Category: statutory interpretation

New Judgment: BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others [2022] UKSC 25 – UKSC Blog

Posted October 6th, 2022 in company directors, company law, fiduciary duty, insolvency, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by sally

‘This appeal raised questions of considerable importance for company law. It provides the first opportunity for the Supreme Court to consider the existence, content and engagement of the so-called “creditor duty”: the alleged duty of company directors to consider, or to act in accordance with, the interests of the company’s creditors when the company becomes insolvent, or when it approaches, or is at real risk of, insolvency.’

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UKSC Blog, 5th October 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Shona Wilson Stark and Raffael Fasel: Unconstitutionally Legal: How the UK Supreme Court Should Decide the Lord Advocate’s Reference – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted October 4th, 2022 in constitutional law, news, parliament, referendums, Scotland, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 28 June 2022, the Lord Advocate referred to the UK Supreme Court (“UKSC”) the question of whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate for a second independence referendum (“Indyref 2”) without an Order enabling it do so under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 (a “section 30 Order”). Assuming the UKSC will accept the reference, we argue that it should rule that the Scottish Parliament has no legal power to pass legislation facilitating an independence referendum without a section 30 Order. However, we propose that this does not prevent the UKSC from attempting to break the deadlock by declaring that the UK Government is acting unconstitutionally in a political sense if it does not make a section 30 Order. Of course, there is no guarantee that a section 30 Order would be issued – we consider alternative pathways to an Indyref 2, including possible invocations of constituent power, in a forthcoming article – but we argue that this would be a constitutionally proper and desirable approach for the UKSC to take.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Michael Foran: Interpretation after the Human Rights Act? The Principle of Legality and the Rule of Law – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted September 12th, 2022 in bills, brexit, constitutional law, government departments, human rights, interpretation, news, rule of law, statutory interpretation by tracey

‘Last week Liz Truss’s cabinet decided to shelve the proposed British Bill of Rights. Quite a lot has been said about the Bill since it was announced and many have welcomed the quiet demise of what was perceived by some to be a dangerous inroad into our human rights protection. Others have suggested that the Bill would never have been able to make good on the hopes of those who wish to see the U.K. unshackled from the jurisdiction of the Strasbourg Court. Rajiv Shah, a former special advisor in the Ministry of Justice and the No 10 Policy Unit, argues that the Bill was presented as containing a lot of red meat – to encourage ECHR sceptics and dismay ECHR advocates – while in reality being little more than a vegan steak. On reflection this is a fairly accurate description. One area of concern, however, was the potential repeal of s. 3 of the Human Rights Act.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 12th September 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Poorly drafted long residence rules lead to avoidable litigation – EIN Blog

Posted August 22nd, 2022 in appeals, drafting, immigration, news, statutory interpretation, time limits, visas by tracey

‘R (Iyieke) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 1147 (11 August 2022). The Court of Appeal has held that Mr Victormills Onyekachi Iyieke, who had applied for indefinite leave to remain (“ILR”) on the ground of 10 years’ continuous lawful residence in the UK and who had a period of overstaying in 2014 “book-ended” by periods of leave was not able to rely on paragraph 276B(v) of the Immigration Rules. It is notable that current overstaying and previous overstaying between periods of leave are referred to as “open-ended” and “book-ended” overstaying. Furthermore, the Court of Appeal observed that under paragraph 276B(v) a period of overstaying between periods of leave was disregarded where the previous application was made before 24 November 2016 and within 28 days of the expiry of leave. Mr Iyieke had made an application within 28 days of the expiry of his leave in 2014—that was unsuccessful and he was later granted temporary admission on other grounds. In paragraph 276B(v), “the previous application” could not refer to any unsuccessful application made in a period of book-ended leave before 24 November 2016. The reference was to “the” previous application and not “a” previous application and “the” previous application had to have resulted in a period of leave. Mr Iyieke had a post-study work visa which expired on 9 August 2014. He applied for leave to remain on 2 September 2014, which was within 24 days of the expiry of his post-study work visa.’

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EIN Blog, 18th August 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Lord Burrows, Sir Christopher Staughton Memorial Lecture 2022 – Supreme Court

Posted August 19th, 2022 in judges, speeches, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by tracey

‘Lord Burrows, Sir Christopher Staughton Memorial Lecture 2022’

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Supreme Court, 15th August 2022

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Deportation: Supreme Court revisits Unduly Harsh and Very Compelling Circumstances Tests – EIN Blog

Posted August 4th, 2022 in children, deportation, families, human rights, news, public interest, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by tracey

‘On 20 July 2022, the UK Supreme Court gave its judgment in the three joined appeals of HA (Iraq), RA (Iraq) and AA (Nigeria) [2022] UKSC 22. The full judgment can be found here. These were all deportation appeals decided by the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal found in favour of the three individuals and the Secretary of State, through the Home Office, appealed to the Supreme Court.’

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EIN Blog, 3rd August 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

New Judgment: R v Luckhurst [2020] UKSC 23 – UKSC Blog

Posted July 21st, 2022 in appeals, fraud, news, proceeds of crime, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, theft by sally

‘This case concerns whether the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) permits a variation to a restraint order to cover reasonable legal expenses in respect of civil proceedings founded on the same or similar allegations or facts as those giving rise to the making of the restraint order.’

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UKSC Blog, 20th July 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act can be “read down” to accord with Convention family rights – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted July 20th, 2022 in families, family courts, human rights, news, pregnancy, statutory interpretation, surrogacy by sally

‘This poignant case tells a sad story, but an instructive one in terms of human rights and the ability of courts to interpret statutes in accordance with these rights under Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 19th July 2022

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Stefan Theil: Henry VIII on steroids – executive overreach in the Bill of Rights Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted July 7th, 2022 in bills, constitutional law, constitutional reform, human rights, ministers' powers and duties, news, statutory interpretation by sally

‘Constitutional bombshells do not come along very often, most change is incremental and piecemeal – or at least that was the conventional wisdom that prevailed on the UK constitution for many decades. More recently, it appears that scarcely a month passes without suggestions, discussions, proposals, or enactments of far-reaching constitutional reforms – whether through government consultations, changes to the ministerial code, the political and legal constitution and devolution, or bills specifically introduced into Parliament to break international law.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 6th July 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Clause Seven of the Bill of Rights Bill: Diluting Rights Protection and Undermining Parliamentary Democracy – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted June 30th, 2022 in bills, declarations of incompatibility, human rights, news, parliament, proportionality, statutory interpretation by sally

‘If enacted in its present form the Bill of Rights Bill would compromise judicial independence, dilute ECHR rights protection, and undermine the principle of parliamentary democracy that it purports to protect. The Bill seeks to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) in full and replace it with legislation which, according to a Government press release, will “ensure courts cannot interpret laws in ways that were never intended by Parliament”. It also seeks to inject a “healthy dose of common sense” into courts’ protection of Convention rights.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 27th June 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

The Whole Life Order: Have the Floodgates Been Opened? – Pump Court Chambers

Posted May 23rd, 2022 in chambers articles, imprisonment, kidnapping, murder, news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences, statutory interpretation by sally

‘Events that occurred in March 2021 instituted a widespread heated debate both domestically and internationally as a consequence of the murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of police officer Wayne Couzens. It sparked a global women’s safety movement and erosion of public confidence in police protection, alongside sparking conversations around inequality, misogyny and victim-blaming. Further, it was also a rare case of a whole life order being handed down for a single murder. Up there in the list of the most famous names in criminal history with Myra Hindley, Peter Sutcliffe and Rosemary West, now stands the name Wayne Couzens. Putting aside societal, political and media considerations regarding this sentence, can interpretation of the statute and of sentencing provisions in this case be seen as opening the floodgates?’

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Pump Court Chambers, 10th May 2022

Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com

Supreme Court to issue ruling next week on lawfulness of voter ID pilot schemes – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 22nd, 2022 in appeals, elections, identification, judicial review, local government, news, pilot schemes, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, ultra vires by sally

‘The Supreme Court will next week (27 April) issue its ruling on whether the voter identification (“ID”) pilot schemes that were implemented in the May 2019 local government elections were lawful.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

What’s the use of a property guardian? – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted April 8th, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, housing, news, rent, statutory interpretation by sally

‘“What’s the use of a property guardian?” While that might be a potentially facetious question in the mouth of a person who has no experience of property guardians, it was also the question which was decided recently in the interesting Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) decision of Martin Rodger QC, Deputy Chamber President, in Global 100 Limited v Carlos Jimenez & Ors [2022] UKUT 50 (LC). In that case, however, the question was not facetious but, rather, a serious legal one which determined the outcome of the dispute.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 30th March 2022

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Two new cases where parents try to stop adoptions – Transparency Project

Posted March 21st, 2022 in adoption, appeals, care orders, children, families, local government, news, placement orders, statutory interpretation by sally

‘This post is about two recent judgments with a similar theme – attempts by birth parents to stop an adoption going through, on the legal basis of caselaw interpretation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 that their circumstances had changed and that the original welfare decision and plan therefore need reconsidering. One, Re D, is a decision on leave to apply to revoke placement orders and the second, Re A and B, is a decision on opposing adoption orders. This means that the children in Re D are not yet living with prospective adopters, although the children in Re A and B are.’

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Transparency Project, 20th March 2022

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Planning Court judge issues ruling on prior approval and upward extensions – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 10th, 2022 in local government, news, planning, statutory interpretation by sally

‘The High Court has ruled against claimants in three cases involving how widely a local authority can consider planning matters when dealing with a request for prior approval under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th February 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

British Citizenship: Precious, Costly, and Precarious – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted February 10th, 2022 in bills, citizenship, EC law, fees, news, statutory interpretation, treaties by sally

‘Citizenship still matters; its absence denotes precarity. As Covid19 travel restrictions reminded us, at its international core lies the right to enter one’s country and reside therein. Domestically, in most jurisdictions, citizenship serves as an eligibility criterion for electoral participation; excluded non-citizens have limited capacity to advance their rights through the political process.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 8th February 2022

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Donnchadh Greene and Gabriel Tan: Statutory Interpretation and Citizenship: D4 v SSHD and PRCBC v SSHD – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted February 9th, 2022 in appeals, children, citizenship, constitutional law, fees, immigration, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by sally

‘This piece considers two recent decisions – one by the Court of Appeal (“CA”): D4 v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWCA Civ 33, and the other by the Supreme Court (“SC”): R (The Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKSC 3 (“PRCBC”). At a general level, the cases raised similar issues: both involved challenges to delegation legislation on grounds that they were ultra vires; both related to citizenship – D4 about its deprivation, PRCBC about its conferral. This piece seeks to draw some threads from the two cases about statutory interpretation and the common law in the context of citizenship.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 9th February 2022

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

New Judgment: Public Prosecutors Office of the Athens Court of Appeal v O’Connor [2022] UKSC 4 – UKSC Blog

Posted February 3rd, 2022 in agency, appeals, extradition, jurisdiction, news, notification, solicitors, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court, time limits by sally

‘The Respondent was ordered to be extradited to Greece for the purposes of conducting a criminal prosecution against him. On that day, the Respondent’s solicitor stated orally in court that an appeal would be lodged against the extradition order, and on 16 December 2015, the notice of application for leave to appeal was filed with the Court. However, due to an oversight, the solicitor failed to serve the notice on the Crown Solicitor’s Office (on behalf of Greece) until about three weeks later.’

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UKSC Blog, 3rd February 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Company landlords and signing notices – Nearly Legal

Posted January 28th, 2022 in appeals, company law, housing, landlord & tenant, news, notification, statutory interpretation by tracey

‘Northwood (Solihull) Ltd v Fearn & Ors (2022) EWCA Civ 40. This was a second appeal on the issue of the signing of tenancy deposit prescribed information certificates and section 8 notices by company landlords. The first appeal (our note here) had held that while signing a section 8 notice did not have to comply with the requirements of section 44 Companies Act, the signing of the prescribed information certificate did, so that it could not be signed by a sole director.’

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Nearly Legal, 26th January 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Supreme Court hands down landmark ruling on capacity to consent to sexual relations – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 26th, 2021 in appeals, autism, consent, disabled persons, learning difficulties, local government, news, sexual offences, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by tracey

‘The Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Appeal decision that to have capacity to have sexual relations with another person, a person needs be aware that their partner must have the ability to consent to the sexual activity and must in fact consent before and throughout the sexual activity.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th November 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk