'Grave injustice' being caused by lack of judges

THE GOVERNMENT'S failure to strengthen the High Court bench is resulting in grave injustice, a senior member of the judiciary said yesterday as he revealed that cases would be postponed next year because there were no judges to hear them.

The comments by Mr Justice Saville, senior judge in the Commercial Court, will fuel an acrimonious dispute between ministers and the judiciary over the issue. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Taylor, has been critical of what he believes is the Government's reluctance to appoint more judges.

Mr Justice Saville said the Commercial Court, which deals with banking and insurance disputes, needed a minimum of six full judges. However, next term it would have only five. 'After that, the position is at present quite uncertain. Thus, for the next few months at least, the Commercial Court will remain in the same state of disarray.

'We do not have enough judges to deal with the backlog that this term has brought, let alone next term's list or the problems which next term will inevitably bring,' he said.

About 12 cases listed for next term are expected to be postponed. There are already long delays in hearing disputes.

In recent weeks, Mr Justice Saville has galvanised support in the City of London, where commercial organisations have expressed disquiet about having to wait for cases to be heard.

Geoffrey Hudson, chairman of the British Maritime Law Association's executive committee, said: 'Delay means money because the amounts at issue are very considerable. For instance, where money has to be distributed, it is not being distributed.'

There is also concern among lawyers that international clients will settle their disputes in other countries, cutting into the pounds 425m a year in invisible exports earned by law firms.

Sheila Simison, a solicitor and member of the Commercial Court Users Committee, described the situation as 'absolutely dire'. She was having to tell clients that it could take a year before their cases were heard. Among those affected have been Lloyd's names suing their agents and reinsurance companies. Some have been told at the last moment that their hearings were being postponed.

Another source close to the court said that losing a judge was 'rather like taking a wheel off a car - the whole thing stops'.

The difficulties have arisen because two commercial judges were recently promoted to the Court of Appeal and a third has retired. In addition, the Commercial Court has heard several long and complex cases.

In October, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mackay, set up a committee to look at the deployment of High Court judges in response to mounting criticism from the bench. However, in a recent speech in the House of Lords, Lord Taylor said this committee had been established at the behest of the Treasury and would not necessarily lead to the appointment of poor judges. 'Unless we have some more High Court judges appointed soon, even if it be not as many as we believe we need, the present situation will truly become a national disgrace.'

Last night, the Lord Chancellor's Department said it acknowledged 'the concern expressed by Mr Justice Saville'.

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