The purpose of pleadings is to enable the opposing party to know the case against him. Lord Edmund-Davies said that: ‘It has become fashionable in these days to attach decreasing importance to pleadings, and it is beyond doubt that there have been times when an insistence on complete compliance with their technicalities put justice at risk, and, indeed, may on occasion have led to its being defeated. But pleadings continue to play an essential part in civil actions.’ and ‘It is to define the issues and inform the parties in advance what they have to meet and at the same time enable them to take the necessary steps to deal with it.’
Viscount Dilhorne said that section 3(1) of the 1967 Act may provide a defence to a civil action for assault or battery.
Viscount Dilhorne, Lord Edmund-Davies
[1980] 1 WLR 172, [1980] 1 All ER 166
Criminal Law Act 1967 3(1)
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Pollard v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police CA 28-Apr-1998
Damages for assault by police dog.
Held: Though in principle reasonable force can be used in the course of assisting in the arrest of a suspected offender, that must always be reasonable and proportionate. The claimant’s appeal failed. The . .
Cited – Roberts v Chief Constable of Kent CA 17-Dec-2008
The claimant had been bitten by a police dog while running away after being asked to provide a sample of breath. He was caught by the dog and then warned that if he attempted to run away again, the dog would be set to catch him. A struggle ensued, . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice, Police
Updated: 10 December 2021; Ref: scu.381617
