Latest Cases

Immigration – Appeal. The proceedings concerned an appeal by the appellant against a decision of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), which had set aside the First Tier Tribunal's (FTT) decision to allow his appeal against the Secretary of State's refusal to revoke a deportation order. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the appellant's appeal, held that the Upper Tribunal had not erred in law in setting aside the FTT's determination and, further, had not erred in re-deciding the issue de novo. 

Unfair Dismissal – Constructive Dismissal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (the EAT) in dismissing the employee's appeal against the employment tribunal's rejection of her claims for constructive unfair dismissal and of detriments on the grounds of protected disclosures and whistle-blowing, decided that the tribunal had not erred in law and had adequately dealt with the question of alleged detriments and had properly set out its reasoning. 

Practice – Service out of the jurisdiction. The claimant was granted permission to serve its contractual claim against the defendant out of the jurisdiction. The defendant sought to set aside the order on the ground that it had never entered into any contracts with the claimant. The Commercial Court, in allowing the application, held that the claimant had failed to show the better argument that it had been a contracting party. Accordingly, the order for service out of the jurisdiction had to be set aside. 

European Union – Reference to European Court. The Court of Justice of the European Union held that EU law had to be interpreted as precluding national legislation under which ordinary courts were under a duty, if they considered a national statute to be contrary to art 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, to apply to the constitutional court for that statute to be generally struck down, to the extent that the priority nature of that procedure prevented all the other national courts or tribunals from exercising their right of fulfilling their obligation to refer questions to the Court for a preliminary ruling. Further, an appearance entered by a representative in absentia did not amount to an appearance being entered by a defendant for the purposes of art 24 of the Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001. 

Trade mark – Opposition to registration. The General Court of the European Union considered the applicant company's appeal against a decision that a contested design for 'cookies' was invalid. The General Court held that, on the evidence, the Third Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) had not erred in refusing to consider the internal appearance of the contested design, and accordingly the application would be dismissed. 

European Union – Data protection. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 2(a), 12(a) and 13(1)(d), (f) and (g) of Directive (EC) 95/46 of the European Parliament and of the Council (on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data), and of arts 8(2) and 41(2)(b) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. The requests had been made in two sets of proceedings between third country nationals who had applied for a residence permit for a fixed period in the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Minister for Immigration, Integration and Asylum, concerning the Minister's refusal to communicate to those nationals a copy of an administrative document drafted before the adoption of the decisions on their applications for residence permits. 

Immigration – Asylum seeker. The claimant Pakistani national sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's decision that her representations, relying upon art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, did not amount to a fresh claim for asylum. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the Secretary of State had addressed herself to all of the relevant considerations and had formed a view which was not one which was irrational or untenable. Further, the claimant had not established a private life of sufficient strength to lead to the Secretary of State's decision being overturned. 

Mental health – Mental health review tribunal. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, considered a dispute between two local authorities concerning the responsibility for a man who had been made subject to two hospital orders in different areas of the country. The court held, in dismissing the appeal, that where a person had been made subject to a hospital order with restrictions, then conditionally discharged, then recalled to hospital, and then conditionally discharged for a second time, for the purposes of s 117(3) of the Mental Health Act 1983, he was still to be treated as resident in the area of the same local authority as that in which he had lived before the original hospital order had been made. 

Criminal law – Costs. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, considered an application for costs following a private prosecution by Virgin Media Limited in which the defendant had been alleged to have provided set-top boxes where the encryption firmware had been compromised, allowing the user to view television channels free of charge. In making its award, the court considered the reasonableness of instructing the solicitor and counsel retained by the company. 

Personal Injury: Quantum Case. Road traffic accident. The claimant was awarded £6,600 in general damages. She suffered fractures to her mid right ribs, soft tissue injuries to her neck, shoulders and jaw. Rib fractures resolved after four months, neck injury resolved after five months, shoulder injury resolved after three months. The swelling to the claimant's jaw resolved after two weeks and the associated pain and tenderness resolved after four months.