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Hearings in the Supreme Court are now shown live on the Court’s website.

On Wednesday 21 April, the Supreme Court will hear R (on the application of Haworth) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs.  This case will consider three issues. First, whether, for the purposes of the follower notice regime in the Finance Act 2014, “would” in s.205(3)(b) requires HMRC to consider that the principles or reasoning of a judicial ruling are more likely than not to result in the tax advantage being denied, or that the principles or reasoning will deny the advantage. Second, whether in the present case HMRC had overstated the significance of Hughes LJ’s judgment in Smallwood v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2010] EWCA Civ 778, [2010] STC 2045. Third, whether the CA was wrong to conclude that the identified misdirections justified quashing the follower and accelerated payment notices.

On Friday 23 April, the Supreme Court will hand down judgment in two cases. First, Burnett or Grant v International Insurance Company of Hanover Limited. For the purpose of interpreting a contract for public liability insurance provided by Hanover (the “Policy”), the Supreme Court was asked to consider whether the death of Ms Burnett’s husband (1) was brought about by a “deliberate act” within the terms of the Policy and, if so, whether Hanover’s liability to indemnify is excluded by the relevant policy wording; and (2) was a consequence of a “wrongful arrest” within the terms of the Policy with the effect that Hanover’s liability is limited to GBP 100,000.

Second, the Court will hand down judgment in Rittson-Thomas and Ors v Oxfordshire County Council. The appeal considered whether title to land, gifted to the Council for use as a school under the School Sites Act 1841, reverted to the donor’s estate when the school ceased to operate from the gifted land.

The hand-downs will be streamed on Supreme Court Live and will then be made available on the Supreme Court’s video on demand service.

The following Supreme Court judgments remain outstanding:

The Law Debenture Trust Corporation plc v Ukraine (Represented by the Minister of Finance of Ukraine acting upon the instructions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine) Nos. 2 and 3, heard 9-12 December 2019

Manchester Building Society (Appellant) v Grant Thornton UK LLP (Respondent), heard 13-14 October 2020

SC, CB and 8 children (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and others (Respondents), heard 20-22 October 2020

Pakistan International Airline Corporation v Times Travel (UK) Ltd, heard 2-3 November 2020

Khan v Meadows, heard 5 November 2020

A and B v Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and Anor, heard 11 November 2020

Triple Point Technology Inc v PTT Public Company Ltd, heard 12 November 2020

R (on the application of TN (Vietnam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department and Anor, heard 30 November and 01 December 2020

Director of Public Prosecutions v Ziegler and Ors, heard 12 January 2021

FS Cairo (Nile Plaza) LLC v Brownlie (as dependant and executrix of Professor Sir Ian Brownlie, CBE, QC), heard 13 and 14 January 2021

Matthew and Ors v Sedman and Ors, heard 19 January 2021

R (on the application AB) v Secretary of State for Justice, heard 20 and 21 January 2021

CPRE Kent v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, heard 28 January 2021

R (on the application of A) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 10 February 2021

Zabolotnyi v The Mateszalka District Court, Hungary, heard 23 February 2021

Anwar v The Advocate General (representing the Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (Scotland), heard 25 February 2021

Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs v Tooth, heard 2 March 2021

Sanambar v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 4 March 2021

R (on the application of Fylde Coast Farms Ltd (formerly Oyston Estates Ltd)) v Fylde Borough Council, heard 9 March 2021

BF (Eritrea) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 16 March 2021

Harcus Sinclar LLP v Your Lawyers Ltd, heard 24 and 25 March 2021

Secretary of State for Health and Ors v Servier Laboratories Ltd and Ord, heard 14 and 15 April 2021

 R (on the application of Haworth) v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, heard 21 April 2021.