UK Litigation Brief | January 2024
Published on 30th Jan 2024
Welcome to the latest edition of Osborne Clarke's Litigation Brief
Climate change guidance issued to in-house lawyers by the Law Society
The Law Society has published guidance on how to advise clients on mitigating the risk of greenwashing claims and how to advise on sound climate governance.
UK signs up to 2019 Hague Judgments Convention
The UK signed up on 12 January 2024 to the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, which will come into force 12 months after the UK ratifies the convention. It will then apply to judgments in proceedings started after that date.
Court of Appeal finds that parties can be ordered to engage in ADR and mediation
In the Court of Appeal case of Halsey v Milton Keynes (2004), Lord Justice Dyson said that "to oblige truly unwilling parties to refer their disputes to mediation would be to impose an unacceptable obstruction on their right of access to court". However, the Court of Appeal has now overturned that part of the decision.
AI guidance published for judges
The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has published guidance for judges on the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The guidance sets out the key risks and issues associated with using AI and provides some suggestions for minimising them.
Court of Appeal explains how UCTA applies to exclusion clauses in a commercial contract
Section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act (UCTA) 1977 provides that, where contracting parties deal on one party's written standard terms, a party can only exclude liability for its breach of contract if that term is reasonable.
Court of Appeal rules on various privilege issues
In Al Sadeq v Dechert (2023), broadly, the claimant is suing a law firm hired by a third party that, he alleges, committed serious wrongdoing in the course of an investigation and led to him being (among other things) unlawfully detained in the Middle East. His challenges to the defendants' assertion of privilege over some of its documents failed at first instance, but his appeal has now been allowed, in part.
Judges criticise sub-£1 million claims brought in the Commercial Court
Although there is nothing in the rules to make this clear, Mr Justice Foxton in Gordiy v Dorofejeva & Anor criticised a claim worth "between £650,000 and £900,000" being brought in the Commercial Court.
