Case summaries

Lady justice with law books

Evans v Barclays Bank Plc and others [2025] UKSC 48

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...

Lady justice with law books

Emotional Perception AI Limited v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2026] UKSC 3

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...

Law books on a desk

Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB [2026] UKSC 4

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'...

Law books on a desk

Halil & Anor v Davidson [1980] UKHL 13

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...

Law books in a law library

East African Asians v United Kingdom [1973] ECHR 2

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...

Lady justice with law books

Dougoz v Greece (Application 40907/98) [2001] ECHR 213

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...

Lady justice with law books

De Freitas v Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Agriculture; Fisheries; Lands and Housing [1998] UKPC 30

A civil servant in Antigua participated in peaceful demonstrations criticising government corruption. He was interdicted under legislation prohibiting civil servants from publishing political opinions. The Privy Council held the statutory restriction unconstitutional as it was too broad and not reasonably justifiable in a democratic society, establishing a proportionality test. Facts...