Supreme Court judgments, 2023

A public authority does not owe a common law duty of care merely because its statutory functions enable it to protect a person from third-party harm. The…

A personal claim in knowing receipt requires the claimant to retain an equitable proprietary interest in the property when the defendant receives or retains it…

Under section 12 of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995, the court must compare the significance of the factors connecting the…

Under the Patents Act 1977, an inventor must be a natural person. A machine powered by artificial intelligence cannot be an inventor. The statutory code…

In civil proceedings, a party must ordinarily challenge by cross-examination any material evidence of an opposing witness which it intends to invite the court…

The High Court may grant a newcomer injunction against people who are neither parties nor identifiable when the order is made. Such an order operates without…

Section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 extends existing leave only where a valid application to vary that leave was made before its expiry. An application…

Insufficient resources do not qualify an unqualified statutory duty or permit a public authority to prefer discretionary functions. Public law relief remains…

The transfer of assets abroad charge under section 739 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 applies only to an ordinarily resident individual who…

Trade union rights under article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights arise only within an employment relationship. That autonomous Convention concept…

An asylum seeker may be removed without substantive examination of the claim only if the receiving state offers an adequate asylum procedure which protects…

Under section 32(1)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, a claimant must establish a fact relevant to the asserted right of action, its concealment by the defendant…

The foreign revenue rule applies only where a foreign tax authority seeks, directly or indirectly, to recover an unsatisfied demand for tax. It does not bar an…

In a conviction extradition case, a requested person who relies on a past flagrant denial of a fair trial must prove that violation on the balance of…

An administrator appointed under the Insolvency Act 1986 is not an officer of the company for the purposes of section 194(3) of the Trade Union and Labour…

Section 471(3) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 creates a bright-line rule. A securities option made available to an employee by that…

The procedural duty under article 2, as given domestic effect by the Human Rights Act 1998, does not ordinarily apply where the death occurred more than ten…

The VAT exemption for transactions concerning payments or transfers applies only where the supplied services themselves execute the transfer of funds and…

A debtor may seek a remedial order for an unfair credit relationship at any time while that relationship continues. Where the relationship has ended, the cause…

Workers may claim for a series of unlawful deductions from wages where the deductions are sufficiently linked. Whether deductions form a series is a question…

On an application under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court first identifies the matters raised, or foreseeably to be raised, in the proceedings.…

A duty to provide after-care services under section 117(2) of the Mental Health Act 1983 automatically ends when the person is again compulsorily detained for…

When identifying appropriate alternative development for compulsory-purchase compensation, the statutory cancellation assumption removes the underlying scheme…

Standing under sections 303(1) and 168(5) of the Insolvency Act 1986 depends on the applicant’s interest in the insolvency process. A creditor may challenge…

Litigation funding constitutes the provision of “claims management services” where it supplies financial assistance in relation to making a claim. The…

Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights does not require allegations supporting civil gang-related or anti-social behaviour injunctions to be…

A doctor must identify reasonable alternative treatments by exercising clinical judgment in accordance with the professional practice test. An assessment…

A bank holding a current account in credit must promptly execute a clear payment instruction personally authorised by its customer. Its implied duty of…

Police disciplinary proceedings concerning force used in self-defence apply the civil law test. The tribunal must first identify what the officer honestly…

The public sector equality duty in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 does not generally require a UK public authority to have due regard to equality needs…

A court may grant financial relief under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 after an overseas divorce only while both former spouses…

The Immigration Rules must be construed contextually and purposively. Their requirements must be applied to the facts realistically and without blinkers. A…

Article 2 imposes systems, operational and graduated procedural duties. An enhanced investigation is required automatically in certain categories of death or…

Under article 23.4 of the Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road 1956, “other charges incurred in respect of the carriage”…

Mandatory charitable relief from business rates under section 43(6) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 involves a two-stage enquiry. The rating authority…

Where a statutory list groups words capable of more than one ordinary meaning, the grouping’s thematic connection forms part of the statutory context and may…

A continuing private nuisance requires repeated activity or an ongoing state of affairs outside the claimant’s land, for which the defendant is responsible…

Vicarious liability requires two conditions. The relationship between the defendant and tortfeasor must be employment or akin to employment. The tort must also…

Changes to an early-release regime do not engage the prohibition on retrospective penalties in article 7(1) of the ECHR where they concern only the execution…

A Parole Board risk assessment is not confined to facts proved on the balance of probabilities. The Board should investigate relevant allegations and make…

When determining whether the option to tax land is disapplied under paragraphs 12 and 13 of Schedule 10 to the Value Added Tax Act 1994, the grantor’s…

A recognised foreign state has full contractual capacity in English law, irrespective of restrictions imposed by its domestic constitution. It may be bound…

A statutory power to direct a regulator may authorise a direction which precludes performance of what would otherwise be a statutory duty. There is no general…

Under section 40(2) of the Housing and Planning Act 2016, a rent repayment order may be made only against the immediate landlord under the tenancy which…

Public rights arising from a statutory trust over recreation land survive a transfer into private ownership. Under sections 123(2A) and 123(2B) of the Local…

A statutory zero-rating provision for newspapers did not extend to digital editions during the period before electronic publications were expressly added. VAT…

Section 27A(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 protects the tribunal’s jurisdiction to determine whether residential service charges are contractually and…

Where Parliament expressly provides that every enactment is to be read subject to obligations arising under an international agreement, earlier constitutional…

Private nuisance may arise from intense visual intrusion into a home. The tort is not confined to physical emanations or predefined categories of interference.…

A contract which promises payment upon a specified event ordinarily excludes payment if that event does not occur. The absence of express provision for another…

A commercial lease certificate stated to be “conclusive” as to service charges may, on its proper construction, determine the amount payable on the payment…

A local authority assessing charges for community care services may consider a disabled person’s income and capital, including welfare benefits. Expenditure…