Latest Cases

Judgment – Default of defence. The Commercial Court allowed the second defendant company's application to set aside a judgement in default in proceedings relating to an alleged fraud carried out by the defendants concerning property purchased by the claimant. The second defendant had a real prospect of defending the claim. Weighing up the relevant factors, the balance fell strongly in favour of setting aside the default judgment. 

Charity – Appeal. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, considered the appeal of the appellant charity and its trustees against the refusal of permission to apply for judicial review of the respondent Charity Commission's decision to initiate an inquiry, under s 46 of the Charities Act 2011, and of a production order, issued under s 52 of the Act, on the sole ground that they should have appealed to the First-Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber). It dismissed the appeal in respect of the inquiry decision, and allowed the appeal in respect of the production order, holding that s 320 of the Act did not permit an appeal on the grounds that a s 52 order had been unlawfully made. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The Divisional Court dismissed the appellant's appeal against the decision of a district judge to order his extradition to Spain, pursuant to a European arrest warrant, to face a charge of rape. The court held that the district judge's conclusion that the delay by the Spanish Judicial Authority did not prevent the appellant from having a fair trial and he had correctly concluded in respect of art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights that the public interests in extradition outweighed the factors against it and he had rightly concluded that the appellant had failed to establish abuse of process. 

European Union – State aids. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Greece by which Greece sought to have set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union of 16 July 2014 in Greece v Commission: Case T‑52/12, in which the General Court had dismissed its action for annulment of Commission Decision 2012/157/EU of 7 December 2011 concerning compensation payments made by the Greek Agricultural Insurance Organisation (ELGA) in 2008 and 2009. 

European Union – Regulations. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by the Council of the European Union by which the Council had sought to set aside a judgment of the General Court of the European Union in which the General Court had annulled certain European Union decisions, regulations and implementing regulations concerning restrictive measures against Iran in so far as they had concerned Bank Mellat, following the placing of Bank Mellat's name by the Council on the lists of persons, entities and bodies to whom the restrictive measures decided upon under those acts applied. 

Value added tax – Input tax. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) which had allowed the taxpayers' appeal against a determination that they were not entitled to a repayment of VAT as they should have known that their purchases were connected with fraud. The Upper Tribunal had erred in a number of respects, including have addressed the evidence in a compartmentalised fashion, and the earlier determination of the First-tier Tribunal, that the only reasonable explanation which the taxpayers could have drawn from their prior knowledge and the circumstances was that the relevant transactions were connected with a fraud by a previous buyer was reinstated. 

European Union – Customs duties. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the Combined Nomenclature set out in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87, as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 948/2009, and decided that it had to be interpreted as meaning that a soya protein concentrate, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, came under heading 2309 of that nomenclature. 

Criminal law – Rape. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, held that a sentence of 24 months' imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, imposed for a category 3B rape had been unduly lenient and would consequently be quashed. In all the circumstances, a sentence of two-years-and-six months' imprisonment would be imposed accordingly. 

Company – Member. The Chancery Division dismissed a petition brought by a minority shareholder and employee of a company, under s 994 of the Companies Act 2006, alleging that he had been the victim of unfair conduct by the majority shareholders in the company after he had been dismissed and the compulsory transfer of his shares mechanism in the company's articles of association had been invoked. The relationship between the parties could not be described as a quasi-partnership. The present cases concerned an arm's length deal on agreed documentation; it was not a venture founded on the sort of considerations which were likely to give rise to the possibility of overriding equitable considerations under s 994 of the Act. 

European Union – Medicinal products. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal by Teva Pharma Europe BV and another company by which they sought to have set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union in Teva Pharma and another company v European Medicines Agency: Case T‑140/12, in which that court had dismissed their action for annulment of the decision of the European Medicines Agency rejecting their application to place on the market the generic version of the orphan medicinal product imatinib mesylate, in so far as concerned the therapeutic indications for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia.