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25 November 2022 / Theo Huckle KC
Issue: 8004 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice
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Piecing together the puzzle

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How to tell who is telling the truth? Theo Huckle KC sets out some valuable guidance from the courts on assessing a witness’s honesty
  • In Muyepa v Ministry of Defence, Mr Justice Cotter dismissed a personal injury claim on the basis of fundamental dishonesty on the part of the claimant, and set out a useful step-by-step guide to analysing veracity.

Last year I wrote an article (blogged on my website (www.theohucklekc.com/blog)) about the Gestmin line of cases and the new practice direction (PD 57A) concerning certification of trial witness statements and extended statements of truth, and their implications for the proper judicial approach to assessing the credibility and veracity of witnesses.

Now, on his way to dismissing a personal injury claim on the basis that it was fundamentally dishonest, Mr Justice Cotter reconsidered this matter in detail in Muyepa v Ministry of Defence [2022] EWHC 2648 (KB), [2022] All ER (D) 71 (Oct) and provided a very helpful review of the issue of assessing lay evidence.

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