swarb.co.uk - law index
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Evidence - From: 2002 To: 2002
This page lists 37 cases, and was prepared on 21 May 2019.
Regina v Venn; CACD 2002 - [2002] EWCA Crim 236
Regina v Immigration Appeal Tribunal ex parte Haile [2002] INLR 283
2002
CA
Simon Brown LJ
Immigration, Evidence
The adjudicator in the asylum application had made a crucial mistake about the identity of the political party in Ethiopia, with which the claimant was connected. The error was not drawn to the attention of the IAT. The evidence necessary to prove the mistake was first produced in the Court of Appeal. The error could and should have been spotted by the claimant's advisers before the IAT decision, or at least before the judicial review hearing. Held: It should nonetheless be admitted. Under Ladd v Marshall it would have fallen "at the first hurdle"; but "these principles never did apply strictly in public law and judicial review." The principle in Al-Mehdawi did not necessarily govern asylum cases.
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Irvine and Another v Talksport Ltd [2002] EWCA Civ 95
18 Jan 2002
CA
Peter Gibson LJ
Evidence, Civil Procedure Rules
The claimants renewed their application for permission to appeal from an order granting an application made by the defendant, Talksport Ltd, to exclude certain evidence which the claimants appeared to wish to adduce at the trial of the action. Mr Irvine, a famous racing driver, talked of the defendant's use of his image for advertising without his permission. Held: The claimant had deliberately risked exclusion of his evidence by delaying service of it beyond the limits: "The considerations which seem to me quite plainly of great significance which were before the judge were the interests of the administration of justice, whether the application for relief had been made promptly, whether the failure to comply was intentional and whether there is a good explanation for the failure. Those are the first four subparagraphs of rule 3.9(1) and it seems to me clear that each of them counts against the claimants." Nor was the sanction disproportionate: "The claimants' behaviour runs counter to the ethos which for some time, even before the CPR's introduction, has governed the court's approach, that is to say that cards should be placed on the table quite openly and orders intended to achieve that end should be obeyed. To allow a party to flout a court order for a tactical reason is unacceptable."
Civil Procedure Rules 3.9(1)
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[ Bailii ]
Environment Agency v M E Foley Contractors ltd and Another Times, 04 March 2002
18 Jan 2002
QBD
Auld, Gage, LLJ
Environment, Evidence
The defendant company did not accept that it had accepted special waste at its disposal plant. Instead they claimed to have the appropriate licence or exemption. Held: The burden of establishing acceptance of special waste was not on the defendant ,on a balance of probabilities, but lay on the prosecution. In effect he was claiming the licence, and so the provisions of the 1980 Act did not transfer the burden of proof.
Environmental Protection Act 1990 33(1)(a) - Magistrates Courts Act 1980 101
1 Citers
Voaden v Champion ( 'Baltic Surveyor' ) [2002] EWCA Civ 89; [2002] 1 Lloyd's Rep 623
31 Jan 2002
CA
Lord Justice Schiemann Lady Justice Hale And Lord Justice Rix
Transport, Evidence, Damages
The 'Baltic Surveyor' was lost at its moorings in a storm. A neighbouring ship had been negligently secured, and freed itself and sank the Baltic Surveyor. The owner appealed findings as to the value of the boat, and securing pontoon. She asserted that the boat chosen for comparison had in fact been sold for more and had been in a lesser condition. The boat was of a unique and historical character. Held: There had been an error as to the sale price of the boat chosen as a comparable. It was argued that the evidence sought to be admitted had been available at trial, and should not now be admitted. Following Ladd, the court applied three tests, that it had not reasonably have been available, that it would have been influential, and that it was credible. Those conditions applied, and a new value was assessed by the court. The appellants argued that the loss of the pontoon should have been treated as the loss of a building rather than a machine. The damages was the cost of replacing the pontoon, not the value of what was lost. The court found the judge's assessment correct, and the damages were assessed on the basis of the remaining life of the pontoon as a chattel. It was not proper to award damages for loss of personal use in top of the award of the full value of the boat.
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[ Bailii ]
Regina (D) v Camberwell Green Youth Court; Regina (N) v Same etc Times, 13 February 2003; [2003] EWHC 227 (Admin)
4 Feb 2002
Admn
Evidence, Human Rights, Children, Criminal Practice, Magistrates, Evidence
Defendants appealed orders allowing children to give evidence by video link, and children appealed orders requiring them to attend court to give evidence. Held: The right to a fair trial had to be interpreted broadly. Special measures taken to protect children did not infringe the Article 6 rights of defendants. The rules allowed safeguards to protect the fairness of the trial. The magistrates needed to approach the article differently.
European Convention on Human Rights 6 - Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Regina (D) v Camberwell Green Youth Court; Regina (N) v Same etc Times, 13 February 2003; [2003] EWHC 227 (Admin)
4 Feb 2002
Admn
Evidence, Human Rights, Children, Criminal Practice, Magistrates, Evidence
Defendants appealed orders allowing children to give evidence by video link, and children appealed orders requiring them to attend court to give evidence. Held: The right to a fair trial had to be interpreted broadly. Special measures taken to protect children did not infringe the Article 6 rights of defendants. The rules allowed safeguards to protect the fairness of the trial. The magistrates needed to approach the article differently.
European Convention on Human Rights 6 - Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Regina v Marrin Times, 05 March 2002
4 Feb 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Keene, Mr Justice Gage and Judge Stevens, QC
Evidence, Criminal Practice
In order to assist in making the volunteers on the ID parade more greatly resemble the defendant, the police had used make-up to look as if they had stubble. The defendant appealed his conviction following the admission of that evidence. Held: The police were correct to take reasonable steps to make the volunteers resemble the defendant. They were bound by the Code of Practice, but the code was silent on the point. Such a procedure, adopted in good faith and not objected to, led to no unfairness. It would, however, be sensible to keep a record of those to whom such make-up was applied.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 66
Mason, Wood, McClelland, Tierney v Regina; CACD 13-Feb-2002 - Gazette, 21 March 2002; [2002] EWCA Crim 385; [2002] 2 Crim App R 38
Regina v Nolan [2002] EWCA Crim 464
15 Feb 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Longmore Mr Justice Gibbs And The Recorder Of Leeds
Criminal Practice, Evidence, Police
The defendant was accused of murder. He had been identified by a witness who knew him, but the witness himself was murdered before the trial. The court allowed the prosecutor to read the deceased witness' statement. Another witness for whom an ID parade had been held had only seen the defendant from the rear, but the defence were not informed of this before the parade. Held: The scheme of the code required an identification parade if identification was disputed, but it was also required before a parade that the officer believed it would be useful, and the suspect consented. There could be no requirement to inform a suspect of the angle from which the suspect had been seen. The consent was not as to the identification, but the process of the parade, and therefore it did not affect the fairness of introducing the evidence. As to the admission of the evidence of the deceased witness, it was more than a fleeting glimpse, and no counsel would wish to cross examine such a witness in great depth. The conviction was safe.
Code of Practice for the Identification of Persons by Police Officers (Code D of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984) - Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - Criminal Justice Act 1988 26
1 Cites
[ Bailii ]
Dennis Pritchard Evans v Tiger Investments Limited, David John Moore [2002] EWCA Civ 161
20 Feb 2002
CA
The President, Lord Justice Potter, And, Lord Justice Kay
Company, Land, Evidence, Civil Procedure Rules
The first defendant appealed a judgement that it was responsible to the claimant for a loan taken out by the second defendant, one of its shareholders. He had said it was for the company, and he had been found not personally responsible. Land had been purchased in the second defendant's name, he said, only for convenience in a speedy transaction, and the charge had been executed by him for the company. Held: The judge had evidence sufficient to establish that the land was being purchased for the first defendant. The appellants sought to introduce new evidence at appeal. The Ladd principles on admission of evidence at appeal, are that the evidence was not with reasonable diligence available for the trial; that the evidence would have an important influence, and that it was credible. In this case the evidence could have been obtained. Concentrating on the justice as between claimant and defendant, there was no purpose in relaxing that principle.
Civil Procedure Rules 52.11(2)
1 Cites
[ Bailii ]
Jaura v Ahmed Times, 18 March 2002; [2002] EWCA Civ 210
21 Feb 2002
CA
Lord Justice Potter, Lord Justice Mummery, And, Lord Justice Rix
Evidence, Damages
The applicant sought damages for the wrongful termination of her lease by the respondent. The landlords re-entered in default of payment of the rent. The premises had been sub-let, and she sought damages for the loss of rental profits. Held: The judge had admitted evidence which was not in formal form, but it was within his discretion to do so. The judge was wrong to award the capital value of the lease in addition to the loss of profits. He had awarded simple interest on the damages at 8% rather than the overdraft rate paid by the claimant. The court decided that the rate payable should reflect better the real cost of a small businessman borrowing that money, and allowed the appeal to that extent, but not compounded.
Rix LJ dealt with the question of setting the interest rate by first referring to Chitty on Contracts: "In business contexts, the rate of interest should reflect the current commercial rate. The approach of the Commercial Court is to award interest at a rate which broadly represents the rate at which the successful party would have had to borrow the amount recovered over the period in question." and then noted that a rate of 1% above base rate had become the usual rate adopted by the Commercial Court, albeit that this was "only a presumption" and could be varied up or down to meet the fairness of the parties' particular situation.
Civil Evidence Act 1995 2(4) - Supreme Court Act 1981 35A
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Regina v Mauricia Times, 11 March 2002; Gazette, 28 March 2002
25 Feb 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Longmore, Mr Justice Johnson and Judge Rhys Davies, QC
Evidence, Criminal Practice
The defendant sought to assert that he was of previous good character. The prosecution knew of convictions abroad, and sought to admit them in rebuttal. The 1984 Act did not deal with foreign convictions. Held: The 1851 Act still applied, and appropriately certified evidence of foreign convictions could be admitted. Police fingerprint evidence was also admitted to establish the identity of the person convicted abroad.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 73 - Evidence Act 1851 7
1 Cites
Regina v O'Doherty Times, 03 June 2002
19 Apr 2002
CANI
Lord Justice Nicholson, Mr Justice Kerr and Mr Justice McLaughlin
Evidence
The defendant appealed his conviction based upon voice identification evidence, of making a false emergency telephone call. Held: The court should have heard expert evidence of acoustic analysis, as well as expert evidence of voice identification. This might not be necessary where the issue was which of a known group had spoken, or where the voice had rare characteristics, or where the issue was as to the dialect of the speaker. The jury should also listen themselves to the recording, but be given a warning as to the dangers of substituting their own opinion for that of the expert. Progress suggested that the techniques accepted in Robb were no longer sufficient..
1 Cites
Regina v James Hanratty (Deceased) Times, 16 May 2002; Gazette, 13 June 2002; [2002] EWCA Crim 1141; [2002] 2 Cr App R 30; [2002] 3 All ER 534
10 May 2002
CACD
Mr Justice Leveson
Criminal Practice, Evidence
An appeal was presented against the conviction for a murder many years earlier. The prosecution sought to introduce DNA evidence to support its case. The appellant party objected. Held: The purpose of the appeal was to achieve justice, and fresh evidence could be presented by the prosecution, and admitted by the court to achieve that purpose. Though the trial could certainly be criticised by current standards, it had not been at such a level as to make it fundamentally unfair. The court should be careful in expending so much time and money on very old cases.
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Philip Joshua Rahming v The Queen [2002] UKPC 23; (Appeal No 33 0f 2001)
20 May 2002
PC
Lord Slynn of Hadley Lord Steyn Lord Hutton Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
Commonwealth, Crime, Evidence
(Bahamas) The case was an appeal against a conviction for murder on the basis of the incorrect direction from the judge as to manslaughter and murder, and the failure to give a lies direction. Held: The failure to bring the defendant before a court within 48 hours did not affect the weight of the evidence. The prosecution had not asked the jury to rely upon the fact of the defendant's lies. The judge had failed to distinguish between acts intending causing unlawful bodily harm and those intending causing death. He left the jury with the impression that a reckless killing could suffice for murder. The conviction for murder was quashed and one for manslaughter substituted.
Evidence Act 1996 (Bahamas) 20
1 Cites
[ PC ] - [ PC ] - [ Philip Joshua Rahming ' target-'_ext'>PC ] - [ Bailii ] - [ PC ]
Leslie Tiwari v The State (Appeal No 76 of 2001) [2002] UKPC 29; (Appeal No 76 of 2001)
29 May 2002
PC
Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead Lord Hutton Lord Millett Lord Scott of Foscote Sir Andrew Leggatt
Crime, Commonwealth, Evidence
(Trinidad and Tobago) The defendant appealed convictions for rape and other offences based upon identification evidence. He had not been represented at the trial. He had not been warned of his freedom to call witnesses. Held: Where a defendant was unrepresented, the court should warn him of the advisability of having professional representation. Witnesses whose evidence might have been called by him would have given admissible and relevant evidence. The case was remitted for that evidence to be admitted, and the conviction re-examined by the Court of Appeal of Trinidad and Tobago. Time spent in prison after a notice of appeal has been lodged with the Board, should count toward time served.
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[ PC ] - [ PC ] - [ Leslie Tiwari v. The S' target-'_ext'>PC ] - [ Bailii ] - [ PC ]
Regina v Colwill [2002] EWCA Crim 1320
31 May 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Mantell
Crime, Evidence
The appellant appealed against a conviction for rape. His defence had been that the complainant was not to be believed. The prosecution withheld from the defence facts about other witnesses complaining about false allegations made by the complainant. Held: The test was whether the facts which might have been established could have been expected to have influenced a jury. It was not clear that all the evidence might have been admissible, not falling within any of the classes of case on which evidence as to a witness' character was admissible. Appeal dismissed.
[ Bailii ]
Regina v Wahab Times, 22 July 2002; Gazette, 01 August 2002
26 Jun 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Judge, Mr Justice Astill and Judge Colston, QC
Evidence, Criminal Practice
The defendant's solicitor had advised him whilst at the police station to make a confession. He appealed saying that he should not have been given that advice, and that the evidence should be excluded. Held: A solicitor's role in the police station was not simply to make life difficult for the prosecution, nor to get the client off. Advice given in these circumstances would not normally form a basis for excluding a confession.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 76(2)
Armstrong v The United Kingdom Times, 06 August 2002; 48521/99; [2002] ECHR 594; 48521/99; [2002] ECHR 599
16 Jul 2002
ECHR
Human Rights, Police, Evidence
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 8; Violation of Art. 13; Non-pecuniary damage - finding of violation sufficient
The applicant had pleaded guilty to charges after the court had rules as admissible evidence gathered by covert surveillance involving recording conversations in the home of a colleague. Authority had been granted by a chief superintendent and not by a chief constable, and on the grounds that no other form of surveillance would be adequate given the sophisticated nature of the defendants' alleged activities. At the time there was no statutory system to govern the use of such surveillance, and no means of redress. The interference with the right of privacy was not therefore in accordance with law, and was in breach of his human rights.
European Convention on Human Rights 8 13
[ Bailii ] - [ Bailii ]
Regina v Dallagher Times, 21 August 2002; [2002] EWCA Crim 1903
25 Jul 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Kennedy, Mr Justice Curtis and Mr Justice Pitchford
Crime, Evidence
The prosecution sought to bring into evidence an ear print. The defendant appealed. Held: The science of identifying ear prints remained under development, but there was nothing to stop it being admitted where appropriately cautious directions were given by the judge. There was no basis for excluding evidence in respect of marks found at the scene of a crime. In this case however there was fresh evidence as to the reliability of these particular marks, which might have affected the jury's decision if it had been available at trial. The conviction was quashed, and a new trial ordered.
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[ Bailii ]
Barry George v Regina Times, 30 August 2002; Gazette, 03 October 2002; [2002] EWCA Crim 1923
29 Jul 2002
CACD
Lord Woolf, Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice Curtis and Mr Justice Henriques
Crime, Evidence
There had been an identification parade, but the witness had not made an unqualified identification of the defendant. He now appealed admission of the evidence from ID parade. Held: Recognising the difficulties in identification evidence, and the dangers identified in Turnbull, with appropriate caution a qualified identification might be admitted, either where it supported other evidence, or where the context explained the limited identification, and was not used to undermine a witness. The judge must take care to balance the prejudice and the value of the evidence before admitting it.
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[ Bailii ]
Regina v Maynard, Dudley etc; CACD 31-Jul-2002 - [2002] EWCA Crim 1942
Beckles v The United Kingdom Times, 15 October 2002; 44652/98; (2002) 36 EHRR 162; [2002] ECHR 661
8 Oct 2002
ECHR
Pellonpaa, Bratza, Trdruejo, Palm, Casadevali, Marustem, Paviovschi JJ
Human Rights, Criminal Practice, Evidence
The applicant had been convicted of serious offences, in part in reliance upon inferences drawn from his partial silence during interview. At trial, he said this had been on legal advice, and was ready to answer questions about that advice, but none were put. Held: The right of silence was not absolute, but the right against self-incrimination lay at the heart of the notion of a fair trial. A conviction could not be based solely on inferences drawn from silence, but he could be expected to answer questions, where the situation clearly called for his explanation. In this case, the judge did not give the jury sufficiently clear direction on the accused's explanation of why he had not answered questions, and had undermined that evidence. There had been a violation of his art 6.1 rights. "whether the drawing of adverse inferences from an accused's silence infringes Article 6 is a matter to be determined in the light of all the circumstances of the case, having regard to the situations where inferences may be drawn, the weight attached to them by the national courts in their assessment of the evidence and the degree of compulsion inherent in the situation. Of particular relevance are the terms of the trial judge's direction to the jury on the issue of adverse inferences".
European Convention on Human Rights 6.1
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs v Atkinson, Hughes Gazette, 07 November 2002; [2002] EWHC 2028 (Admin)
9 Oct 2002
QBD
Lord Justice Brooke and Mr Justice Bell
Crime, Health, Evidence
The defendants were prosecuted for various offences relating to the selling and marketing of veterinary products without being licensed. Their cases were dismissed, when the prosecution put forward evidence as to the nature of what was being sold, but only in the form of the labels on the packages. The defence successfully argued that chemical analysis should have been provided. Held: Under the 1988 Act, the labels were statements and admissible as evidence. Under the 1994 Regulations, the ingredients did not need to be proved. Cases remitted.
Medicines Act 1968 58(2)(a) 67 - Medicines (Veterinary Drugs)(Prescription Only) Order 1991 - Marketing Authorisations for Veterinary Medical Products Regulations 1994 - Criminal Justice Act 1988 24(1)
[ Bailii ]
Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others; HL 17-Oct-2002 - Times, 21 October 2002; [2002] UKHL 39; [2002] 3 WLR 1313; [2003] 1 AC 787; [2002] 4 All ER 593; [2003] BLGR 57; [2002] 13 BHRC 482; (2002) 166 JPN 850; (2002) 166 JP 657; [2003] HLR 17; [2002] UKHRR 1286; [2003] 1 Cr App R 27
Taylor-Sabori v The United Kingdom Times, 31 October 2002; 47114/99; [2002] ECHR 686
22 Oct 2002
ECHR
J-P Cost, Bratza, Loucaides, Birsan, Jungwiert, Butkevych, Thomassen
Human Rights, Evidence, Criminal Practice
The applicant had been convicted of serious criminal offences. There were admitted into evidence intercepts of messages to his pager. He complained that this infringed his right to respect for his private correspondence. Held: The pager messages were correspondence. The UK legislation covering interception of correspondence did not apply to such materials, and accordingly any interception was not under a regime which was 'in accordance with law' as required, and infringed his rights.
European Convention on Human Rights Art 8
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Parks v Clout [2002] EWCA Civ 1565
22 Oct 2002
CA
Jonathan-Parker LJ
Wills and Probate, Evidence
Application for leave to make second appeal. Brother of deceased alleging that the widower had obtained probate by falsely representing that no will had been made by the deceased. Held: Insofar as the judge had based his conclusion on an incorrect assertion that circumstantial evidence could not be used at all to base a conclusion as to whether a will had been executed, the appeal had to be allowed to go ahead.
1 Cites
[ Bailii ]
H, Regina (on the Application of) v Commissioners of Inland Revenue Times, 08 November 2002; Gazette, 28 November 2002; [2002] EWHC 2164 (Admin)
23 Oct 2002
Admn
Stanley Burton J
Taxes Management, Evidence
The appellant sought judicial review of the seizure by the respondents of computers found on its premises in the course of executing warrants under the Act, even though the computers might contain other matters not relevant to any investigation. Held: It had been impossible to make arrangements at the appellant's home to copy the hard disks. The computers' hard discs were documents within the provisions, but the 1970 Act provided for seizure of 'any things whatsoever'. The computer was to be seen itself as a 'thing' rather than as a holder of files.
Stanley Burnton J considered that a computer could be a "document" for the purposes of the Taxes Management Act 1970 in which "document" is defined in the same terms as section 114(2) FA 2008: "For these reasons, even if I were free to do so, I would not differ from the conclusion reached by the Divisional Court in Da Costa. In any event, I do not think that Da Costa is distinguishable. While it is true that for the purposes of VATA a hard disk is a "document", it is equally a "thing", and in my judgment would be subject to a power of seizure in paragraph 10(3) of Schedule 11 to that Act even without the extended definition of "document"."
Taxes Management Act 1970 20C
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[ Bailii ]
E I Du Pont de Nemours and Co v S T Dupont (1) Times, 07 November 2002; Gazette, 09 January 2003; [2003] EWCA 1368
31 Oct 2002
ChD
Neuberger J
Intellectual Property, Evidence, Civil Procedure Rules
Parties appealed from decisions of the Trade Marks Registry, and requested leave to introduce new evidence. Held: It was not agreed what rules applied on appeals under the 1938 Act. The Trade Mark system had public interest effects as well as private law. The rules governing appeals were therefore different from other regimes. The courts should adopt a more relaxed attitude, and treat the appeal as a full re-hearing rather than as a review, and that, accordingly fresh evidence might be admissible.
Trade Marks Act 1938 18 - Civil Procedure Rules 52.11(2)
1 Cites
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Regina v Chenia (Shokat) Gazette, 09 January 2003; [2002] EWCA Crim 2345; [2003] 2 Cr App R 83
1 Nov 2002
CACD
Lord Justice Clarke, Mr Justice Pitchford and Judge Fabyan Evans
Criminal Practice, Evidence
CS The defendant had made no comment replies during interview. He did not give evidence at trial, but otherwise took part, though he did not put any fact before the jury. The judge directed the jury that they might draw adverse inferences from his silence. He appealed. Held: The facts put forward at trial must include facts put forward by prosecution witnesses. There had been a misdirection, because the judge had failed to direct the jury on the need to be sure there was no innocent explanation of the defendant's silence. However, there was no substantial departure from fairness and the verdict stood. "We can see that there is scope for argument as to whether the mere putting of a fact to a witness in cross-examination would be sufficient to amount to reliance upon it for the purpose of s.34, although we can think of circumstances in which it might be. However, it is not necessary to resolve that question for the purposes of this appeal." and "It would in our view have been desirable for the judge to include a direction of the kind suggested, namely that no question of drawing an adverse inference could arise unless the jury were sure that there was a case to answer. However, we do not think that this trial could possibly be held to be unfair or the conviction unsafe on that ground. That is because no jury could possibly have concluded that there was no case to answer on the facts."
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 34
1 Citers
[ Bailii ]
Allan v The United Kingdom; ECHR 5-Nov-2002 - Times, 12 November 2002; 48539/99; [2002] ECHR 697; [2002] ECHR 702
Regina (Crown Prosecution Service) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages and Another Times, 14 November 2002; Gazette, 23 January 2003
7 Nov 2002
CA
Dame Butler-Sloss President, Waller LJ, Sir Philip Otton
Family, Prisons, Evidence, Human Rights
The prisoner awaited trial. Among the prosecution witnesses was his partner. They now sought to marry. The applicant sought to prevent the marriage on the basis that this would make her non-compellable as a witness. Held: Public policy considerations did not apply to prevent the marriage. The duty on the registrar to issue a certificate was absolute. Public policy might provide a reason, but did not in this case. Entering into a lawful marriage could not be an attempt to pervert the course of justice. The right to marry is a human right, and it was not for the prison governor to exercise his discretion to prevent it, since such a discretion could not be exercised save on public policy grounds.
Marriage Act 1949 27A(3) 31(2) - European Convention on Human Rights 12
Regina v Lyons, Parnes, Ronson, Saunders; HL 15-Nov-2002 - [2002] UKHL 44; [2003] 1 AC 976; [2002] 3 WLR 1562; [2002] BCC 968; [2003] 1 Cr App Rep 24; [2002] 4 All ER 1028; [2003] 1 Cr App R 24; [2003] HRLR 6
Three Rivers Council and others v Bank of England [2002] EWHC 2735 (Comm)
13 Dec 2002
ComC
Tomlinson J
Evidence
The court gave permission to disclose a form of the confidential parts of the Bingham report, redacted as regards areas covered by public interest immunity certificates.
[ Bailii ]
Three Rivers Council and others v Bank of England [2002] EWHC 2730 (Comm)
13 Dec 2002
ComC
Tomlinson J
Legal Professions, Evidence
[ Bailii ]
Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v Prudential Insurance Co of America Times, 02 January 2003; [2002] EWHC 2809
20 Dec 2002
ChD
Sir Andrew Morritt VC
Human Rights, Litigation Practice, Evidence
The parties had undertaken negotiations on a 'without prejudice' basis. One now sought freedom to rely upon the other's statements. Held: There was a need to balance the right to freedom of expression, against the need to protect the rights of others. The protection from repetition before a court of admissions made 'without prejudice' should be limited to those occasions where the public interests underlying the rule were plainly applicable. The "without prejudice" rule must be applied carefully and only in cases to which the public interest which underlies the rule requires it to be applied: "Article 10 [ECHR, s.12(1) of the Human Rights Act 1998] confers on everyone the right of freedom to expression, including the right 'to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers'. But that right is subject to such restrictions as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society for the protection of the rights of others. Prima facie, therefore, the right is engaged by the 'without prejudice' rule but justified by the public interests which underlie it. But what this part of the case does is emphasise the need to apply the 'without prejudice' rule with restraint and only in cases to which the public interests underlying the rule are plainly applicable."
European Convention on Human Rights 10
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[ Bailii ]
