Ms Achbita, a Muslim receptionist at G4S in Belgium, was dismissed for insisting on wearing an Islamic headscarf at work, contrary to the employer's neutrality rule banning all visible political, philosophical or religious signs. The CJEU held this was not direct discrimination but could amount to indirect discrimination.
ICOS/Eli Lilly's patent claimed a 1-5mg daily dose of tadalafil (Cialis) for treating erectile dysfunction. Generic manufacturers challenged it as obvious. The Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal's finding that the dosage patent lacked an inventive step, as routine dose-ranging trials would inevitably have led to the 5mg dose.
The defendants misdirected an offer to sell wool, delaying its receipt. The plaintiffs posted acceptance immediately on receiving it, but the defendants sold the wool elsewhere before it arrived. The court held the contract was formed when acceptance was posted, establishing the postal rule.
Council tenants' three children died in a house fire when the mother could not open locked windows with removable keys to escape. The claimants sued alleging negligence in window design. The Court of Appeal (majority) dismissed the appeal, holding that installing commonly-used lockable windows was not negligent, applying the Bolam test.
Gerry Adams was detained in 1973 under an Interim Custody Order signed by a Minister of State, not the Secretary of State personally. The Supreme Court held the ICO was invalid, quashing his convictions for attempting to escape from lawful custody.
The Supreme Court considered the relevance of delay when applying to rectify the register of town and village greens under section 14 of the Commons Registration Act 1965. It dismissed the inhabitants' appeal in Betterment and allowed the landowner's appeal in Paddico, ordering rectification in both cases.
Mr Addis was wrongfully and humiliatingly dismissed during his notice period. The House of Lords held that damages could not include injured feelings or reputational harm caused by the manner of dismissal, reducing recovery to salary and commission losses arising from the breach.
Mrs Adler was seriously injured while disembarking from the Himalaya. The Court of Appeal held that the ship’s master and boatswain could not rely on an exemption clause in a contract to which they were not parties, reinforcing privity and inspiring the later ‘Himalaya clause’.
The applicant, a homosexual man, was convicted of gross indecency for engaging in consensual sexual acts with up to four other adult men in his home, recorded on videotape. The European Court of Human Rights held that his prosecution and conviction violated Article 8, finding no pressing social need to criminalise private consensual homosexual acts between more than two men.
Tamil husband and wife from Sri Lanka sought asylum. The husband had a well-founded fear of persecution in Jaffna but not in Colombo. The wife suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from rape. The Court of Appeal clarified the 'unduly harsh' test for internal relocation, holding refugee status depends on whether relocation within the home country is reasonable, not on conditions in the asylum country.
AEG sought to make Logic collect defective goods from Hong Kong. By majority, the Court of Appeal held that such a worldwide collection obligation was onerous and unusual and had not been sufficiently brought to Logic’s attention, so it was not incorporated into the contract.
A mentally ill detainee was held for seven months in a prison psychiatric wing rather than the designated Social Protection Centre. The Court found violations of Article 5(1) regarding unlawful detention in an inappropriate institution and Article 6(1) concerning denial of legal aid for appeal, establishing that detention of persons of unsound mind requires appropriate therapeutic facilities.
Tennis star Andre Agassi, having won his tax appeal, sought to recover costs paid to Tenon Media, tax specialists who instructed counsel directly under the Bar's Licensed Access Scheme. The Court of Appeal held he was a litigant in person and most of Tenon's fees were irrecoverable as disbursements.
The UK Attorney General referred the Agricultural Sector (Wales) Bill to the Supreme Court, questioning whether the Welsh Assembly could legislate on agricultural wages. The Court unanimously held the Bill related to agriculture, a devolved subject, and was within competence.
Four senior local government officers challenged UK regulations restricting their political activities. The restrictions prohibited certain political speech, party office-holding, and standing for election. The Court found no violation, holding the measures were proportionate to protect effective local democracy.
A Pakistani asylum seeker appealed against refusal of asylum, relying on documentary evidence including an arrest warrant and FIR. The Immigration Appeal Tribunal provided authoritative guidance on the assessment of documentary evidence in asylum cases, confirming that the burden lies on the claimant to show documents are reliable.
A Somali refugee in Austria had his refugee status revoked after a criminal conviction for attempted robbery. Austria sought to deport him to Somalia. The Court held that deportation would breach Article 3 ECHR as he faced a real risk of torture or inhuman treatment due to ongoing civil war and clan persecution in Somalia.
A Moroccan-Dutch father sought a residence permit for his 9-year-old son Souffiane to live with him in the Netherlands after the child's mother died. The Court held by 5-4 that refusing the permit did not violate Article 8, as the father had chosen to emigrate and could maintain family life in Morocco.
Solicitors negligently failed to fully redeem a prior Barclays charge when completing a £3.3m loan for AIB, leaving the bank's security postponed. The Supreme Court held equitable compensation was limited to the actual loss caused (£273,777), affirming Target Holdings.
AIC sought to enforce a Nigerian arbitration award in England. FAAN failed to provide a required bank guarantee on time, leading to an enforcement order. When the guarantee arrived hours later, the judge set aside the enforcement order. The Supreme Court clarified principles for reopening judgments before sealing, emphasising the finality principle within the CPR overriding objective.
Investors in failed Turkish and Moroccan property developments sued solicitors for releasing escrow funds without adequate security. The Supreme Court interpreted the aggregation clause in solicitors' professional indemnity insurance, holding claims by each development's investors could be aggregated, but not across both developments.
A fishing vessel sank after negligent security checks by Securicor. The House of Lords held that Securicor’s limitation clause effectively capped liability at £1,000, confirming that limitation clauses are construed less strictly than total exclusion clauses and should reflect commercial risk allocation.
Anthony Bland was left in a persistent vegetative state after the Hillsborough disaster with no prospect of recovery. The NHS Trust sought declarations permitting discontinuation of artificial feeding. The House of Lords held that withdrawing life-sustaining treatment was lawful where it no longer benefited the patient, as there was no duty to continue futile medical care.
Mrs Airey, an Irish woman of limited financial means, sought a judicial separation from her allegedly violent husband but could not afford legal representation. Ireland provided no civil legal aid. The European Court of Human Rights held that the State's failure to ensure effective access to court violated Article 6(1) and Article 8 of the Convention.
Airtours, facing financial difficulty, paid PwC to produce a report for its lending institutions on the viability of its restructuring proposals. The Supreme Court held, by majority, that PwC's services were supplied to the Institutions, not Airtours, so Airtours could not recover VAT as input tax.
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive