The dog that didn’t bark: the Separation of Powers in Wales – Administrative Court Blog
‘The Divisional Court (Lewis LJ, Chamberlain J) sitting in Cardiff has held that recognising a common law duty on Welsh ministers to consult before introducing legislation in the Senedd would infringe the constitutional separation of powers reflected in the Government of Wales Act 2006 (“GoWA”). The Court’s decision represents a muscular invocation of the pre-legislative, holistic view of devolution provided by Lord Hope in Axa. But that is no reason to think the textualist view of devolution provided by Lord Reed in that case has been departed from. The case is R (The Greyhound Board of Great Britain) v The Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin).’
Administrative Court Blog, 22nd March 2026
Sam Guy: Are judicial reviews in the Planning Court taking too long? – UK Constitutional Law Association
‘The current government has placed much emphasis on the perceived delays and chilling effects to the delivery of major infrastructure projects as a result of judicial review challenges by project opponents (framed as so-called “NIMBYs” or “blockers”), and has introduced some reforms targeted at minimising the impacts of these challenges following an independent review commissioned by the previous Sunak government. Among the issues raised in that independent review was the time taken for infrastructure challenges to proceed through the courts.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 23rd March 2026
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Brown, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 330 (26 February 2026)
Goutam, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 332 (24 February 2026)
France, R. v [2026] EWCA Crim 331 (24 February 2026)
High Court (Admiralty Division)
Marina Developments Ltd v the Owner/s of M/y “Durando” [2026] EWHC 625 (Admlty) (27 February 2026)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Laboratorios Leon Farma SA v Comptroller-General of Patents [2026] EWHC 663 (Ch) (20 March 2026)
Chambi v Aristodemou & Anor (Re Guest Supplies Intl Ltd) [2026] EWHC 599 (Ch) (20 March 2026)
Gardner Aerospace Holdings Ltd & Anor v Upton[2026] EWHC 555 (Ch) (20 March 2026)
Sheppey Beach Villas Ltd v Taylor & Ors [2026] EWHC 647 (Ch) (19 March 2026)
C & J Clark International Ltd v Trek Bicycle Corporation & Anor [2026] EWHC 659 (Ch) (19 March 2026)
High Court (Commercial Court)
Sousou Connect Ltd v Abel [2026] EWHC 665 (Comm) (20 March 2026)
Novitas Loans Ltd v AmTrust Specialty Ltd [2026] EWHC 592 (Comm) (16 March 2026)
Maxamcorp International Sl v Eurotel LLC [2026] EWHC 666 (Comm) (13 March 2026)
High Court (Family Division)
BA (A Child), Re (DOLS in Hospital) [2026] EWHC 653 (Fam) (20 March 2026)
High Court (King’s Bench Division)
Lynch v Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust [2026] EWHC 657 (KB) (20 March 2026)
Gambrill v NG Bailey Facilities Services Ltd [2026] EWHC 667 (KB) (20 March 2026)
ZAB v Persons Unknown [2026] EWHC 669 (KB) (19 March 2026)
Source: www.bailii.org
Campaign group succeeds on single ground in battle over grazing on Dartmoor Commons – Local Government Lawyer
‘The court found the commoners’ council could not rely on local people’s estimates of animal numbers to arrive at firm conclusions on this and so had failed to fulfil its duties.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Council lawfully made reserved matters approval, Court of Appeal rules – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has found the High Court was right to reject a judicial review that turned on whether a planning reserved matters application had been lawfully made.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Passenger fails in appeal over finding he had breached car-cruising injunction – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal from a passenger over a finding that he had participated in a breach of a car-cruising injunction obtained by the London Borough of Enfield.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
House of Lords backs bid to decriminalise abortion – BBC News
‘Peers in the House of Lords have backed plans to decriminalise abortions, which MPs voted in favour of last summer.’
BBC News, 19th March 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Tens of thousands of prisoners in England and Wales at risk of cell fires – The Guardian
‘The government has reneged on a pledge to make all prison cells fire-safe or take them out of use by the end of next year, meaning tens of thousands of prisoners in England and Wales will remain at risk.’
The Guardian, 19th March 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
High Court dismisses claim land bought for Wimbledon Championships expansion was subject to statutory trust – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has rejected claims that the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) owns land earmarked for a major expansion subject to a statutory trust.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2026
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
An interesting (but not important) trust case – Pensions Barrister
‘The Privy Council has today given judgment in A and 6 others v C and 13 others [2026] UKPC 11 on the role of trust protectors. The reassuring news for pensions lawyers is that this is not a case that needs to go straight to the top of the reading pile. The Board was dealing with a specialised offshore trust structure, and considering whether fiduciary protectors asked to consent to trustee decisions are confined to a narrow supervisory role or may exercise their own independent judgment on the merits. In preferring the latter answer, the judgment stresses that “protector” is not a term of art and that everything depends on the proper construction of the trust instrument.’
Pensions Barrister, 19th March 2026
Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com
Father loses ‘heartbreaking’ High Court battle over son’s final resting place – The Independent
‘A religious father has lost a “heartbreaking” High Court battle over the final resting place of his teenage son, who died by suicide in December after struggling with mental health issues.’
The Independent, 20th March 2026
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Law Commission report on reform of burial and cremation law – Law & Religion UK
‘The Law Commission has published Burial and Cremation: Final Report. The full report is 386 pages long: there is also a 29-page summary.’
Law & Religion UK, 20th March 2026
Source: lawandreligionuk.com
UK Immigration’s Part Suitability: Navigating Delays and Assessment – EIN Blog
‘Since 11 November 2025, the UK Home Office has introduced Part Suitability into the Immigration Rules, replacing the previous Part 9. This framework now underpins nearly every immigration route, including work, study, family, and settlement applications. Its purpose is to provide a consistent, evidence-based approach to assessing character, conduct, and public interest, ensuring that decisions are fair, defensible, and aligned with the United Kingdom’s human rights obligations.’
EIN Blog, 19th March 2026
Source: www.ein.org.uk
House of Lords backs bid to decriminalise abortion – BBC News
‘Peers in the House of Lords have backed plans to decriminalise abortions, which MPs voted in favour of last summer.’
BBC News, 19th March 2026
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
No elevated standard of proof in integrity cases, High Court finds in SDT sanction appeal – Law Society Gazette
‘A partner’s appeal against his year-long suspension from practice has been dismissed by the High Court, after the judge ruled that failure to act with integrity did not require an elevated standard of proof.’
Law Society Gazette, 19th March 2026
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Government pledges £5 million in court support for domestic abuse victims – The Independent
‘Domestic abuse victims are set to receive more support as their cases progress through the courts, following a government announcement of an additional £5 million in funding.’
The Independent, 19th March 2026
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The GLD Counsel Diversity Project – Counsel
‘Responding to criticism on the narrow profile of government-instructed counsel, Mel Nebhrajani CB describes the system-wide change at GLD to drive fairer distribution of work and broader development of talent.’
Counsel, 16th March 2026
Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk
Ministers announce huge expansion of electronic tagging in England and Wales – The Guardian
‘Tens of thousands of offenders will be released from prisons in England and Wales wearing tags that track their location in real time as part of the biggest expansion of electronic tagging in British history, ministers have announced.’
The Guardian, 19th March 2026
Source: www.theguardian.com
