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The Supreme Court will hear three appeals this week in what is the final week of the Trinity term, before the courts break for the summer recess from 31 July to 30 September 2010.  On Monday and Tuesday afternoon, Lords Phillips, Rodger, Walker, Brown, and Sir John Dyson SCJ will hear Joseph v Spiller which is the first libel case to be heard by the Supreme Court.  The case involves the scope of the fair comment defence to a claim for libel and is notable for the fact that Associated Newspapers Limited, Times Newspapers Limited and Guardian News and Media Limited have been granted permission to intervene in the case and have made written submissions in order to assist the court in clarifying the scope of the defence generally.  Our case preview is here and the case details can be found on the Supreme Court website here.

On Tuesday 27 July 2010 Lords Walker, Brown and Mance will hear Morge v Hampshire County Council.  The case is a late addition to the court’s list and involves a challenge to the granting of planning permission for a new bus way due to the environmental harm it will cause, including the significant impact on the local badger population.  The case details can be found on the Supreme Court website here.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Lords Saville, Mance, Collins, Clarke and Sir John Dyson will hear Global Process Systems Inc and another v Syarikat Takaful Malaysia Berhad. The case stems from an accident that occurred while an oil rig was being shipped from Texas to the East Coast of Malaysia and turns on the correct interpretation of section 55 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906.  Our case preview is here and the case details are here.

In the traditional “end of term rush”, the Supreme Court has announced it will hand down five judgments on Wednesday 28 July 2010.  The cases are as follows:

(i)  O’Brien v Ministry of Justice (Formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) – see the case details here and our preview here;

(ii)  Star Energy Weald Basin Limited and another v Bocardo SA – see the case details here and our preview here;

(iii)  R (on the application of ZO (Somalia) and others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – see the case details here and our preview here;

(iv)  R v Rollins – see the case details here and our preview here; and

(v)  Morrison Sports Limited and others v Scottish Power (Scotland) – see the case details here and our preview here.

There are no hearings scheduled in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council this week and no judgments have been announced for hand down.

Judgments outstanding

The following Supreme Court judgments remain outstanding:

R (SK) (Zimbabwe) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 10-11 Feb 2010

Radmacher v Granatino, heard 22-23 March 2010

MS Palestinian Territories (FC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, heard 26-27 April 2010

Cadder v HM Advocate (Scotland), heard 24-26 May 2010

R (on the application of the Electoral Commission) v City of Westminster Magistrates Court and the United Kingdom Independence Party, heard 8-9 June 2010

Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Company v The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan, heard 28-30 June 2010

Manchester City Council v Pinnock, heard 5-8 July 2010

Oceanbulk Shipping and Trading SA v TMT Asia Limited and others, heard 14-15 July 2010

Gisda Cyf v Barratt, heard 19 July 2010

R v Maxwell, heard 19-20 July 2010

Holland v The Commissioners for HMRC and another, heard 21-22 July 2010

The following Privy Council judgments are awaited:

Marie Jean Mirbel and others v The State of Mauritius, heard 27 April 2010

Gangasingh Aubeeluck v The State of Mauritius, heard 28 April 2010

Devendranath Huram v K Bholah, heard 30 April 2010

Romeo Cannonier & Ors v The Queen (St Christopher & Nevis) and Romeo Cannonier v The Queen (St Christopher & Nevis), heard 13 May 2010

Kirk Gordon v The Queen (Belize), heard 17 May 2010

Andrew Ryan Ferrell v The Queen (Gibraltar), heard 18-19 May 2010

James Henry Ting & Ors v Cosimo Borrelli as Liquidator of AKAI Holdings Ltd & Ors (Bermuda), heard 24-27 May 2010

Seeromani Maraj-Naraynsingh v The Attorney General of Trinidad & Tobago and The Director of Public Prosecutions, heard 14-15 June 2010

Bernard (Legal Representative of the Estate of Reagan Nicky Bernard) v Ramsesh Seeblack, heard 16 June 2010

Romauld James v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, heard 17 June 2010

Report of the Tribunal to the Governor of The Cayman Islands – Madame Justice Levers (Judge of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands), heard 21-24 June 2010

Cable & Wireless (West Indies) Ltd v Conrad Tonge ET AL (represented by the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union), heard 12 July 2010

Noel Campbell v The Queen (Jamaica), heard 21-22 July 2010