Court : House of Lords
LORD HOFFMANN My Lords, 1. These six appeals all raise the question of whether claims for sexual assaults and abuse which took place many years before the commencement of proceedings are barred by the Limitation Act 1980. The general rule is that the period of limitation for an action in tort is six years from the date on which the cause of action accrues. This period derives from the Limitation Act 1623 and is now contained in section 2 of the 1980 Act. All the claimants started proceedings well after the six years had expired. It follows that, if section 2 applies, their claims are barred. But sections 11 to 14 contain provisions, first introduced by the Limitation Act 1975, which create a different regime for actions for “damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty", where the damages are in respect of personal injuries. In such cases the limitation period is three years from either the date when the cause of action accrued or the “date of knowledge” as defi...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. Mr Duffy, the appellant, is a member of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition. He applied for judicial review to challenge the appointment by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 30 November 2005 of two new members of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland. Those members are Mr David Burrows and Mr Donald Mackay (who has since resigned from the commission). Mr Duffy’s challenge was based on a number of grounds directed to the suitability of Mr Burrows and Mr Mackay to be members of the commission and to the process leading to their appointment. His challenge was upheld, on a limited ground, by Morgan J but was rejected by a majority of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland (Kerr LCJ and Campbell LJ, Nicholson LJ dissenting) in the judgment now under appeal ([2006] NICA 28, [2007] NI 12). Background 2. The holding of public parades, processions and marches has long been cherished by adherents of both the main traditions...
Tag this Judgment!Court : House of Lords
LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead. For the reasons he gives, with which I agree, I would allow this appeal and make the order which he proposes. LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 2. This is an appeal against the grant on 25 April 2007 by the Divisional Court (Smith LJ and Irwin J) of a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum to the respondent, Farid Hilali, on the ground that his detention in custody while he was awaiting extradition under a European arrest warrant had become unlawful due to a fundamental change in circumstances since the making of the extradition order: [2007] EWHC 939 (Admin); [2007] 3 WLR 621. 3. On 29 April 2004 the appellant, the Central Court of Criminal Proceedings No 5 of the National Court, Madrid, issued a European arrest warrant seeking the extradition of the respondent to Spain for the purpose of his being prosecuted there for participation in a ...
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LORD HOFFMANN My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury. For the reasons he gives, with which I agree, I too would allow this appeal. LORD SCOTT OF FOSCOTE My Lords, 2. I have had the advantage of reading in advance the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury and am in full agreement with the reasons he has given for allowing this appeal. LORD RODGER My Lords, 3. I have had the advantage of considering in draft the speech to be delivered by my noble and learned friend, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury. I agree with it and, for the reasons which he gives, I too would allow the appeal. LORD WALKER OF GESTINGTHORPE My Lords, 4. I have had the advantage of considering in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury. I agree with it and, for the reasons which he gives, I too would allow the appeal. LORD NEUBERGER OF ABBOTSBURY My Lords, 5. The s...
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LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 1. I am grateful to my noble and learned friend, Lord Walker of Gestingthorpe, for his comprehensive description of the legislative and factual background to these appeals and his analysis of the competing arguments, and to my noble and learned friend, Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, for his further examination of the issues that are before us in this case. I agree with both of them that the Commissioners’ appeal should be dismissed in relation to Mr Fleming’s claim. I agree with Lord Neuberger, for the reasons he gives, that the Commissioner’s appeal in relation to Cond Nast’s claim should also be dismissed. 2. As Lord Walker has explained, claims for overpayment of output tax and previously unclaimed deduction of input tax are provided for by section 80 of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 and regulation 29 of the Value Added Tax Regulations 1995 (SI 1995/2518). As originally enacted, section 80 provided that no amount paid by way of ...
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LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood. I am in full agreement with it and would, for the reasons which he gives, allow the appeal and make the order which he proposes. LORD RODGER OF EARLSFERRY My Lords, 2. I have the advantage of considering the speech of my noble and learned friend, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, in draft. I agree with it and, for the reasons he gives, I too would allow the appeal and make the order which he proposes. BARONESS HALE OF RICHMOND My Lords, 3. I agree that this appeal should be allowed, for the reasons given by my noble and learned friend, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood. It is not strictly necessary, therefore, to express a view on the issues discussed by my noble and learned friend, Lord Mance, in paragraphs 42 to 53 of his opinion. But they were fully canvassed in argument before us. I feel it only fair, therefore, to confess...
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LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. Since October 2004 the appellant, who is a national of both this country and Iraq, has been held in custody by British troops at detention facilities in Iraq. He complains that his detention infringes his rights under article 5(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights, a Convention right protected by the Human Rights Act 1998, and also founds a good claim in this country under the English common law. These claims were rejected by the Queen’s Bench Divisional Court (Moses and Richards JJ: [2005] EWHC 1809 (Admin), HRLR 1355) and also by the Court of Appeal (Brooke, May and Rix LJJ: [2006] EWCA Civ 327, [2007] QB 621. Both courts below delivered lengthy and careful judgments, commensurate with the importance and difficulty of the issues then raised, but a new issue has (by agreement) been raised and argued before the House, as explained below. 2. The appellant has not been charged with any offence, and no charge or trial is in prospect. He...
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LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the opinion of my noble and learned friend Lord Rodger of Earlsferry and would, for the reasons he gives, dismiss this appeal. LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 2. I have had the advantage of reading the speech of my noble and learned friend Lord Rodger of Earlsferry in draft. I agree with it, and for the reasons he gives I would dismiss the appeal. LORD RODGER OF EARLSFERRY My Lords, 3. The history of the various proceedings between the appellant (“Mr Clarke”) and the defenders (“Fennoscandia”) in various jurisdictions is long and complex. Since I could not hope to improve on the account of the twists and turns given by the Lord Ordinary (Kingarth), 2004 SC 197, 199-202, paras 1-11, I am more than content to adopt, without repeating, the narrative in his judgment. 4. The core facts for present purposes can be stated quite shortly. The story began when Mr Clarke raised proceedings ...
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LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. For the reasons given by my noble and learned friend Lord Hope of Craighead, with which I agree, I would dismiss this appeal. LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 2. A decision as to whether or not an asylum seeker is in need of international protection must depend on the state of the evidence. So it is in this case. The question which lies at the heart of it is whether, following a series of appeals, the need for protection should be determined on the evidence as it stood originally or whether, before the final decision is taken, account should be taken of changed circumstances. The issue of whether a person’s removal would be contrary to the United Kingdom’s international obligations is always a prospective one, as it must be decided before any steps are taken to effect the removal. Common sense indicates that the final decision, whenever it is made, should be based on the most up to date evidence that is available. Facts which are of his...
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LORD BINGHAM OF CORNHILL My Lords, 1. For the reasons given by my noble and learned friend Baroness Hale of Richmond in her opinion, which I have had the advantage of reading in draft and with which I agree, I would allow this appeal and make the order which she proposes. LORD HOPE OF CRAIGHEAD My Lords, 2. I have had the advantage of reading in draft the speech of my noble and learned friend Baroness Hale of Richmond. For the reasons she gives, I would allow the appeal. I add these brief comments simply to explain why I agree with her that, where it has been demonstrated that the child is settled in its new environment, article 12 nevertheless implies that there is a discretion to return the child within the procedures of the Convention. 3. I think that it is reasonably clear, as a matter of language, that article 12 can be read as implying that there is a discretion to return a settled child under the Convention. Two situations are envisaged by the article in which there is plainly n...
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