Case Reports

In advance of the Tax Bar Association conference on 29 September 2023, David K. McGrath BL summarises the judicial review judgment by Ms Justice Siobhan Phelan in Michael Quiqley v Revenue Commissioners and the Tax Appeals Commission [2023] IEHC 244. The applicant in [2023] IEHC 244 sought relief by

Northern Ireland's High Court has refused leave to apply for judicial review to a man with a deportation order who argued that he had British citizenship as a result of his adoption by a UK/Italian couple despite being born in Italy. The court also found that the deportation order did not impact on

Northern Ireland’s Crown Court has imposed a prison sentence of 18 years for a husband convicted of murdering his wife by dousing her in petrol and setting her alight. Mr Justice John Ailbe O'Hara said the sentence imposed on Thomas Rainey was the "least he deserved" following a "harrowing" at

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that a decision of the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland to refuse an application for retirement was unlawful. The court rejected the claim that this refusal was done in the public interest, due to the fact that the officer i

The Court of Appeal has determined that the a party which is “entirely successful” in proceedings was not required to show that it had conducted litigation in the most cost-effective manner before being entitled to its full costs. The High Court had determined that the Minister for Publi

The UK Supreme Court has ruled that an agreement by a third party to fund litigation in exchange for a percentage of damages recovered in the event of success constitutes a “damages-based agreement” for the purposes of statute. The issue arose in the context of applications to bring coll

Northern Ireland’s High Court has determined that service of an Unexplained Wealth Order was effective, despite the failure to comply with the strict requirements that the order be served at the defendants’ address south of the border, in Ireland. The court relied on an affidavit provide

The High Court has refused an application by a plaintiff to strike out certain aspects of a defendant’s affidavit on the grounds that it exhibited without prejudice correspondence. The parties had previously engaged with a view to resolving a contractual dispute in advance of litigation and th

The High Court has ruled that debtors seeking to dismiss a bankruptcy summons in advance of trial must take the appropriate steps within the prescribed 14-day period pursuant to section 8(5) of the Bankruptcy Acts 1988 to 2015. In so ruling, the court determined that there was no jurisdiction to ext

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by a Chinese national living in Northern Ireland with her six-year-old son, finding that the best interests of the child had been considered. The court upheld a tribunal decision as rational, which rejected

Northern Ireland’s High Court has refused an application to appeal a Belfast County Court European Arrest Warrant order relating to extradition to the Czech Republic. The court found that the warrants in question were legal and valid, despite claims that the sentences involved were too short t

The High Court has ruled that successful plaintiffs in a circuit appeal were entitled to the full legal costs of the hearing and rejected taking an “overly meticulous approach” to legal costs. The defendants had argued that the plaintiffs were not entitled to their legal costs because th

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Jonathan Dowdall against the four-year sentence handed down to him for his involvement in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel. The court held that the sentence was “very lenient” and was within the available range open to the Spec

The High Court has refused to place a stay on a costs order obtained against litigants who had brought proceedings alleging that the Covid vaccine was a plan by Bill Gates to depopulate the Earth. The State successfully opposed a motion brought by the litigants for a protective costs order on the ba

The Court of Appeal has held that a fund was entitled to argue in the course of well-charging proceedings that the debtor created an equitable charge over the property. The High Court had determined that the plaintiff could not raise this argument because the plaintiff was not able to rely on a lien