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England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Copyright Canary City, R (on the application of) v Thames Magistrates' Court [2010] EWHC 2185 (Admin) (12 August 2010) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2010/2185.html Cite as: [2010] EWHC 2185 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand London WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
____________________
THE QUEEN ON THE APPLICATION OF COPYRIGHT CANARY CITY | Claimant | |
v | ||
THAMES MAGISTRATES' COURT | Defendant |
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WordWave International Limited
A Merrill Communications Company
165 Fleet Street London EC4A 2DY
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7404 1424
(Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
Mr M Collard (Instructed By Tower Hamlets Legal Department) Appeared On Behalf Of The Defendant
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Crown Copyright ©
"Diagnosis: 1, muscle spasm, back, bilateral."
It continued:
"The patient was seen by the accident and emergency doctor, was given analgesia. The patient had a burn to his back from using a hot water bottle for the back pains. He was discharged home. Advice was given to him to see his own GP on Friday for a check on the wound and dressing." (My version)
A reference was made to the tablets which he had been given. The note concluded:
"Following treatment the outcome was GP follow up."
The Friday on which he had been advised to see his own GP was 15 January.
"Severe musculoskeletal pain following fall on 11/1/2010 and is at present unable to attend court for one week."
"11 So far as the medical evidence was concerned I took the view that it was flimsy and did not in my view prevent the individual concerned from attending such an important court hearing; the individual had been capable of attending both a Health Centre and a GP with the medical condition in question. The period of absence granted by the GP was tellingly short; namely one week. The suggested treatment was the taking of analgesics. I took the view that the individual concerned would have been capable of attending court and of giving evidence and following proceedings albeit he had may have needed to be seat and possibly required more frequent breaks.
12. I also noted that no other witnesses had attended and that no statement from the individual with the back complaint (or any other person) had been served on the respondent.
13 I decided
(a) that the medical basis of the application was flimsy and without merit.
(b) that the appellant had demonstrated by the failure to serve any papers in preparation for a two day hearing that this was not a matter which was being pursued expeditiously and the strong inference was that the appeal was not meritoriously based.
(c) the failure to bring any witnesses to court or to serve a bundle even on the bay of hearing again indicated that the appeal was unlikely to be meritoriously based.
14. I therefore refused the application to adjourn. In the light of the absence of any evidence presented by the appellant I dismissed the Appeal. I awarded costs in favour of the Respondent."
"The lack of merit relating to the medical evidence and the failure to pursue the matter generally."
"Where the consequences of the refusal of an adjournment are severe such as where it would lead to the dismissal of the proceedings the tribunal or court must be particularly careful not to cause an injustice to the litigant seeking an adjournment."
"21 A litigant whose presence is needed for the fair trial of a case, but who is unable to be present through no fault of his own, will usually have to be granted an adjournment, however inconvenient it may be to the tribunal or court and to the other parties. That litigant's right to a fair trial under article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights demands nothing less. But the tribunal or court is entitled to be satisfied that the inability of the litigant to be present is genuine, and the onus is on the applicant for an adjournment to prove the need for such an adjournment."