Practice

Judgment given but order not drawn up - defendant seeking reconsideration of judgment - jurisdiction to do so unaffected by Civil Procedure Rules 1998Kirin Amgen Inc and others v Transkaryotic Therapies Ins and others: ChD (Mr Justice Neuberger): 9 May 2001After the court had handed down judgment but before the order was drawn up, the defendant applied for the court to reconsider part of its judgment on the ground that it was inconsistent with binding authority.

The claimant contended that although the court had once had jurisdiction to review a conclusion at any time before the order was drawn up, that jurisdiction had been abrogated by Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), rule 52.4 which had changed the date from which the time for appealing started to run.David Kitchin QC and Richard Meade (instructed by Bird & Bird) for the defendants.

Antony Watson QC and Colin Birss (instructed by Taylor Joynson Garrett) for the claimants.Held, granting the defendant's application, that the court's power to review a decision was not dependent on the date from which the time for appealing started to run; that given that the CPR were intended to give legal procedures a more flexible and less technical flavour it would be surprising if the power to review which had existed under the old rules no longer existed under the CPR; that, accordingly, the court's power to review its own conclusions prior to the drawing up of the order was unaffected by CPR rule 52.4; but that on a review of the disputed conclusion, taking into account the authority which had been overlooked, the court's original view had been correct.