Colley v Council For Licensed Conveyancers

Where an application for permission to appeal raises complicated questions about statutory powers and the correct procedural route, the court should hear the opposing party before deciding those questions. This is particularly so where granting permission may itself involve deciding issues about the powers of the regulator, the High Court or the Court of Appeal. An ex parte hearing is therefore inappropriate in such circumstances, and the applications should be adjourned for an inter-parties hearing.

The proceedings concerned two applications for permission to appeal from the Administrative Court before Mr Justice Blofeld. The applications raised questions about the powers of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the statutory powers of the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and whether the matter should proceed by judicial review or by a statutory appeal. The respondent was not present or represented. The central issue at this stage was whether those questions, and the applications for permission, could properly be determined without hearing the respondent.

1. Adjournment. The Court of Appeal adjourned both applications for an inter-parties hearing. The applications were not determined on their merits, and no order for costs was made.
2. Questions requiring full argument. The applications raised complicated and difficult questions concerning the powers of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers under the relevant statute, the powers of the High Court and Court of Appeal under the relevant statutes, and the proper route by which the matter should proceed.
3. Need for the respondent to be heard. It would be wrong to attempt to decide those questions with only one party present. Granting permission to appeal was arguably itself a decision on some of the underlying issues, so the court could not properly determine permission ex parte.
4. Directions. Mr Hunt was directed to recast his skeleton argument to state his position more clearly within 48 hours. The court’s reasons were given by Lord Justice Schiemann, with Lord Justice Sedley sitting on the appeal.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): In [2001] EWCA Civ 259, the court adjourned two applications for permission to appeal for an inter-parties hearing.
• Administrative Court (Mr Justice Blofeld): identified as the court from which the matter came; no citation for its decision is stated in the judgment.