The National Case Law Archive provides summaries of landmark cases across English and Welsh, Scottish, and Northern Irish jurisdictions, reflecting the distinct legal systems within the United Kingdom, to support your studies and research. We also offer analysis, guides and definitions covering the seven foundations of law. Contact us for corrections and enquiries.
Latest case law:
March 29, 2026
South Australia Asset Management Corp v York Montague Ltd [1997] AC 191
March 29, 2026
Sylvia Shipping Co Ltd v Progress Bulk Carriers Ltd [2010] EWHC 542
March 29, 2026
Manchester Building Society v Grant Thornton UK LLP [2021] UKSC 20
March 29, 2026
Transfield Shipping Inc v Mercator Shipping Inc [2008] UKHL 48
March 29, 2026
Smith v Leech Brain & Co Ltd [1962] 2 QB 405
March 29, 2026
Doughty v Turner Manufacturing Company [1964] 1 QB 518
March 29, 2026
Hughes v Lord Advocate [1963] AC 837
March 29, 2026
Re Polemis and Furness, Withy & Co [1921] 3 KB 560
March 29, 2026
Anns v Merton London Borough Council [1978] AC 728
March 29, 2026
Victoria Laundry (Windsor) Ltd v Newman Industries Ltd [1949] 2 KB 528
Latest analysis:
March 18, 2026
The Supreme Court’s decision in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is one of the most important recent judgments on quantum, not only in clinical negligence, but across serious injury litigation more generally.
March 17, 2026
Boyd and the magistrates’ power to reopen sentence
National Case Law Archive
Why a modest compensation-order dispute has become an important authority on finality, correction and the true reach of the magistrates’ post-sentence powers.
March 16, 2026
Tesco v USDAW: retained pay and the real limits of fire and rehire
National Case Law Archive
The Supreme Court held that Tesco could not use dismissal to remove “retained pay”, implying a term preventing termination where it would defeat a core contractual benefit promised as permanent.
March 8, 2026
40 standout UK law cases from the past 12 months
National Case Law Archive
In fields as diverse as public law, immigration, environmental planning, consumer finance, and intellectual property, this year’s decisions underline the importance of remaining current with developments that have profound practical implications.
February 15, 2026
Veale v Scottish Power: mesothelioma settlements, statutory releases, and relatives’ claims after discharge
National Case Law Archive
In Veale (and others) v Scottish Power UK Plc, the UK Supreme Court was asked a tight but commercially significant question: where an injured person settles (and thereby discharges the defender’s liability) before developing mesothelioma, can the statutory “mesothelioma exception” still allow the person’s relatives to pursue the non‑patrimonial head of claim after the person later dies of mesothelioma?
Guides:
March 29, 2026
Foreseeability
March 25, 2026
Breach of contract in English law
March 25, 2026
De minimis non curat lex in English law
March 22, 2026
Consensus ad idem: agreement in contract law
March 20, 2026
Assault and battery in English law
March 19, 2026
Novus actus interveniens in English law
March 19, 2026
Acceptance by conduct in English contract law
March 19, 2026
Offer and acceptance in English law
March 18, 2026
The receipt rule in English contract law
March 18, 2026
