No retrospective validation

Olafsson v Gissurarson QBD TLR 22 December; NLJ 5 January

The claimant issued defamation proceedings against the defendant rising out of material on his website. The defendant resided in Iceland and Her Majesty’s counsel gave the defendant a copy of the claim form and accompanying documents at an address in Reykjavik. The defendant did not sign a written receipt and took no steps in the litigation. Default judgment was entered, damages assessed and a permanent injunction granted. The defendant was kept fully informed of the progress of the proceedings by the claimant’s solicitors. The defendant then applied under CPR rule 13.2 to set aside the judgment in default on the ground that personal service was not an effective means of service under Icelandic law and service of the claim form had therefore not been made in accordance with rule 6.24. The claimant applied for a relief under CPR rule 3.10 and/or rule 6.9 for an order correcting the error. The senior master refused to set aside the judgment and made an order correcting the error in respect of service on the ground that under Icelandic law, Act No 91 of 31 December 1991 on judicial procedures in civil cases, for service to have been effective the defendant would have had to have signed a copy of the claim form to acknowledge receipt, but that failure of the counsel to obtain his signature was an irregularity that could be cured by the application of rule 3.10.