Recent costs case law suggests a conflict between process & the determination of rights & wrongs, says Dominic Regan
Procedural rules should be the servant and not master of the rule of law. So said Lord Phillips in NML Capital v Republic of Argentina [2011] UKSC 31, [2011] 4 All ER 1191. The recent run of authorities starting with Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, [2014] 2 All ER 430 itself suggest something rather different. An unforgiven breach can have massive impact upon the determination of rights and wrongs.
Durrant
Durrant v Chief Constable Of Avon & Somerset Constabulary [2013] EWCA Civ 1624, [2014] 2 All ER 757 was a hefty action listed for a five day trial. Allegations of racial discrimination, among other matters, were levelled against a total of 14 police officers. The defendant, in breach of a clear unless order, missed the deadline for service of witness statements, albeit by less than 24 hours. Sadly, the
