What does a litigant do if a written judgment varies from the oral judgment given in court? This issue was considered by HHJ Matthews (sitting as a High Court judge) in Bath -v- Escott [2017] EWHC 1101 (Ch). The judgment makes it clear that the court will not release the audio recording. The case c...
One needs to be a bit careful about the concept of the order being the “decision” (para 7 of the judgment in Bath v Escott), because there is authority to the effect that in certain contexts, such as the rule that is now CPR rule 52.12 (time for filing an appellant’s notice is 21 days after the decision of the lower court”), the word “decision” can mean “the date when the judge makes his decision, and not the date when the order reflecting his decision is drawn up”: see Owusu v Jackson [2002] EWCA Civ 877, at [5] (although the authority given in Owusu for this proposition does not actually say what is said in Owusu). The conventional learning to the effect that one appeals an order rather than a judgment must be read subject to this – one may need to commence an appeal before the order of the court below has even been drawn.