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A step too far

16 May 2014 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7606 / Categories: Opinion
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Michael Zander QC does not support the Court of Appeal’s decision in Mitchell

The decision in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, given by Lord Dyson MR for a unanimous Court of Appeal, has been described as the most important civil procedure decision of the past 40 years. As someone who has over the years taken some part in public debate about civil procedure, I have to say that I do not support the decision.

A tougher approach

A few days before the Jackson reforms went live on 1 April 2013, Lord Dyson gave the 18th in the series of Jackson Implementation Lectures. In his lecture Lord Dyson explained why it had become necessary to adopt a tougher approach to implementation of the CPR. The relationship between justice and procedure had changed. The justice system was now to be concerned with more than the instant case. “It is a system that has to command public confidence through securing for the majority, many of whom have limited resources, access to a system

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Slater Heelis—Chester office

Slater Heelis—Chester office

North West presence strengthened with Chester office launch

Cooke, Young & Keidan—Elizabeth Meade

Cooke, Young & Keidan—Elizabeth Meade

Firm grows commercial disputes expertise with partner promotion

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

CBI South-East Council—Mike Wilson

Blake Morgan managing partner appointed chair of CBI South-East Council

NEWS
The House of Lords has set up a select committee to examine assisted dying, which will delay the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
The proposed £11bn redress scheme following the Supreme Court’s motor finance rulings is analysed in this week’s NLJ by Fred Philpott of Gough Square Chambers
In this week's issue, Stephen Gold, NLJ columnist and former district judge, surveys another eclectic fortnight in procedure. With humour and humanity, he reminds readers that beneath the procedural dust, the law still changes lives
Generative AI isn’t the villain of the courtroom—it’s the misunderstanding of it that’s dangerous, argues Dr Alan Ma of Birmingham City University and the Birmingham Law Society in this week's NLJ
James Naylor of Naylor Solicitors dissects the government’s plan to outlaw upward-only rent review (UORR) clauses in new commercial leases under Schedule 31 of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, in this week's NLJ. The reform, he explains, marks a seismic shift in landlord-tenant power dynamics: rents will no longer rise inexorably, and tenants gain statutory caps and procedural rights
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