EU

The claimant applied for a declaration that the European Commission was in contempt of court. The Administrative Court considered whether its grant of interim relief had any binding effect on the Commission or the courts of another member state and, if not, whether the Commission was under any duty to respect the order. It concluded that nothing done by the Commission outside the territorial jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales could amount to a contempt of court under English law, and further set out its views on the scope of the duty of sincere cooperation. The court refused a declaration, although the Commission’s conduct had been, in some respects, open to criticism.