Visit JCPCUKSC/2024/0055
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PUBLIC LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Dalston Projects Ltd and others (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Transport (Respondent)
Case summary
Case ID
UKSC/2024/0055
Parties
Appellant(s)
(1) Dalston Projects Ltd (2) Sergei Georgievich Naumenko (3) Prism Maritime Ltd
Respondent(s)
Secretary of State for Transport
Issue
Should the Secretary of State for Transport’s (“SST”) decision to detain a yacht in London under the UK’s Russian sanctions regime be set aside on (i) human rights, or (ii) public law, grounds?
Facts
This appeal challenges the SST’s decision to detain a luxury motor yacht, “the Phi”, under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (2019/855) (the “Regs”). The First Appellant is a St Kitts and Nevis company. It is the legal owner of the Phi. The Second Appellant, Mr Naumenko, is a Russian citizen and resident. He is the ultimate beneficial owner of the Phi. The Phi moored at South Dock in London in December 2021. On the 28 March 2022, the SST issued a direction (the “Direction”) detaining the Phi and requiring it to remain at South Dock (the “First Decision”). Mr Naumenko is not (and has never been) himself sanctioned by the UK. However, regulations 57C and 57D permit the SST to detain vessels controlled by a broader class of “persons connected with Russia”. Shortly after the First Decision, Grant Shapps MP, the then-SST, made a public statement that the Phi belongs to someone who is a “friend of Putin”. On 11 April 2022, the SST decided to maintain the detention Direction (the “Second Decision”). A further review was carried out by the new Transport Secretary, Mark Harper MP, in December 2022. On 3 January 2023, the SST confirmed the detention was to continue (the “Third Decision”). On 27 March 2023, the Appellants applied to the High Court for the Direction to be set aside on various grounds, including an interference with Mr Naumenko’s rights under Article 1 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights and public law rationality grounds. The High Court judge dismissed the Appellants’ claim on all grounds. The Court of Appeal dismissed the Appellants’ appeal on all grounds. The Appellants now appeal to the Supreme Court.
Date of issue
9 April 2024
Judgment appealed
Linked cases
Judgment details
Judgment date
29 July 2025
Neutral citation
[2025] UKSC 30
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date
16 January 2025
End date
16 January 2025
Watch hearings
16 January 2025 - Morning session
16 January 2025 - Afternoon session
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Change log
Last updated 20 December 2024