Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2003] All ER (D) 187 (Jul)
Neutral Citation: [2003] UKHL 40
Court: House of Lords
Judge:

Lord Nicholls of Birkenhead, Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough, Lord Scott of Foscote and Lord Rodger of Earlsferry
Representation The claimant did not appear and was not represented.
  The defendant did not appear and were not represented.
  Lord Goldsmith QC and Jonathan Crow (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the Secretary of State.
  Monica Carss-Fisk QC (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) as amicus curiae.
  Jonathan Sumption QC and Mark Hoskins (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) for the Speaker of the House of Commons, an intervenor.
  Richard Gordon QC and Jonathan Hough (instructed by Sharpe Pritchard) for CGNU plc, Royal & Sun Alliance plc, Axa Insurance UK plc and Churchill Insurance Co Ltd, as intervenors.
  William Hibbert and Robert Weir (instructed by Gregory Rowcliffe & Milners) for the Financing & Leasing Association, as intervenor.
Judgment Dates: 10 July 2003

Catchwords

Consumer credit - Credit agreement - Compliance with statutory requirements - Enforceability - Agreement prior to coming into force of Human Rights Act - Court of Appeal making declaration of incompatibility - Applicability of Human Rights Act - s 127(3) - s 3.

The Case

Whether s3 applied to pre-Act events depended on the principle that Parliament was presumed not to have intended to alter the law applicable to past events and transactions in a manner which would be unfair to those concerned in them, unless a contrary intention appeared. As in general s3(1) did not apply to causes of action accruing before the section came into force, Parliament could not have intended that application of s3(1) should have the effect of altering parties' existing rights and obligations under the .

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