Report this comment to a moderator

Dinah Rose QC apologises to court for handing Sumption letter to press

"So are you saying that my draft judgment is a public document? It was also mentioned in court this morning" Lord Neuberger MR may have forgotten that his draft was subject to an express embargo imposed by, er, him. Not so the letter, which had been mentioned in open Court by counsel representing HMG. I nonetheless think that Ms Rose QC may have pounced rather too rapidly, given the particular context of the discussion. I doubt that Mr Saini QC (who always plays a very straight bat and is blameless in all this) intended his passing reference to the letter in the course of arranging for submissions to be made on its content to have the effect which it did. I think that the story reflects somewhat poorly on Mr Sumption QC for seeking to dictate terms to the Court after the close of argument, and on the Court for allowing itself, even on an interim basis, to be dictated to. As for harming the relationship between the executive and the judiciary, that harm has been wrought already by the executive's contempt for constitutionality and the rule of law, demonstrated over many years and under successive administrations, but particularly acutely in the very recent past.

18-Feb-2010

9:25 am