Philosophers have pondered principles of cause and effect for centuries and judges do the same on a daily basis. In one striking case, the High Court was asked to decide whether a catastrophic flood at a City of London livery hall was caused by the negligence of a demolition crew who were working nearby. During demolition of a building, large amounts of rubble...

Despite their sometimes fearsome reputation, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are not all powerful and, with the benefit of sound legal advice, any wrong decisions that they make can be overturned. That happened in one case in which a businessman escaped an £830,000 Capital Gains Tax (CGT) demand following the sale of his family company. The man parted with his...

In the context of a shipping contract dispute, the High Court has reiterated the basic principle of law that evidence obtained by torture must be disregarded by the courts of any civilised nation. The Court found that it could not rule out the possibility that confessions to bribery by company executives had been obtained under duress. Company A agreed to...

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) is seeking views on the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates that should apply from April 2017. Whereas the NMW rates have traditionally been set with a view to avoiding any detriment to employment figures, the NLW is subject to a target rate of 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020. In particular, the...

Land which is listed as having community value under the Localism Act 2011 enjoys some important protections against development. However, one case involving a disused golf course has underlined that such a listing will only be justified where there is a realistic chance of such land in fact being returned to community use. The course was closed to paying...