15 December 2016
Kimathi and others v Foreign and Commonwealth Office [2016] EWHC 3004 (QB), [2016] All ER (D) 26 (Dec)
The Queen’s Bench Division dismissed the defendant Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s application to cross-examine 11 translators, who had translated witness statements of a group of Kenyans who had brought an action against it. The court held that, under CPR 32.2(3)(b), the court could control how evidence was to be given, such that there was no absolute entitlement to cross-examine a witness. The court held, by reference to the principles of case management and furthering the overriding objective, that, on the facts, it was not just and/or proportionate to accede to the defendant’s application.
