The courts will not give assistance to proceedings which, if successful would lead to the enrichment of an alien enemy, and therefore would tend to provide his country with the sinews of war. An enemy alien has no standing to commence proceedings here. However, because the rule is one of public policy, it does not apply if the case discloses no mischief against which the rule was intended to guard.
Lord Finlay LC said: ‘When a debt due to the firm is got in no partner has any share or definite interest in that debt; his right is merely to have the money so received applied, together with the other assets, in discharging the liabilities of the firm, and to receive his share of any surplus there may be when the liquidation has been completed.’
Judges:
Viscount Haldane
Citations:
[1919] AC 59
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Amin v Brown ChD 27-Jul-2005
The defendant raised as a preliminary point the question of whether the claimant, an Iraqi, was an enemy alien, and therefore debarred from bringing proceedings to recover.
Held: Under modern law it could not be a requirement that a state of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Litigation Practice, Company
Updated: 13 May 2022; Ref: scu.230003
