Witnesses
James Medhurst | News5 Jun 2009
This Friday, I report on an intellectually worthy and interesting decision about tribunal procedure and on a story about adulterous flirtation on a tropical island. In McBride v Standards Board for England, it was held that an Employment Judge sitting alone at a case management discussion can rule that certain witnesses should be prevented from appearing at the full hearing on the grounds that their evidence is irrelevant. Not surprisingly, Judge Peter Clark found that Article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which gives the right to a fair trial, does not include a right to call inadmissible evidence. He noted that, if the witnesses become relevant at a later stage, following disclosure of documents and witness statements from the other side, the order can be varied due to the change of circumstances.
