In the Privy Council

Hawkins v Abarbanel Ltd

When does a right to an appeal mean you don’t have a right to an appeal? What makes an argument “devoid of merit” as opposed to just weak? This week, we consider those questions. Plus, a brief introduction to Caymanian business licensing! Link to Case: [2025] UKPC 58, Cay [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/58.html] Legal Style Blog homepage [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/] Twitter: @legalstyleblog [https://twitter.com/legalstyleblog] E-mail: editor@legalstyle.co.uk [editor@legalstyle.co.uk] Legal Style Blog Guide to Uniform Privy Council Citations [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/2022/04/a-proposed-standard-for-uniform.html?m=1]

Director, Mauritius Revenue Authority v de Senneville

What do you do when you have no law and no facts? Try to create new facts! Listen to find out why this approach doesn’t work, the advantages of just settling when a case is hopeless, and the problems of claiming an argument was raised below when it wasn’t. Link to Case: [2025] UKPC 57, Mrc [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/57.html] Legal Style Blog homepage [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/] Twitter: @legalstyleblog [https://twitter.com/legalstyleblog] E-mail: editor@legalstyle.co.uk [editor@legalstyle.co.uk] Legal Style Blog Guide to Uniform Privy Council Citations [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/2022/04/a-proposed-standard-for-uniform.html?m=1]

Anglin v Governor of the Cayman Islands [2025] UKPC 30, Cay

This week, constitutional law! When can the Governor of a British Overseas Territory just write and enact a law? When can the King? How does this extreme power for the Crown to just make laws fit into the constitutional framework of overseas territories? And what exactly does ‘external affairs’ mean?  Link to Cas [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/22.html]e: [2025] UKPC 30, Cay [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/30.html] Legal Style Blog homepage [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/] Twitter: @legalstyleblog [https://twitter.com/legalstyleblog] E-mail: editor@legalstyle.co.uk [editor@legalstyle.co.uk] Legal Style Blog Guide to Uniform Privy Council Citations [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/2022/04/a-proposed-standard-for-uniform.html?m=1]

Attorney General v Buray [2025] UKPC 22, Cay

This week, a question about the boundaries of judicial review: should a court engage in hypothetical review of a statute even if no one can demonstrate injury? What is the function of a declaration of incompatibility? The case might be about hypotheticals, but the fun of analysing it is real! Link to Case: [2025] UKPC 22, Cay [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/22.html] Legal Style Blog homepage [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/] Twitter: @legalstyleblog [https://twitter.com/legalstyleblog] E-mail: editor@legalstyle.co.uk [editor@legalstyle.co.uk] Legal Style Blog Guide to Uniform Privy Council Citations [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/2022/04/a-proposed-standard-for-uniform.html?m=1]

Methanex Trinidad (Titan) Unltd v Inland Revenue [2025] UKPC 20, T&T⁠

This week, it’s question of tax law from Trinidad & Tobago! What does it mean to be an ‘artificial’ or ‘fictitious’ transaction? Plus, my usual grumbling about how slow some tax cases are to make it to the Board. Link to Case: [2025] UKPC 20, T&T [https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKPC/2025/20.html] Legal Style Blog homepage [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/] Twitter: @legalstyleblog [https://twitter.com/legalstyleblog] E-mail: editor@legalstyle.co.uk [editor@legalstyle.co.uk] Legal Style Blog Guide to Uniform Privy Council Citations [https://www.legalstyle.co.uk/2022/04/a-proposed-standard-for-uniform.html?m=1]