Latest Cases

Minor – Removal outside jurisdiction. The Family Division held that there was no substance in any of the mother's suggested 'defences' or exceptions to an order for summary return of a child. The child had to go back to his country of habitual residence for the courts there to resolve the dispute about where he should live and with whom, as well as the mother's application to deprive the father of parental responsibility. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division refused the father's application for the summary return of his son C to Saudi Arabia on the basis that C wished to remain with the mother who was determined to remain in the United Kingdom and if C was returned, Sharia law would possibly prevent the mother taking C out of the jurisdiction. 

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The Planning Court dismissed the claimant's challenge to the inspector's decision, allowing an appeal against refusal of planning permission for a wind turbine on the basis that the development would not harm the settings of the heritage assets. The inspector had not failed to provide proper and adequate reasons on a principal important controversial issue, and his judgments had been legally flawless. 

Immigration – Detention. The Administrative Court, in transferring the claimant's challenge to his immigration detention to the county court, was not prepared to assume that a decision to detain him made after an unlawful decision to refuse to accept a submission as a fresh claim was, itself, rendered unlawful, giving rise to a claim in damages. Accordingly, the issue was best dealt with by way of a private law claim for damages. 

Shipbuilding contract – Arbitration clause. The Commercial Court granted the first claimant company, a buyer of a vessel under a shipbuilding contract, a final anti-suit injunction restraining a bank from continuing to pursue in China a claim against it alleging fraud where the parties had chosen London arbitration as a neutral forum and where the first claimant had obtained an arbitration award in London in which the allegations of fraud had been considered and dismissed. The court ruled that it would be vexatious and oppressive for the first claimant to have to face the same charge in two different tribunals. The court did not grant an anti-suit injunction restraining the bank's pursuit of proceedings against the second claimant bank (Alpha), which had loaned the first claimant money towards the purchase of the vessel, but was not a party to the shipbuilding contract. Alpha was, however, granted a declaration of non-liability. 

Account – Indebtedness. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the defendant's appeal against an order giving judgment for the claimant in the sum of £1,215,000. The judge had not fallen into error in holding that transactions between the parties in the course of a trading relationship had not been recorded in a running account, and he had not erred in the way he had approached the burden of proof and in having reached the conclusion to which he had come on that issue. 

Contract – Termination. The Commercial Court dismissed the claimant company's claim in respect of the cancellation of a contract and the failure to deliver certain bonds. It held that, among other things, owing to a disclaimer on a trade ticket used by the second defendant company, the second defendant had been entitled to cancel the contract. 

Immigration – Detention. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant Libyan national's application for judicial review of his immigration detention for 21 months. There had, at all times, been a substantial risk that the claimant would abscond and that he would re-offend if released, and there had been a sufficient prospect of removal to warrant the claimant's continued detention. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The request had been made in proceedings between SIA 'Maxima Latvija' (Maxima Latvija) and the Latvian Competition Council concerning a fine imposed by it on Maxima Latvija for having concluded a series of commercial lease agreements with shopping centres; those agreements containing a clause having an anti-competitive object. 

Nationality – British nationality. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the applicants' appeals against dismissal of their applications for judicial review in respect of the Secretary of State's decision to render null and void the grant to them of British citizenship. There was an implied limitation upon the powers of the Secretary of State to grant citizenship under s 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981. An applicant for naturalisation was not entitled to be naturalised if he had engaged in fraud to impersonate another of such seriousness and of such centrality to the application that had been made as wholly to undermine the statutory process. That implied limitation could not sensibly be read as concerned only with a narrow focus on how to identify the person who had applied for naturalisation simply by reference to whether they had indefinite leave to remain as an identifiable individual.