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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> United Kingdom House of Lords Decisions >> R v Chief Constable of North Wales, ex p. Evans [1982] UKHL 10 (22 July 1982) URL: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1982/10.html Cite as: [1982] WLR 1155, [1982] UKHL 10, [1982] 1 WLR 1155 |
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Parliamentary
Archives,
HL/PO/JU/18/242
In re Evans (Assisted Person)
JUDGMENT
Die Jovis 22° Julii 1982
Upon Report from the Appellate
Committee to whom was
referred the Cause In re Evans (Assisted
Person), That the
Committee had heard Counsel as well on Monday
the 21st as
on Tuesday the 22nd days of June last upon the
Petition
and Appeal of Philip Alan Myers formerly Chief
Constable
North Wales Police of Glan-y-Don Colwyn Bay in the
County
of Clwyd praying that the matter of the Order set forth
in
the Schedule thereto, namely an Order of Her Majesty's
Court
of Appeal of the 21st day of December 1981 so far as
therein
stated to be appealed against might be reviewed
before Her Majesty
the Queen in Her Court of Parliament
and that the said Order so
far as aforesaid might be
reversed, varied or altered or that the
Petitioner might
have such other relief in the premises as to Her
Majesty
the Queen in Her Court of Parliament might seem meet;
as
also upon the Case of Michael John Evans lodged in answer
to
the said Appeal; and due consideration had this day of
what was
offered on either side in this Cause:
It is Ordered and Adjudged,
by the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal in the Court of Parliament
of Her Majesty the
Queen assembled, That the said Order of Her
Majesty's
Court of Appeal (Civil Division) of the 21st day
of
December 1981 in part complained of in the said Appeal be,
and
the same is hereby, Affirmed with the Variation that
in
lieu of the Declaration therein it be Declared that the
Appellant
acted unlawfully and in breach of his duty under
Regulation 16 of
the Police Regulations 1971 in
threatening to dispense with the
Respondent's services
unless he resigned from the North Wales
Police and in thus
causing him to resign and that it be further
Declared
that, by reason of his unlawfully induced resignation,
the
Respondent has thereby become entitled to the same rights
and
remedies, not including re-instatement, as he would
have had if
the Appellant had unlawfully dispensed with
his services under
Regulation 16(1) of the Police
Regulations 1971; And it is further
Ordered, That the
said Petition and Appeal be, and the same
is hereby,
dismissed this House: And it is further Ordered,
That the
Appellant do pay or cause to be paid to the
said
Respondent the Costs incurred by him in respect of the
said
Appeal, the amount thereof to be certified by the
Clerk of the
Parliaments if not agreed between the
parties: And it is also
further Ordered, That the
Respondent's Costs in this House
be taxed in accordance
with the provisions of schedule 2 to the
Legal Aid
Act 1974.
Cler: Parliamentor
HOUSE OF LORDS
IN RE EVANS (A.P.)
Lord
Chancellor
Lord
Fraser of Tullybelton
Lord
Roskill
Lord
Bridge of Harwich
Lord
Brightman
Lord Hailsham of St. Marylebone
My Lords,
The analysis of the facts and
argument contained in the speech of my noble
and learned friend,
Lord Brightman, which I have read in draft, relieve me of
much of
the labour in this case, and enable me to reduce the few
observations
I wish to make to reasonably concise proportions. I
desire, however, to say
at the outset that I agree with every word
which is about to fall from my
noble and learned friend as to the
treatment to which this young respondent
has been subjected by the
appellant. Like my noble and learned friend, I do
not doubt the
appellant's good faith, but in the result, partly as the result
of
muddle, partly as the result of a false view of the law, and
partly as the result
of a disregard of the elementary principles
of natural justice, I regard the
treatment meted out to this young
man as little short of outrageous.
Briefly, the proceedings
originated in an application by the respondent for
judicial review
under R.S.C. Or. 53 of a decision by the appellant (then
Chief
Constable of the Police Force of North Wales) whereby in
November 1978
he had given the respondent, at that time a
probationary constable, the option
of resignation from office or
dismissal on a month's notice under Regulation 16
of the relevant
Regulations. In the event, the respondent had chosen resig-
nation,
but had sought relief under R.S.C. Or. 53 on the basis that he had
been
treated unfairly and in a manner contrary to natural justice.
The first observation I wish to
make is by way of criticism of some remarks
of the learned Master
of the Rolls which seem to me capable of an erroneous
construction
of the purpose of the remedy by way of judicial review under
R.S.C.
Or. 53. This remedy, vastly increased in extent, and rendered, over
a
long period in recent years, of infinitely more convenient
access than that
provided by the old prerogative writs and actions
for a declaration, is intended
to protect the individual against
the abuse of power by a wide range of authori-
ties, judicial,
quasi judicial, and, as would originally have been thought when
I
first practised at the Bar, administrative. It is not intended to
take away
from those authorities the powers and discretions
properly vested in them by
law and to substitute the courts as the
bodies making the decisions. It is
intended to see that the
relevant authorities use their powers in a proper
manner.
Since the range of authorities,
and the circumstances of the use of their
power, are almost
infinitely various, it is of course unwise to lay down rules
for
the application of the remedy which appear to be of universal
validity in
every type of case. But it is important to remember in
every case that the
purpose of the remedies is to ensure that the
individual is given fair treatment
by the authority to which he
has been subjected and that it is no part of that
purpose to
substitute the opinion of the judiciary or of individual judges
for
that of the authority constituted by law to decide the matters
in question.
The function of the court is to see that lawful
authority is not abused by unfair
treatment and not to attempt
itself the task entrusted to that authority by the
law. There are
passages in the judgment of the learned Master of the Rolls
(and
perhaps in the other judgments of the Court of Appeal) in the
instant
case and quoted by my noble and learned friend which might
be read as giving
the courts carte blanche to review the
decision of the authority on the basis
of what the courts
themselves consider fair and reasonable on the merits.
I am not
sure whether the Master of the Rolls really intended his remarks to
be
construed in such a way as to permit the court to examine, as
for instance in
2
the present case, the reasoning of
the subordinate authority with a view to
substituting its own
opinion. If so, I do not think this is a correct statement
of
principle. The purpose of judicial review is to ensure that the
individual
receives fair treatment, and not to ensure that the
authority, after according
fair treatment, reaches on a matter
which it is authorised or enjoined by law to
decide for itself a
conclusion which is correct in the eyes of the court.
In the instant case I have no
doubt that the respondent was not treated
fairly by the appellant.
In the first place by his own affidavit the appellant
establishes
that he asked himself the wrong question, and, once this has
been
established, for the purposes of judicial review, that by
itself is surely enough
to vitiate an impugned decision which is
not otherwise self-evidently justified.
The relevant Regulation
enjoined the appellant to consider whether the
respondent was "
fitted physically or mentally to perform the duties of his
"
office " or was likely to " become an efficient or
well-conducted constable "
before dispensing with his
services. In his affidavit the appellant claimed
that this
Regulation " gives me an absolute discretion to dispense with
a
" probationer's services ". In my opinion the
discretion, although wide,
is not absolute. The Chief Constable
should have directed his mind to the
criteria laid down in the
Regulation in accordance with the appropriate
principles of
natural justice. He did not do so, and I think it only too
likely
that it was precisely the belief that his discretion was
absolute which led to
the cavalier treatment to which, in the
event, the respondent was subjected.
To this treatment I now come. Once
it is established as was conceded
here, that the office held by
the appellant was of the third class enumerated by
Lord Reid in
Ridge v. Baldwin [1964] AC 40 at p.66, it becomes
clear, quoting
Lord Reid (ibid), that there is " an
unbroken line of authority to the effect
" that an officer
cannot lawfully be dismissed without first telling him what is
"
alleged against him and hearing his defence or explanation ". I
regard this
rule as fundamental in cases of this kind when
deprivation of office is in ques-
tion. I agree with the
appellant's affidavit that " a formal hearing " may well
be
unnecessary if by that is meant an oral hearing in every case held
before the
Chief Constable himself. But this does not dispense a
Chief Constable from
observing the rule laid down by Lord Reid. It
may well be also that part or
all of the enquiry on the facts may
be delegated to a subordinate official, as
was done here by the
appellant to the Deputy Chief Constable, though, where
this is
done, the ultimate decision must not be delegated, and in my
view,
common prudence should dictate that the report by the
delegated officer, in
this case the Deputy Chief Constable, or at
least its substance, should be shown
to the officer the subject of
review and an opportunity afforded him to comment
on it before the
final decision is taken by the Chief Constable himself. This
was
not done here. Moreover, where there has been delegation, the
delegated
enquiry itself must be conducted in accordance with Lord
Reid's rule, and,
where it is not, the ultimate decision, even if
not delegated, will almost
certainly be vitiated.
Apart from his self misdirection
on the scope of his discretion, in the present
case the appellant
clearly admitted in his affidavit that he had taken into
account
matters concerning the domestic life of the respondent,
some of which, if
properly put to the respondent, might perhaps,
after his explanation had been
given and heard, have influenced
the decision as to whether the respondent
was likely to become an
efficient or well-conducted constable. But some of
the allegations
were plainly erroneous and none, whether erroneous or other-
wise,
was ever put to the respondent at all in connexion with the
relevant
enquiry, whether at the delegated hearing or otherwise.
Moreover, it was
conceded by the appellant's counsel that, at the
time of the extremely brief
interview at which the decision was
made by the appellant, the appellant had
already made up his mind
to dispense with the respondent's services on the
basis of the
report made to him by the Deputy Chief Constable, and the
respondent
was given no chance to say anything by way of denial of the
facts
alleged in the report or in mitigation of them.
As an example of the extreme
danger of proceeding in this way, it must be
observed, that, as
one of the two clinching matters which seem to have in-
fluenced
him, the appellant says in his affidavit: " Further, it became
known
3
" (sic) to Senior Officers
that the applicant and his wife had lived a ' hippy '
" type
lifestyle at Tyddyn Mynyddig Farm, Bangor ". This had never
been
put to the respondent at all, and had the appellant or his
deputy to whom he
delegated the enquiry taken the trouble to ask
the respondent about it, he
would have discovered at once that
this allegedly clinching allegation was
palpably untrue, and
simply the result of a mistaken address. It was, in
short, an
utterly incorrect statement relied upon precisely owing to the
failure
of natural justice of which complaint is made.
There is room for greater
controversy regarding the other matter supposedly
clinching. There
was a finding by the deputy who conducted the enquiry
that the
respondent had " deliberately flouted " the conditions of
tenancy at
his council house by keeping dogs in excess of the
number permitted by the
council and that this exhibited an
attitude to authority improper in a member
of the police force.
This matter had indeed been put to the respondent in
some form,
but there is a conflict of evidence relating to the interview, of
which
only the respondent's version is on oath. Without seeking to
resolve this
conflict, I am of the opinion that natural justice
required that it should have
been put precisely to the respondent
that exact compliance with the conditions
of tenancy within the
extended time permitted by the council, which at the time
of the
interview had not yet expired, would probably be a condition of
his
continuance in office as a probationary constable. It is clear
that this was not
done and it is fair to the respondent to say
that he deposed on oath that, had
it been put in this way, "
I would have disposed of the dogs ". Without
going into this
conclusively, I must express doubt whether, on a fair view of
the
evidence, the appellant, had he applied his mind at all to the
correct criteria,
or to the evidence available to him in his file,
or had he given the respondent
a chance to speak, could possibly
have come to the conclusion that the facts
relating to this aspect
of the matter betrayed an attitude to authority incon-
sistent
with the view that he could at the conclusion of his probationary
period
become an efficient or well-conducted constable, or that
the respondent was in
any sense deliberately flouting authority.
However this may be, the decision of
the appellant was, it seems
to me, vitiated beyond repair partly by the fact
that the
appellant does not appear to have directed his mind to the
correct
criteria laid down in the Regulations, and partly by the
fact that he certainly
took into account matters which were never
put to the respondent in connexion
with the relevant enquiry, one
of which, and not the least important, had it
been put, would have
been immediately exposed as nonsense.
Like my noble and learned friend,
I find much more difficulty in deciding
the order which it is
appropriate for the House to make in a case such as the
present.
In Ridge v. Baldwin (supra), a majority of the House,
in not dis-
similar circumstances, granted a declaration that the
decision of the Chief
Constable was " void ". This was
the language adopted by the Court of
Appeal in the instant case.
Personally, I find difficulty in applying the language
of "
void " and " voidable " (appropriate enough in
situations of contract or
of alleged nullity of marriage) to
administrative decisions which give rise to
practical and legal
consequences which cannot be reversed. Under pressure,
which I
have considered to be inappropriate and unfair, the
respondent,
nearly four years ago, was compelled to resign as an
alternative to dismissal
from office. That was in November 1978.
He was then a probationary
constable with ten months of service to
run. I am inclined to think that
his decision, though made under
duress, to pursue the option of resignation
did put an end to the
tenure of his office as constable. If so, a declaration
simply to
declare void the decision of the appellant to offer the respondent
a
Hobson's choice between resignation and dismissal is a mere brutum
fulmen
without practical consequences. This may be illustrated
by asking a number
of quasi rhetorical questions. If the decision
was " void ", has the respondent
been a constable in the
police force in North Wales in the intervening four
years and what
has happened to the ten months of uncompleted probationary
service?
Since the only decision removing him from office was the decision
now
impugned has he now become an established constable? Has he
acquired
pension rights? Is he entitled to back pay? The
respondent has moved
house. We are told that he has found other,
though less rewarding, employ-
ment in the Civil Service. Can we
simply put the clock back as if nothing
4
has taken place? Presumably the
respondent has lost much of his training
and experience. If he
returned, and if he is still a probationary constable,
he would
still be subject to Regulation 16 and the possibility, after a
fair
enquiry, of dismissal on a month's notice. It might well be
thought that
after what has happened it might be considered by the
new Chief Constable
that the respondent could not become an
efficient constable or at least not
without further training. His
counsel said that, if reinstated, he would apply
for a transfer to
another force. But what possible guarantee have we that
another
force would now have him, or that the transfer would be in the
public
interest if it did ? These would be matters for the
relevant authority. The
respondent has not sought damages, which,
in my view, might well have
proved substantial, and, though the
appellant stated to us that he would be
prepared to pay
compensation if the appeal went against him on the merits,
even in
the face of this, through his counsel, the respondent firmly stated
that
he was not interested in money and simply wanted "
reinstatement " whatever
that might mean. This problem did
not arise in Ridge v. Baldwin where the
Chief
Constable did not seek reinstatement, and was content with a
declaration
and his pension rights.
Are we then to leave the
respondent wholly without remedy without spelling
out the
consequences ? In that case, the order of the Court of Appeal
stands
and the decision of the Chief Constable is declared "
void " without spelling
out what this means. It would be
possible, of course, simply to quash the
decision of the appellant
as in the old writ of certiorari. But this, too, would
leave
the parties without a clue as to their present position or any
direction
as to their future conduct. But what the respondent
wishes is reinstatement.
There is no cross appeal, but it must be
within the power of your Lordships'
House to vary the order of the
Court of Appeal. My own belief is that this
would have been
pre-eminently a case which would have been dealt with
most
effectively either by re-engagement perhaps on a fresh term,
which the appellant
does not offer, or by substantial monetary
compensation for which the respon-
dent does not ask. Your
Lordships' House is therefore put in a position in
which it is
compelled to make an order within the limits of the powers given
the
court by R.S.C. Or. 53 which must in any circumstances be less
than
satisfactory. I must confess to surprise, and, even to some
degree of indig-
nation, that, despite the offer of compensation
should the tide of argument go
against him, the appellant gave no
instructions to counsel to tender to the
respondent the smallest
expression of regret at the really extraordinary treat-
ment meted
out to him or even the most qualified offer of re-engagement in
the
face of the respondent's persistent desire to rejoin the force
(described in
much greater detail and with great restraint by my
noble and learned friend).
As it is, the order of the Court of
Appeal cannot stand unaltered, and the best
that your Lordships'
House can properly do for the respondent is the course
proposed by
my noble and learned friend with which I now concur. Happily,
the
Appeal Committee, as a condition of giving leave to appeal, directed
that
the appellant bear the respondent's costs of the appeal in
any event.
Lord Fraser of Tullybelton
My Lords,
I have had the advantage of
reading in draft the speech of my noble and
learned friend, Lord
Brightman, and I agree with it.
I wish to emphasize that the only
matter which I am deciding is that the
process by which the Chief
Constable reached his decision in this case was
unfair in respect
that the respondent was never told the reasons why his dis-
missal
was being considered, and that he was given no opportunity of
making
an explanation about the matters of complaint against him.
I am far from
saying that, if the procedure had been fair, the
Chief Constable would not
have been entitled to reach the decision
that he did. Whether the decision
itself was fair and reasonable
is not a matter that can be raised in the present
proceedings,
but, having regard to the criticisms of the Chief
Constable's
decision made by the Court of Appeal, I think it is
only right to say that if
5
he had decided, after hearing the
respondent's explanations, that the respon-
dent's conduct in
marrying a woman who had been living in the same house
as him on
the footing that she was his aunt showed that he was not likely
to
become a well conducted constable, I very much doubt whether the
decision
could have been said to be unreasonable.
I agree that the two declarations
proposed by Lord Brightman should be
made.
Lord Roskill
My Lords,
I have had
the advantage of reading in draft the speech prepared by my
noble
and learned friend, Lord Brightman, with which I agree and I
too
would dismiss the appeal.
Lord Bridge of Harwich
My Lords,,
The facts
of this most unhappy case are fully set out in the speech of my
noble
and learned friend, Lord Brightman. There are only certain aspects
of
the case on which I wish to comment.
The Chief
Constable's decision to force the resignation of the respondent
was
vitiated both by his erroneous assumption that he had an absolute
dis-
cretion and by his total failure to observe the rules of
natural justice. The
matters considered fell into two categories,
first the respondent's private life
and domestic circumstances,
secondly his keeping four dogs in the council
house rented for his
occupation by the police authority. In the first category
because
the Chief Constable gave the respondent no opportunity to refute
the
allegations against him, he acted on false information. If the
truth had been
established, the only matters for consideration
under this head would have
been that the respondent was married to
a lady some fourteen years older than
himself whom he had
previously treated as an aunt, because she had for some
years
lived as man and wife, although not married, with the
respondent's
uncle by whom she had four children. For my part, I
should regard these
matters as irrelevant to the question whether
the respondent was likely to
become an efficient or well-conducted
constable.
With
regard to the dogs, I do not dissent from the view that a chief
officer
of police who is contemplating dispensing with the
services of a probationer
constable under Regulation 16 of the
Police Regulations 1971 may delegate to
a suitable subordinate the
investigation of a specific complaint with a view to
giving the
constable a fair opportunity to meet the allegations made
against
him. But in the case of such delegation certain conditions
should be observed.
First the delegate should make clear to the
constable the precise nature of the
complaint and that he, the
delegate, is acting on behalf of the chief officer of
police to
hear whatever the constable wishes to say about it. Secondly,
the
delegate should make a full report to the chief officer of
what the constable
has said. Thirdly, the chief officer should
himself show the report to the
constable and invite any comment on
it before reaching any decision under
Regulation 16.
The
evidence as to what happened with regard to the respondent's dogs
is
the least satisfactory part of this case. The memorandum of 6th
November
1978 of the Deputy Chief Constable exhibited to the
affidavit of the Chief
Constable contains matter which has never
been verified by an affidavit of the
Deputy Chief Constable,
although much of it is flatly contradicted by the
affidavit of the
respondent. Of the three conditions I have referred to above
as
necessary to the investigation of a complaint by a delegate of the
chief
6
officer of police, it is doubtful
if the first two were observed. It is certain
that the third was
not. On the probabilities, it is hard to believe that the
respondent,
whose dedicated enthusiasm for a police career has never
been
doubted, if faced with the stark alternatives of removing
three of his dogs
from his council house or being dismissed from
the force, would have chosen
the latter.
My Lords, I agree with my noble
and learned friends, the Lord Chancellor
and Lord Brightman, that
the most difficult problem posed by this appeal is
to decide what
remedy is appropriate and further that the form of declaration
made
by the Court of Appeal is unsatisfactory in that its practical
consequences
are uncertain. So far as it lies within our power, we
should, above all, make
clear to the parties what their respective
rights and obligations are in conse-
quence of any order to be
pronounced. There is no doubt in my mind that
the respondent has
suffered a grievous wrong. It should not be beyond the
power of
the courts to provide a suitable remedy. The respondent
has
throughout disclaimed any interest in monetary compensation.
What he seeks
is reinstatement. This could only be secured by an
order of mandamus
requiring the present Chief Constable of the
North Wales Police to reinstate
him as a probationer constable who
has already completed fourteen months
of his probationer service.
I have no doubt your Lordships have power to
make such an order
and was at one time strongly inclined to think that it
should be
made. I know now that none of your Lordships favour such an
order
and it would therefore be an empty gesture for me to express a
formal
dissent on the point. But, that apart, I appreciate the
weight of the objections
to it. Great practical problems would
arise in relation to his training and per-
haps other matters from
the fact that his service has been interrupted for nearly
four
years. Moreover, human nature being what it is, if the North
Wales
Police Force had the respondent forced upon them by order of
your Lordships'
House as the culmination of this lengthy
litigation, there would be an obvious
danger that an undercurrent
of ill-feeling would affect his future relations with
his
superiors in the force.
I am reluctantly driven to the
conclusion that the best service we can render
to the
respondent—and indeed this is the least we should do—is
to make clear
to the North Wales Police Force or indeed to any
other police force he may
now seek to join that he emerges from
this litigation with his reputation wholly
untarnished, that
nothing has ever been proved against him to show that he is
unlikely
to become an efficient and well-conducted constable, but that, on
the
contrary, all the formal reports on his work and training
during the period of
his service in 1977 and 1978 were highly
favourable to him.
As regards the formal disposal of
the appeal I concur in the order proposed
by my noble and learned
friend, Lord Brightman.
Lord Brightman
My Lords,
The issue in this case is whether
the Chief Constable of North Wales Police
acted lawfully when he
forced a probationer constable to resign his office;
and, if not,
what remedies can properly be granted to the aggrieved constable.
The matter first came before a
Divisional Court of the Queen's Bench
Division. It was heard by
Mr. Justice Woolf. He came to the conclusion
that the decision
reached by the Chief Constable did not accord with the
standards
of fairness that should have been observed, but that no relief
should
be granted except in regard to costs. The constable
appealed in order to
obtain substantive relief. The Chief
Constable cross-appealed. The Court
of Appeal confirmed the
conclusion of the Divisional Court but added a
declaration that
the Chief Constable's decision to require the constable to
resign
or be dismissed was void. The Chief Constable now appeals to
your
Lordships' House.
7
My Lords, I will narrate the story
as briefly as I can, but some detail is
inevitable. In the summer
of 1977 the respondent, Mr. Michael John Evans,
applied to join
the North Wales Police. He had an unfortunate upbringing,
His
father, who had been in the Royal Navy, died when he was five years
old.
His mother suffered from ill health and was unable to look
after him. In
consequence, he was brought up in an orphanage until
he was sixteen. In
May 1971, when he was about nineteen, he had a
serious motor cycle accident.
He received a considerable sum of
money as compensation. He was in
hospital for almost a year. While
there, he was visited and befriended by Miss
Margaret Farey. She
was a lady who had been living with his uncle for a
number of
years. There were four children of the liaison. The
respondent
believed that his uncle and Miss Farey were married.
She called herself Mrs.
Evans and he referred to her as his aunt.
At about this time, Miss Farey and
the respondent's uncle parted
company. After the respondent left hospital
he stayed for a while
with his grandmother, and later with Miss Farey. He
came to know
that she was unmarried but he continued to refer to her as his
aunt.
The respondent went out to work.
He was first employed as a chauffeur.
He then spent a year as an
operating theatre technician in a hospital. This
was followed by a
spell of unemployment. In the autumn of 1976 he accepted
an offer
of a place at the University College of North Wales, Bangor,
beginning
in the autumn of 1976. He first lived in lodgings, but
later secured the tenancy
of a house on a farm hear Bangor, where
Miss Farey and her two younger
children joined him.
The respondent's first year at the
university was not a success. He did not
achieve the requisite
academic standard and he left. He applied to join the
North Wales
Police. He was interviewed in July 1977 by Police Sergeant
Morris.
The Police Sergeant recorded the following in his suitability report:
" The address where the
applicant resides is a house on Tyddyn
" Mynyddig Farm some
two miles from Bangor, which his aunt rents
" from the owner
of the farm. It is a comfortable home, clean and well
" cared
for ... For the past twelve months he has resided with his aunt,
"
Mrs. Margaret Evans, at the farm, and it appears that she has been
the
" one person in his life who has cared for him, and
encouraged him in
" his studies".
A fortnight later he was
interviewed by Superintendent Ellis. Finally he had a
brief
interview with the Chief Constable, the appellant, and was accepted
into
the force. He was duly sworn into the office of constable on
31st August and
became a probationary member of the police force
for a period of two years
pursuant to Regulation 15(2) of the
Police Regulations 1971. He was then
just under 25 years of age.
On 5th September he began his
initial course of training at the Police Training
Centre at
Cwmbran. It lasted for two months. He obtained a good report.
The
Commandant of the centre described him as " a very good prospect
with
" all the attributes to develop into a reliable and
competent police officer".
He then spent a month on the beat
at Holyhead attached to a tutor constable.
He was given a
satisfactory report. During this period he gave formal
notice to
his Divisional Chief Superintendent of his intention to be married
to
" Miss Margaret Farey of Tyddyn Mynddig Farm " and
requested police
accommodation. Within a week the Deputy Chief
Constable allocated
accommodation to him at Llangefni, and changed
his station from Holyhead
to Llangefni. The accommodation provided
was a house belonging to the
local council. On 26th January the
respondent gave the Divisional Chief
Superintendent formal
notification of his marriage. This showed that his
wife was 14
years older than he.
On 31st January 1978 Police
Sergeant Roberts, of the Llangefni Police
Station made a report to
the Divisional Chief Superintendent. He said that
as a result of
various observations and various rumours spread about the
police
station, he had decided to make some discreet inquiries about the
8
respondent and his wife. It is a
long report. It is sufficient to pick out
these items:
A year previously a police
officer visiting the Evans' household about
the absence from
school of one of the children, had been introduced to the
respondent
as the stepson of Mrs. Evans.
Police Sergeant Morris, who had
made the suitability report, had been
led to believe that Mrs.
Evans was the respondent's aunt.
The respondent's council house
was untidy, poorly carpeted and
furnished.
Despite the poor state of the
house, the respondent had just bought
a large car and he also
owned an almost new Honda motor cycle; and
there were four or
five dogs in the house.
It was also within the police
sergeant's knowledge that the respondent's
referees (in the
plural) described him as plausible and possibly dishonest.
Inspector Yates added a footnote to the report:
(6) Prior to their marriage, the
respondent and Mrs. Evans resided at a
hippy commune at Tyddyn
Mynyddig; it was believed that Mrs. Evans
was the sister of the
respondent's mother (and therefore within the prohibited
degree of
relationship); and there was no proof that Mrs. Evans was
divorced
from her previous husband (thus also indicating bigamy).
On 3rd February this report was
forwarded by the Divisional Chief Superin-
tendent to the Deputy
Chief Constable. On 8th February the Divisional
Chief
Superintendent added fuel to the fire. Current information, he
said,
suggested that in the past the respondent had had several
(query severe)
financial difficulties; he was said to be
plausible; and he had a medical history
of chronic leg injuries.
On 9th February the Deputy Chief
Constable asked the Divisional Chief
Superintendent to interview
the respondent with a view to resolving the various
issues which
had recently come to notice. The respondent was summoned to
an
interview. Superintendent Ellis attended with the Divisional Chief
Superin-
tendent. The Divisional Chief Superintendent gave the
respondent to believe
that the interview was concerned only with a
discrepancy in the number of
children in the family, in order to
ensure that the family would obtain the full
benefit of the
pension arrangements.
According to the evidence, none of
the various items—I am tempted to call
them smears—appeared
to have been brought out into the open so as to
enable the
respondent to put the record straight. The rumour that Mrs. Evans
was
still the wife of the respondent's uncle, and the alternative rumour
that
Mrs. Evans was the sister of the respondent's mother, were
ultimately laid to
rest by an investigation conducted by New
Scotland Yard at the request of the
Divisional Chief
Superintendent. A report of his investigation was made on
19th
July. As to the rest of the items:—
As regards the untidy and poorly
equipped house the respondent and
his wife had only just moved in
and there is uncontradicted evidence that
they had not had time
to get their furniture out of store and carpets fitted.
There is uncontradicted evidence
that the respondent had suffered
from no financial difficulties.
It was somewhat misleading to
record that the respondent's referees
(in the plural) had
described him as plausible and possibly dishonest. The
truth
was that one referee, the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the
University
had concluded his letter as follows—
" I believe Evans to be
reasonably intelligent and, on first acquaintance,
" he has
an outgoing and fairly attractive personality. However, I should
"
say that I doubt somewhat his plausibility. In some ways it is
perhaps
" a minor matter but he tendered a number of excuses
about his academic
9
" performance which I saw no
reason to disbelieve. Quite by accident,
" as a result of an
inquiry from his Local Education Authority, I came to
"
discover that much of what he had said was in fact untrue. When
"
subsequently tackled about this matter he still wished me to
believe
" most of what he had previously told me. He
therefore is either dis-
" honest with himself and/or is
willing himself to believe a situation exists
" when it
clearly does not. I am sorry to have to report on Evans in this
"
way because I firmly believe he has had a difficult home
environment
" in his earlier days and I think he is deserving
of some help."
The reference to the hippy
commune was a most damaging error.
Inspector Yates had confused
the farm where the respondent lived with
another locality where
he had never been.
The respondent's leg injury had
been fully disclosed in his medical
report and he had completely
recovered from it.
In the meantime the respondent
undertook phase 1. of the Headquarters
Training Course, a Traffic
Course, an Administration Course and a C.I.D.
Course. All reports
from those instructing him were good.
To go back in time for a moment:
in January 1978 when the respondent's
house had been allocated to
him, the respondent had called at the Council's
Housing Department
to discover the Council's attitude towards the keeping
of domestic
pets. He had four dogs. He was told that as a rule pets were
not
allowed, but that the Council took no notice unless there were
complaints.
At a routine meeting with the Divisional Chief
Superintendent a little later,
the respondent told him about the
dogs. The Divisional Chief Superintendent
informed him that there
was no problem as long as the dogs were kept under
control. In the
autumn of 1978, acting on information that the respondent
had four
dogs, a Health Inspector called at the house. He said that as a
rule
only one dog was allowed, but it appeared that no actual
complaint had been
made by anyone. The Health Inspector agreed
that the dogs were well cared
for and said that the Health
Department could have no complaint. However,
two days later a
Council official called and told the respondent that he would
have
to get rid of the dogs.
On 19th October Superintendent
Jones of Caernarvon interviewed the
respondent as a result of what
he had heard about the dogs. On the next
day the respondent made a
written report to the Divisional Chief Superin-
tendent explaining
his predicament. He referred to the interview with
Superintendent
Jones and added that at this interview he had indicated that
he
would try to find alternative accommodation, but the possibility of
success
seemed remote. The respondent handed his memorandum to
Superintendent
Jones who forwarded it to the Divisional Chief
Superintendent with his own
covering letter. In his covering
letter Superintendent Jones wrongly informed
the Divisional Chief
Superintendent that prior to being moved to Llangefni
the
respondent and his family were living in a hippy commune at Bangor,
and
added that his wife continued to dress in the hippy fashion;
and that all the
dogs were strays. The respondent denies that his
wife dressed in hippy clothes,
and there is undisputed evidence
that none of the dogs was a stray. Superin-
tendent Jones added
that he had told the respondent that he had the alternative
of
getting rid of three of the dogs or finding alternative
accommodation.
On 20th October a routine
assessment report was made on the respondent.
This followed the
pattern of earlier reports; his appearance and bearing were
of
high standard; in the performance of his duties he got through a
great deal
of work; he accepted responsibility; was considerate
and firm in his attitude
to the public; showed a great deal of
interest; and was well liked and respected
by his colleagues.
Sergeant Evans, who signed the assessment, considered
that he
would do well in his career. Inspector Yates, who endorsed
the
assessment, said the respondent showed a great deal of
interest and enthusiasm,
and intended to establish a career for
himself within the police force. It was
Inspector Yates who
started the damaging canard about the hippy commune.
He did not
repeat it. But unfortunately it had already been repeated
by
Superintendent Jones.
10
On 23rd October the respondent
visited the Senior Management Officer of
the Local Council to
discuss the question of the dogs. In a letter of the same
day the
Senior Management Officer wrote to the respondent requesting him
to
find other accommodation for the animals within the next four
weeks, i.e. by
the third week in November.
On 25th October the respondent
reported to his Divisional Chief Superin-
tendent. He said that he
had been given four weeks to leave the Council house.
That was not
an accurate account of the Council's letter, although it would
come
to the same thing if he adhered to his expressed intention of not
parting
with the dogs. The respondent said that he could see no
prospect of finding
suitable alternative accommodation.
On 30th October the Divisional
Chief Superintendent forwarded the memo-
randa of 19th, 20th and
25th October to the Deputy Chief Constable.
On 6th November the Deputy Chief
Constable interviewed the respondent.
He was told that there were
only two alternatives, that he " should comply
" with
the conditions of tenancy or that we should take other action by
e.g.
" terminating his employment ". The Deputy Chief
Constable added in his
memorandum of the interview, which he
forwarded to the Chief Constable,
" it was very doubtful in
my view whether people who deliberately flouted
" conditions
of tenancy were suitable to be in the police service."
Your
Lordships may feel that an accusation of deliberately
flouting the terms of the
tenancy is an extravagant description of
the respondent's conduct in the light
of the clear evidence that
he began with a revocable permission to keep the
dogs and, though
the permission was now revoked, he still had another fort-
night
within which to comply with the Council's requirements.
On 8th November the respondent was
summoned to an interview with the
Chief Constable. He was told by
the Chief Constable that " I had made a
mistake in accepting
him and gave him the opportunity to resign as an alter-
"
native to formally dispensing with his services". He was given
no indication
of the reasons for his enforced resignation. The
respondent in his affidavit
says this about the interview, and his
account is not disputed:— " I asked if
" I could
have a reason for this action but he refused outright. I was not
"
informed of what was alleged against me nor afforded any
opportunity
" to be heard by way of defence or explanation. I
asked for time to consider
" and he said that I must let him
know by 10 a.m. the following morning.
" I was not given any
document recording this decision." As a result of the
Chief
Constable's threat, the respondent signed on 9th November a
formal
letter of resignation.
At the time of his enforced
resignation it should be observed that the re-
spondent still had
a fortnight within which to comply with the Council's
requirements:
that all the routine reports on his suitability as a police
constable
had been highly satisfactory, and likely, viewed in
isolation, to lead to his
being confirmed in office; and that he
was due in only three weeks' time to attend
a routine interview
with his Divisional Chief Superintendent pursuant to the
ordinary
probationary procedure.
Within a week of his enforced
resignation, the respondent applied to join
the Metropolitan
Police. The Metropolitan Police, naturally enough, com-
municated
with the North Wales Police. The Deputy Chief Constable replied
by
letter in fairly innocuous terms. The Chief Constable of the North
Wales
Police also spoke personally to the Assistant Commissioner
of the Metro-
politan Police. Not surprisingly his application was
rejected. It has no
particular importance except to demonstrate
the respondent's dedication to
police work, and the then practical
impossibility of his regaining acceptance
into a police force.
My Lords, before I conclude this
unhappy story, I must turn to the statutory
provision. Regulation
16 of the Police Regulations 1971, which I need not
quote
verbatim, provides that during his period of probation in the force,
the
11
services of a constable may be
dispensed with at any time if the Chief Officer
of Police
considers:
that he is not fitted, physically
or mentally, to perform the duties of
his office, or
that he is not likely to become an efficient constable, or
that he is not likely to become a well conducted constable.
It is plain from the wording of
the regulation that the power of a Chief
Officer of Police to
dispense with the services of a person accepted as a proba-
tioner
constable is to be exercised, and exercised only, after due
consideration
and determination of the specified questions. It is
not a discretion that may
be exercised arbitrally and without
accountability.
A year went by. The respondent
tried unsuccessfully to pursue a remedy
before an Industrial
Tribunal. He consulted solicitors and applied for legal
aid which
took some time to arrange. On 23rd October 1979 his solicitors
wrote
to the Chief Constable. They indicated that he would be
seeking
judicial review of the decision to dispense with his
services. They asked the
Chief Constable to reconsider his
decision. They also requested disclosure
of various reports about
him which the respondent knew, or suspected, were in
existence.
This request was peremptorily refused in a letter despatched by
the
Chief Constable two days later.
In early January 1980 the
respondent filed the requisite statement and swore
the requisite
affidavit in support of his application for leave to apply
for
judicial review. At this time he was still unaware of the
facts or supposed
facts which had led the Chief Constable to force
his resignation. So far as
he was aware, there was only one matter
over which any problem arose,
namely, his ownership of the dogs,
of which the North Wales Police were
aware shortly after he took
up accommodation at Llangefni. Leave was
given by a Divisional
Court on 29th January. On the following day the
respondent issued
a Notice of Motion seeking (1) an Order of Certiorari to
quash the
Chief Constable's decision of 8th November 1978, (2) an Order
of
Mandamus directed to the Chief Constable requiring his
reinstatement, and
(3) a declaration that the decision of the
Chief Constable was illegal, ultra
vires and void. On 8th
May 1980 the respondent obtained a consent order
for the discovery
of the documents which he had requested six months earlier.
On 12th June 1980 the Chief
Constable swore an affidavit in answer to the
respondent's filed
statement and affidavit. There are two important matters
revealed
in the affidavit. First, the Chief Constable asserted that
Regulation
16(1) gave him an absolute discretion to dispense with
a probationer's services.
Secondly, in deciding as he did, the
Chief Constable was principally concerned
with three adverse
factors—
The respondent had married a
woman much older than himself; she
was the former mistress of his
uncle; such a marriage might give rise to
some scandal, which
would not be in the interests of the force.
The respondent and his wife were
keeping four or five dogs in a police/
council house, when there
was a permitted limit of one dog.
The respondent and his wife had
lived a " hippy " life style at the
Bangor farm.
The second of these adverse
factors was inaccurate, because the dogs were
initially kept in
the house with the Council permission; and that permission
was
still extant at the date of the Chief Constable's decision. The
third
adverse factor was the result of a complete misunderstanding
and was devoid
of all substance.
The respondent swore an affidavit
in reply on 15th January 1981. He
furnished his answers to all the
criticisms of which he had by now become
aware and he convincingly
disposed of the damaging statement about the
previous life style
of himself and his wife. Furthermore, he deposed that if
he had
realised that he had to choose between keeping his career and
keeping
the dogs, the dogs would have gone. It is difficult to
suppose otherwise.
12
The Chief
Constable has never challenged the truth of the respondent's
second
affidavit.
The motion
came before Mr. Justice Woolf on 23rd March 1981. The
learned
judge found in favour of the respondent to the extent that he
held
that the proper approach to this type of case was that the
Chief Constable was
bound to act fairly in the course of
exercising his statutory discretion under
Regulation 16; and that
the decision which was reached did not accord with
the standards
of fairness because the respondent was not given an opportunity
to
answer the accusations which led the Chief Constable to the
conclusion
which he reached. However, the learned judge declined
to grant any relief
except in costs. His reasoning was this. The
court could give no remedy
now which would enable the respondent
to serve the period which would have
remained if his engagement
had not been terminated, because the two year
probationary period
was long since expired. Even if that period had not
ended, the
court would not in the normal way make an Order of Mandamus
requiring
a Chief Constable to re-engage a constable. The only order
which
could be made would be one which would have required the
Chief Constable
to reconsider his decision of 8th November. There
was no purpose to be
served by such an order now that the
probationary period had expired. To
put the matter shortly, an
Order of Mandamus would be contrary to all
precedent and an Order
of Certiorari would be academic. He could not make
a Declaratory
Order that the respondent was still a probationary constable,
nor
could he make a declaration that the Chief Constable's decision
was
wrong. All that could be declared would be that the decision
had been
reached irregularly, and such a declaration would serve
no purpose.
Mr Lords,
I must address myself later to the question of remedy. All that
I
would say at this moment is that it would, to my mind, be regrettable
if a
litigant who establishes that he has been legally wronged and
particularly in
so important a matter as the pursuit of his chosen
profession, has to be sent
away from a court of justice empty
handed save for an order for the recoupment
of the expense to
which he has been put in establishing a barren victory.
The
respondent appealed. By his notice of appeal, he sought an Order
of
Certiorari, an Order of Mandamus and a declaration in the terms
set out in
his application for leave to apply for judicial review.
The Chief Constable
cross-appealed. He attacked the findings of
the learned judge. He claimed
not only that the decision was
fairly reached, but also that the respondent's
office was held
during pleasure so that, on established principles, he had no
right
to be heard before dismissal.
Before I
turn to the judgments in the Court of Appeal, I would make
certain
observations on the law as I understand it. I turn first
to the decision of this
House in Ridge v. Baldwin (1964) AC 40 where I find useful guidance on the
proper approach to
this type of case. As was pointed out by Lord Reid
(page 64 et
seq.) The application of principles of natural justice to
a variety
of different situations is likely to lead to varying
definitions of those principles.
For example, " what a
minister ought to do in considering objections to a
" scheme
may be very different from what a watch committee ought to do in
"
considering whether to dismiss a Chief Constable." So cases of
dismissal
need to be considered on their own. Lord Reid divided
these into three
categories. First, dismissal of a servant by his
master. Here no relevant
question arises as to whether the master
has heard the servant in his defence
unless, presumably, the
principle of audi alteram partem has been made a
term of
the contract. The question is whether the facts emerging at the
trial
prove a breach of contract. If so, damages are payable for
the breach.
Secondly, dismissal from an office held during
pleasure. " It has always
" been held, I think rightly,
that such an officer has no right to be heard before
" he is
dismissed, and the reason is clear. As the person having the power
"
of dismissal need not have anything against the officer, he need not
give
" any reason." (Per Lord Reid, at page 65).
Thirdly, dismissal from an
office where there must be something
against the office holder to warrant his
dismissal. " There I
find an unbroken line of authority to the effect that an
"
officer cannot lawfully be dismissed without first telling him what
is alleged
13
" against him and hearing his
defence or explanation." (Per Lord Reid,
at page 66.)
I turn secondly to the proper
purpose of the remedy of judicial review,
what it is and what it
is not. In my opinion the law was correctly stated in
the speech
of Lord Evershed (at page 96). His was a dissenting judgment
but
the dissent was not concerned with this point. Lord Evershed referred
to
" a danger of usurpation of power on the part of the
courts . . . under the
" pretext of having regard to the
principles of natural justice." He added
" I do observe
again that it is not the decision as such which is liable to
review;
" it is only the circumstances in which the decision
was reached, and particularly
" in such a case as the present
the need for giving to the party dismissed an
" opportunity
for putting his case." Judicial review is concerned, not
with
the decision, but with the decision-making process. Unless
that restriction
on the power of the court is observed, the court
will in my view, under the
guise of preventing the abuse of power,
be itself guilty of usurping power.
I leave these preliminary
observations in order to consider the judgments
in the Court of
Appeal. It was accepted by each member of the court that
the case
fell within the third of Lord Reid's categories; that the
respondent
was entitled to a fair hearing; and that he had not had
one. However the
learned Master of the Rolls added this:
" I go further. Not only must
he be given a fair hearing, but the
" decision itself must be
fair and reasonable. That is the protection
" afforded to
every servant who is employed under a contract of service.
"
He is protected against unfair dismissal. No less protection should
"
be afforded to a probationer constable."
The learned Master of the Rolls then concluded by saying that,
" It is my opinion that the
Chief Constable was not justified in dispensing
" with the
services of Constable Evans or in requiring him to resign."
Lord Justice Shaw and Lord Justice Ackner concurred.
In his submissions to this House,
counsel for the appellant submitted that
the Chief Constable took
into account all the matters which appeared on the
respondent's
file; that he was entitled to rely on the accuracy of the reports
of
his officers; and that he was not bound to put every adverse point to
the
respondent.
My Lords, for my part I
emphatically reject the approach of the Chief
Constable to his
duties under Regulation 16. He made the fundamental
mistake, as
appears from his affidavit, of assuming that he had an
absolute
discretion to discharge the respondent under Regulation
16, a right to dismiss
him at pleasure. That was not his right.
His mistake coloured and indeed
tainted the decision-making
process. His discretion to discharge was a
qualified one,
exercisable only if he considered that the respondent was not
fitted
to perform the duties of the office or was not likely to become an
efficient
constable or a well conducted constable. It is implicit
in Regulation 16 that
there must be a fair consideration of the
constable's fitness to perform his
duties and a fair consideration
of the likelihood of his becoming an efficient
and well conducted
constable. The legality of the choice given to the re-
spondent to
resign or be discharged must be judged by the same criteria
as
applied to the legality of discharge without the alternative of
resignation;
for clearly the Chief Constable could not use an
invalid threat of discharge
to compel resignation, as that would
be an abuse of power.
As I have indicated, the Chief
Constable forced the respondent's discharge
on account of three
adverse factors which he believed to exist: the allegedly
undesirable
marital circumstances, the alleged hippy life style and the
alleged
flouting of authority. It was the duty of the Chief
Constable to deal fairly
with the respondent in relation to the
adverse factors upon which he was
proposing to act. The Chief
Constable failed in his performance of that duty
because these
supposedly adverse factors were never put to the respondent.
He
was given no opportunity to offer one word of explanation. Your
14
Lordships will not doubt the
honesty of the Chief Constable and that he
reached a decision
which he truly believed was in the interests of the North
Wales
Police on the information that had been laid before him. But
the
inescapable fact is that he misunderstood the extent of his
discretion and the
nature of his duty under Regulation 16. The
decision-making process was
therefore defective.
There is however a wider point
than the injustice of the decision-making
process of the Chief
Constable. With profound respect to the Court of Appeal,
I dissent
from the view that " Not only must [the probationer constable]
be
" given a fair hearing, but the decision itself must be
fair and reasonable ".
If that statement of the law passed
into authority without comment, it would
in my opinion transform,
and wrongly transform, the remedy of judicial
review. Judicial
review, as the words imply, is not an appeal from a decision,
but
a review of the manner in which the decision was made. The
statement
of law which I have quoted implies that the court sits
in judgment not only
on the correctness of the decision-making
process but also on the correctness
of the decision itself. In his
printed case counsel for the appellant made this
submission: "
Where Parliament has entrusted to an administrative authority
"
the duty of making a decision which affects the rights of an
individual,
" the court's supervisory function on a judicial
review of that decision is
" limited. The court cannot be
expected to possess knowledge of the reasons
" of policy
which lie behind the administrative decision nor is it desirable
that
" evidence should be called before the court of the
implications of such policy.
" It follows that the court
ought not to attempt to weigh the merits of the
" particular
decision but should confine its function to a consideration of
"
the manner in which the decision was reached." When the sole
issue raised
on an application for judicial review is whether the
rules of natural justice
have been observed, these propositions
are unexceptionable. Other con-
siderations arise when an
administrative decision is attacked on the ground
that it is
vitiated by self-misdirection, by taking account of irrelevant
or
neglecting to take account of relevant factors, or is so
manifestly unreasonable
that no reasonable authority, entrusted
with the power in question, could
reasonably have made such a
decision. See the well known judgment of
Lord Greene M.R. in
Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd. v.
Wednesbury
Corporation [1948] 1 KB 223.
I agree entirely with the Court of
Appeal, and indeed with the Divisional
Court, that the respondent
did not have the fair hearing to which he was
entitled. I differ
only from the Court of Appeal on the extent of the
Court's
supervisory jurisdiction.
I turn now to the question of
remedies. The Court of Appeal granted the
respondent a declaration
that the decision requiring the respondent to resign
or be
dismissed was void. I feel some misgivings about a declaration in
that
form, because it is not clear to me what consequences flow
from it. Whatever
remedy may be granted by the Court in this case,
I think it is highly desirable
that the North Wales Police and the
respondent should be in no doubt how,
under the Order, they will
stand in relation to each other.
The conclusion reached by the
Divisional Court, the Court of Appeal and
by this House, if your
Lordships are in agreement with me, is that the Chief
Constable
acted unlawfully and in breach of his duty under Regulation 16
in
threatening to dispense with the respondent's services unless
he resigned from
the North Wales Police and in thus causing him to
resign. That having been
established, the respondent is, in my
view, entitled at least to a declaration to
that effect. But the
matter cannot be satisfactorily left there. One must
know what are
the consequences that flow from the breach of duty.
One possibility would be to add to
that declaration an Order of Mandamus.
The respondent has one
desire and one desire only, namely, to be reinstated in
the police
force. This would be secured if an Order of Mandamus were to
issue,
directed to the Chief Constable now in office, requiring him, for
example,
to restore the respondent to the office of probationer
constable as held by him
on 8th November 1978.
15
An alternative to an Order of
Mandamus would be a declaration affirming
that, by reason of such
unlawfully induced resignation, the respondent thereby
became
entitled to the same rights and remedies, not including
re-instatement,
as he would have had if the appellant had
unlawfully dispensed with his services
under Regulation 16(1).
Such a declaration would clarify the status of the
respondent
vis-a-vis the North Wales Police, and would leave him free to
pursue
such remedies, short of re-instatement, as may be open to him. I
have
in mind that under Order 53 Rule 7 an applicant for judicial
review may claim
damages if they are sought in the filed statement
and if damages could have
been awarded in an action brought for
the purpose. I have not, however,
addressed my mind to the
question whether it is still open to the respondent
to apply to
amend his filed statement by adding a claim to damages.
It is possible that the respondent
would not wish, nor indeed would have
any incentive, to pursue a
claim for damages. Counsel for the appellant,
acting on
instructions, told your Lordships that if the decision of your
Lordships'
House went in favour of the respondent it would be the
intention of the North
Wales Police to offer him monetary
compensation. I trust that the compen-
sation which the Chief
Constable has in mind to offer would be on a generous
scale, and
amply reflect the fact that the respondent has been unlawfully
deprived
of his profession as a consequence of the wrongful
procedures of the Chief
Constable's predecessor in office.
I feel that the choice of remedy
is a difficult one. It is a matter of discretion.
From the point
of view of the respondent who has been wronged in a matter
so
vital to his life, an Order of Mandamus is the only satisfactory
remedy.
I have been much tempted to suggest to your Lordships that
it would in the
circumstances be a remedy proper to be granted.
But it is unusual, in a case
such as the present, for the court to
make an Order of Mandamus, and I think
that in practice it might
border on usurpation of the powers of the Chief
Constable, which
is to be avoided. With some reluctance and hesitation, I
feel that
the respondent will have to content himself with the less
satisfactory
declaration that I have outlined.
So far as I am aware, it would be
open to the respondent to apply in the
ordinary way to re-join the
North Wales Police as a new entrant. If the
respondent does make
such an application, I for my part express the hope that
the North
Wales Police will give very serious consideration to it. If
an
objective assessment of his accomplishments and character were
made, the
North Wales Police might come to the conclusion that a
person so dedicated to
the profession is police material which
ought not lightly to be discarded.
They might feel that his
re-acceptance would go some way towards remedying
the wrong which
he has suffered as well as benefiting the force itself. This
would
be a happy solution, if it could properly be brought about; it would
give
the respondent the chance which he merits; and the way that I
have expressed
myself avoids any usurpation of the power of the
Chief Constable, because a
decision to accept or reject must lie
with him.
My Lords, I would dismiss the
appeal but vary the Order of the Court of
Appeal by substituting
the declarations which I have outlined for that which
is contained
in the Order of the Court of Appeal.
3141794—4 Dd 8209971 C3 7/82