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England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions >> University of Oxford & Ors v Broughton & Ors [2006] EWCA Civ 1305 (15 August 2006) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2006/1305.html Cite as: [2006] EWCA Civ 1305 |
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IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
(MR JUSTICE HOLLAND)
Strand London, WC2 |
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B e f o r e :
LORD JUSTICE WALL
MR JUSTICE WILSON
____________________
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD & ORS | Appellants | |
-v- | ||
BROUGHTON & ORS | Defendants |
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Smith Bernal Wordwave Limited
190 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2AG
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7831 8838
Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
MISS STEPHANIE HARRISON (instructed by Moss & Co) appeared on behalf of the 9th Defendant
MR BROUGHTON appeared in person
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
"A person must not pursue a course of conduct -
(a) which amounts to harassment of another, and
(b) which he knows or ought to know
amounts to harassment of the other."
Section 1(1)A then provides:
"A person must not pursue a course of conduct -
(a) which involves harassment of two or more persons, and
(b) which he knows or ought to know involves harassment of those persons, and
(c) by which he intends to persuade any person (whether or not one of those mentioned above) -
(i) not to do something that he is entitled or required to do, or
(ii)to do something that he is not under any obligation to do."
"inviting conduct of a campaign in a manner neither legal, nor peaceful, and nor in accordance with established civil and criminal law." (paragraph 10)
That wording chosen by the judge was clearly intended to echo the terms of the undertaking which Mr Broughton had given to Grigson J and by which he was still bound on 14 January. That undertaking included the following:
"To take all reasonable steps to publish and communicate to the members of the SPEAK campaign and generally, the importance of conducting the campaign in a legal and peaceful [manner] in accordance with established civil and criminal law."
Not surprisingly, Holland J accepted at paragraph 12 that the DVD provided "ample evidence of an apparent breach of the undertaking". There was also evidence put before the judge to the effect that in December 2005 Mr Broughton had photographed contractors' vehicles and had followed a contractor's van allegedly with a view to identifying those working on the site. The photographing was not in itself a breach of undertaking, but it is said by the appellants to have been exploiting a loophole.
"Before the Court can interfere it must be shown that the judge has either erred in principle in his approach, or has left out of account, or taken into account, some feature that he should, or should not, have considered, or that his decision is wholly wrong because the Court is forced to the conclusion that he has not balanced the various factors fairly in the scale."
That passage was approved by this court in Price v Price [2003] EWCA Civ 888; [2003] 3 ALL ER 911.
"For my part, and with [some] hesitation, I accede to the application to strike out. I see no advantage to anybody, least of all the Court, in having an unnecessary proliferation of defending parties. Given Mr Avery's admission that he is caught by orders against the 6th Defendants, I think that just disposal of the proceedings (CPR 3.4.2(b)) would be obstructed by maintaining him as 12th Defendant. In any event, however intemperate, one speech provides a pretty thin basis for a cause of action."
"We are at the end of the road here, the time for talking has gone, the time for science has gone, the time for philosophizing has gone...
Every single action counts, nothing else matters, action is everything... be that whatever you want, every action counts...
...
I have seen some amazing raids an laboratories and thankfully I have been on some of them... this for the first time in 22 years I can honestly say is now or never, this is now or never time...
back home, you know who the University, you know who they are, you know where they are, its not up to SPEAK or Mel, to tell us all what to do, you know where the University is, you know who they are, you know where they are, its up to everybody to take action because action is the only thing that matters.
I know the police are a total wind up, but lets not forget they are also a total and utter irrelevance, they do not count... when you go home... pick up the tools you need and never ever stop smashing Oxford University."
This, it is submitted for the appellants, is substantiation of the claim against Mr Avery personally and is more than "a pretty thin basis" for a cause of action. He is personally liable for that conduct, which supports the claim against him of conspiracy to injure. In contrast, it may be possible, says Mr Flint, for the 6th defendant, SHAC, to argue that it is not liable for Mr Avery's conduct on that occasion.
"None of this gainsays the fact of a serious ongoing problem for those identified in my Order as Protected Persons arising out of the activities actual or threatened of the extremists - not least because the scope for curtailment by way of any Order is modest, the area being essentially one for the Police and particularly those concerned with serious organised crime. That said, it is important to accord respect and understanding where such are due so that distinctions can be made where they should be made."
Thus, Miss Harrison argues the judge struck a proper balance in reaching his conclusion.