MOHAMMED AL-GHABRA : R (on the application of HANI EL SAYED SABAEI YOUSSEF) v HM TREASURY (2010) [2010] UKSC 2

This was the first case to be heard in the new Supreme Court in October 2009.
Lord Phillips is reported to have chosen the case to be the first because it raised the sort of important constitutional issues that are to define the output of the UKSC.

The Court held that the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 was ultra vires. The Order went beyond what was necessary or expedient for implementing the relevant UNSCRs by providing that a person’s assets could be frozen merely on the basis of a ‘reasonable suspicion’ of involvement in terrorism.
The Court also held that the Al-Qaida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 was also ultra vires and should be quashed. The Order provided no means by which a person included on the UN’s Consolidated List could legally challenge the decision to list him as a terrorist in a court.