Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. Mr Caldarelli challenges a decision of the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court (Laws LJ and Tomlinson J: [2007] EWHC 1624 (Admin), [2008] 1 WLR 31) upholding an order that he be surrendered pursuant to a European arrest warrant issued on 6 October 2006 by the Court of Naples. He complains that the warrant is bad because it seeks his surrender as an accused person and not (as he claims to be) a convicted person. The Divisional Court has neatly expressed the point to be decided in its certified question: “Where a fugitive has been convicted and sentenced in his absence in the requesting state, but the conviction and sentence are neither final nor enforceable, may his case be treated as an accusation case even though he does not enjoy an unqualified right to a retrial on the merits?” 2. The appellant is said to have been party to the unlawful smuggling of drugs into a Naples prison in which he was incarcerated at the time. On 6 October 20...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Brown of Eaton-under Heywood and for the reasons he gives, with which I am in full agreement, I would dismiss this appeal. LORD PHILLIPS OF WORTH MATRAVERS My Lords, 2. I have had the benefit of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood For the reasons that he gives, I too would dismiss this appeal. BARONESS HALE OF RICHMOND My Lords, 3. For the reasons given by my noble and learned friend, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, with which I entirely agree, I too would dismiss this appeal. The answer to the certified question is ‘not in this case'. LORD BROWN OF EATON-UNDER-HEYWOOD My Lords, Introduction 4. The appellant is a 42 year old British citizen, an unemployed computer systems administrator. On 7 October 2004 the respondent government requested his extradition to the United States alleging that be...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury. I agree with it, and for the reasons he gives I would allow the appeal and make the order that he proposes. 2. The exercise which is contemplated by para 4 of Schedule 1 to the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997 (1997 SI/1984), as amended by the Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) (Amendment) Order 2001 (2001 SI/3561), leaves much to the judgment of the rent officer. But, as its rather complex formula indicates, the area within which that judgment is to be exercised is not unlimited. It follows that, if his decision is challenged, the rent officer must be in a position to show that he has conducted the exercise in the way that is required by the paragraph. 3. The principle of valuation which the rent officer is asked to apply requires him to make an assessment based on a comparison with the rents payable for dw...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. I have had the benefit of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Baroness Hale of Richmond. I am in complete agreement with it, and would, for the reasons which she gives, allow the Council’s appeal. LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE My Lords, 2. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Baroness Hale of Richmond and, for the reasons she gives, with which I am in full agreement, I too would allow this appeal. BARONESS HALE OF RICHMOND My Lords, 3. The issue before us is whether a local social services authority is obliged, under section 21(1)(a) of the National Assistance Act 1948, to arrange (and pay for) residential accommodation for a person subject to immigration control who is HIV positive but whose only needs, other than for a home and subsistence, are for medication prescribed by his doctor and a refrigerator in which to keep it. The answer to that issue turns on the meaning of the...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD HOFFMANN My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Scott of Foscote. For the reasons he gives, with which I agree, I too would allow this appeal. LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE My Lords, Introduction 2. The essence of the problem to be resolved in this case can be quite shortly stated. A is the owner of land with potential for residential development and enters into negotiations with B for the sale of the land to B. They reach an oral “agreement in principle” on the core terms of the sale but no written contract, or even a draft contract for discussion, is produced. There remain some terms still to be agreed. The structure of the agreement in principle that A and B have reached is that B, at his own expense, will make and prosecute an application for the desired residential development and that, if the desired planning permission is obtained, A will sell the land to B, or more probably to a company nominated by B, ...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. The issue in this appeal is whether a decision made by the appellant, the Director of the Serious Fraud Office, on 14 December 2006, to discontinue a criminal investigation was unlawful. The Queen’s Bench Divisional Court (Moses LJ and Sullivan J) held it to be so: [2008] EWHC 714 (Admin). That court accordingly quashed the Director’s decision and remitted it to him for reconsideration. In this appeal to the House the Director contends, as he contended below, that the decision was not unlawful. Mr Robert Wardle, the Director who made the decision under review, has now been succeeded in his office, but this change of office-holder does not affect the issue to be decided. The respondents are public interest organisations. The House has received written submissions on behalf of JUSTICE. The facts 2. By sections 108-110 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 it was made an offence triable here for a UK national or company to mak...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. This appeal concerns the right to marry protected by article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights, one of the articles to which domestic effect is given by the Human Rights Act 1998. It provides that “Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right". More specifically, the appeal concerns the control of that right by the Secretary of State under and pursuant to section 19 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc) Act 2004. The agreed issue is whether the scheme established by and under section 19 involves a disproportionate interference with (and therefore a breach of) the article 12 right to marry of any or all of the respondents. The Court of Appeal, affirming the first instance judge save on one point, held that it does. The Secretary of State challenges that conclusion. 2. Mr Baiai and Ms Trzcinska met in this co...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Mumbai
Decided on : Jul-30-2008
Reported in : 2008(5)ALLMR521; [2008(119)FLR235]; (2008)IIILLJ925Bom
S.A. Bobde, J.1. This is a writ petition by the employer challenging the order of the National Industrial Tribunal, Mumbai, dated August 19, 2004 rejecting their application under Section 33(2)(b) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.2. The petitioner-employer sought approval of its order dated June 24, 2002 whereby respondent-workman was removed from service. The workman was served with charge sheet dated April 4/May 1, 1996 for allegedly unauthorisedly opening the Short Haul Operations Department (S.H.O.D.) office with a view td disposal of the old vehicles of the office. According to the charge sheet he was apprehended in the process of removing one jeep with the help of two other persons. He had already removed six vehicles, i.e. two Maruti 800, one Ambassador car, one Matador and two jeeps. Since the dispute pertaining to conditions of service of workmen of Indian Airlines was pending before the National Tribunal, the petitioner applied under Section 33(2)(b) for removing the resp...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Mumbai
Decided on : Jul-31-2008
Reported in : 2008(6)ALLMR94; 2009(1)BomCR722; (2008)110BOMLR2471; 2009(1)MhLj215
Swatanter Kumar, C.J.1. The Petitioner, who is a practicing Advocate in Mumbai and claims that he was the President of Bombay City Civil and Sessions Court Bar Association and a social activist, has invoked the extra-ordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by filing the present Public Interest Litigation. While referring to the great leaders of the Nation and the freedom struggle during the British rule prior to 1947, it is contended by the Petitioner that during the crisis the U.S.S.R. was the supporter and Pakistan and U.S. could not succeed in dividing India and/or destroying the economy of India. Referring to the present Government at the Centre as a coalition Government, it is averred by the Petitioner that the economy of the country is progressing and however there is complete confusion, insecurity with regard to the existence and continuation of the Government because of nuclear deal with the U.S. which is being opposed by various parti...
Tag this Judgment!Court : Madhya Pradesh
Decided on : Jul-31-2008
Reported in : AIR2009MP1
A.K. Patnaik, C.J.1. This is a reference made to the Full Bench by a Division Bench of this Court in a pending Public Interest Litigation filed by the petitioner under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.2. The relevant facts for appreciating why the reference has been made to the Full Bench are that the petitioner filed Writ Petition No. 988 of 1999 as a Public Interest Litigation (for short 'PIL') challenging the grant and payment of pension to Ex-Legislators of the State of Madhya Pradesh as well as the vires of the M.P. Vidhan Sabha Sadasya Vetan Tatha Bhatta Tatha Pension Adhiniyam. A Division Bench of this Court hearing the PIL found that the issue raised in the PIL had already been settled by another Division Bench of this Court in Raghu Thakur v. State AIR 1997 MP 223 and the grant and payment of pension to Ex-Legislators had been held as intra vires the Constitution. The Division Bench further held in the order dated 9-9-1999 in W.P. No. 988 of 1999 reported in 2000 (2) M...
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