Clause 16 - Damages
Enterprise Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
I rise to endorse the words of the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Djanogly). The tribunal has a quasi-judicial function, so it is only sensible that the full range of civil avenues should be open for exploration. If an injunction were granted at an early stage but later found to be wrongful diligence, might not the damages be horrific? I presume that an injunction would be used sparingly in England. My only other observation relates to the drafting of the amendment. Subsection (2) refers to
''a claim in tort or, in Scotland, delict'',
so it would be similarly sensitive to acknowledge in the amendment that Scotland does not use the term ''injunction'', but ''interdict''. My amendment to the amendment would make it absolutely correct and more elegant.