'Rather Fail With Honour Than Succeed By Fraud'

Whether there are many of our civil law judges who are familiar with these words attributed to Sophocles is a matter for speculation but they are fast becoming a tenet by which civil claims for compensation are judged.

That what a claimant might aver during proceedings be it in a statement of case, a schedule of damages, a witness statement or even in giving disclosure can be the foundation of finding of fundamental dishonesty is a matter about which there is no doubt. However inJet 2 Holidays Ltd v Hughes & Anor [2019] EWCA Civ 1858the Court of Appeal has put at risk of committal for contempt those who make false witness statements which are disclosed under the pre-action protocols, ruling that for committal applications to be made it is not essential that there be "proceedings".

This matter concerned a claim in respect of alleged holiday illness directed against the package holiday company with which the holiday had been booked. In purported compliance with the pre-action protocol for personal injury claims, the prospective claimants served witness statements containing statements of truth. Among the...