty terms their domestic tax-law…

Plant or machinery disregarded when calculating rateable value may still identify the land constituting a hereditament. A fixed ATM site designed or adapted…

In an appeal against listed-building enforcement, inclusion of an item in the statutory list does not conclusively establish that it is a building. The…

A statutory power conferred on the Secretary of State may be exercised by departmental ministers or officials under the Carltona principle unless the…

Where leases require a landlord, on a lessee’s request and provision of security, to enforce similar covenants in other leases, the landlord is subject to an…

Removal of a seriously ill person may breach article 3 even though death is not imminent. The applicant must produce evidence capable of establishing…

A statutory power to issue guidance must be exercised to promote the policy and objects of the enabling legislation. Those objects are identified from the…

Where a supply was mistakenly treated as exempt from VAT, it was not clear whether a customer could regard part of the VAT-exclusive price as VAT “paid” or…

Damages for negligently caused loss of fertility may include the reasonable cost of surrogacy. UK arrangements may use the claimant’s own eggs or donor eggs…

Vicarious liability may arise where the tortfeasor is an employee or stands in a relationship sufficiently analogous to employment. It does not extend to a…

An employer is vicariously liable only where an employee’s wrongful conduct is so closely connected with authorised acts that it may fairly and properly be…

An assignee of contractual rights does not become a party to the contract. It must comply with conditions governing an assigned right when it asserts that…

A competent authority transferring personal data abroad for law-enforcement purposes must consciously and contemporaneously apply the structured requirements…

An immigration appellate tribunal deciding whether removal would breach a Convention right must determine the relevant facts for itself. It is not bound by a…

Detention pending deportation under Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971 depends on a lawful decision to deport. An invalid deportation decision or order…

A High Court decision is made in a “criminal cause or matter” for appeal purposes where the underlying proceedings have a clear and direct connection with…

A domestic court may stay execution of a registered ICSID award only within narrow procedural limits consistent with the ICSID Convention. It cannot use that…

False imprisonment occurs where a defendant directly and intentionally causes a person to remain within a defined area. Restraint must be complete, but locks…

Openness in Green Belt policy is a broad concept directed to preventing urban sprawl by keeping land open. It is not confined to visual qualities or freedom…

An act of a Northern Ireland Minister or department may fall within section 24 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 even though it is ancillary or incidental to…

Where a customs debt results from an act liable to give rise to criminal proceedings, article 221(4) of the Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 automatically…