Latest Cases

Medical treatment – Withdrawal of medical treatment. The proceedings concerned a twelve-year-old girl, AA, who had been born with a serious brain malformation, which meant that, throughout her short life, she had suffered from multiple, untreatable, medical and developmental difficulties. The Family Division, in granting the declaration sought by the NHS Trust, that it was lawful and in AA's best interests for artificial hydration to be withdrawn, held that to seek to prolong AA's life at the time of the present proceedings was contrary to her best interests. 

Solemn procedure – Defective representation. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was convicted of the murder of his wife, the court, having rejected grounds of appeal based on defective representation (1) in the preparation for trial; (2) in the conduct of the trial; and (3) consisting in a restriction in the appellant's ability to select appropriate representation, added comments in relation to the latter issue, including that the current Rules for the Conduct of Solicitor Advocates 2002 were inadequate and should be amended. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The General Court of the European Union rejected the applicant's claims seeking the annulment of the respondent European Commission's decision that it had been involved in two cartels and its claim seeking the reduction of the fines imposed. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The applicant companies sought the annulment of the respondent European Commission's decision that they had been involved in a cartel and the annulment or reduction of the fines imposed on them. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the challenge to the finding of cartel involvement, but reduced the fines, as the Commission had departed from the 2006 Guidelines on the method of setting fines imposed as to the requirement to take an undertaking's best available figures of the value of sales. 

Mental health – Judicial review – Human rights. Court of Session: Refusing a judicial review petition by a petitioner who had been detained in the State Hospital since pleading guilty to a charge of culpable homicide on the basis of diminished responsibility and being made subject to compulsion and restriction orders, who contended there was no treatment for his dissocial personality disorder that could not equally be provided in prison but whose request to be transferred to prison was refused by the Scottish Ministers who said they had no power to do so, the court rejected contentions that the petitioner's continued detention in the State Hospital was in breach of arts 3 and/or 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 was non-convention compliant because of the absence of any provision allowing transfer of persons from the State Hospital to prison. 

European Union – Employment. The applicant former employees of a company brought proceedings after they had been subjected to collective redundancy. The proceedings were stayed and the Court of Justice gave a preliminary ruling on the interpretation of art 1(1) of Council Directive (EC) 2001/23, which concerned the laws of member states relating to the safeguarding of employees' rights in the event of transfers of undertakings, businesses or parts of undertakings or businesses. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Gold Crest LLC against the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), concerning an application for registration of the word sign 'MIGHTY BRIGHT' as a Community trade mark. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 101, 107 and 119 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and art 158 of Council Directive (EC) 2006/112 (on the common system of value added tax). The request had been made in the course of criminal proceedings brought against the defendants for alleged offences in relation to value added tax and the questions included whether a national rule on limitation periods for criminal offences, which in effect resulted in accused persons enjoying de facto impunity, amounted to introducing a VAT exemption which was not laid down in art 158 of Directive 2006/112. 

Family Proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Court made a placement order in respect of a young child, who was approaching seven months old. In the circumstances, it was clear that it was overwhelmingly in the child's interests for such an order to be made and nothing else would do. 

Copyright – Ownership. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court dismissed the claimant company's claim for ownership of the copyrights of two logos. Although the claimant had taken the legal interest in the copyrights, it had done so subject to the equitable interest of the company which had made use of the logos, and for whose use the logos had been created.