Supreme Court judgments, 2021

A defendant has a statutory right under section 13(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 to appeal from a Supreme Court panel exercising original…

An unequivocal executive statement recognising a foreign head of state conclusively binds the courts under the one voice principle. Its meaning cannot be…

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, alone or with article 14, does not presently require a state to offer an “X” gender marker in passports.…

For an investigative obligation under article 2 or 3 of the Convention to arise under the Human Rights Act 1998 in respect of an event before 2 October 2000…

The EU meat-inspection regime entrusts an Official Veterinarian with ultimate responsibility for deciding whether meat is fit for human consumption. It…

The general prohibition of nationality discrimination in article 18 TFEU applies independently only where EU law does not provide a specific non-discrimination…

Capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is decision-specific. The court must identify the matter, determine whether the person can decide it, and then ask…

Under article III rule 1 of the Hague Rules, a carrier must exercise due diligence in the work of making a vessel seaworthy. The obligation is non-delegable…

Compensation under section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 requires proof that unlawful processing caused material damage or distress. A contravention…

A director’s unlawful acts and dishonest state of mind cannot be attributed to the company so as to provide the director with an illegality defence against the…

Under article V(1)(a) of the New York Convention and section 103(2)(b) of the Arbitration Act 1996, an arbitration agreement is primarily governed by the law…

An employer contravenes section 145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 by making direct offers which, if accepted, would cause…

A court or tribunal order must be obeyed unless and until it is varied or set aside. This rule applies even where the order is defective, irregular, allegedly…

For the domestic tort gateway in paragraph 3.1(9)(a) of Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Practice Direction 6B, “damage” means actionable harm caused by the alleged…

A Scottish court may entertain an ancillary action and grant diligence on its dependence to secure a monetary discrimination or harassment claim being pursued…

Under qualified one-way costs shifting, set-off of a defendant’s costs against costs payable to the claimant is a form of enforcement. Rule 44.14(1) permits…

Procedural rules which create an unacceptable systemic risk of unfairness do not automatically invalidate every tribunal decision made under them. The…

Lawful act economic duress exists, but its scope in commercial negotiations is extremely limited. The claimant must establish illegitimate pressure, causation…

Estoppel by convention in non-contractual dealings requires a shared assumption manifested across the line between the parties, an assumption of responsibility…

Policy guidance is unlawful under the Gillick principle only where its normative direction contradicts the legal duty of its addressees. The court compares the…

A policy is unlawful where, objectively construed for its intended audience, it authorises or approves conduct contrary to law. A policy need not eliminate…

When permission for judicial or planning statutory review is refused, each defendant or interested party may recover the reasonable and proportionate costs of…

The High Court may use its inherent jurisdiction to authorise a local authority to deprive a child of liberty where no suitable statutory placement is…

A package holiday contract must receive a broad, common-sense interpretation consistent with its purpose of providing an enjoyable holiday of the promised…

Section 136(2) of the Equality Act 2010 did not abolish the claimant’s initial burden of proof. The claimant must prove, on the balance of probabilities, facts…

When deciding whether a contractual restraint protects a promisee’s legitimate interests, the court may consider, objectively at the date of contracting, the…

Where tax paid prematurely is later set off against lawful tax or repaid, the time-value claim is not a separate restitutionary claim in unjust enrichment.…

Deporting a settled migrant who entered the host country as a child requires a delicate and holistic assessment of the relevant article 8 criteria. The…

Unless the contract clearly provides otherwise, a liquidated damages clause for delay applies to delay accrued before termination, even though the contractor…

Removal from association or solitary confinement of a detainee under 18 does not automatically violate article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights…

Where a state voluntarily extends a criminal injuries compensation scheme to victims of trafficking, access to that scheme falls within the ambit of article 4…

Article 14 challenges to general measures of economic or social policy require a context-sensitive proportionality assessment. A wide margin of judgment and…

HMRC may issue a follower notice only if it considers that there is no scope for a reasonable person to disagree that the earlier judicial ruling would deny…

The tort of causing loss by unlawful means requires the defendant’s unlawful conduct to affect a third party’s freedom to deal with the claimant. This dealing…

Deliberate and physically obstructive protest on a highway may constitute a lawful excuse under section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, even where its impact…

Proceedings to enforce an arbitral award against a foreign state fall within section 12(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978. The document which first gives the…

In negligence, a defendant is liable only for losses falling within the risks against which the duty of care required protection. The scope of duty principle…

The scope of a professional adviser’s duty is determined objectively from the purpose for which the advice was given. The adviser is liable where the loss…

For limitation purposes, the day on which a cause of action accrues is ordinarily excluded because the law does not count a fraction of a day as a whole day.…

Section 61N of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 restricts existing public law rights rather than creating new or replacement rights. For decisions at…

A deliberate inaccuracy under sections 29(4) and 118(7) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 requires an intention to mislead HMRC about the truth of a statement.…

For liability to non-domestic rates on unoccupied property, the statutory owner is normally the person with the immediate legal right to possession. In an…

Deliberate publication of an embargoed draft judgment constitutes criminal contempt where it seriously interferes, or creates a sufficiently serious risk of…

When evaluating a non-judicial assurance about detention conditions in an extradition case, the court must assess all relevant evidence freely. Evidence that…

Sections 2 and 14 of the School Sites Act 1841 form a coherent scheme and require a broad, practical and purposive interpretation. A school site does not cease…

An insurance exclusion for liability arising from an employee’s “deliberate acts” applies where the employee intended to cause injury. It does not require an…

Paragraph 36(2) of Schedule 10 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994 triggers a VAT self-supply charge only if there is a time during the relevant ten-year period…

For a cross-establishment equal pay comparison, common terms exist where the comparators would retain the same or substantially the same terms if employed in…

A child named as a dependant on a parent’s asylum application should generally be treated as having applied for international protection where the application…

For national minimum wage purposes, a sleep-in worker who is permitted to sleep is treated as available for work rather than actually working. Hours allocated…

An appeal against deprivation of citizenship under section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981 does not permit the appellate tribunal to exercise the…

The crossing rules apply when two power-driven vessels, moving over the ground, are visibly crossing so as to involve a risk of collision. Neither vessel must…

Whether an individual is a “worker” is primarily a question of statutory interpretation, not contractual classification. A tribunal must apply the statutory…

Registration of land as a town or village green gives the public a general right to use it for lawful sports and pastimes. That right is subject to reasonable…

A parent company’s possible duty of care for harm caused by its subsidiary is governed by ordinary negligence principles. There is no special parent-company…

The presumption against the extra-territorial effect of legislation applies with particular force where a public authority seeks to compel a foreign company…

Business interruption cover must be construed objectively and as a coherent whole. A radius-limited disease clause covers cases of disease occurring within the…