April 24, 2026
A landlord of a block of flats sought to licence structural works by one lessee that would otherwise breach an absolute covenant. The Supreme Court held this would breach the landlord's covenant to other lessees requiring enforcement of such covenants on request. Facts 11-13 Randolph Crescent in Maida Vale comprises...
April 24, 2026
A Zimbabwean national with HIV challenged deportation under Article 3 ECHR, arguing removal would deny him access to life-sustaining medication. The Supreme Court departed from the restrictive N v SSHD approach, adopting the broader Paposhvili test for assessing medical cases under Article 3, and remitted the case for rehearing. Facts...
April 24, 2026
The Supreme Court considered whether the Secretary of State lawfully issued guidance prohibiting local government pension scheme administrators from pursuing investment policies contrary to UK foreign or defence policy. The majority held the guidance was unlawful as it exceeded statutory powers, which permitted guidance on how to approach investment decisions,...
April 22, 2026
Quick, a diabetic nurse, assaulted a patient whilst allegedly suffering from hypoglycaemia caused by taking insulin without eating properly. The Court of Appeal held that hypoglycaemia caused by external factors (insulin) did not constitute a ‘disease of the mind’ under the M’Naghten Rules, allowing a defence of automatism rather than...
April 22, 2026
Bratty strangled a young woman and claimed he acted unconsciously due to ‘blackness’. He raised defences of automatism and insanity based on possible psychomotor epilepsy. The House of Lords held that automatism requires evidential foundation and where the only suggested cause is disease of the mind, rejection of insanity precludes...
April 22, 2026
Mrs Pretty, suffering from terminal motor neurone disease, sought an undertaking that her husband would not be prosecuted if he assisted her suicide. The European Court of Human Rights held that the UK's prohibition on assisted suicide did not violate Articles 2, 3, 8, 9 or 14 of the Convention,...
April 22, 2026
Mrs López Ostra lived 12 metres from a waste treatment plant that emitted fumes, smells and noise causing health problems and nuisance. Despite complaints, Spanish authorities failed to adequately address the pollution. The ECtHR held Spain violated Article 8, establishing that severe environmental pollution can breach the right to private...
April 22, 2026
A journalist complained that Austrian courts failed to protect his reputation after being accused in a magazine of being part of a 'hunting society' that drove a professor to suicide. The ECtHR held that Austria violated Article 8 by failing to balance the applicant's right to reputation against freedom of...
April 22, 2026
Mr Leander was denied employment at a Swedish Naval Museum due to secret police records classifying him as a security risk. He was never told the contents of these records. The Court found Sweden's personnel control system lawful and necessary for national security, with adequate safeguards against abuse. Facts Torsten...
April 22, 2026
A mentally handicapped sixteen-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a care home. Her father could not file a criminal complaint on her behalf due to a gap in Dutch law requiring victims over sixteen to complain personally. The Court found the Netherlands violated Article 8 by failing to provide effective...
April 22, 2026
Christine Goodwin, a post-operative male-to-female transsexual, challenged the UK's refusal to legally recognise her reassigned gender. She faced difficulties with employment records, pensions, and marriage rights. The ECtHR found violations of Articles 8 and 12, marking a significant departure from previous case law on transsexual rights. Facts The applicant, Christine...
April 22, 2026
Mr Dudgeon, a homosexual man in Northern Ireland, challenged laws criminalising private consensual homosexual acts between adult males. The European Court of Human Rights held that maintaining such legislation constituted an unjustified interference with his right to respect for private life under Article 8, as it was disproportionate to any...
April 22, 2026
Paula Marckx, an unmarried mother, challenged Belgian law which required formal recognition to establish legal ties with her illegitimate daughter Alexandra. The Court found Belgian law discriminated against illegitimate children and unmarried mothers regarding affiliation, family relationships, and inheritance rights, violating Articles 8 and 14 of the Convention. Facts Alexandra...
April 20, 2026
Zipvit claimed input VAT deductions for postal services from Royal Mail that were mistakenly treated as VAT-exempt by all parties. The Supreme Court referred questions to the Court of Justice regarding whether VAT could be deemed 'paid' or 'due' when neither party charged nor accounted for it, and whether alternative...
April 20, 2026
A woman rendered infertile due to negligent cervical cancer screening sought damages for surrogacy costs. The Supreme Court held damages could include costs of commercial surrogacy abroad using donor eggs, departing from earlier restrictive precedent, reflecting changed social attitudes to family formation. Facts The claimant, born in 1983, underwent cervical...
April 20, 2026
Insurers sought to recover settlement payments made after a vessel was deliberately scuttled. The Bank, as assignee and loss payee under the marine insurance policy, challenged English court jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held the Bank was entitled to protection under EU Regulation section 3 on insurance matters and must be...
April 20, 2026
The appellant challenged the Home Secretary's decision to provide mutual legal assistance to the United States without obtaining death penalty assurances regarding her son, suspected of terrorism offences in Syria. The Supreme Court unanimously held the decision unlawful under the Data Protection Act 2018, as the Secretary of State failed...
April 20, 2026
A Pakistani national trafficked to the UK as a child for forced labour challenged his removal. The Supreme Court held that immigration tribunals are not bound by National Referral Mechanism trafficking decisions and must make their own factual findings. Removal would breach Article 4 ECHR as no effective investigation of...
April 20, 2026
Orsted claimed capital allowances for expenditure on environmental surveys and studies conducted when planning offshore windfarms. The Supreme Court held that such expenditure was not ‘on the provision of plant’ under section 11(4) of the Capital Allowances Act 2001, as the phrase requires a close connection between expenditure and the...
April 20, 2026
The appellant, diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, made and possessed HMTD explosive for personal experimentation and self-education regarding how explosives work. The Supreme Court held that experimentation and self-education are capable of being lawful objects under section 4(1) of the Explosive Substances Act 1883, allowing the defence to proceed to...
April 20, 2026
A Rwandan refugee was detained pending deportation based on the 2004 Order specifying particularly serious crimes. The Order was later declared ultra vires. The Supreme Court held that detention founded on an unlawful deportation order was itself unlawful, entitling the appellant to pursue damages for false imprisonment. Facts The appellant,...
April 20, 2026
Mrs McGuinness challenged the Department of Justice's calculation of Michael Stone's tariff expiry date for parole consideration. The Supreme Court held it lacked jurisdiction as the proceedings were not a 'criminal cause or matter' under the Judicature (Northern Ireland) Act 1978, meaning appeals should go to the Court of Appeal...
April 20, 2026
Swedish-Romanian investors obtained an ICSID arbitration award against Romania for breaching a bilateral investment treaty. Romania sought to stay enforcement pending EU proceedings, arguing enforcement would constitute unlawful State aid. The Supreme Court held that the UK's pre-accession obligations under the ICSID Convention, owed to non-EU member states, were protected...
April 20, 2026
The claimant was subject to an unlawful eight-hour daily curfew with electronic tagging for 891 days. The Supreme Court held this constituted false imprisonment at common law, as enforced compliance through threats of prosecution and detention amounted to confinement, regardless of whether it met the ECHR's deprivation of liberty test....
April 20, 2026
A quarry extension in the Green Belt was granted planning permission. The issue was whether 'openness' in Green Belt policy required visual impact assessment. The Supreme Court held visual impact is not a mandatory consideration under the openness proviso; it is a matter of planning judgement, not law. Facts Darrington...
July 5, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive