March 19, 2026
Brinkibon, a London company, sent acceptance of a contract by telex to Stahag in Vienna. The House of Lords held that for instantaneous communications like telex, a contract is formed where acceptance is received, thus the contract was formed in Austria, not England. Facts Brinkibon Ltd, a company based in...
March 16, 2026
HMRC argued that part-time football referees in the National Group were employees of PGMOL for tax and National Insurance purposes. The Supreme Court held that individual match contracts satisfied the requirements of mutuality of obligation and control necessary for employment, remitting the case to determine overall employment status. Facts Professional...
March 16, 2026
Tesco sought to remove 'retained pay' from employees who had relocated in 2007 by dismissing and rehiring them without this benefit. The Supreme Court held that an implied term prevented Tesco from exercising its termination power to defeat the promised permanent retained pay, and granted an injunction restraining such dismissals....
March 16, 2026
Spain and Zimbabwe appealed against registration of ICSID arbitration awards in the UK, claiming state immunity. The Supreme Court held that by ratifying the ICSID Convention, particularly Article 54(1), contracting states waived their immunity from adjudicative jurisdiction for recognition and enforcement proceedings, while preserving immunity from execution only. Facts Two...
March 16, 2026
A daughter claimed financial provision from her deceased father's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The Supreme Court held that a success fee payable under a conditional fee agreement cannot be included in an award for reasonable financial provision, as this would circumvent section 58A(6)...
March 16, 2026
Data centre developers claimed enterprise zone capital allowances for construction expenditure incurred in the second 10-year period under a 'golden contract' made within the first period. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that section 298 requires contractual commitment to the specific expenditure by the tenth anniversary, not merely that...
March 16, 2026
A German bank sought an anti-suit injunction to restrain a Russian company from pursuing Russian court proceedings in breach of arbitration agreements governed by English law with a Paris seat. The Supreme Court upheld the injunction, confirming that a contractual choice of governing law for the contract applies to the...
March 16, 2026
Two appellants were charged under section 12(1A) of the Terrorism Act 2000 for expressing opinions supportive of Hamas following the 7 October 2023 attacks. The Supreme Court clarified the ingredients of the offence and held that it is compatible with Article 10 ECHR, dismissing the appeals. Facts The first appellant...
March 16, 2026
The PPS sought to add a compensation order to a sentence two years after the original sentencing. The Supreme Court held that while article 158A permits varying sentences by addition, the interests of justice require expeditious applications. The delay was fatal to the application. Facts On 28 June 2021, the...
March 16, 2026
Zedra, a minority shareholder in THG plc, brought an unfair prejudice petition alleging exclusion from a bonus share issue in 2016. The Supreme Court held that petitions under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 are not subject to limitation periods under sections 8 or 9 of the Limitation Act...
March 14, 2026
An RTM company failed to serve a claim notice on an intermediate landlord as required under the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002. The Supreme Court held that such failure does not automatically invalidate the right to manage acquisition, but renders the transfer voidable rather than void, depending on whether...
March 14, 2026
QX, a British citizen, was subject to a temporary exclusion order and reporting obligations after living in Syria. He challenged whether Article 6(1) fair trial rights applied to reviews of the order's imposition. The Supreme Court held that Article 6(1) applies to imposition reviews where obligations interfere with civil rights,...
March 13, 2026
Three night-watchmen attended hospital after vomiting from drinking tea. The casualty officer refused to see them, advising they go home. Mr Barnett died hours later from arsenic poisoning. His widow's negligence claim failed as proper treatment would not have saved him, establishing the 'but for' test of causation. Facts On...
March 12, 2026
COHL, an investment holding company, sought to deduct professional advisory fees incurred when disposing of a subsidiary as expenses of management under section 1219 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009. The Supreme Court held that such fees were capital expenditure, not revenue, and therefore not deductible because they were incurred...
March 11, 2026
Mr and Mrs Lipton's flight from Milan to London was cancelled due to pilot illness. They claimed compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004. The Supreme Court held that pilot illness is not an 'extraordinary circumstance' excusing compensation, as managing staff absence is inherent to airline operations. Facts Mr and Mrs Lipton...
March 11, 2026
A contractor provided a collateral warranty to a lessee regarding construction of a care home. When fire safety defects arose, the lessee sought statutory adjudication. The Supreme Court held that collateral warranties which merely replicate obligations from the underlying building contract are not 'construction contracts' under the Housing Grants (Construction...
March 11, 2026
AM, a Belarusian national and foreign criminal, deliberately thwarted deportation through lies and non-cooperation. He claimed his 'limbo status' without leave to remain violated Article 8 ECHR. The Supreme Court allowed the Secretary of State's appeal, holding that AM's own conduct in obstructing removal was highly material to the proportionality...
March 11, 2026
A Russian billionaire's ex-wife sought financial relief in England under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 after their Russian divorce. The Supreme Court addressed the test for setting aside leave to apply for such relief, ruling that respondents have an unconditional right to argue against leave...
March 11, 2026
The Canal Company owns the Manchester Ship Canal, into which United Utilities discharges foul water from its sewerage system. The Supreme Court held that owners of watercourses can bring common law claims in nuisance or trespass against sewerage undertakers for polluting discharges, as such discharges are not authorised by the...
March 11, 2026
A British citizen challenged a Home Office report alleging he committed war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence. The Supreme Court held that defamation proceedings were not an abuse of process despite his conviction in absentia by a Bangladeshi tribunal, as he had no fair opportunity to contest...
March 11, 2026
Sarah Finch challenged Surrey County Council's grant of planning permission for oil extraction, arguing the environmental impact assessment unlawfully excluded greenhouse gas emissions from eventual combustion of the extracted oil. The Supreme Court held (3-2) that such downstream emissions must be assessed as indirect effects of the project under the...
March 11, 2026
Fiona George sued Linda Cannell for malicious falsehood after false statements were made about post-employment contractual obligations. The Supreme Court held that section 3(1) of the Defamation Act 1952 renders malicious falsehood actionable per se, but damages for mental distress cannot be awarded where no financial loss was caused. Facts...
March 11, 2026
MUR Shipping invoked a force majeure clause when US sanctions prevented timely payment in US dollars under a charterparty. RTI offered payment in euros instead. The Supreme Court held that reasonable endeavours provisions do not require acceptance of non-contractual performance, restoring certainty in commercial contracts. Facts MUR Shipping BV (shipowner)...
March 10, 2026
Trade mark owners sued company directors for infringements committed by their company. The Supreme Court held that accessory liability for torts of strict liability requires knowledge of the essential facts making the act wrongful. Directors cannot be ordered to account for profits made by the company, only their own profits....
March 10, 2026
A salvage company sought to claim salvage rights over silver cargo recovered from a ship sunk in 1942. The silver belonged to South Africa and was intended for minting coins. The Supreme Court held South Africa was entitled to state immunity from the in rem claim because the cargo was...
August 30, 2026
National Case Law Archive
August 25, 2026
National Case Law Archive
August 25, 2026
National Case Law Archive