ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
KING'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Mrs Justice Hill
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
LORD JUSTICE NUGEE
and
LADY JUSTICE ELISABETH LAING
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SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS |
Appellant |
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- and - |
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R (LJ FAIRBURN & SON LTD AND ORS) |
Respondents |
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Malcolm Birdling and Jagoda Klimowicz (instructed by Jacksons Law Firm) for the Respondents
Hearing dates: 7 November 2024
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Crown Copyright ©
Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing:
Introduction
The facts
The law
The law which is relevant to the construction of paragraph 5(2)
The Animal Health Act 1981
General structure
Relevant definitions
Part I
Part II
Part IV
Part V
Schedule 3 to the Act
The relevant orders made under the Act
The 1959 Order
The 2003 (1) Order
The 2003(2) Order
The 2006 (2) Order
The Respondents' approach to the interpretation of paragraph 5(2)
Attorney General v Horner
Westminster Bank Limited v Beverley Borough Council
The law which is relevant to A1P1
The Human Rights Act 1998
'Protection of property
Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law. The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties.'
Chagnon et Fournier v France
SA Bio d' Ardennes v Belgium
The Judgment
The Judge's analysis
The construction of paragraph 5(2)
A1P1
The submissions
Discussion
What does paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 3 mean?
1. The Secretary of State is only obliged to pay compensation for birds which are healthy when they are slaughtered.
2. The duty to pay compensation only applies to birds which are actually slaughtered, and not to birds which are 'caused to be slaughtered'. There is no obligation to compensate the owner for a bird which is diseased when it is slaughtered.
3. When the duty applies, the Secretary of State must pay the value of the bird 'immediately before it was slaughtered'. The duty to pay compensation and the amount of that compensation are coherent.
4. The amount of the compensation is the value of 'the bird'; that is, of the bird which has actually been slaughtered. That bird is a bird which was healthy when it was slaughtered, not a notional bird which was healthy when it was 'caused to be slaughtered'.
A1P1
Conclusion
Lord Justice Nugee
Lord Justice Moylan