Latest Cases

Child – School. The Family Division made a child arrangements order concerning where a child, B, should go to school. It held that it would be better for B's life to continue in the Surrey area, where his father lived, although he would continue to have extensive contact with his mother. 

European Union – Common foreign and security policy. The applicant Malaysian bank was included on lists of entities involved in Iranian nuclear proliferation. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on its application for partial annulment of Council Decision 2012/829/CFSP and of Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 1264/2012, concerning restrictive measures against Iran and, for the annulment of the Council's decision to maintain the restrictive measures concerning the applicant. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Ecolab USA, Inc., (Ecolab) against a decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs)(OHIM), concerning the international registration designating the European Community of the word mark 'GREASECUTTER' obtained by Ecolab and the refusal of protection of that mark in the European Union. 

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant sought an order quashing the decision of the inspector appointed by the first defendant Secretary of State, dismissing his appeal against the second defendant local planning authority's refusal of planning permission for the change of use of a building from stables to offices on a site within the Green Belt. The Planning Court, in dismissing the application, held that inspector had found implicitly that the proposal had not been in accordance with the development plan and that planning permission should not be granted. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union allowed the action brought by Tilda Riceland Private Ltd against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to opposition proceedings between Tilda Riceland Private Ltd and Siam Grains Co. Ltd, concerning the application by the latter company for registration of a figurative sign depicting the word 'BASmALI' as a Community trade mark. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. In private law proceedings relating to a child, Q, an order was made, which included a specific issue order that both parents were to cooperate in the referral for an assessment of the psychiatric and emotional well-being of Q, together with such treatment as required and a direction that there was to be no further order in respect of child arrangements. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the father's appeal, held that the judge had taken a course which was not merely open to him, but which had been, in reality, probably the only course that had stood the slightest chance of achieving what had been so pressingly needed, namely, the resumption of Q's relationship with his father. 

Mental health – Persons who lack capacity. The case concerned whether it was lawful for the doctors treating the respondent, B, a 73-year-old gentleman with a severely infected leg, to amputate his foot against his wishes in order to save his life. B also had a long-standing mental illness. The Court of Protection, in dismissing the application by the NHS Trust, held that B did not have the capacity to make treatment decisions about his foot and that an enforced amputation would not be in his best interests. 

European Union – Value added tax. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that art 9(1) of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 had to be interpreted as meaning that bodies governed by public law, such as the Polish municipal budgetary entities at issue in the main proceedings, could not be regarded as taxable persons for the purposes of value added tax in so far as they did not satisfy the criterion of independence set out in that provision. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union allowed the application by GAT Microencapsulation GmbH (GAT) for annulment of the decision of the Fifth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to opposition proceedings between BASF SE and GAT concerning the application by the latter for registration of the word sign 'KARIS' as a Community trade mark. 

Immigration – Asylum seeker. The claimant St Lucian national sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's decisions by her competent authority, which concluded that the claimant was not the victim of trafficking. The Administrative Court, in allowing the application, concluded that the competent authority had taken the wrong approach, in particular, by its reliance on a detective inspector's report, and its failure to consider warnings in 'Victims of human trafficking – competent authority guidance' and in expert evidence.