Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Illegality definition

What does Illegality mean? In practice, illegality describes the doctrine that courts will not enforce a claim that seeks to profit from, or requires performance of, an unlawful or seriously immoral act. There is no single statutory definition; the rules are largely case-law based and apply across contract, tort, unjust enrichment and trusts. Key features include: - Statutory illegality (contravention of legislation or sanctions). - Common-law/public-policy illegality (ex turpi causa), such as contracts to commit a crime, corruption or agreements contrary to public policy. - Supervening illegality: if performance becomes unlawful after formation, the contract is typically discharged for frustration rather than enforced. Remedies are flexible. Courts may refuse...

CJEU Viasat v TV2 (C‑445/19): illegality interest due on unnotified State aid, including SGEI and affiliate/state-controlled transfers, despite later Article 106(2) TFEU compatibility

Published by a LexisNexis Competition expert

Practice notes

CASE HUB ARCHIVED – this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 24 November 2020; it is no longer maintained. See further, timeline and related/relevant cases.

Case facts

Outline

Case C- 445/1919 Viasat Broadcasting UK — a Danish reference seeking clarification on whether, amongst other points, a national court’s duty to impose ‘Illegality interest’ on an aid beneficiary also extends to circumstances where the unlawful State aid was public service compensation later judged compatible with the Internal market under Article 106(2) TFEU.

Latest developments

On 24 November 2020, the Court of Justice ruled that TV2/Danmark A/s must pay ‘illegality interest’ on State aid it obtained from Denmark due to a failure to notify correctly. The subsequent European Commission finding that the aid was lawful, and the fact that TV2/Danmark A/S provided a service of general economic interest, did not alter this outcome.

Parties

Applicant: Viasat Broadcasting UK Ltd (Viasat).
Defendant: TV 2/Danmark AS (TV 2).

Market

Television broadcasting...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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