February 16, 2026
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...
February 15, 2026
Mr Jwanczuk's wife was unable to work throughout her life due to severe disability and never paid national insurance contributions. After her death, he was refused Bereavement Support Payment because she did not meet the contribution condition. The Supreme Court held the contribution condition was justified and did not unlawfully...
February 15, 2026
Ship buyers failed to provide documentation to open an escrow account, preventing the lodging of deposits under sale contracts. The Supreme Court held that the Mackay v Dick principle of deemed fulfilment of conditions precedent does not form part of English law. The sellers' remedy was in damages only, not...
February 14, 2026
A legal practitioner alleged that a sheriff assaulted and harassed her during four incidents in 2018. She sought to hold the Crown vicariously liable for the sheriff's alleged delicts. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the relationship between a sheriff and the Scottish Government is not akin to...
February 14, 2026
Family members of Robert Crozier, who died of mesothelioma, claimed damages under the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 despite his earlier settlement for asbestosis. The Supreme Court held that section 5 applies where someone dies of mesothelioma after discharging liability, regardless of whether mesothelioma existed at settlement. Facts Robert Crozier was...
February 14, 2026
Mr Evans sought opt-out collective proceedings for damages arising from FX trading infringements found by European Commission decisions. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, reinstating the Tribunal’s refusal to certify opt-out proceedings, holding that claim weakness and practicability of opt-in proceedings were properly weighed against opt-out certification. Facts Mr Phillip...
February 14, 2026
The Secretary of State appealed against a Court of Appeal ruling that found procedural unfairness in the deprivation of Mr Kolicaj's British citizenship without offering him an opportunity to make representations. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that the statutory appeal process under section 40A satisfies fairness requirements. Facts...
February 14, 2026
A Slovak Roma man claimed asylum in the UK, fearing persecution by skinheads. The House of Lords held that persecution under the Refugee Convention requires a failure of state protection. Since Slovakia provided sufficient protection, though imperfect, the asylum claim failed. Facts The appellant, Milan Horvath, was a Roma citizen...
February 14, 2026
A construction dispute concerning interpretation of termination clauses in a JCT Design and Build Contract. The Supreme Court held that a contractor cannot terminate under clause 8.9.4 for repeated default unless a right to terminate under clause 8.9.3 had previously accrued, requiring the employer's earlier default to have continued uncured...
February 14, 2026
A man who killed three people during a psychotic episode was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. He sued healthcare providers for negligence, claiming damages for his detention and other losses. The Supreme Court held that the illegality defence barred his civil claim despite his lack of...
February 14, 2026
Emotional Perception AI sought to patent a system using an artificial neural network to recommend media files based on emotional similarity. The Supreme Court held that while ANNs are 'programs for computers', the invention was not excluded from patentability as it involved hardware. The Court rejected the Aerotel approach, adopting...
February 14, 2026
Oatly registered the trade mark 'POST MILK GENERATION' for oat-based food and drink products. Dairy UK challenged its validity under the Trade Marks Act 1994, arguing it violated EU Regulation 1308/2013 prohibiting dairy terms for non-dairy products. The Supreme Court dismissed Oatly's appeal, holding the mark constituted a prohibited 'designation'...
February 14, 2026
A Colombian national convicted of drug trafficking in France faced deportation. He claimed that returning to Colombia would expose him to revenge by drug traffickers he had informed on, violating Article 3 ECHR. The Court held by 15-6 that deportation would not violate Article 3 as sufficient risk was not...
February 6, 2026
A Tanzanian asylum seeker from Zanzibar, who had been tortured for supporting the opposition CUF party, faced deportation from the UK. The Court found that returning him to Tanzania would violate Article 3 due to the real risk of torture or inhuman treatment, rejecting the 'internal flight' option to mainland...
February 6, 2026
A 48-year-old Indian widow and her two teenage sons sought entry to the UK as dependants of her sponsoring son. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, finding the appellants were not 'mainly dependent' on the sponsor as the able-bodied teenage sons could work to support themselves. Facts The appellants were Indian...
February 6, 2026
Syrian national appealed refusal of asylum, claiming risk of ill-treatment as a draft evader if returned. The Court of Appeal upheld the Immigration Appeal Tribunal's decision, finding that where no personal risk factors exist, establishing 'real risk' requires evidence of a consistent pattern of gross and systematic human rights violations...
February 6, 2026
Turkish Cypriot appellants whose limited leave to remain had expired attempted to appeal against refusal of further leave. The House of Lords held the adjudicator had no jurisdiction as no valid leave existed to vary. Appeal dismissed following Suthendran. Facts The appellants were Turkish Cypriots who arrived in the UK...
February 6, 2026
An Algerian asylum seeker failed to attend his interview. The Tribunal held that Paragraph 340 of HC 395 cannot be used alone to refuse asylum; the Secretary of State must assess the merits of the claim. Special adjudicators must consider all evidence, not merely whether non-compliance was excused. Facts The...
February 4, 2026
A Turkish national living in Switzerland on a humanitarian residence permit sought to bring his son Ersin from Turkey for family reunification. Swiss authorities refused, citing insufficient means and inadequate care arrangements. The European Court of Human Rights found no violation of Article 8, holding Switzerland had not failed its...
February 4, 2026
Two ethnic Albanian men from Kosovo appealed asylum refusals. The Tribunal found that ethnic Albanians faced systematic persecution including job losses, police harassment, and inability to return to FRY. Their appeals were allowed based on well-founded fear of persecution due to ethnicity and inability to return. Facts The appellants, Urim...
February 4, 2026
An Iraqi Kurd claimed asylum arguing he could not safely return to the Kurdish Autonomous Region without passing through Baghdad where he faced persecution. The Court of Appeal held that a person with a safe home area to which he cannot currently access is not a refugee, but remitted the...
February 4, 2026
Mr Fitzpatrick, who had lived in a long-term homosexual relationship with the deceased tenant Mr Thompson for 18 years and cared for him devotedly until his death, sought to succeed to the tenancy. The House of Lords held he could not be treated as a 'spouse' but was a 'member...
January 19, 2026
Nigerian woman who entered UK illegally in 1990 had two children with a married British citizen. Court of Appeal considered the proportionality test for Article 8 appeals and held that while adjudicators cannot simply substitute their view for the Secretary of State's, removal would disproportionately interfere with the children's family...
January 19, 2026
East African Asians holding UK citizenship were refused entry to Britain under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968. The European Commission of Human Rights found the legislation discriminated on racial grounds, constituting degrading treatment under Article 3 ECHR, establishing that racial discrimination in immigration control can violate human dignity. Facts The...
January 19, 2026
A Syrian national detained in Greece pending expulsion was held for seventeen months in severely overcrowded police detention facilities with inadequate sleeping and sanitary facilities. The European Court of Human Rights found violations of Article 3 (degrading treatment) and Article 5 (unlawful detention and lack of judicial review). Facts The...
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive