UK Law Weekly

The financial dealings of Rangers Football Club have been subject to a great deal of scrutiny in the recent past and in this case the Supreme Court focused on one particular aspect of the way that the club was run. When a footballer signed for the club they were offered the chance to avoid paying income tax by using a complicated trust mechanism. In this episode we unpack that mechanism and consid...

Zain Dean is a Scottish citizen who had been living in Taiwan for 19 years when he was convicted for manslaughter in 2010. While he was on bail he absconded back to Scotland on a friend's passport. When he was eventually caught the Taiwanese authorities sought to extradite Dean back to their country but an appeal was raised against this on the basis of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human...

The Conservative immigration policy of 'deport now, appeal later' was part of their manifesto and found its way into law as part of a drive to protect the public from foreign criminals. In two cases where human rights issues were at stake this law was challenged on the basis that it is very difficult to conduct an appeal from abroad. In this episode we also consider the judgment in the context of...

Abortion is a controversial subject in Northern Ireland and is only available in a narrow range of circumstances. This means that a lot of women have to travel to England where they can pay for an abortion. In this judicial review case A had travelled to Manchester and paid £900 for an abortion but argued that, as a resident of the UK, this should have been made freely available to her on the NHS....

There is often very little thought that goes into what happens to people once they leave prison and this is especially true of women. In this case Ms. Coll was required to live in approved premises that were more than 50 miles away from her home and family. Her judicial review challenged this on the basis of the Equality Act 2010. In this episode we also examine the way that women are treated with...

When a group of teachers at a sixth form college in Warwickshire went on strike their employers were entitled to withhold a proprtional amount of pay. For the college this was based on the number of working days in the year but the teachers argued that the correct calculation should be based on the total number of days in a calendar year. As the Supreme Court came to a final decision in this case...

On 15th September 2008 Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and became the most high profile casualty of the financial crisis that rocked the global economy. Nearly a decade on and the repercussions are still being felt in the legal and political climate. This case in particular looks at the administration and liquidation of Lehman Brothers International Europe through the eyes of insolvency legis...

Whn it comes to statutory interpretation there are rules that the courts have to follow but the situation is less clear for interpreting non-statutory texts such as frameworks and guidance. In this episode we explore the method that should be adopted by judges and how they have to tread a fine line between interpretation and policy. Music from bensound.com

When a public body undertakes a procurement exercise it should be carried out in an open and transparent fashion that is fair to all of the bidders. In this case the process was not carried out in the correct manner and this presented the Supreme Court with a number of questions about when and how a case may be brought. In this episode we also consider just how effective the EU's regime in this ar...

Under the current regime of the Access to Justice Act 1999 a publisher can be liable for costs arising from a defamation case even where those costs include premiums associated with conditional fee agreements and after the event insurance. In this case three publishers challenge the law as an infringement on their right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. In thi...

The Scottish smoking ban in hospital grounds has been a source of contention since being passed by the Scottish Parliament and in this case we see a challenge from a detained mental health patient. The ban in this instance also invovled searching for and confiscating tobacco and so the case reliednot only on domestic legislation but human rights grounds as well. Music from bensound.com

When SXH came to the UK as an asylum seeker she arrived on a false passport. The Crown Prosecution Service decided that it was in the public interest to pursue a prosecution under the Identity Cards Act 2006. Further research into SXH's case changed their mind but in this case before the Supreme Court she argued that the original decision was a breach of her human rights under Article 8 of the Eur...

When Mr Platt took his daughter out of school during term time for a holiday in Florida he was landed with a penalty notice from Isle of Wight Council. The case made its way up to the Supreme Court and garnered national headlines as the following question had to be decided: what does it mean to attend school regularly? Music from bensound.com

In these conjoined appeals the question for the Supreme Court concerned indirect discrimination. This is where an employer puts a provision in place for all employees but the overall effect is particularly disadvantageous for certain groups with protected characteristics. Essop was required to pass a 'Core Skills Assessment' but statistics showed that older and BME candidates struggled when compar...

When AB was prosecuted for having sexual intercourse with an underage girl he wanted to rely on the defence that he reasonably believed the girl to be 16. When he was denied this opportunity because of previous criminal charges, AB claimed that this was in breach of his human rights. Music from bensound.com

When Wood sold his company to Capita it transpired after an internal review that insurance policies had been misrepresented to customers. Capita tried to recover the compensation that they were obliged to pay out but Wood disputed this on the basis of the wording of the sales agreement. In this episode we discuss how the Supreme Court approaches the interpretation of contracts. Music from bensound...

In a Permission to Appeal ruling the Supreme Court considers the heart-breaking case of Charlie Gard.

N is a severely disabled man in his twenties who requires care by the NHS. His family would like to be much more involved in his care but this would put greater strain on the already limited resources of the local authority.. This week's episode analyses this dispute and examines the role of the Court of Protection. Music from bensound.com

Mr Gabriel went bankrupt because of a bad investment but not many things went right for him along the way. His 'friend' Mr Little tricked him into thinking the money would be used as part of a development project and his solicitor did not properly inform him and drew up incorrect paperwork. In this case for negligence the Supreme Court examined the but-for test and in particular the so-called SAAM...

Gordon was convicted of rape and sentenced to five years but there were a couple of problems with the way that the investigation was carried out. He was not allowed access to legal counsel either before or during the police interview and the semen sample retrieved was not subject to DNA analysis. The Scottish Criminal Case Review Commission refused to take a second look at the conviction and so in...

How much information would have to be given in order to be able to identify you without actually saying your name? This sounds like a game of 20 questions but the Supreme Court faced a very similar problem this week with serious consequences hanging on to their decision. Music from bensound.com

When a solicitor neglects their duty there is indemnity insurance available based on minimum terms and conditions set by the Law Society. Such claims can, however, be amalgamated when there are “similar acts or omissions in a series of related matters or transactions”. In this case the Supreme Court was asked to give an interpretation of this clause after a number of investors had lost money in de...

When Mrs Jackson died and left her daughter nothing because of a family dispute that had spanned decades, legal action always looked likely. Jackson's daughter argued that she should be entitled to maintenance under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 but the exact amount she should receive was unclear. Ultimately it would be up to the Supreme Court to determine what "re...

When a case drags on for almost 15 years without a resolution something has to be done to offer some finality. The Court of Appeal hoped to do this by remitting this Nigerian enforcement action to the Commercial Court but when they also required a $100million security payment the NNPC appealed to the Supreme Court.

When a local authority applies for parental responsibility in respect of a child what sort of investigations should the court carry out before making the order? In this podcast we answer this question and explore wider issues relating to child welfare and the role of the state.