Practical Law

In the aftermath of the EU referendum, observers of British politics have been treated to a Shakespearean orgy of bloodletting, mud-slinging, defenestrating, and back-stabbing. Lawmakers of all parties are settling scores and jostling for position. In the absence of political leadership, it seems prescient that on 23 June 2016, the day of the referendum itself, … Continue reading Sir Peter Gross on Judicial Leadership: a practitioner’s view →

The principle of open justice is fundamental to the common law. It means that the legal process should be conducted in public and accessible to the public. This includes access not only to what is said and read out in open court, but also to evidence referred to or read by the judge as part … Continue reading Open justice and disclosure: lessons from Chodiev and others v Stein →

In Finland, driving fines are proportionate to the wealth of the offender. Thus a rich boy-racer caught speeding in his father’s Ferrari will pay a higher fine than a down-at-heel driver who committed the same offence. Better-off speeders will sometimes pay fines of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of euros. The principle underpinning this policy, … Continue reading When is a penalty not a penalty? The decision in Hayfin Opal Luxco 3 S.A.R.L. v Windermere VII CMBS plc [2016] EWHC 782 →

Wrotham Park damages (named after Wrotham Park Estate Co v Parkside Homes) are often known as “hypothetical bargain” or “negotiating” damages. Instead of quantifying how much the aggrieved party has lost, or how much the wrongdoer has gained, Wrotham Park damages try to quantify the sum which might reasonably have been negotiated between the parties … Continue reading One Step too far? Wrotham Park damages after One Step (Support) Ltd v Morris-Garner →

A satisfied judgment against one of several joint or concurrent tortfeasors discharges the tort as against all the tortfeasors. The point has been emphasised twice by the House of Lords: in United Australia Limited v Barclays Bank and more recently in Jameson v CEGB.

In R (Idira) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Court of Appeal was primarily concerned with the lawfulness of the Home Secretary’s policy of using prisons, and not Immigration Removal Centres, to detain time-served convicted foreign national offenders. In the same appeal, however, it was required to consider the procedural issue of … Continue reading Denton and adverse costs orders: a balancing exercise →

The decision In Dorchester Group Ltd t/a Dorchester Collection v Kier Construction Ltd, the defendant’s solicitors made an “open offer” to the claimant in the form of a letter (the letter), which stated (inter alia): “In full and final settlement of the Proceedings we set out herein [the Defendant’s] open offer and the terms that … Continue reading Offer or admission? The decision in Dorchester Group Ltd t/a Dorchester Collection v Kier Construction Ltd →

The modern law of abuse of process was set out by the House of Lords in Johnson v Gore Wood & Co. For present purposes, the “underlying public interest” that “there should be finality in litigation and that a party should not be twice vexed in the same matter” (per Lord Bingham at 31) gives … Continue reading The Aldi requirement: not a soft touch →

In HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz v Harb, the Court of Appeal held that there is no immunity from suit when the estate of a head of state who died in office is sued in respect of a private (as opposed to official) act.

Introduction On 15 May 2015, Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls, gave a speech in Jersey entitled “The English Experience of Access to Justice Reform”. The focus of the speech was the Jackson reforms, set in the context of the Woolf reforms of the late 1990s, Sir Richard Aikens’ 2007 Long-Trials Review, and the more … Continue reading Access to Justice Reform: the Master of the Rolls →