High Court considers extraterritorial application of compulsory powers

29 October, 2018
In the case of R (On The Application Of KBR Inc) v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office [2018] EWHC 2368 (Admin) (“KBR“), the High Court dismissed a judicial review brought by the applicant, finding that the SFO was able to compel the production of documents located outside the jurisdiction held by a foreign company. This is … Read more

Court of Appeal rules on the availability of judicial review of a private entity

03 October, 2018
In R (Holmcroft Properties Limited) v KPMG LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2093, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of the Divisional Court’s decision that KPMG is not amenable to judicial review in its role as an independent reviewer in connection with Barclays’ past business review exercise. Key points: The Court of Appeal agreed with the Divisional … Read more

High Court applies high threshold test to injunctions against public bodies

15 August, 2018
In Taveta Investments Ltd (Claimant) v (1) Financial Reporting Council (2) Conduct Committee of the Financial Reporting Council (3) Executive Counsel of the Financial Reporting Council (Defendants) & (1) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (2) Stephen John Denison [2018] EWHC 1662 (Admin) the High Court rejected an application for an interim injunction restraining publication of a decision to impose sanctions … Read more

Supreme Court considers exercise of discretionary powers by public bodies

15 July, 2018
JP Whitter (Water Well Engineers) Limited (Appellant) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Respondent) [2018] UKSC 31 Key Points The courts are unlikely to impose additional conditions on public bodies exercising a discretionary power under a prescriptive statutory regime. Arguments alleging lack of proportionality by public bodies based on the right to property under … Read more

Supreme Court clarifies that unequal treatment and unfairness are not freestanding grounds of judicial review in domestic law

25 May, 2018
In an important public law development, the UK Supreme Court has clarified that unequal treatment and substantive unfairness are not freestanding grounds of judicial review in domestic law and will not give rise to invalidity unless the tests for irrationality, illegality or procedural unfairness are met. The decision arose from settlement agreements and infringement decisions … Read more