THE READING ROOM · WORLD COURTS COLLECTION
UK Supreme Court & House of Lords Judgments
Every landmark decision of Britain's highest courts, as free audiobooks. From the snail in the bottle to the prorogation of Parliament.
Each judgment includes a plain-English holding, the key reasoning, and study questions for law students.
[1932] UKHL 100 · [1932] AC 562
Donoghue v Stevenson
House of Lords · Decided 26 May 1932 · 3-2 majority for the appellant
A manufacturer owes a duty of care to the ultimate consumer even when there is no contract between them. Mrs Donoghue found a decomposed snail in a bottle of ginger beer bought for her by a friend. The House of Lords held, 3 to 2, that the manufacturer had to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm to consumers. Lord Atkin stated the famous neighbour principle: you must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. This case founded the modern law of negligence.
negligenceduty of caretortneighbour principle
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[1963] UKHL 4 · [1964] AC 465
Hedley Byrne & Co Ltd v Heller & Partners Ltd
House of Lords · Decided 28 May 1963 · Unanimous on the principle
A careless statement can give rise to liability for financial loss even without a contract. A bank gave a favourable credit reference for a company, which an advertising agency relied on before the company went into liquidation. The House of Lords held that a duty of care arises where someone with special skill assumes responsibility toward a person they know will rely on their words. The claim failed only because the bank had added a disclaimer of responsibility.
negligent misstatementeconomic lossassumption of responsibility
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[1990] UKHL 2 · [1990] 2 AC 605
Caparo Industries plc v Dickman
House of Lords · Decided 8 February 1990 · Unanimous
The House of Lords set the three-part test for when a duty of care exists: the harm must be foreseeable, there must be proximity between the parties, and it must be fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty. Auditors who prepared a company's accounts owed no duty to outside investors who relied on those accounts when making a takeover bid.
duty of carethree-stage testauditorsnegligence
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[1969] UKHL 1 · [1969] 2 AC 147
Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission
House of Lords · Decided 17 December 1968 · 3-2 majority for Anisminic
An ouster clause cannot stop the courts reviewing a decision that was made without jurisdiction. The Foreign Compensation Commission wrongly rejected Anisminic's claim for property seized in Egypt during the Suez Crisis. Although the statute said the Commission's decisions shall not be called in question in any court of law, the House of Lords held 3 to 2 that a decision infected by an error of law going to jurisdiction was a nullity, and a nullity is no decision at all.
judicial reviewouster clauseadministrative lawultra vires
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[1963] UKHL 2 · [1964] AC 40
Ridge v Baldwin
House of Lords · Decided 14 March 1963 · 4-1 majority for Ridge
A chief constable dismissed without being given a chance to be heard was entitled to natural justice. The House of Lords held 4 to 1 that where a decision affects a person's rights or livelihood, the decision-maker must follow fair procedure, including the right to know the case against them and to answer it.
natural justicefair hearingprocedural fairness
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[1991] UKHL 12 · [1992] 1 AC 599
R v R
House of Lords · Decided 23 October 1991 · Unanimous
A husband can be guilty of raping his wife. The House of Lords unanimously abolished the centuries-old common law fiction, dating to Hale, that marriage gave a husband irrevocable consent to sexual intercourse. The Court of Appeal had called it an anachronistic and offensive fiction, and the Lords agreed.
criminal lawmarital rapecommon law
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[1993] UKHL 19 · [1994] 1 AC 212
R v Brown
House of Lords · Decided 11 March 1993 · 3-2 majority dismissing the appeals
Consent is no defence to assaults causing actual bodily harm in sadomasochistic encounters. A group of men engaged in consensual sadomasochistic acts over several years. The House of Lords held 3 to 2 that the victims' consent did not prevent convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and wounding, because the public interest in protecting people from such harm outweighed personal autonomy.
criminal lawconsentbodily harmautonomy
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[1999] UKHL 147 · [2000] 1 AC 147
R v Bow Street Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate, ex parte Pinochet Ugarte (No 3)
House of Lords · Decided 24 March 1999 · 6-1 majority
A former head of state has no immunity for torture. General Augusto Pinochet, former ruler of Chile, was arrested in London on a Spanish extradition warrant. The House of Lords held 6 to 1 that torture is an international crime of the highest order and that former heads of state cannot claim immunity for it in the courts of another country, at least for acts after the UK gave its courts jurisdiction over extraterritorial torture.
international lawimmunitytortureextraditionhuman rights
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[2017] UKSC 5
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
UK Supreme Court · Decided 24 January 2017 · 8-3 majority
The government could not trigger Brexit using prerogative powers alone; an Act of Parliament was required. Gina Miller challenged the government's plan to give notice under Article 50 without parliamentary approval. The Supreme Court held 8 to 3 that leaving the EU would change domestic law and remove statutory rights, which only Parliament can authorise. Ministers cannot use prerogative powers to nullify Acts of Parliament.
constitutional lawbrexitparliamentary sovereigntyprerogative powers
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[2019] UKSC 41
R (Miller) v The Prime Minister and Cherry v Advocate General for Scotland
UK Supreme Court · Decided 24 September 2019 · Unanimous
Boris Johnson's prorogation of Parliament was unlawful and void. Advising the Queen to suspend Parliament for five weeks in the run-up to the Brexit deadline, the government frustrated Parliament's constitutional role without reasonable justification. All eleven justices agreed the prorogation was unlawful, so Parliament had never legally been suspended.
constitutional lawprorogationparliamentary sovereigntyjudicial review
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For Law Students
Every case on this page includes the full neutral citation, the court, the decision split, and the judges who sat. The plain-English holding is a starting point for revision, not a substitute for reading the speeches. Each case page links to the original judgment on BAILII or The National Archives so you can verify every proposition.
Audio versions let you revise the ratio of Donoghue v Stevenson on the walk to the exam hall. The companion US Supreme Court collection covers the American side of the common law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are UK court judgments free to reuse?
Yes. UK judgments are Crown copyright but are reusable under the Open Justice Licence and the Open Government Licence v3.0, which permit copying, adaptation, and commercial use provided the source is attributed. Every judgment on this page carries attribution to BAILII and The National Archives.
Which courts are covered?
The House of Lords, which was the United Kingdom's highest court until October 2009, and the UK Supreme Court, which succeeded it. New Supreme Court judgments are added as they are handed down, monitored from The National Archives Find Case Law service.
Who is this for?
UK law students revising for exams, lawyers and students across the 50+ Commonwealth countries where UK decisions are persuasive authority, and anyone who wants to understand the cases that shaped British law, from negligence to constitutional crises.
How do the audiobooks work?
Each judgment is narrated in full as a free audiobook, published to the podcast feed and to YouTube. Judgments are Crown copyright material reused under the Open Government Licence, so the audio is free forever.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Judgment texts via BAILII and The National Archives.