Civil procedure

It was common fairness that neither parties to litigation, their counsel, nor judges should make serious imputations or findings in any litigation when the person against whom such imputations or findings were made had not been given a proper opportunity of dealing with the imputations or defending themselves. Therefore, before a finding of dishonesty could be made it had not only to be pleaded but also put in cross-examination. It was a cardinal principle of litigation that if serious allegations, in particular allegations of dishonesty were to be made against a party who was called as a witness they had to be both fairly pleaded and fairly put to the witness in cross-examination.