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24 March 2023
Issue: 8018 / Categories: Legal News , Personal injury , Damages , Procedure & practice
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NLJ this week: Single, dual, multiple? Deciding which discount rate to pick

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The personal injury discount rate, which is used by judges when calculating damages, is up for its five-year review next year, writes Julian Chamberlayne, in this week’s NLJ

The Ministry of Justice in January issued a call for evidence on whether a dual or multiple rather than a single discount rate should be used. 

Chamberlayne, who is a partner at Stewarts and chair of the Forum of Complex Injury Solicitors, looks at the pros and cons of each—single, dual and multiple—and the instances of these at work in other jurisdictions. Ireland, for example, uses a dual rate but takes a slightly different approach to that of the courts in England and Wales.

While Chamberlayne does not advocate one course over another, he notes that a dual rate by heads of loss ‘is, for good reason, the solution arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence by the common law courts who were not hamstrung by legislation, eg Ireland, Guernsey and Bermuda’. 

Read more the full article for free here.

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NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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