GB - Nelson v Wood

Judgment

Lord Justice Patten :

This is an appeal by Mr Nelson against an order made by HH Judge Kaye QC dated 6 August 2013 striking out an application made by Mr Nelson dated 29 July 2013 to set aside a General Civil Restraint Order (“GCRO”) made against him by HH Judge Behrens on 7 March 2013. Judge Kaye QC made his order after a consideration of the papers and without an oral hearing so there is no judgment as such. But his order states that the 29 July application was struck out as not being made in compliance with the terms of the GCRO.

The GCRO as subsequently drawn up contains two paragraphs which are material to this appeal. Paragraph 4 of the order states that:

“Any amendment or discharge of this order can be made only by a High Court judge or section 9 judge. If David Joseph Nelson wishes to seek an amendment or variation, he must first seek permission of District Judge Jordan or other District Judge to make the application. Such application (for permission to make the application to the High Court or section 9 judge) is to be dealt with in accordance with paragraph 2 above (ie an application in writing to be dealt with on paper alone by District Judge Jordan) and will be subject to the procedure set out in paragraph 3 above in respect of any application for permission to appeal any decision of the District Judge.”

But paragraph 8 of the order states that:

“THIS ORDER does NOT prevent you from taking any one or more of the steps set out below without the prior permission. YOU MAY:

(i) Apply, without obtaining prior permission, to set aside all or any part of this Order. Any such application should be made to HH Judge Behrens quoting the case reference number at the head of this Order

(ii) Apply, without obtaining prior permission, for permission to appeal against this order by filing an Appellant’s Notice in the Court of Appeal (Civil Appeals Office Registry, Room E307, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LL). You should not take this step until you have made application under 8(i) hereof.”

The reason for the inclusion of paragraph 8 was that Judge Behrens made the GCRO of his own motion after dismissing as totally without merit a further application by Mr Nelson to have set aside a bankruptcy order made against a Ms Shirene Hanley on 25 November 2010. Not having heard Mr Nelson on the making of the order, the judge was required by CPR 3.3(5) to provide for the party affected to be able to apply to have it set aside or varied

Judgment

Lord Justice Patten :

The GCRO as subsequently drawn up contains two paragraphs which are material to this appeal. Paragraph 4 of the order states that:

But paragraph 8 of the order states that:

“THIS ORDER does NOT prevent you from taking any one or more of the steps set out below without the prior permission. YOU MAY:

Nelson v Wood

Areas of Law