April 2, 2026
The Supreme Court considered whether an oral agreement to transfer a 51% equitable interest in company shares to the legal owner created a vendor purchaser constructive trust, thereby displacing the writing requirement under section 53(1)(c) of the Law of Property Act 1925. The Court held that such a trust arose,...
April 2, 2026
Government departments unilaterally withdrew check-off arrangements allowing trade union subscriptions to be deducted from employees' salaries. The Union claimed third party rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce this contractual term. The Supreme Court held the Union could enforce the check-off term as the statutory...
April 2, 2026
A Russian trustee in bankruptcy sought English court assistance to realise a London property owned by the bankrupt. The Supreme Court held that the immovables rule prevents English courts at common law from assisting foreign trustees to claim interests in land situated in England, as such property is governed exclusively...
April 2, 2026
A Maltese bank claimed against a carrier for misdelivery of coal cargo discharged without presentation of bills of lading. The Supreme Court held that the one-year time bar in article III, rule 6 of both the Hague Rules and Hague Visby Rules applies to misdelivery claims occurring after discharge from...
April 2, 2026
Nexus sought rectification of a collective agreement recording a productivity bonus consolidation, claiming it mistakenly increased shift allowances. The Supreme Court held that while collective agreements can be rectified despite being legally unenforceable, the proper defendants are affected employees, not unions. The claim against unions was dismissed. Facts Tyne and...
April 2, 2026
SkyKick provided cloud migration and backup services under the 'SkyKick' mark. Sky alleged trade mark infringement based on its broad SKY marks. SkyKick counterclaimed that Sky's applications were made in bad faith due to lack of intention to use the marks across all registered goods and services. The Supreme Court...
April 2, 2026
A former nurse at Muckamore Abbey Hospital challenged the Minister of Health's refusal to suspend a public inquiry into patient abuse pending her criminal trial. The Supreme Court held that under section 13(1) of the Inquiries Act 2005, necessity applies to both the decision to suspend and the period of...
April 2, 2026
A client sought assessment of his solicitor's bill after they deducted fees from his damages. The Supreme Court held that 'payment' under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 requires agreement to the specific amount to be paid, not merely prior authorisation to deduct fees. Delivery of a bill alone...
April 2, 2026
A Nigerian mother sought asylum for herself and her children, claiming her daughter faced risk of FGM upon return to Nigeria. The Supreme Court considered whether breach of section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 by the Secretary of State would render the First-tier Tribunal's decision unlawful....
April 2, 2026
Ms McAleenon sought judicial review against regulators for failing to take action regarding harmful emissions from a landfill site affecting her home. The Supreme Court held that private prosecution or nuisance claims against the site operator were not suitable alternative remedies to judicial review of the regulators' public law duties....
March 31, 2026
Police attended a road accident caused by black ice but left without adequately warning other motorists. A fatal collision subsequently occurred on the same stretch of road. The Supreme Court held the police owed no duty of care as they had not made matters worse in a legally relevant sense,...
March 31, 2026
Truck manufacturers challenged collective proceedings brought by purchasers claiming compensation for price-fixing. The Supreme Court held that litigation funding agreements where funders receive a percentage of damages recovered are damages-based agreements under section 58AA CLSA 1990, rendering them unenforceable without compliance with statutory requirements. Facts Following a European Commission decision...
March 31, 2026
Mr Jones challenged the civil standard of proof applied in gang injunction proceedings under the Policing and Crime Act 2009 and Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The Supreme Court held that Article 6(1) ECHR does not require the criminal standard of proof in such civil proceedings, dismissing the...
March 31, 2026
The widow and family of Mr McCulloch sued for negligence after his death from cardiac tamponade, claiming his doctor should have advised him about NSAID treatment for pericarditis. The Supreme Court held that the professional practice test (Bolam/Hunter v Hanley) applies when determining what constitutes a reasonable alternative treatment requiring...
March 31, 2026
Mrs Philipp was deceived by fraudsters into instructing Barclays Bank to transfer £700,000 to accounts in the UAE. She claimed the Bank owed a duty not to execute her payment instructions if it had reasonable grounds to believe she was being defrauded. The Supreme Court held no such duty exists...
March 31, 2026
A police officer (W80) shot and killed Jermaine Baker during an operation based on intelligence that suspects were armed. The IOPC directed disciplinary proceedings applying the civil law test for self-defence. The Supreme Court held that the civil law test applies in police disciplinary proceedings, not the criminal law test,...
March 31, 2026
A Palestinian refugee in Lebanon challenged the UK's Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, arguing the public sector equality duty (PSED) under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 applied extraterritorially. The Supreme Court held the PSED does not have extraterritorial effect, dismissing the appeal. Facts The Appellant, a Palestinian refugee from...
March 31, 2026
A wife sought financial relief in England after an overseas divorce under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984. The husband died before the final hearing. The Supreme Court held that the power to order financial relief after overseas divorce can only be exercised between living parties,...
March 31, 2026
Ms Wang applied for Tier 1 (Investor) Migrant status using a scheme where she paid £200,000 to access a £1m loan pre-destined for investment in a specific company. The Supreme Court held she lacked the requisite 'control' over the loan money as she had no real choice about its use...
March 31, 2026
Jackie Maguire, a vulnerable adult with Downs Syndrome living in a care home under deprivation of liberty safeguards, died from a perforated gastric ulcer after not being taken to hospital despite symptoms. Her mother challenged the coroner's decision not to require an expanded verdict under Article 2 ECHR. The Supreme...
March 31, 2026
A road carrier transported cigarettes from Poland to England under the CMR Convention. Thieves stole 289 cases during transit, triggering excise duty liability of £449,557 on the cargo owner. The Supreme Court upheld the Buchanan precedent, ruling that excise duty is recoverable under article 23.4 as 'other charges incurred in...
March 31, 2026
Nuffield Health, a registered charity operating gyms, claimed mandatory 80% business rates relief for its Merton Abbey gym. Merton Council argued the gym's fees excluded those of modest means, failing the public benefit test. The Supreme Court held that charitable purpose is assessed by the charity's activities overall, not site-by-site....
March 31, 2026
SSE Generation Ltd sought capital allowances for expenditure on water conduits at a hydro-electric scheme. HMRC argued these were 'tunnels' or 'aqueducts' excluded under the Capital Allowances Act 2001. The Supreme Court held that in context, 'tunnel' means a subterranean passage for transportation ways, and 'aqueduct' means a bridge-like structure...
March 31, 2026
Terrorist prisoners challenged legislation extending their custodial periods from half to two-thirds of their sentences before eligibility for parole. The Supreme Court held this change related to execution of sentence, not the penalty itself, and therefore did not breach Article 7 or Article 5 ECHR. Facts The respondents (Morgan, Marks,...
March 31, 2026
The Supreme Court considered whether the Parole Board could take into account unproven allegations when assessing a prisoner's risk to the public. The Court held that the Board is not limited to considering only facts proven on the balance of probabilities but may assess the possibility that allegations are true,...
July 5, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive