England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM BROMLEY COUNTY COURT
(HHJ ELLIS)

		Royal Courts of Justice Strand London WC2 Tuesday 30th April 2002

1. LORD JUSTICE KAY: The applicant, acting in person, seeks permission to appeal against a decision of His Honour Judge Ellis sitting in the Bromley County Court on 5th December 2001. The judge refused an application by the applicant to transfer his case to another court, and dismissed his application to appeal against an order of District Judge Brett, sitting in the same court on 9th April 2001, striking out his action against Barclays Bank Plc.
2. The applicant is entitled to appeal, if he can obtain permission, to this Court, against the judge's refusal to transfer the case. The situation is that the applicant had commenced proceedings in the Croydon County Court and they had been transferred to Bromley County Court. The applicant complained immediately about that and asked that the case should immediately go back to the Croydon County Court, but that was declined and, in due course, his case was heard by the district judge in the Bromley County Court.
3. The applicant then sought permission to appeal to the circuit judge, and it was this application that led to his inviting Judge Ellis to transfer the case away from the Bromley County Court. Judge Ellis dealt with the matter in the following way. He said:

"This was a case that was dealt with by a District Judge at this court in Bromley. The normal process would be for any application for permission to appeal - the district judge having refused permission to appeal - to be made to a circuit judge at this court. It would only be for good reason that the hearing should be transferred to another court. Mr Ahmad has not been able to put forward any reason for transferring it. There is certainly no good reason, and in those circumstances the application for the hearing to be transferred to another court is dismissed."

4. There was no suggestion, however, made that Judge Ellis was an inappropriate judge to hear the application. Hence it could have happened, even if the application had been granted, the matter could have come before Judge Ellis sitting in a different County Court. Thus, it seems to me there is no prospect at all that the Court of Appeal could be persuaded that the decision of the judge to go on and deal with the application for permission to appeal himself was a wrong decision.
5. The other complaint that the applicant has is that he wishes to appeal against the refusal of the judge to grant permission. He wishes to do that because he asserts, and asserts in very strong terms, that it was all very unjust. He says that the conclusion of the district judge was totally against the weight of the evidence and he has been left with a total dissatisfaction with the way in which the court process has treated him. He invites me, in those circumstances to grant him permission to appeal, to the Court of Appeal. Unfortunately from his point of view, as I have sought to explain to him, but I do not think even now he accepts it to be the situation, he has no right of appeal against that decision. This Court's jurisdiction is entirely provided by Act of Parliament. Section 54(4), of the Access to Justice Act 1999, precludes any further application to a higher court when permission to appeal to it has been refused by the lower court.
6. That provision is reiterated in the Practice Direction, to part 52, paragraph 4.8 and has been considered by this Court in two cases Linaker v University of London [2001] 1 WLR 13 and Clarke (Inspector of Taxes) v Perks [2001] 1 WLR 17 (see paragraph 20). It is clearly settled that the decision of the circuit judge, refusing permission to appeal from the district judge, is the end of the road for the applicant.
7. I know he thinks that in saying that, in some way, I am adding to his sense of injustice but I have no power to do anything to the contrary. He submitted to me that I had a discretion; I do not. Parliament chose to say that I had no discretion in the matter, and therefore there is nothing I can do about it. Even if I were persuaded that there was, in some way, an injustice, I would be powerless to do anything to remedy that injustice.
8. In those circumstances, whatever view I were to take about the merits of his case in the first place, I simply would be left unable to deal with the situation, as it now stands. Accordingly, since the matter cannot be considered by this Court, I have no option but to refuse his application for permission to appeal.

LORD JUSTICE KAY: You stood up in the middle, did you want to say something?

THE APPLICANT: One thing, if the County Court or lower court give really so people have access to the justice, really, to the higher court, so how the people have fair justice in the country?

LORD JUSTICE KAY: I have endeavoured to explain the position.

THE APPLICANT: Parliament, they made a mistake also really.

LORD JUSTICE KAY: Parliament may have made a mistake, I cannot change it.

THE APPLICANT: Why this Higher Court then?

LORD JUSTICE KAY: If you think Parliament has it wrong--

THE APPLICANT: House of Lords I like to have satisfaction of my mind.

LORD JUSTICE KAY: No you cannot go to this Court.

THE APPLICANT: Really no way I can.

LORD JUSTICE KAY: It is the end of the road, Parliament will say so.

THE APPLICANT: End of the road, justice the billionaire will be billionaire and poor will be poor in this country. Now really, they drag me all the drain.

LORD JUSTICE KAY: I have heard what you say. I am sorry, I have given my judgment.