There are some interesting observations made by Lord Dyson MR in The English Experience of Access to Justice Reform. In particular the look back at the "febrile" atmosphere that Mitchell created and the rationale of the subsequent "revision" in Denton.
THE SPEECH
"18. A need for flexibility in relat...
What an elaborate way to say “we got it wrong” without admitting it. The Courts may now, in the opinion of Lord Dyson MR, be applying the correct test to procedural default but what of all those claims with merit that have either been struck out or had some other sanction applied during the Mitchell madness? Perhaps it would have been simpler to say “we forgot about considering the overriding objective in formulating the test in Mitchell so added that consideration to the revised test in Denton”.