Duke of Dorset v Serjeant Girdler: 1720

A man who is in possession of a fishery, may bring a bill to examine his witnesses in perpetuam rei memoriam, and establish his right, though he has not recovered in affirmance of it at law ; secus, if he is not in possession. In a civil trial: ‘the other side ought not to be deprived of the opportunity of confronting the witnesses, and examining them publicly, which has always been found the most effectual method of discovering of the truth.’

Citations:

[1720] 24 ER 238, (1720) Prec Ch 531, [1720] EngR 10

Links:

Commonlii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedRegina v Davis HL 18-Jun-2008
The defendant had been tried for the murder of two men by shooting them at a party. He was identified as the murderer by three witnesses who had been permitted to give evidence anonymously, from behind screens, because they had refused, out of fear, . .
CitedAl Rawi and Others v The Security Service and Others CA 4-May-2010
Each claimant had been captured and mistreated by the US government, and claimed the involvement in and responsibility for that mistreatment by the respondents. The court was asked whether a court in England and Wales, in the absence of statutory . .
CitedAl Rawi and Others v The Security Service and Others SC 13-Jul-2011
The claimant pursued a civil claim for damages, alleging complicity of the respondent in his torture whilst in the custody of foreign powers. The respondent sought that certain materials be available to the court alone and not to the claimant or the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice

Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.270014