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Articles by LawTeacher
Belhaj and another v Straw and others [2017] UKSC 3
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that claims alleging United Kingdom complicity in torture, unlawful detention and rendition by foreign states are not barred by state immunity or the foreign act of state doctrine. The proceedings brought by Mr Belhaj, Mrs Boudchar and Mr Rahmatullah against British officials and government departments may therefore continue to trial on […]…
Homes and Communities Agency v J S Bloor (Wilmslow) Ltd [2017] UKSC 12
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court restored the Upper Tribunal’s award of £746,000 for grazing land compulsorily acquired for the Kingsway Business Park, holding that the tribunal had lawfully assessed its hope value for residential development in a world without that scheme. Underlying planning policies could properly be weighed when judging the prospects of permission apart from the […]…
R (Agyarko) and R (Ikuga) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 11
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
These appeals concerned whether the Secretary of State lawfully refused leave to remain to two women who had formed relationships with British citizens while living unlawfully in the United Kingdom. The Supreme Court held that the Immigration Rules’ requirement of “insurmountable obstacles” to family life continuing abroad, and guidance that leave outside the Rules requires […]…
Abd Ali Hameed Al-Waheed (Appellant) v Ministry of Defence (Respondent) [2017] UKSC 2
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
By a majority, the Supreme Court held that United Nations Security Council resolutions gave British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan power to detain people when that was necessary for imperative reasons of security, and that article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights should be read so as to allow that power. Detention solely […]…
Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence and another [2017] UKSC 1
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that the doctrine of Crown act of state can bar foreign-law tort claims by foreign nationals for detention by British forces abroad, where the detention was an inherently governmental act done pursuant to deliberate United Kingdom policy in military operations that are themselves lawful in international law. The Ministry of Defence […]…
UKI (Kingsway) Limited v Westminster City Council [2018] UKSC 67
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Westminster City Council handed a completion notice, addressed only to the owner, to a receptionist at a newly developed office building. She scanned it and emailed it to the owner, UKI (Kingsway) Limited. The Supreme Court held that this was valid service: the council caused the notice to be received, and an electronic copy was […]…
THE UK WITHDRAWAL FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION (LEGAL CONTINUITY) (SCOTLAND) BILL – A Reference by the Attorney General and the Advocate General for Scotland [2018] UKSC 64
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court was asked whether the Scottish Parliament could pass its own Bill to keep law operating in devolved areas after the United Kingdom left the European Union. It held that the Bill as a whole did not enter the reserved field of relations with the EU, and that the Parliament could legislate in […]…
Secretary of State for Justice v MM [2018] UKSC 60
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
In 2018 the Supreme Court considered whether a restricted patient could be conditionally discharged from hospital on terms that would deprive him of liberty. The patient agreed to the proposed restrictions. The appeal turned on whether the Mental Health Act 1983, as it then stood, authorised the tribunal or the Secretary of State to impose […]…
R (Stott) v Secretary of State for Justice [2018] UKSC 59
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
In 2018 the release rules for an extended determinate sentence required Mr Stott to serve two-thirds of his custodial term before he could be considered for parole. He challenged the difference between that threshold and those for other sentences under articles 14 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Mr Stott’s sentence comprised […]…
Welsh Ministers v PJ [2018] UKSC 66
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that a responsible clinician cannot attach conditions to a community treatment order which in practice deprive the patient of liberty. The Mental Health Act 1983 permits conditions supporting treatment in the community, but it contains no express or necessarily implied power to authorise detention outside hospital. The Court allowed PJ’s appeal […]…
Williams v The Trustees of Swansea University Pension & Assurance Scheme and another [2018] UKSC 65
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that Mr Williams was not treated unfavourably under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010 when the enhancement to his ill-health early retirement pension was calculated using his part-time salary. He was entitled to that immediate pension only because of his disabilities; without them he would have had no pension until […]…
London Borough of Southwark and another v Transport for London [2018] UKSC 63
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court decided how much of a London road passes to Transport for London when it becomes the highway authority. The words transferring “the highway, in so far as it is vested in the former highway authority” carry all rights in the vertical plane held by the former authority in that capacity, and are […]…
S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Ltd [2018] UKSC 62
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that a business landlord cannot oppose a new tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 by relying on works it would carry out only in order to remove the tenant. The Cavendish Hotel had advanced a costly and largely useless scheme of alterations at 80 Jermyn Street solely to satisfy […]…
Volcafe Ltd and others v Compania Sud Americana De Vapores SA [2018] UKSC 61
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Coffee beans shipped in unventilated containers were damaged by condensation. The Supreme Court held that, under a bill of lading incorporating the Hague Rules, the carrier bears the legal burden of proving that the damage was not caused by a failure to take reasonable care, including care to protect the cargo from its own hygroscopic […]…
Rhuppiah v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 58
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court had to decide what “precarious” means in section 117B(5) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which says that little weight should be given to a private life established while a person’s immigration status was precarious. It held that the description covers everyone in the United Kingdom, other than a UK […]…
Regency Villas Title Ltd and others (Respondents/Cross-Appellants) v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd and others (Appellants/Cross-Respondents) [2018] UKSC 57
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that the free use of Broome Park’s sporting and leisure facilities could be granted to the neighbouring Regency Villas timeshare land as a freehold easement. A majority decided that recreational rights are not disqualified merely because they are enjoyed for their own sake, and that the 1981 grant covered the leisure […]…
Warner-Lambert Company LLC v Generics (UK) Ltd t/a Mylan and another [2018] UKSC 56
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Warner-Lambert patented the use of pregabalin to treat pain. Its experiments supported a use for inflammatory pain. Did they also disclose enough to justify a claim covering neuropathic pain, which arises from damage to the nervous system? A majority held that they did not. That distinction determined the validity of the challenged claims. Warner-Lambert owned […]…
Barnardo’s v Buckinghamshire and others [2018] UKSC 55
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
This appeal concerned whether the trustees of the Barnardo Staff Pension Scheme could move pension increases from the Retail Prices Index to another measure, such as the Consumer Prices Index, while the RPI was still published. Pensions in payment rise by the lesser of 5% and the annual increase in an index defined as the […]…
Darnley v Croydon Health Services NHS Trust [2018] UKSC 50
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Told by an accident and emergency receptionist that he might have to wait four to five hours, Michael Darnley left after 19 minutes and later suffered permanent brain damage. The trial judge found that correct information would have led him to stay and make a very near full recovery. The Supreme Court held that the […]…
Dooneen Ltd (t/a McGinness Associates) and another v Mond [2018] UKSC 54
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Years after a Scottish debtor’s protected trust deed appeared to have ended, compensation for mis-sold payment protection insurance came to light. The Supreme Court held that the trustee’s decision to pay a final dividend ended the trust and discharged the debtor, so the former trustee was not entitled to the newly discovered asset. His appeal […]…
Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and others [2018] UKSC 49
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The owners of a Christian bakery refused to ice a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage” because they believed that the message conflicted with Biblical teaching. The Supreme Court held that this was not discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation: the objection was to the message, and the same cake would have been refused […]…
In the matter of an application by Siobhan McLaughlin for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2018] UKSC 48
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Under the Northern Ireland legislation in force when her partner died, Siobhan McLaughlin could not receive widowed parent’s allowance because they had never married. The majority asked why a benefit intended to help a surviving parent care for children depended on the parents’ marital status. The allowance and the earlier decisions Widowed parent’s allowance was […]…
James-Bowen and others v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2018] UKSC 40
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis owes no duty of care to her officers, when defending a claim that she is vicariously liable for their alleged misconduct, to take reasonable care to protect them from economic and reputational harm. Four officers sued after the Commissioner settled such a claim […]…
KO v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] UKSC 53
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court decided how two tests protecting children apply when a parent may be removed or deported. Whether it is reasonable to expect a child to leave the United Kingdom, and whether deportation would be unduly harsh for a child, are questions about the child in the real world. They do not require the […]…
Warner v Scapa Flow Charters [2018] UKSC 52
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Debbie Warner sued the operator of a motor vessel after her husband died during a diving charter in August 2012. The operator argued that the Athens Convention barred the action because it had not been brought within two years of the date on which he should have left the vessel. The Supreme Court held that […]…
R (AR) v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and another [2018] UKSC 47
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
An enhanced criminal record certificate may include details of a serious criminal allegation even though the applicant was acquitted, where disclosure is a proportionate interference with the right to respect for private life. The Supreme Court so held in dismissing AR’s challenge to certificates recording a rape charge and his acquittal. It also held that […]…
Prudential Assurance Company Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2018] UKSC 39
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that a UK company receiving overseas portfolio dividends must be given a tax credit by reference to the foreign nominal rate of tax, not only the tax actually paid overseas, so as to match the exemption given to domestic dividends. It rejected a general claim to compound interest in unjust enrichment […]…
Mills v Mills [2018] UKSC 38
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
On divorce Mrs Mills received capital which would have enabled her to buy a home without a mortgage. After later transactions left her renting, the Supreme Court held that a court may refuse to increase periodical payments so as to meet all of that rent, even if the payer can afford it. It restored the […]…
An NHS Trust and others v Y (by his litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) and another [2018] UKSC 46
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Clinicians and a patient’s family agreed that continued clinically assisted nutrition and hydration was no longer in his best interests. The Supreme Court examined whether they were nevertheless obliged to obtain a court order. Its judgment distinguished cases of agreement from cases in which medical opinion or views about the patient’s interests differ. The facts […]…
Williams and another v London Borough of Hackney [2018] UKSC 37
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Section 20 of the Children Act 1989 allows a local authority to accommodate children but gives it no compulsory power to keep them from their parents. The issue was whether the council had a lawful basis for continuing foster care after a separate period of police protection expired. The police had placed the children under […]…
R (on the application of Tag Eldin Ramadan Bashir and others) (Respondents) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Appellant) [2018] UKSC 45
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held, in an interim judgment, that the Refugee Convention still applies to the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, but does not give refugees living there a right to enter the United Kingdom. Six refugees brought there in 1998 challenged the Home Secretary’s refusal to resettle them. The Court decided those […]…
Nottingham City Council v Parr and another [2018] UKSC 51
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
A local authority sought to prevent two attic rooms from being used as bedrooms in houses in multiple occupation. The case concerned the licensing regime and room-size guidance applicable to those licences. The Court had to decide how far substantial shared living space, and the way residents lived together, could be taken into account. The […]…
R v Sally Lane and John Letts (AB and CD) (Appellants) [2018] UKSC 36
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
In this 2018 pretrial appeal, the Supreme Court interpreted the terrorism funding offence in section 17 of the Terrorism Act 2000. It considered whether the prosecution had to prove actual suspicion where the accused had reasonable cause to suspect that money might be used for terrorism. The question raised before trial The appeal arose from […]…
Banca Nazionale del Lavoro SPA v Playboy Club London Limited and others [2018] UKSC 43
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that a bank was not liable to the Playboy Club for a negligent credit reference on which the Club had secretly relied. The reference was addressed to an associated company, and the bank neither knew of the Club nor had reason to think that anyone else would act on it. Describing […]…
Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v Taylor Clark Leisure Plc [2018] UKSC 35
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that Taylor Clark Leisure Plc had not claimed repayment of overpaid VAT in time merely because Carlton Clubs Ltd, a former member of its VAT group, had written to HM Revenue and Customs. Under the United Kingdom rules, the representative member is the taxable person, and a repayment claim must be […]…
Totel Ltd v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2018] UKSC 44
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
A trader appealing a VAT assessment must generally pay or deposit the disputed tax first unless hardship is shown, unlike a taxpayer appealing an assessment to income tax, capital gains tax or stamp duty land tax. Totel Ltd argued that this difference breached the EU principle of equivalence. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal because […]…
Goldman Sachs International v Novo Banco SA [2018] UKSC 34
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Bank of Portugal transferred part of a failing bank’s business to Novo Banco, then ruled that a disputed loan liability had never passed. The English claims depended on Novo Banco being bound by the loan’s jurisdiction clause. The issue was whether an English court could recognise the first decision while disregarding the second. The […]…
Project Blue Limited v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2018] UKSC 30
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held, by a majority, that Project Blue Limited was liable for £50 million in stamp duty land tax on a notional transaction arising from its purchase of Chelsea Barracks. Sub-sale relief and an exemption for Shari’a-compliant Ijara finance would otherwise have produced no tax charge, but their combination engaged the anti-avoidance rule […]…
R v Mackinlay and others (Respondents) [2018] UKSC 42
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
At a preparatory hearing ahead of a criminal trial, a question arose about how the Representation of the People Act 1983 then treated campaigning support provided free or at a discount. The Supreme Court distinguished a benefit supplied for a candidate from support actually used by or on behalf of that candidate. A legal question […]…
Owens v Owens [2018] UKSC 41
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Mrs Owens’s marriage had broken down, but under the law then in force that finding did not by itself entitle her to a divorce. Her petition relied on her husband’s behaviour. The appeal concerned the evidence needed to establish that she could not reasonably be expected to live with him. A broken marriage, but no […]…
Belhaj and another v Director of Public Prosecutions and another [2018] UKSC 33
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that judicial review of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to prosecute is “proceedings in a criminal cause or matter” under the Justice and Security Act 2013. Closed material procedure is therefore unavailable. The majority reached that conclusion from the ordinary meaning of the words and their long-standing use in […]…
R (Steinfeld and Keidan) v Secretary of State for International Development [2018] UKSC 32
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
When this appeal was decided in 2018, same-sex couples in England and Wales could marry or enter a civil partnership, while different-sex couples could only marry. The issue was whether the government could justify maintaining that difference while it decided the future of civil partnerships. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 created civil partnership as a […]…
Pimlico Plumbers Ltd and another v Smith [2018] UKSC 29
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court dismissed Pimlico Plumbers’ appeal and held that the employment tribunal was entitled to find that Mr Smith was a “limb (b) worker”. His claims for unlawful deductions, unpaid statutory leave and disability discrimination may therefore proceed, although he was not an employee and cannot pursue unfair dismissal. Between August 2005 and April […]…
Cartier International AG and others v British Telecommunications Plc and another [2018] UKSC 28
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that trade mark owners who obtain a website-blocking injunction must normally indemnify an internet service provider for the reasonable extra cost of carrying it out. The providers do not themselves infringe the marks. English law treats them as innocent intermediaries, so the cost of protecting the marks is ordinarily a cost […]…
In the matter of an application by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission for Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2018] UKSC 27
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
In 2018 the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission brought an abstract challenge to the abortion legislation then in force. A majority concluded that the Commission lacked standing. The Court therefore could not declare the law incompatible, although a differently constituted majority expressed views about its impact under article 8. The Commission challenged provisions of the […]…
JP Whitter (Water Well Engineers) Limited v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2018] UKSC 31
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
HMRC cancelled a company’s registration for gross payment under the Construction Industry Scheme after repeated late PAYE payments, without considering the likely serious effect on its business. The Supreme Court held that the discretion to cancel registration under section 66 of the Finance Act 2004 must be exercised consistently with the scheme’s compliance objectives and […]…
Navigators Insurance Company Limited and others v Atlasnavios-Navegacao LDA [2018] UKSC 26
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Unknown smugglers strapped cocaine to the hull of the ship B Atlantic in Venezuela. After the drugs were found, the authorities detained her for more than six months, and her owners claimed her insured value from war risks insurers as a constructive total loss. The Supreme Court dismissed the claim: the smugglers were not “acting […]…
R (Gallaher Group Ltd and others) v Competition and Markets Authority [2018] UKSC 25
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
The Supreme Court held that the Office of Fair Trading acted lawfully in repaying a competition penalty to one company which had received a mistaken assurance, while refusing the same repayment to other companies which had not. Equal treatment is not a free-standing principle of domestic administrative law, and the different treatment was a rational […]…
Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited [2018] UKSC 24
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
Rock Advertising claimed that MWB had orally agreed to reschedule arrears under a written office licence which required any variation to be set out in writing and signed. The Supreme Court held that this no oral modification clause made the oral arrangement ineffective, so MWB could stand on the original payment terms. MWB Business Exchange […]…
R v McCool (Appellant) (Northern Ireland) [2018] UKSC 23
Article. Published: November 3, 2026
By a majority, the Supreme Court held that confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 could be made against a husband and wife convicted of benefit fraud, even though each had also been convicted in the same proceedings of one offence committed before the Act came into force. The prosecution had left those […]…
