There are insufficient places available in registered secure children’s homes. That is the context of T (A Child) (2021) UKSC 35. The Supreme Court holds that the High Court has inherent jurisdiction to grant an application by the local authority to deprive a child of his or her liberty in other accommodation.
Tendering Process
July 28th, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsIn Church v Information Commissioner, EA/2020/0187V, the FTT (GRC) holds that on a Request for Information about a local authority’s tendering process, for the provision of a new School, the exemptions for personal information and commercial confidentiality in FoIA did not entitle the authority to withhold (1) the names of the members of its Selection Panel, (2) the Applications made by the rival bidders, (3) the scores awarded to the winning bidder, or (4) documents detailing the Selection Panel’s assessment of the winning bid.
Irrationality
July 26th, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationTo be unreasonable in the public law sense a decision must be irrational or outside the range of reasonable responses open to the decision-maker. The intensity of review may differ, but irrationality always presents a high hurdle. A rare example in which irrationality is found in a number of respects is provided by R (GB of Yew Tree Primary School) v SoS for Education (2021) EWHC 2084 (Admin). The Judge was especially critical of the SOS’s treatment of the approach and evidence of the local authority. A suggestion of bad faith or bias on the part of the authority unsupported by evidence was irrational. The case is the first successful challenge to a refusal to revoke an Academy Order.
Anonymity
July 26th, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationClaimants wish to bring a claim against a Defendant for misuse of private information, breach of confidence and breach of the Data Protection Act. Should the Claimants be granted anonymity? Should they be permitted to withhold their names and addresses when issuing their Claim Form? This was the principle question in Various Claimants v IPSA (2021) EWHC 2020 (QB). Nicklin J at para 33 refers to the “fundamental rule” of the common law that proceedings must generally be held in public. At para 34 he states that Orders that a party to a civil claim be anonymised in the proceedings and reporting restrictions prohibiting identification are “derogations” from the “principle of open justice”. At para 36 he states that the authorities make clear that derogations from open justice can be justified as ”necessary” on two principal grounds: (1) maintenance of the administration of justice; and (2) harm to other “legitimate interests”. The application for anonymity was refused: para 46.
Restraint of Trade
July 23rd, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsIn Harcus Sinclair LLP v Your Lawyers Ltd (2021) UKSC 32 the Supreme Court holds that (1) In determining the legitimate interests of the promisee in a restraint of trade case account can be taken not only of the contract terms but also what the parties objectively intended or contemplated consequent on the contract; and (2) the Court’s supervisory jurisdiction with respect to a solicitor’s undertaking does not apply in the case of a LLP.
Burden of Proof and Adverse Inferences
July 23rd, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationIn Royal Mail Group v Efobi (2021) UKSC 33 the Supreme Court holds that (1) the change in the wording of equality legislation by Section 136 of the Equality Act 2010 has NOT altered the burden of proof in discrimination cases where discrimination is alleged, and (2) whether any positive significance should be attached to the fact that a person, including an actual decision-maker, has not given evidence depends entirely on the context and particular circumstances and common sense, and not legal rules.
Judicial Review and Courts Bill
July 22nd, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationThe above Bill has been published on 21 July 2021. It will not be debated in Parliament until the Autumn.
Standards
July 21st, 2021 by James Goudie KC in StandardsIn R (Robinson) v Buckinghamshire Council (2021) EWHC 2014 (Admin) the Court reiterates that where a complaint against a local authority member of misconduct is by reference to what the member said and/or how he or she said it, and Article 10 of the ECHR is applicable, freedom of expression is important, and while that is so for everybody, it is especially so for elected representatives.
Dedication of Track as Bridleway
July 21st, 2021 by James Goudie KC in Environment, Highways and LeisureIn Garland v SoS for Environment etc (2021) EWCA Civ 1098 the Court of Appeal says that, in deciding whether the common law dedication of a right of way over land would constitute a public nuisance, as a matter of fact, there is no need of evidence of an actual specific accident or incident. The character of the route itself may justify the inference that the route is potentially dangerous to a section of the public.