Case Reports

A resident of the Short Strand area of Belfast has succeeded in their appeal against the Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) after Justices in the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the PSNI misconstrued their legal powers to stop parades passing through or adjacent to the

A drug dealer who was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment and ordered to forfeit his vehicle after admitting being concerned in the supply of ecstasy has successfully appealed against the forfeiture of the car described as his “pride and joy”. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the sheriff�

A sheriff has called for a change to the summary application rules after granting an order allowing the police to detain a sum of cash seized by officers on the basis that there were “reasonable grounds” for suspecting that the money may be recoverable property. Sheriff Gregor Murray at Forfar c

A man accused of a statutory breach of the peace who was seeking to suspend an apprehension warrant has been told by the Sheriff Appeal Court that his legal challenge was “incompetent”. The appeal sheriffs concluded that suspension of a warrant such as this granted by a sheriff exercising his ad

A prisoner who claimed that his human rights had been breached because he had not been given a reasonable opportunity to rehabilitate himself has had a legal challenge dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused the petition for judicial review after ruling that the Scottish Prison Service di

A human trafficking victim whose application for accommodation as a homeless person was rejected by a Scottish local authority has had a legal challenge against the decision dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session upheld the decision by Aberdeen City Council to refuse her application on the groun

A man found guilty of sexual assaulting a woman who claimed there was insufficient evidence to corroborate her account of lack of consent has failed in an appeal against conviction. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court refused the appeal by Craig Wilson after ruling that the evidence of distres

The liquidators of a distribution services company which sold its principal asset for half its market value have failed in a legal challenge against the transaction. A judge rejected the claim that the sale amounted to a “gratuitous alienation” and ruled that the price paid was “adequate consi

A sheriff has refused to sanction the employment of junior counsel in a low value personal injury case in which counsel was instructed for the pursuer to ensure there was no “unfair advantage” after the defenders agents had advised they had instructed an advocate to represent them at the proof.

An Iraqi national who had been living in Greece but fled to the UK following attacks by the Neo-Nazi Golden Dawn group has successfully challenged the Home Secretary’s decision to certify his asylum and human rights claims as “clearly unfounded”. The decision meant that Sharif Kadir would be u

For the purposes of the freedom to provide services, Gibraltar and the UK are to be treated as one entity, according to an Opinion of an Advocate General in the Court of Justice of the European Union. The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming Association (“the GBGA”) is a trade association whose members

The Criminal Appeal Court has called for a review of the legislation and guidelines on sentencing for those convicted of making and being in possession of indecent images of children after quashing the extended sentences imposed on three men who were found with hundreds of pictures and videos depict

A disabled man who was unable to board a bus because a mother with a buggy refused to vacate the space has had his appeal unanimously allowed, albeit to a limited extent, by judges in the Supreme Court. The appeal concerns the lawfulness of a bus company’s policy in relation to the use of the spac

A man who broke into a house and murdered a couple and their son before raping their daughter suffered no violation of his article 3 right – prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment – judges in the European Court of Human Rights have ruled by 14 votes to 3. The case concerned a complaint by

A woman who alleged that she was raped by two professional footballers on the basis that she was incapable of giving “free agreement” because of the effect of alcohol has been awarded £100,000 damages after she was found to have proved her case. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that both S